Carpal Tunnel Prevention

Question: "do you have a good regimen to help prevent carpal tunnel and my right wrist?"

This is very interesting question for the doctor. Most of the questions that I get involved the treatment of the specific condition. However, in this instance the patient is interested in the prevention of carpal tunnel syndrome. In order to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome we have to understand what causes carpal tunnel syndrome. Innocence carpal tunnel syndrome results in pressure on the median nerve as it passes through the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel is a space that is created by the carpal bones (The small bones in the wrist) on one side and the flexor retinaculum (A sick tendinous band on the inside of the rest just under the skin.) on the other side. e. Carpal tunnel syndrome can occur when either of these structures become inflamed and these intern compress the median nerve.

An easy way to tell if you have carpal tunnel syndrome is to tap your wrist just below the transverse crease ( the deep line that separates your palm and wrist.) most people with carpal tunnel syndrome will experience a sharp tingling sensation into their thumb index finger and middle finger. Another tale tale sign of carpal tunnel syndrome is atrophy ( wasting)of the thenar eminence ( the fat part of your hand by your thumb. it is important to make the distinction between carpal tunnel syndrome and simple wrist pain. Not all people with wrist pain have carpal tunnel syndrome.Now, let's talk about preventing it. Carpal tunnel syndrome is usually a result of overuse of the flexor compartment of your wrist. Or, in other words overuse of the muscles that allow you to make a fist. A good preventative strategy is to strengthen the extensor compartment of the rest or, in other words the muscles that allow you to open your hand. 

My usual recommendations to patients is to put a rubber band around your fingers and to simply open it. If you use a lot of keyboards at work. Then you are probably pacing the underside of your wrist against a hard surface. Try to be careful not to do this for too long or use a soft gel pad under your wrists to keep your wrists out of the flexed position and more straight. There are some wonderful ergonomic keyboards out there that assist you and keeping your wrists straight and not flexed. Another good strategy to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome is to sit in the 90, 90, 90 position. In other words, sit up straight keep your shoulders at 90°, elbows at 90° and back at 90° also, make sure that your monitor is directly in front of you with the center of the screen in the center of your games. 

As strange as it seems another good strategy to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome is to look at your diet. Often our diets containing foods that promote inflammation like sugar and trans fat and foods that contain too much grain products. Green product's contain a lot of omega six fatty acids. Omega six fatty acids eventually turn into the biochemical precursors of inflammation. Conversely green leafy vegetables and fruits and fish contain omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids eventually turn into the chemical precursors that suppress inflammation. Your omega 62 omega-3 fatty acid ratio should be 3 to 1. Otherwise you're shifting the balance of essential fatty acids inside your body towards inflammation. If you think that you might have carpal tunnel syndrome. Have yourself evaluated by a qualified physician. 

Chiropractors that do work with the extremities are particularly qualified in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome with Yelp to use of drugs and surgery. The typical treatments from the chiropractor for carpal tunnel syndrome include extremity adjusting, therapeutic exercises, and changes to lifestyle and diet.

If you have a question that you would like answered by Dr. Brockman, just send an email to caitlin@drpeterbrockman.com and we will get you an answer!

Natural Anti-Imflammatory Recipe - Ginger & Turmeric

Ginger and Turmeric Slushy

It is normal for our bodies to go through the process of inflammation following exercise and trauma. In fact, your body needs inflammation to repair cartilage, muscle, ligaments and bones to heal properly. With this uncomfortable but necessary process comes pain and discomfort so the question is:

What can I do for the discomfort?

Most anti-inflammatory medications inhibit the enzymes that cause inflammation, inhibiting your body's natural healing process. These anti-inflammatory medications provide only short term relief and do not offer any long term relief benefit. Most people are better off with something that will support the body's natural healing process.

This recipe does just that. It supports the healing process, while suppressing some of the pain and discomfort that comes with it. 

Ginger contains volatile oils that evaporate at room temperature. These oils help to complete the natural inflammation healing process, this is the unpleasant bite that you taste. That burn you feel indicates the presence of natural oil. 

