The thermal imaging scans shown above were taken of a 12-year-old boy whose mother asked me if kids could benefit from chiropractic adjustments.

A simple way to understand thermal scans is to examine the colors. Red is bad; green and yellow are good; orange is acceptable. Start by focusing on the “Before” scan…

See all that pressure along the right side in the upper neck, back, and shoulder area? Adults with this type of scan would almost certainly be experiencing muscle stiffness, soreness, or sharp pain. Surprisingly, this boy is pain-free. Instead, he suffers from nocturnal enuresis, more commonly known as bed-wetting.

Notice how well things cleared up in the “After” scan taken one week later. All he needed was one correction to achieve this level of improvement. His mom is really glad she brought him in!

Not all parents, however, think to bring their children to a chiropractor. It’s not their fault though… Political groups within the chiropractic profession have fought diligently to gain recognition as experts for the treatment of back pain. As a result, many people believe that you should only call a chiropractor when your back “goes out.” Since most children don’t have back pain (or are unable to describe it), parents don’t perceive the need for chiropractic checkups.

Whenever I’m around my niece, nephews, or friends’ children, I can’t help but notice the twisted body positions these little contortionists put themselves into… While not necessarily painful, these activities can easily cause misalignments within the spine. Imagine if adults tried doing this stuff… they’d be laid up in bed for a week!

Good moms and dads take their kids to a pediatrician and to the dentist because its important for their health and development. Receiving checkups from a chiropractor is equally as important.

It’s easier to build a child’s future than it is to repair an adult’s past.

If your son or daughter has never received a chiropractic checkup, now is a great time to explore the benefits of chiropractic care for kids.

Text messaging is a quick way to communicate, but it can also be a real pain in the neck.

Tightness across the shoulders, headaches, and neck soreness are common symptoms that can result from frequent texting.

Why does this happen? Weighing anywhere from 10-14 lbs, your head resembles a bowling ball. It’s designed to be held in balance, and should sit squarely over your shoulders. Routine habits and behaviors such as looking downward to send/read text messages puts an unhappy demand on the muscles, joints, and ligaments of the neck.

This position shifts the head forward and away from the sturdy support of your shoulders. The forces of gravity then require spinal tissues to adapt and compensate for the new mechanical demand. This scenario leads to a condition called Forward Head Posture (FHP).

With the growing popularity of smart phones, texting isn’t the only activity that can cause pain and discomfort. In-phone apps enable users to spend even more time in this position.

Prolonged displacement of the head applies abnormal forces to the entire spine, and compounds the damage to your cervical vertebrae. If left uncorrected, it will lead to a loss of cervical curve and irreversible arthritic degeneration.

Translation? You’ll feel a lot older than you are, become limited in doing the things you love to do, and may develop an uncomfortable dependency on pain relieving drugs.

It’s tempting to believe that if the pain isn’t “that bad” yet, there must be nothing to worry about… In reality, the sooner you fix the problem, the easier/cheaper/faster it is to address. If detected early enough, patients can correct the problem and prevent significant damage from occurring down the road.

If you’re suffering from texting-related aches and pains, now is the best time to schedule a chiropractic check up.

KSDK News Channel 5 interview

Despite vast improvements in protection equipment, athletes of all skill levels are still experiencing frequent concussions.

While modern medicine has a firm grasp on the dangers of this type of injury, much of the general public remains in the dark. A surprising number of students, parents, coaches and players don’t think concussions are that big of a deal. In fact, countless patients have told me (often with a smile on their face) that they’ve suffered a concussion.

It’s tempting too assume that if brain surgery wasn’t required, then the injury had no effect on them, so it must be okay to play in next week’s game.

According to the Mayo Clinic,

Concussions range in significance from minor to major, but they all share one common factor — they temporarily interfere with the way your brain works. They can affect memory, judgment, reflexes, speech, balance and coordination.

Usually caused by a blow to the head, concussions don’t always involve a loss of consciousness. In fact, most people who have concussions never black out. Some people have had concussions and not even realized it.

Concussions are common, particularly if you play a contact sport such as football. But every concussion, no matter how mild, injures your brain. This injury needs time and rest to heal properly. Luckily, most concussions are mild and people usually recover fully.

I’d like to append this description by saying that concussions have two things in common. The second being trauma to the neck.

After receiving the proper neurological exam from a medical practitioner, I believe that concussion sufferers should then receive a follow-up examination from their chiropractor. Forces of this magnitude can absolutely cause damage to the spine and it’s supportive muscles, ligaments and soft tissues. Therefore the head and neck should both be properly evaluated.

