Recent Posts

If you suffer from fibromyalgia, you are not alone, as Dr. Green sees many patients with this particular syndrome in our Estero, Bonita Springs chiropractic practice. As a matter of fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that roughly two percent of all adults in the United States have fibromyalgia. Thankfully, chiropractic care is one treatment option that can provide positive results.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps Fibromyalgia

In a paper published in mid-2015, 215 adults with fibromyalgia were assessed based on factors ranging from pain to quality of sleep to the levels of depression and anxiety they felt. Then they were split into two groups with one group receiving a multi-modal therapy program for three months and the second group receiving the same approach with the addition of chiropractic adjustments (specifically, to the upper neck tissues) for the same length of time.

The subjects who received chiropractic adjustments combined with the multi-modal therapy approach reported greater results in all areas (pain, sleep, depression, and anxiety) at 12 weeks post-treatment when compared to the study patients who received multi-modal therapy without chiropractic. In addition, those positive results were long-lasting as the patients reported continued improvement one full year later.

Fibromyalgia can significantly decrease your quality of life, both psychologically and physically. If you're dealing with fibromyalgia, we might be able to help.

You don't have to suffer! To find out what Dr. Green can do for your fibromyalgia pain, call our Estero, Bonita Springs chiropractic office today.

Resources

• Fibromyalgia. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm on November 2, 2015.
• Moustafa I & Diab A. (2015, July). The addition of upper cervical manipulative therapy in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Rheumatology International;35(7):1163-74.

When performing sports activities that require a lot of lower body movement, like football, soccer, and basketball, it's not at all uncommon to suffer some type of injury to your hips or legs. Between pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, knee injuries, and more, many players have found themselves out of commission. Dr. Green has seen all of these problems in our Estero, Bonita Springs patients. Fortunately, chiropractic care can help prevent some of these injuries from developing and research proves it.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Sports Injuries & Recovery

Dr. Green keeps current with all of the latest scientific research, and in a paper published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia studied 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers. Roughly one-half were placed in a control group and the other half were put in a therapy group that received sports chiropractic care at regular intervals. During the first six weeks, this meant getting care once every week. The following three months consisted of an adjustment every two weeks before decreasing those to one visit monthly for the final three months of the study.

Researchers noted that there was a "significant" difference in the number of lower limb strains the players received in the treatment group when compared to the control. Furthermore, they noticed that the subjects who received chiropractic also had fewer weeks of missed practice and games as a result of non-contact knee injuries. This led them to conclude that sports chiropractic intervention should be added to "the current best practice management."

Every major sports organization in the US and the US Olympic Team has chiropractors on staff for their players, because they know that chiropractic works. If you live near our office in Estero, Bonita Springs and would like to see if Dr. Green can help you boost your performance or reduce sports injuries, give our office a call today at (239) 495-1166 for an appointment.

Dr. Green Can Help People Find Relief From Sports Injuries and Recover Faster

If you're troubled with severe pain, Dr. Green and our staff are here to help you heal. Give our Estero, Bonita Springs office a call today at (239) 495-1166 for an appointment today.

Original Study

Hoskins W, Pollard H. The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010;11(64).

We work with many back pain patients in our Estero, Bonita Springs chiropractic office, and Dr. Green and our staff uses a variety of techniques to help get you out of pain and restore your spine's normal, healthy function. We find spinal decompression to be a highly effective approach.

Understanding Spinal Decompression Therapy

To help you better understand spinal decompression therapy, think of the discs in your spine like small balloons filled with jelly. When you compress them (which occurs due to normal living, sustaining an injury, or other medical conditions), they can protrude, placing pressure on the nerves in your spine. This affects your brain's ability to communicate with tissues in the rest of your body.

If the pressure on the discs becomes too high, the discs can herniate or protrude. This removes the cushion between your vertebrae and can cause pain. The purpose of spinal decompression therapy is to alleviate this pressure to help restore your body's function and also reduce your level of pain.

Can Spinal Decompression Therapy Help Me?

Spinal decompression therapy relieves disc pressure through the use of a specially designed table that gently elongates your spinal column through slow and controlled movements. This decreases the pressure placed on your discs. Some studies show an increase in disc height by as much as 1.3 millimeters after just six weeks of this treatment.

If you're wondering if spinal decompression therapy could help you feel and perform better, simply call our Estero, Bonita Springs office and schedule an appointment with Dr. Green today. Your optimal health is our number one priority!

Resources

Apfel CC, Cakmakkaya OS, Richmond C, et al. Restoration of disk height through non-surgical spinal decompression is associated with decreased discogenic low back pain: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010;11(155). doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-155

In our Estero, Bonita Springs practice, it's common for us to see patients troubled with sciatic nerve pain, and Dr. Green has helped many of these people recover with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic so helpful to those who suffer with sciatica? For starters, it shortens their time of recovery and a Norwegian research study confirms it.