Turmeric has potassium needed for muscle relaxation and potent anti-oxidants called curcumins. When curcumin and sequiterpenses are combined, they can stimulate your body’s natural suppression of cancer in the body. 

Although pineapple sweetens the concoction, it also has a compound called bromelain which is a proteolytic enzyme which breaks down proteins that cause inflammation after their job is complete. Pineapple is also great for wound healing and has anti tumor activities. 

Throw these ingredients into one smoothie and you get natural relief without thwarting your bodies natural healing process.  

1 Whole Pineapple: cored
1 Ginger Root (about the size of your hand)

1 tbsp of Turmeric powder

2 cups of ice
2 cups of water

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until it turns into the consistency of a slushy. Strain and collect the liquid discard the pulp. Keep a pitcher covered in the refrigerator and serve one glass a day. 

If it burns your mouth some: IT'S WORKING! This tells you that the oils have not evaporated. If you absolutely must make it more tolerable, you may add two tablespoons of raw honey. 

For the video of Dr. Brockman demonstrating just how to do it click here.

Contraindications: do not consume this smoothie if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, bleeding gums, blood in urine, gallstones, or bile obstruction.

Defeat High Blood Pressure with Chiropractic

Did you know that getting your neck adjusted could lower your blood pressure? Yes, it's true according to a recent study that was published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension (volume 8 number 5 May 2006). Researchers found that anatomical abnormalities (subluxations or misalignments) of the cervical spine at the level of the Atlas vertebra are associated with relative ischemia of the brainstem circulation and increased blood pressure. Manual correction of this misalignment has been associated with reduced arterial pressure. This pilot study tested the hypothesis that correcting the misalignment of the Atlas vertebra reduces and maintains improved blood pressure. The study included 50 patients that were not taking medication and suffered from stage I hypertension. These patients were evaluated using a randomized, double blind, and placebo controlled study design at a single center. Patients received no medication during the eight week study session. After baseline measurements of their blood pressure were taken, they received either chiropractic adjustments or a placebo procedure. Considering that the technique performed was very gentle (no cracking), it was difficult or impossible for the patients to distinguish between the real chiropractic adjustment and false procedure. Statistical analysis was performed comparing the baseline with the results after the eight weeks of visits. The study demonstrated an 8/5 mm reduction in pressure at eight weeks versus the placebo group. In other words, a patient that entered the study with a blood pressure of 147/92, at the end of the study had a blood pressure of 130/82. The only treatment received was chiropractic adjustments to the cervical spine.

In my opinion, this is a landmark study. Chiropractic adjustments not only treat neck and back pain. They can affect the human physiology at all levels. Thomas Edison stated over 100 years ago: " The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease." This is what chiropractors do everyday all over the world!!

Stay Sharp! Stay Adjusted!

Kids are back in school and as parents we are trying everything to keep our kids focused. On the other hand, we are on the constant look out for anything to keep us energized enough to keep up with them. From school to football practice, dance, then back home to dinner and homework we are not on our “A game” and as a result, our reaction time suffers.  Eating healthy meals, staying active, and getting plenty of sleep are all great ways to encourage sharp minds for everyone. But you probably didn't know that getting adjusted can aid your response time. Your brain has two functions: it tells your body what to do and then responds to what it was told to do. Your spinal cord is a major component of the nervous system: it comes together into the brain at the base of the skull. The spinal cord is in the protective shell of the spinal column that consists of vertebrae which are stacked one on top of the other and separated by flexible discs. If the flow of information to or from your body is affected by a misalignment of the vertebra then those misalignments can affect your response time. Here is a good example: your neck can be misaligned which then pinches a nerve that goes to your arm and causes numbness and tingling everywhere that nerve goes in your arm. Typically I can adjust these patients, taking pressure off of the nerve. This makes the numbness and tingling go away, restoring sensory function to the arm enabling sharp response time. So get adjusted and stay sharp!

LOW VITAMIN D UPS RISK OF ALLERGIES IN KIDS

Low vitamin D increases the likelihood that children will develop allergies, according to a paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Researchers looked at the serum vitamin D levels in blood samples from more than 3,100 children and adolescents and 3,400 adults.