Unfortunately, a high percentage of people (even some medical providers) aren’t aware that this experience can be the precipitating event for spinal degeneration and health problems which surface months or years down the road. So the earlier you address this damage, the easier it is to correct. In many cases you can limit (and often prevent) subsequent damage by handling it sooner rather than later.

]]> http://drtanase.com/2010/09/01/concussions-during-football-season/feed/ 0 Dr. Tanase http://drtanase.com/2010/08/26/what-relieves-arm-pain-caused-by-brachial-plexus-irritation/ http://drtanase.com/2010/08/26/what-relieves-arm-pain-caused-by-brachial-plexus-irritation/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:07:52 +0000 Dr. Adam Tanase http://drtanase.com/?p=8049 ]]>

The brachial plexus is a delicate bundle of nerves that begins in the neck and travels down the length of the arm, innervating the muscles and skin of the upper limbs. It should come as no surprise that the number one symptom of brachial plexus irritation is arm pain.

The problem with this condition is that it’s oppressively constant. During a flareup, the pain is isolated within the arm, lower neck, and shoulder, but at that same time it’s hard to pinpoint. Perhaps the worst part of this condition is that it makes sleeping nearly impossible. Virtually every position intensifies the pain, and no matter what you do to momentarily ease the tension, it comes back with a vengeance.

Not only have I helped patients with this debilitating condition, but I’ve also experienced it many times in the past… So I can tell you exactly what worked and what didn’t in these instances.

Over-the-counter pain relievers offer a paltry effect at best. Rotational chiropractic manipulation may provide eventual relief, but in my experience it failed to offer “liberation” within a reasonable amount of time. The heat and steam generated from a hot shower proved to be the only at-home remedy I could find that temporarily dampened pain.

It wasn’t until I met a chiropractic instructor who specialized in sports medicine that I discovered effective relief.

During one of my many flareups with this condition, he released trigger points within the scalene muscles of my cervical spine as well as the pectoralis minor. After receiving this treatment, I’d notice that the pain became bearable, and reduced by nearly 50%. Within 2-3 days the pain was gone.

Later I noticed that when I received a precision upper cervical adjustment after having this trigger point work done, the arm pain reduced by nearly 80-90% within just 30-60 minutes, and was gone by the next day.

I wouldn’t say this approach is revolutionary, but through personal and clinical experience, I’ve found dependable outcomes.

The goods news is that virtually any physical therapist, massage therapist or chiropractor is capable of reducing trigger points. So if you suffer from bouts of arm pain associated with brachial plexus irritation, have them palpate the muscle groups mentioned above and see if they’re tender. If that’s the case, what was once an exhaustive recovery process can now be improved much quicker.

As far as the upper cervical correction, make sure you have access to a chiropractor who focuses exclusively on this procedure. I’ve found that the unique approach of Upper Cervical Care not only helps reduce the frequency of flareups, but in many cases can prevent them from happening altogether.

They answer may seem odd at first, but believe it or not, they’re conditions that have shown marked improvement with Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care. But here’s the kicker… Many patients who’ve suffered with these problems didn’t mention them when they originally became chiropractic patients.

That means they scheduled consultations seeking relief from other conditions like back or neck pain, headaches, etc, never thinking that a chiropractor could help “the other stuff” that was bothering them… and definitely not aware that the symptoms may be related.

So how does this happen? Is chiropractic care a “cure” for TMJ, tennis elbow, plantar fasciitis, or psoriasis? No. It’s also not a cure for back/neck pain, headaches, or any other disease. These are all simply conditions that can develop when the body is in a chronic state of imbalance.

Instead of causing the unwanted side effects that continue to plague a multitude of pharmaceutical drugs, chiropractic adjustments have a very welcomed way of improving things above and beyond a patient’s chief complaint. They’re pleasantly surprised when they experience the “health effects” of chiropractic care.

A body in balance can do constructive things. If you’ve got chronic health problems that don’t respond well to medications; if you’re not thrilled about the idea of having to take daily medications to manage your symptoms; or if you’ve just never been to a chiropractor before, today’s a great day to discover the many benefits of chiropractic care!

The new study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Pain Society. According to Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, more than half of the study’s participants taking Xyrem reported a 30% improvement in pain, and experienced less fatigue and stiffness.

Sounds promising… until you read the end of the article. I simply couldn’t ignore this tiny nugget of information about the “new” wonder drug:

Xyrem is a central nervous system depressant also known as gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB). GHB, sometimes referred to as the “date-rape drug,” has a high potential for abuse … At doses similar to those used in the treatment of narcolepsy, Xyrem can cost $500 a month.”

So let me get this straight… Jazz Pharmaceuticals (the maker of Xyrem), is suggesting that Fibromyalgia sufferers pay them $500 per month to take the date-rape drug (also known as Cherry Meth, Easy Lay, and Liquid Ecstasy) every night before going to bed?