In the study, which took place in a Norwegian hospital's orthopedic department, researchers looked at 44 patients who had abrupt low back pain that was clinically diagnosed as acute sciatica. The individuals were all treated by a chiropractor, with the average follow-up being two years after treatment.

The researchers discovered that all but two patients went back to work after receiving chiropractic care, which is a 95% success rate. What's more, the average amount of time that the individuals spent off work "was reduced by two thirds as compared with that associated with conventional medical treatment."

Considering that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 170,450 days of work were lost in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is almost 112,500 work days that could potentially be recovered each and every year solely by receiving chiropractic care. Not only could that increase productivity, but it would also reduce costs to businesses and workers from lost work.

If you live in Estero, Bonita Springs and you suffer from sciatica, Dr. Green is here to help. Give us a call at (239) 495-1166 and we'll work with you to find the root cause of your sciatic pain and get you back on the road to recovery.

Orlin JR, Didriksen A. Results of chiropractic treatment of lumbopelvic fixation in 44 patients admitted to an orthopedic department. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2007;30(2):135-139.

Neck and headache pain are common problems that affect millions of people around the world. If you suffer from this type of condition, you're not alone. The good news is that chiropractic care is an excellent way to not only treat these common problems, but also help prevent future episodes.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Neck Pain and Headaches

For many years, patients with neck and headache pain in Estero, Bonita Springs have been helped by the chiropractic adjustments of Dr. Green. Our experience is supported by a recent review done in Canada that found that non-invasive, non-drug solutions are the best choice for neck and headache pain.

The report looked at 15 studies from 1990 to 2015 and found that conservative treatment comprised of chiropractic adjustments, exercises, and stretches was suggested before resorting to drugs or more invasive procedures.

Past scientific studies have shown that chiropractic is effective and safe for neck pain and many other health conditions.

We Can Help Clients Find Relief From Neck Pain and Headaches

If you're suffering with neck pain or headaches, Dr. Green and our staff are here to help you feel better. Give our Estero, Bonita Springs office a call today at (239) 495-1166 for an appointment today.

Reference

Varatharajan S, Ferguson B, Chrobak K, et al. Are non-invasive interventions effective for the management of headaches associated with neck pain? An update of the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration. European Spine Journal 2016; February 6:1-29.

There are many different kinds of headache, but one of the most common types is known as "cervicogenic headache," or those that start in your neck.

Dr. Green sees a lot of people in our Estero, Bonita Springs office who are struggling with frequent, reoccurring headaches. Thankfully, chiropractic adjustments can often help, potentially reducing these types of headaches by 50 percent, and research confirms it.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Cervicogenic Headaches

A study was conducted involving 80 participants who reported experiencing at least five cervicogenic headaches during the prior three months. The objective was to see how effective chiropractic care was for this type of head pain, as well as to ascertain the number of treatment sessions necessary to achieve a positive effect.

The subjects were split into four separate groups, so that each group was similar in age, gender, number of cervicogenic headaches, and their intensity. Of the four groups, two engaged in chiropractic treatments and two received light massage. Furthermore, one group assigned to each treatment received eight sessions and the other patients received twice that amount.

Each person was assessed based on head pain, neck pain, and disability prior to the study and 12 and 24 weeks after treatment was complete. The researchers found that those who received chiropractic as opposed to massage reported fewer headaches at the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, improvements were maintained when checked six months after treatment ended.

Additionally, participants who were taking medications for their headaches were able to lower their intake after completing the study. Those who received chiropractic had lower medication usage 24 weeks post-study.

We Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Head Pain

Dr. Green has helped many people who were suffering from headaches in our Estero, Bonita Springs office. Call us today at (239) 495-1166 for more information or for an appointment.

Reference

Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, Aickin M, Vavrek D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal 2010; 10: 117-128.

Dr. Green sees many people weekly in our busy Estero, Bonita Springs chiropractic office who are searching for relief from the pain and agony they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the scientific literature verifies that chiropractic is an effective way to treat herniated disc problems.

Don't Suffer! Dr. Green and Chiropractic Care Helps With Disc Herniation

One particular research study involved 27 people, 8 male and 19 female, who had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirming a disc herniation in either their neck or lower back. The people documented that they were experiencing pain, limited range of motion, and sensory problems bad enough to keep them off work.

Over the course of the research period, the participants were managed using one of two common chiropractic practices: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the patients who had herniation issues in the low back.

