Researchers at Northwestern College of Chiropractic (NWCC) have embarked on a pilot study regarding sciatica. The study will examine the relative clinical and cost-effectiveness of three common treatments for sciatica: chiropractic care; medical care; and epidural steroid injections.
The original study was submitted in conjunction with the Palmer Research Center, the Twin Cities Scoliosis Center and the Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI). "We will be working primarily with the Scoliosis Center and CDI on the pilot study," said Dr. Roni Evans, a faculty member at Northwestern. "The study will involve 24 sciatica patients randomly assigned to one of three parallel treatment groups, and we hope to complete the study by the spring of 1998."
The principal investigator for the project will be Gert Bronfort, PhD, a professor and researcher at NWCC. Patients in the pilot study will receive either chiropractic care, medical care or epidural steroid injections. Patients will receive up to 12 weeks of treatment. Self-reported outcome measurement questionnaires will be collected at baseline, and at three and 12 weeks after beginning treatment. Objective outcome measures will be assessed by blinded examiners at baseline and 12 weeks.
The sciatica study has currently been submitted to the Foundation for Chiropractic Education and Research (FCER). Once the study is completed and feasibility has been established, the college will seek funding from the Office of Alternative Medicine for a full randomized clinical trial involving 267 patients.
After more than three years of extensive research and revisions, DCs Gregory Plaugher and Claudia Anrig have co-edited the textbook Pediatric Chiropractic, a scientific reference for the chiropractic assessment and treatment of children. The book is published by Williams and Wilkins.
Dr. Anrig is president of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association, and writes the monthly "Kids Need Chiropractic" column in Dynamic Chiropractic. Dr. Plaugher is an associate professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic West.
The information in the new textbook is taken from peer-reviewed literature and from personal patient care experiences of many doctors in practice. "This book fills a severe void, both from a clinical and scientific perspective," said Dr. Plaugher. He noted that when research on the book first began, it was surprising to discover that "there wasn't one scientifically-based, scholarly-referenced book devoted to chiropractic pediatrics."
Originally designed as an 11 chapter, 475-page opus, Dr. Plaugher said that Pediatric Chiropractic ballooned to nearly 1,000 pages before it was pared down to its final 19 chapter, 838-page version. The book is divided into five sections: contemporary issues in chiropractic pediatrics; pregnancy, birth and neonatal assessments; clinical and radiological assessments; clinical techniques and disease prevention; and case management.
Although more than 30 authors, researchers and field doctors from throughout the chiropractic profession helped contribute to the product, it seems the motivating factor behind the book's publication was personal satisfaction. "None of the authors were motivated to participate because of some fad or new market niche," asserted Dr. Plaugher. "They got involved because they see children needlessly suffering and viewed this as their opportunity to help bring an end to that suffering, and I'm confident that this book will help to yield those positive, life-impacting results."
At their recent fall/winter meeting in New York City, the North East Chiropractic Council (NECC) honored Dr. Alan Post as the council's first "Chiropractor of the Year." The award was presented by Dr. Barry Freedman, the council's incoming president.
Dr. Freedman commended Dr. Post for his "significant advancement of the organization and the unification of the region while under his leadership."
Dr. Post said he was "humbled at receiving such recognition," and that it inspired him to continue his efforts to increase the utilization of chiropractic. A 1982 cum laude graduate of Logan College of Chiropractic, Dr. Post maintains a private practice in Newport, Rhode Island. He is the past president of the Chiropractic Society of Rhode Island, and has published numerous articles on chiropractic and natural health care.
Each year the Ironman World Triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, attracts a large international group of that unusual breed of athletes that consider consecutively performing a 2.4 mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and running a marathon (26.2 miles) a good idea.
This year the ACA's Sports Council sent a group of more than two dozen chiropractors ("iron docs") and chiropractic students from across the country to provide free treatment, training tips and consultation to hundreds of athletes who took up the triathlon challenge. The DCs and students helped prepare many of the athletes to meet the physical and mental challenges that are synonymous with the Ironman.
For the sixth consecutive year, the International Chiropractors Association will hold its annual Symposium on Natural Fitness in Columbus, Ohio. This year's meeting will be held from March 6-8 and will feature a wide variety of events and programs designed to help both chiropractors and the general public understand the relationship between fitness and health.
Among this year's offerings will be Dr. Pete Gratale presenting a program on maximizing reliable and safe results in weight training from a chiropractic perspective; Dr. Tom Deters discussing the latest issues on performance nutrition for athletes; there will also be a session on stretching techniques for special patient populations by Coralee Van Egmond, DC.
Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
On Feb. 1, 2024, two more legislators – John R. Carter (R-Texas) and Robert “Bob” Good (R-Va.) – co-sponsored the Chiropractic Medicare Coverage Modernization Act of 2023, bringing the co-sponsor total to 155, two more than the total achieved over the entire two-year congressional cycle in which identical legislation last appeared (2021-22).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