No association between vitamin D levels and allergies was observed in adults. But for children and adolescents, low vitamin D levels correlated with sensitivity to 11 of the 17 allergens tested, including both environmental allergens and food allergens. For example, children who had vitamin D deficiency were 2.4 times more likely to have a peanut allergy than were children with sufficient levels of vitamin D.

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology – February 17, 2011;Epub.
www.aaaai.org/members/jaci.stm

ADJUSTMENTS QUELL HEADACHE

ADJUSTMENTS QUELL HEADACHE

If you live in Clermont Fl and suffer from headaches you may want to read this:

Chiropractic care is beneficial for many patients with headache, according to a large review study published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.

To find studies on chiropractic care for headache, researchers searched 8 major databases: 1) MEDLINE, 2) EMBASE, 3) Allied and Complementary Medicine, 4) The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, 5) Manual, Alternative and Natural Therapy Index System, 6) Alt HealthWatch, 7) Index to Chiropractic Literature, and 8) The Cochrane Library.

After pooling findings from 21 reports, the study’s authors concluded that “evidence suggests that chiropractic care, including spinal manipulation, improves migraine and cervicogenic headaches. The type, frequency, dosage, and duration of treatment(s) should be based on guideline recommendations, clinical experience, and findings. Evidence for the use of spinal manipulation as an isolated intervention for patients with tension-type headache remains equivocal.”



JMPT – June, 2011;34:274-289.
www.jmptonline.org

Like apples? they can keep your body strong:

APPLE PEELS KEEP MUSCLES STRONG

Apple peels contain a substance that may ward off muscle atrophy and promote muscle growth, according to a University of Iowa study.

“Muscle atrophy causes big problems. It’s also very common — it affects most people at some point in their lives, during illness or aging. But, there's no medicine for it,” notes Dr. Christopher Adams, senior author of the study. “We studied muscle gene activity in people with atrophy and used that information to find chemicals that might block atrophy. One of those chemicals was especially interesting. It’s called ursolic acid and it’s particularly concentrated in apple peels.

“The old saying goes that ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away.’ So, we tested ursolic acid in mice, and found that it increased the size and strength of their muscles,” Adams adds. “It did this by helping two hormones that build muscle: insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) and insulin. Because ursolic acid increased muscle, it reduced muscle atrophy. Surprisingly, it had some other beneficial effects in mice: for example, it reduced body fat, and lowered blood glucose and cholesterol.”

Cell Metabolism – June 2011

Things you need to know about acetaminophen

Published ahead of printing on August 13th, 2010, the study is titled “Acetaminophen Use and Risk Asthma, Rhinoconjuctavitus and Eczema, and adolescence: ISAAC Phase Three” the object of the study was “to investigate the risks of asthma and other allergic disorders associated with the current use of Acetaminophen and 13 to 14 year old children in different populations worldwide.”
This was no lightweight study conducted in a small town or with a small subject population. Participants were 322, 959 adolescent children from 113 centers in 50 countries. Study findings included the following:
• “the reported use of Acetaminophen in the past 12 months was associated with the significant exposure- dependent increase risk of current asthma symptoms.”
• “The reported use of Aceteminophen the past 12 months was associated with the significant dose- dependent increased risk of current symptoms of rhinoconjuctovitus (allergy) and eczema”
• “These findings extend are previous observation from ISAAC Phase Three that the use of Acetaminophen in infancy and current use was associated with the increase risk of asthma symptoms in 6-7 year old children.”

Rather than cover your pain with medication adress the cause. Chiropractic adresses the root cause of your pain, eliminating the need to put chemicals in your body.

Questions? Send Dr. Pete an email: drpete@drpeterbrockman.com

Adjustments help low back pain

South Lake Wellness & Injury Center
SMT SAFE AND EFFECTIVE FOR CHRONIC LBP

A large review study published by the Cochrane Library confirms that chiropractic is as effective as common medical interventions, such as painkillers, for chronic low-back pain. It is also safe.

The review authors looked at 26 randomized controlled on spinal manipulative therapy (SMT), including a total of 6,070 participants.

“The effectiveness of this therapy has long been controversial,” says review lead author Sidney Rubinstein, a chiropractor in private practice and a postdoctoral researcher at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam. “Some proponents are slowly starting to view it as effective for chronic low-back pain. The results of this review will support that view.”

“The decision to refer for manipulation should be based upon costs, preferences of the patient and providers, and relative safety of all treatment options,” adds Dr. Rubinstein

Cochrane Library – February 16, 2011:CD008112.
www.thecochranelibrary.com

Chemistry governs threshold of pain.

Question: How can it be that my husband can withstand pain after injuries and during sicknesses while I suffer horrible pain at the same type of problems.

Answer: We all have different pain thresholds. There are many different theories on why this occurs. Some researchers propose that we are born with different natural abilities to neutralize pain. Other researchers feel we develop our abilities to neutralize pain. Yet other researchers feel we develop our abilities to combat pain through our life experiences and exposures. A 2001 study led by Dr. Jon-Kar Zubiata offers insight into the way the human body dampens pain by producing and wielding natural chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins.

The study demonstrated that the painful stimulus caused notable chemical activity in regions of the brain associated with sensation and emotion.

The experimental subjects demonstrated great individual variability in their responses to pain, though all had pain stimulus of similar intensity.

The differences in chemical activity among the subjects ..."may help explain why some people are more sensitive, or less sensitive, than others when it comes to painful sensations. We showed that people differ both in number of receptors that they have for these anti-pain chemicals, and their ability to release the anti-pain chemicals themselves."

In this study, both of these factors determine the emotional and sensory aspects of a painful experience.

These variations may explain why some people respond to pain medication and some don't. It may also explain why some people develop chronic pain conditions and others don't.

It is also important to add that the neurological signal for pain is in direct competition with the neurological signal for movement when they meet at the spinal cord. Most of us have been punched in the arm by a friend or sibling. The natural way to relieve this pain was by rubbing the area that was punched. All of us know that this somehow makes the pain go away. What most of us don't realize is that we are activating the motion sensors in the damaged tissue which in turn competes with the pain signals when they reach the spinal cord. This results in a net reduction of the pain signals that reach our brain.

Another interesting fact is that 70% of the motion sensors in our body are contained within the joints of the spine. Chiropractic adjustments activate motion sensors which cancel pain signals. It now becomes abundantly clear why chiropractic adjustments are so effective in reducing pain.

If you live in Clermont Florida and you are interested in chiropractic or chronic pain reduction, feel free to schedule a free consultation at my office by calling 352-241-4111.

In Health Care, Value Extends Beyond Money

I, Peter Brockman, focus on the value my patients place in my services. Not in the monetary sense, but ethically. Many comments I have heard over the years are, “I have never been to a doctor who would sit and talk to me about my condition for so long” or “no one else has expended so much energy trying to figure out my problem.” I began to realize that people were more interested in our values as a company and less about the monetary exchange. As a result, at South Lake Wellness & Injury Center, we have dedicated ourselves to increasing that value.

In the office, I have invested in many things:
• VAX-D: The only FDA approved decompression table on the market. It has approximately 70% success rates and improvements in functional outcomes for patients suffering from disc related chronic low back pain. This is a scientifically validated device in our office, which costs about 1/10 of the price of surgery with more than double the success rate.
• MyoVision, range of motion/surface EMG: Every doctor must have a scientific way of measuring progress. A cardiologist can look at the changes in an EKG to see if his treatment plan is successful. Much in the same manner, we use our range of motion and surface EMG testing to determine if our treatment plan is successful. Not only are our patients able to feel better, they can scientifically see that they are getting better!
• Digital x-ray: This removes the old-fashioned wasteful process of developing large pieces of film. Additionally, if you would like a copy of your films. It’s as easy as putting the pictures on a compact disc.
• Digital records: Are you going on a long vacation? Do you have to see a specialist? Our records are digital; they can be printed immediately.
• Our staff: I have received many comments on the great staff in my office. Linda, Nicki, Sarah, and Sandy: Thank you for your hard work and dedication!

Outside of the office, I have dedicated myself to helping the public and those in my profession.
• I served as a lobbyist for the Florida Chiropractic Association to the Florida legislature. The main emphasis of this trip was to increase access to chiropractic and emergency medical services for those people involved in motor vehicle accidents. I was in Tallahassee educating the legislatures on public health ramifications of the removal of PIP insurance from automobile insurance policies.
• I am secretary of the Central Florida Chiropractic Society.
• I am the only chiropractor in Clermont to have received the advanced certification of competency in whiplash and brain traumatology from the Spine Research Institute of San Diego.

At South Lake Wellness & Injury Center, we are dedicated to helping you feel your very best. We strive to have our patients value us as much as we value them.

Meet Dr. Pete!

Mine is not only a story of why I became a chiropractor but how I realized my destiny at the age of 12 years old. I was experiencing breathing difficulties. After visiting several doctors and being diagnosed with chronic bronchitis, their only recommendations for treatment were antibiotics and inhaled medications. They granted me temporary relief but my problem was not solved.

My mother had been visiting a chiropractor in downtown Orlando for low back pain. She shared with him my problems. He suggested that she bring me in for a consultation. But, I was not suffering from back pain?! Since my medications were not solving my breathing difficulties, we decided we had nothing to lose. Little to mine or my mothers knowledge, the path of my life was about to be realized. My first visit was comprised of many tests: range of motion, reflexes, muscle strength, posture and coordination to name a few. Then, he took x-rays of my entire spine. On my second visit, I remember my x-rays hanging on a giant view box with several marks and angles locating my misalignments. He found that my rib cage was not functioning properly. He explained that my breathing problems were caused by my ribs and vertebrae not moving properly because of their misalignment.

The chiropractor reviewed my x-rays each visit to locate my misalignments and performed very precise adjustments. After each adjustment, he would carefully check the motion and position of these vertebrae to ensure the proper correction had been made. He explained that all chiropractors should take special care to be as precise as possible; otherwise, the adjustment would be of no benefit to the patient.

After just three short weeks of treatment, I threw my medications in the trash never to use them again. Ever since I could remember, I had always wanted to become a doctor. But at the age of 12, I knew my destiny was to become a chiropractor! I was amazed that he was able to fix my problems, while only using his hands. He had such a profound effect on my life without the use of drugs or performing surgery.

20+ years later, I'm pleased to announce that I am opened my own practice! South Lake Wellness and Injury Center will be opened its doors in September of 2004! I am a chiropractor that focuses on and listens to your needs. I will prescribe a course of treatment that will best serve you. I promise that I will carefully examine and treat you with the same precision and expertise as the man that changed my life.
Visit me at www.drpeterbrockman.com or call 352-241-4111 to schedule a consultation

Study provides evidence that Chiropractic reduces blood pressure

Study provides evidence that Chiropractic reduces blood pressure

Did you know that getting your neck adjusted could lower your blood pressure? Yes, it's true according to a recent study that was published in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension (volume 8 number 5 May 2006). Researchers found that anatomical abnormalities (subluxations or misalignments) of the cervical spine at the level of the Atlas vertebra are associated with relative ischemia of the brainstem circulation and increased blood pressure. Manual correction of this misalignment has been associated with reduced arterial pressure. This pilot study tested the hypothesis that correcting the misalignment of the Atlas vertebra reduces and maintains improved blood pressure. The study included 50 patients that were not taking medication and suffered from stage I hypertension. These patients were evaluated using a randomized, double blind, and placebo controlled study design at a single center. Patients received no medication during the eight week study session. After baseline measurements of their blood pressure were taken, they received either chiropractic adjustments or a placebo procedure. Considering that the technique performed was very gentle (no cracking), it was difficult or impossible for the patients to distinguish between the real chiropractic adjustment and false procedure. Statistical analysis was performed comparing the baseline with the results after the eight weeks of visits. The study demonstrated an 8/5 mm reduction in pressure at eight weeks versus the placebo group. In other words, a patient that entered the study with a blood pressure of 147/92, at the end of the study had a blood pressure of 130/82. The only treatment received was chiropractic adjustments to the cervical spine.
In my opinion, this is a landmark study. Chiropractic adjustments not only treat neck and back pain. They can affect the human physiology at all levels. Thomas Edison stated over 100 years ago: " The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease." This is what chiropractors do everyday all over the world!!
To speak with Dr. Peter Brockman regarding this or any other medical issues, please call his office, South Lake Wellness & Injury Center, to set up an appointment at 352-241-4111 or email him via his web site at www.drpeterbrockman.com or clermontchiropractor.blogspot.com.

Chiropractic: Alternative or Mainstream?

Did you know that the US Government has been closely looking at complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)? In fact there is an entire department over at the NIH ( national institutes of health) that do nothing but study CAM. The white house has a special commission that has been tasked to Study CAM as well. Chiropractic used to be a part of this conversation, but to my surprise we have been slowly leaving the CAM discussion for the past 7 years. This trend started back in 2001. See below:

Archive
WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION
on
COMPLEMENTARY and ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE POLICY
Meeting Topic I:
CAM: Understanding Coverage and Reimbursement
and
Meeting Topic II:
CAM: Research Challenges
Volume I
Monday, May 14 2001
8:00 a.m.

Excerpt

 Dr Alen Korn:" I would like to clarify that the Association does not consider chiropractic services to be complementary or alternative for the purpose of this statement.  I believe that chiropractic has become a stakeholder in the politically dominate health system of the United States.  The NIH Office of Alternative Medicine defines complementary and alternative medicine as healing resources outside the politically dominant system.”


MR. PIZZORNO**: Dr. Korn, you made a very provocative statement that I would like you to address further. You said you do not consider chiropractic part of CAM anymore, that is part of the dominant health care system at this point. Why do you think that and what was the transition that chiropractic went through?
DR. KORN*: The chiropractors have gone through a very painful transition and one that I would wish none of you would have to do. It is obviously a very complex topic that I will try to summarize at a very, very high level.
What we have observed over the past many years, four or five really, and we have really actually come to understand quite clearly through some direct discussions with the American Chiropractic Association, is the profession has evolved in a way that we find to be quite intriguing.
They have now adopted in large measure a collaborative model of care, in which what the chiropractic community offers is merged with what the allopathic and osteopathic communities offer. And you have a unique opportunity we see here in blending all of the science often rendered by physicians, who sort of stand behind a medical record, it gets between them and the patient, and another body of physicians, and that is how chiropractors are defined in most states, who really are very expert in hands-on care, nutritional counseling, lifestyle things. What we have observed, the data would suggest that with that kind of an approach, patients are far more likely to change their behavior, to not smoke, to lose weight, to exercise, to eat properly than being told to do so by someone sitting on the other side of the desk, writing a progress note in a allopathic office.
So, we could talk a great deal more about it, but we have become impressed with the contribution that that model of care has in the global picture. Again, that is overlaid on a long history and many other things, but that is why, at this point, it probably makes sense to put them outside of the CAM circle.

** Joseph E. Pizzorno, Jr., N.D., appointed by President Clinton in December 2000 to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and by President Bush¹s administration to the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee in November 2002, is one of the world¹s leading authorities on science-based natural medicine.

Allan Korn, M.D., is Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for more than 99 million – nearly one-in-three of all Americans.






So, There you have it according t the chief medical officer of blue cross blue shiel chiropractic is no longer "alternitive" But rather part of the "mainstream."

The truth about VAX-D

VAX-D (Vertebral Axial Decompression) is a non-invasive treatment for the management of patients with chronic back pain and leg pain from lumbar disc or facet joint pathology.

There is no universally accepted algorithm for the care of patients suffering from discogenic back pain. Considerable controversy exists with regards to the efficacy and appropriateness of the various available treatment modalities aimed at relieving pain via neural decompression. Many patients are not satisfied with the effectiveness of the treatment choices offered like drugs, manipulation, physical therapy, exercise, epidural injections, acupuncture, IDET, percutaneous/laser/arthroscopic and open discectomy, and spinal fusion.

In the many patients, acute symptoms resolve in one to two months. Those who fail at the primary care level are routinely referred to orthopedists or neurosurgeons, especially if there is an abnormal CT scan or MRI. The majority are not ideal surgical candidates, and a rush to surgery in the poorly selected patient can led to “failed back syndrome”.

The general goal of surgical treatment is to achieve decompression. It is acknowledged that the many forms of traction, gravity inversion, etc., have not demonstrated the ability to lower disc pressure. Clinical study has documented VAX-D’s ability to lower the intradiscal pressure (Ramos G., Martin W.) and decompress the lumbar discs with no surgical intervention, and no disruption of normal biomechanics.

Physicians can now effectively manage acute and chronic low back problems conservatively. Practitioners can readily acquire competence in the VAX-D protocol and establish their practice as the treatment center of choice for the growing number of low back pain patients.

Low back pain has become one of the most significant medical and socioeconomic problems in the world. Despite the overwhelming statistics on the problem, the number of chronic cases continues to grow. Standardizing the evaluation and care of LBP patients is critical. There is a need for early, effective, target therapy for the treatment of disc pathology.

VAX-D therapy addresses the biomechanical aspects of discogenic disease and should be considered for patients with chronic low back pain with or without radiculopathy if their symptoms have not resolved in the first four weeks.

The VAX-D system is being utilized by leading physicians and surgeons in the fields of Orthopedics, Neurosurgery, Pain Management and Occupational Medicine and Family Practice. VAX-D is being prescribed in the United States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, Colombia, Australia, Spain and Italy. In the many back pain centers across the US, VAX-D has been adopted as the primary treatment for the management of chronic disc disease.

VAX-D therapy is a safe, cost effective, non-surgical treatment that offers new hope for the millions of people who suffer from low back pain everyday. VAX-D celebrates a proud history and commitment to the patients for whom we care, and for those whose lives we can have forever changed.

For further information visit: www.drpeterbrockman.com

The truth about car accidents!

It is possible to be injured in a car accident and not even know it. Frequently, I have a new patient with unexplained neck pain. During our consultation, I find out that they were involved in a car accident and never had their spine checked afterwards. Now they are in pain and their injuries will take longer to correct.
Many of us have been tricked into thinking we can not sustain permanent injury from a car accident. Unfortunately, this misconception has led to unnecessary pain and suffering. Several years of science and research has shown us that any car accident has the potential of causing a problem that will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Even what may seemingly be a “minor” accident can cause damage. Consider this: If your car is stopped and someone hits you while moving at 5 mph your neck and head are accelerated from zero to 5 mph in a few milliseconds. As a result of this rapid acceleration, the muscles and ligaments in your neck are rapidly stretched way beyond their normal length to the point of biomechanical failure. Picture this: a 20 lb. weight is tied to a piece of string. If the weight is gently lowered, the string can hold it. But, when that weight is dropped the string breaks. In this same way, the supporting fibers of your spine can be damaged. Believe me, this will cause problems.
Here’s the good news. According to The British Journal of Medicine, Chiropractic is the only effective treatment for whiplash (1). Injuries from a car accident are quite simple to detect. After an examination and x-rays, we can determine if you need prompt attention. If you require treatment from another specialist, I can give you a referral. Or, you may be fine and need no care at all. My feeling is it is better to be safe than sorry. So the choice is yours, you can have your spine checked immediately when it is quite easy to correct. Or you can wait for it to become a painful problem.

Dr. Peter Brockman is the clinic director at South Lake Wellness and Injury Center. He is a graduate of West Orange High School in Winter Garden, Florida. He received a Bachelor of Science in microbiology from the University of South Florida. Dr. Brockman continued his studies at the Cleveland Chiropractic College of Los Angeles where he received a Doctorate in Chiropractic. Dr. Brockman is also a graduate of the San Diego Spine Research Institute and is certified in treating whiplash and brain traumatology.