Each individual was treated four or five times per week for the first two weeks, then three times weekly, and then as needed for the remainder of the study. Depending on the seriousness of the disc herniation, treatment ranged anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being conducted at a variety of stages to identify what impact, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Herniated Disc

The authors discovered that 80 percent of the participants obtained a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other symptoms, such as numbness. Additionally, 77 percent of these individuals also showed MRI evidence that their disc herniation was either reduced or resolved completely. This resulted in 78 percent of the study participants being able to return to their place of work and led the researchers to conclude that chiropractic care is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and suffer from chronic back pain and are near Dr. Green in Estero, Bonita Springs, contact our office today to see what chiropractic can do for you!

Reference
BenEliyahu, DJ. Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical follow-up: study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniations. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1996;19(9):597-606.

In our Estero, Bonita Springs office, we see a lot of people who are suffering from back pain, and a few of these folks have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Fortunately, Dr. Green has helped many people get relief without the need for any type of surgical procedure. The scientific research agrees with the success we see in our practice. One research study published in the journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first step in overcoming with your back issues may literally keep you off of the operating table.

In this scientific study, medical professionals from Dartmouth reviewed statistics from about 1,900 workers from the state of Washington who first saw either an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractor for their low back issues. They then looked at three years' worth of follow-up medical data to ascertain whether the patients wound up having back surgery in an attempt to treat the problem.

What the researchers found was that about 43% of the men and women who first consulted with a surgeon for their back pain ended up in surgery in that 3-year time frame, whereas only 1.5 percent of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:

"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."

These are remarkable outcomes. Consulting with a chiropractor significantly decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.

Let's also keep in mind this important detail: this study was carried out by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most distinguished medical journal on spinal injury.

The Risks of Surgery

Any surgery has risks, but a serious downside associated with spinal surgery is that there's a very high rate of failure. In an important analysis in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:

"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."

The experts in this same study concluded:

"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."

As a chiropractor, Dr. Green is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last resort for treating back pain. Chiropractic works to restore your spine to its normal function--without the need of high-risk surgery or drugs--and many scientific studies have confirmed the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.

If you live in Estero, Bonita Springs and you need relief for your back pain, give our office a call today at (239) 495-1166 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!

Studies

• Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine 2013;38(11):953-964.
• Mannion AF, Elfering A. Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment. European Spine Journal 2006;15(Suppl 1):S93-S108.
  

Shoulder Pain is a common symptom after an auto injury, and it's something that Dr. Green sees often in our Estero, Bonita Springs office. Chiropractic can be very helpful for shoulder pain symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes shoulder pain and why chiropractic works.

There are at least two ways that you can develop shoulder pain after a crash: by direct trauma to the shoulder or by radiating pain from the neck.

Direct trauma can be caused by hitting your shoulder on a hard surface in the car during the impact, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end crash. With this type of trauma, you'll often be aware of the pain shortly after the wreck.

More frequently, Dr. Green finds that shoulder or arm pain doesn't immediately appear after a crash, but starts a few days or weeks after the injury. This type of shoulder pain actually starts in the cervical spine. Injured ligaments or muscles in your neck can pinch nerves in your neck, causing numbness, tingling, or soreness in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated many types of shoulder problems in our Estero, Bonita Springs office. This process involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural flexibility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

You don't have to suffer from shoulder pain. Dr. Green is conveniently located in Estero, Bonita Springs to help you recover, whether you've been in an auto collision or not. Dr. Green will first determine what's causing your pain and then work to restore your body to its natural functioning. Give our office a call today at (239) 495-1166 to make an appointment.

Asthma is a significant worry for many people in Estero, Bonita Springs and for a society as a whole, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that this problem currently affects almost 19 million adults and 7 million children in the US. A full-blown asthma attack likely means a emergency room visit. Thankfully, Dr. Green has helped many folks in Estero, Bonita Springs get relief from asthma symptoms.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Asthma

The medical literature verifies what we see in our practice. For example, a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy assessed 31 adult asthma patients after getting four weeks of chiropractic treatments. The researchers reported that the patients who received chiropractic adjustments had a 34% decrease in asthma symptoms.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics printed another asthma-based study, except this one involved children. In this paper, the 36 kids ranged from 6 to 17 years in age and their asthma was regarded as either mild or moderate in severity.

After 12 weeks of chiropractic, as a whole, the children reported a higher quality of life and a lower level of severity. As a bonus, they also reported that they relied less on their bronchodilator and these positive effects lasted one year after chiropractic care was complete.

We Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Asthma

So, whether you're 7 or 70, if you have asthma attacks, be sure to contact Dr. Green in Estero, Bonita Springs and schedule an appointment today. We'll do what we can to help you breathe easier!

References

• Asthma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Bronfort G et al. (2001, July-August). Chronic pediatric asthma and spinal manipulation: a prospective clinical series and randomized clinical pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;24(6):369-77
• Nielsen N et al. (1995, January). Chronic asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation: a randomized clinical trial. Clinical and Experimental Allergy;25(1):80-8