Now read over this excerpt from the Institute for Substance Abuse Treatment Evaluation (ISATE):

Am I the only one who thinks that this is a really bad idea?

The x-ray on the left is a photo I’ve referenced before demonstrating a “near perfect” cervical spine. It’s great for comparison purposes. Notice how the two red dots are lined up above one another; this is normal.

The x-ray on the right belongs to a female patient who came to me with one simple question: “Why does my neck hurt?” Now there are lots of reasons why a person can experience neck pain… Stress, muscle strain, and arthritis are frequent culprits that are often managed with over-the-counter pain relievers.

In this patient’s case, however, pain meds aren’t going to do much good. How lined up are her red dots? She has the second most severe case of Forward Head Posture that I have ever seen (here’s the first). Upon measurement, her head is displaced two full inches in front of her body.

The scariest part about it is that you can’t really tell how extreme it is by looking at her.

Finding the cause of your health problem is important. Now that we know exactly what’s causing this patient’s pain, we can work to improve the structural damage.

How about you, though… Who’s working to find the cause of your ailment?

The X-rays above are a comparison of two side views of the neck. The image on the left is a near perfect example of a healthy cervical spine. The image on the right belongs to a patient who has experienced debilitating headaches for decades.

The top bone of the neck is C1 (atlas). In the left image, notice how the space above and below the atlas is relatively equal. It’s designed this way to allow for healthy movement of the head. In the right image, take a close look at the yellow arrow. How does this space compare to that of the blue arrow?

Often times patients with this type of misalignment will have tension at the back of the head or upper neck, with pain that can migrate upwards towards the top or side of the head. They can suffer with these symptoms for weeks or even years!

But here’s what you may find most surprising… some physicians, might consider this x-ray presentation to be normal. Since there are no visible fractures, tumors, or complete dislocations, the film is labeled with terminology like “unremarkable.”

Many patients will accept this diagnosis, or lack there of, and go on living with chronic headaches because one doctor told them there’s nothing wrong. In reality, there is something wrong, but not all doctors look for the same things.

That’s why “second opinions” are so important. So if you haven’t been getting the answers you’re searching for, it might be time to think outside the box and try something new.

Might I suggest Upper Cervical Care?

]]> http://drtanase.com/2010/03/11/headaches-at-the-back-of-the-head/feed/ 3 Dr. Tanase http://drtanase.com/2010/03/04/do-you-have-menieres-disease/ http://drtanase.com/2010/03/04/do-you-have-menieres-disease/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:39:37 +0000 Dr. Adam Tanase http://drtanase.com/?p=6792 ]]> I found this article from the International Tinnitus Journal on PubMed referencing a condition known as Cervical Oto-Ocular syndrome. COO is believed to be a precursor to Meniere’s Disease.

420 patients were observed over a 4-year time span. They suffered from symptoms like fullness of the ear, fluctuating hearing, vertigo, and tinnitus. Among this group of participants, 233 of them were found to have a problem within their upper cervical spine.

This finding suggests that more than half of Meniere’s Disease and COO sufferers have a functional disorder within the upper region of the neck that contributes to their symptoms. The authors found that, “The functional disorder of the upper cervical spine is regarded as a potential threat to the Eustachian tube.”

As an Upper Cervical chiropractor, I’ve met with a variety of patients who suffer from vertigo, ringing of the ear, and Meniere’s Disease. Interestingly, many have responded very well to Upper Cervical Care, and get favorable results. While not all types of Meniere patients will respond the same way, this study offers encouragement to sufferers who are searching for lasting relief.

If you’d like some help finding an Upper Cervical doctor in your area, email me.

In 2007, the Journal of Human Hypertension published findings from a pilot study that demonstrated the effectiveness of Upper Cervical Care on high blood pressure. The surprising results of the study swept news stations across America, and a number of media outlets covered the story.

While those broadcasts are easily accessible on the Internet, I recently found the researchers themselves being interviewed on Chicago Tonight. It provides valuable insight into the physiology of an atlas vertebra. One quote by the cardiologist who investigated the original claims really stands out, so I’d like to share it with you:

“This vertebra is unique in the sense that it is movable… and let’s not forget it’s not just nerves going through there; there are arteries and there are veins going around there… and it turns out that neurosurgeons have observed in surgical procedures that if they move that vertebra a bit, they unkink vessels, and all of a sudden blood flow improves to the brain… intra-operatively, blood pressure drops significantly.”

- George Backris, M.D. (Cardiologist)

If you have some time, I encourage you to watch the 14-min video.

St Louis area residents interested in receiving Upper Cervical Care are invited to click here: