CF 145: Kids Still Hurt, Manipulation For Lumbar Radiculopathy, & Lack Of Attention On The Boards For Biopsychosocial Matters
Today we’re going to talk about how kids can hurt, SMT for chronic lumbar radiculopathy, lack of testing on biopsychosocial matters.
But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music
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I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast.
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Do it do it do it.
You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #145
Now if you missed last week’s episode , we talked about some of the most common musculoskeletal surgeries and the incredible lack of research backing them up. We also talked about how chiropractic performs when lined up against multidisciplinary treatment. Check it out after this one. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class.
While we’re on the topic of being smart, did you know that you can use our website as a resource? Quick and easy, you can go to chiropracticforward.com, click on Episodes, and use the search function to find whatever you want quickly and easily. With over 100 episodes in the tank and an average of 2-3 papers covered per episode, we have somewhere between 250 and 300 papers that can be quickly referenced along with their talking points.
Just so you know, all of the research we talk about in each episode is cited in the show notes for each episode if you’re looking to dive in a little deeper.
On the personal end of things…..
I think I’m getting busier. Feels like it anyway. 143 last week and the new patients are staying steady. Which is a good thing. I have the kind of practice that depends on new patients. When you’re evidence-based and you don’t make a ton of long-term recommendations…..you don’t make patients think they need to depend on you every week for the rest of their lives….well then, you have a constant turnover of patients.
My longest recommendation is for about a 3 month plan. Honestly, most people are feeling so good that they don’t wrap up a 3 month plan. Some of you agree with that and some of you will say I should be holding them to the program but, research is clear on this.
We should be teaching patients to self-manage at home. Not depending on us. And that’s part of it. Once they start self-managing and they’re feeling great, where’s the motivation to pay someone to mostly do what they’re doing at home already? I get it. And I don’t fuss with patients over their schedules when they’re doing amazing in the first damn place. There’s a point where that type of fussing and borderline bullying starts to look like greed. And I’m sure none of us want to look greedy. At least I don’t.
That’s the epitome of being patient-centered, right?
But the point is, patient-centered, evidence-based chiropractors need a steady stream of new patients.
Now don’t get me wrong; I have wellness patients. They just aren’t the bulk of my practice. If I just depended on wellness/maintenance patients, we’d be in a world of hurt up in here, up in here.
Not long ago, evidence-based chiros threw monkey poo at maintenance. Then Andres Eklund came around and cleaned up the monkey mess. Then a systematic review recently came out saying maintenance care can now be considered evidence-based. It felt like slipping into a warm coat in the winter, ya know. Lol.
Now, that doesn’t mean once a week for life like the subluxation slayers lay on people. For the right population, once every month or two….or maybe every three months….that does indeed make difference and make some sense. If you’re unfamiliar with Andres Eklund, just go to our episodes link at chiropracticforward.com and use the search function there to search for maintenance care or Nordic papers and dive in. It’s wonderful stuff.
I love it when the hard work has already been done by people smarter than me. It’s good stuff.
Outside of all that boring stuff, still just trying to stay strong and healthy. I’m exercising much more regularly and really watching what I’m eating. It’s paying off too. I lost 7 pounds last week. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking…..how could Jeff get any sexier than he already is but I’m just going to say, hold my beer and watch. My michelob ultra beer that is…..because, you know….I’m on a diet and all. Lol.
I have one kid at Texas Tech where COVID is spreading like a bad STD and then I have another in person in junior high. So far in the first 5 weeks they’ve had 2 teachers and 2 kids out with the Rona. That may sound like a lot but, honestly, this junior high has about 1400 kids so……that’s not much.
The kid at Tech thinks he wants to come home every 2 weeks for the weekend. I love seeing the little knucklehead but another part of me is like…..you stay over there on that side of the house…..I’ll be on this side. He’s a big hugger. I’m normally good for a hug and all but…..Rona has me trying to stay healthy. You can’t turn down a hug from your kiddo though. Still……it’s a bit nerve wracking.
I tell people and you may have heard me say it but, most folks do fine if they get COVID and I expect I’ll do fine as well. Other than being out of shape and overweight, I’m not particularly unhealthy. Most folks, if they get it, they just stay home in bed, fluids, all that rigamarole but no big deal really.
Me….and most of you….we have to close down out businesses essentially. I have 14 employees, y’all. They have families. We bill out anywhere from $20k-$25k per week typically. At minimum, I’m probably out for 2 weeks. That means missing out on up to $50k in billing.
One word, two syllables….Day-um….Hell no. I’ll just do everything I can to stay healthy in the first place. Even if some knuckleheads don’t understand or get it.
Speaking of…..These anti-maskers….good Lord. I don’t know how they are where you live but here in Texas, did you know all kinds of degrees have morphed into now allowing the owner of the degree to now be an expert on epidemiology? Very powerful degrees. I’ve never heard of a degree that morphs into epidemiological expertise but evidently, it’s a fact these days.
I saw a great quote from a fellow chiro that went something like this, “I guess I just don’t understand the argument anti-maskers make in general. Regardless of anything, for me, as a healthcare professional, I need to be flexible and consider being wrong as part of my logic. Simply put, maybe masks work, maybe they don’t but it really doesn’t matter what you believe. The question sreally is, if you’re wrong can you live with the consequences?
I wear a mask because I believe it reduces the risk of exposure for me and to those around me, but more importantly, if I’m wrong I won’t hurt anybody at all. Including myself. If you don’t wear a mask and you’re wrong, then the effects can be devastating during a really off day when things go they way they’re not supposed to go.
Or, how about the sneeze test? Have someone sneeze on you with a mask on and then have them sneeze on you without a mask on.
Which do you prefer?
End of story.
Let’s get on with it. We have some pretty cool stuff to breeze through today.
Item #1
Let’s start with this one called “Musculoskeletal pain distribution in 1,000 Danish schoolchildren aged 8–16 years” by Fuglkjaer et. al. it also has Jan Hartivigsen on it as well. It was published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies in August of 2020(Fuglkjaer S 2020).
Hot tamale, hot tamale, that tamale….it’s hot…
Why They Did It
The objectives were to group children aged 8 to 16 according to their distribution of pain in the spine, lower- and upper extremity, determine the proportion of children in each subgroup, and describe these in relation to sex, age, number- and length of episodes with pain.
How They Did It
Data on musculoskeletal pain from about 1,000 Danish schoolchildren was collected over 3 school years (2011 to 2014) using weekly mobile phone text message responses from parents, indicating whether their child had pain in the spine, lower extremity and/or upper extremity. Result are presented for each school year individually.
What They Found
- Around 30% reporting no pain, around 40% reporting pain in one region, and around 30% reporting pain in two or three regions.
- Most commonly children experienced pain from the lower extremities at about 60%, the the spine at about 30%, and then upper extremities at about 23%.
- Twice as many girls reported pain in all three sites
Wrap It Up
Danish schoolchildren often experienced pain at more than one pain site during a schoolyear, and a significantly larger proportion of girls than boys reported pain in all three regions. This could indicate that, at least in some instances, the musculoskeletal system should be regarded as one entity, both for clinical and research purposes.
Item #2
This one is excellent. It’s called “Spinal manipulation for subacute and chronic lumbar radiculopathy: a randomized controlled trial” by Ghasabmahaleh, et. al. and published in The American Journal of Medicine on September of 2020(Ghasabmahaleh S 2020).
Sizzlin, smokin’. some stout stuff, y’all.
Why They Did It
The authors wanted to evaluate the efficacy of spinal manipulation for the management of non-acute lumbar radiculopathy.
How They Did It
- It was performed in a university hospital
- It was a randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms.
- 44 patients with unilateral radicular low back pain lasting more than 4 weeks were randomly allocated to manipulation and control groups.
- The primary outcome was intensity of the low back pain on the VAS scale
- Secondary outcome was the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire score
- In addition they measure spinal ranges of motion.
- All patients had physiotherapy
- The manipulation group got three sessions of manipulation therapy, one week apart.
- For manipulation, they used Robert Maigne’s technique.
What They Found
- Both groups experienced a significant decrease in back and leg pain
- However, only the manipulation group showed significantly favorable results in the Oswestry scores, and the straight leg raise test.
- All ranges of motion increased significantly with manipulation but the control group showed favorable results only in right and left rotations and in extension
- Between-group analyses showed significantly better outcomes for manipulation in all measurements with large effect sizes
Wrap It Up
They wrap it up by saying, “Spinal manipulation improves the results of physiotherapy over a period of three months for patients with subacute or chronic lumbar radiculopathy.”
I say hell with that conclusion. Lol. I say that PT ADDS TO spinal manipulation. I’ve told my patients for years now that there is great research for spinal manipulation and there is great research for exercise. It’s not about one or the other. They’re not mutually exclusive. The research is best for combining the two.
If you go to a PT and just get exercise, that’s not the full meal deal. You’re a taco or two short of a combo meal there.
If you go to a chiropractor and only get adjustments, yes, there should be some relief but, again, you a taco short. You could be better.
You don’t want evidence-based chiros out there in the world wishing you didn’t suck so much. Get on the exercise rehab. Learn. I didn’t used to know much about it. Hell, if I’m being honest, there’s A LOT more I still need to learn but I’m a hell of a lot better than I once was.
Before we get to the next paper, I want to tell you a little about this new tool on the market called Drop Release. I love new toys! If you’re into soft tissue work, then it’s your new best friend. Heck if you’re just into getting more range of motion in your patients, then it’s your new best friend.
Drop Release uses fast stretch to stimulate the Golgi Tendon Organ reflex. Which causes instant and dramatic muscle relaxation and can restore full ROM to restricted joints like shoulders and hips in seconds.
Picture a T bar with a built-in drop piece. This greatly reduces time needed for soft tissue treatment, leaving more time for other treatments per visit, or more patients per day. Drop Release is like nothing else out there, and you almost gotta see it to understand, so check out the videos on the website.
It’s inventor, Dr. Chris Howson, from the great state of North Dakota, is a listener and friend. He offered our listeners a great discount on his product. When you order, if you put in the code ‘HOTSTUFF’ all one word….as in hot stuff….coming up!! If you enter HOTSTUFF in the coupon code area, Dr. Howson will give you $50 off of your purchase.
Go check Drop Release at droprelease.com and tell Dr. Howson I sent you.
Item #3
Last one today is called “The prevalence of psychosocial related terminology in chiropractic program courses, chiropractic accreditation standards, and chiropractic examining board testing content in the United States” by Gliedt et. al. published in Chiropractic and Manual Therapies on 21st of August 2020(Gliedt J 2020).
On the hottest, freshest frijoles for the Forward fans.
Why They Did It
Chiropractors treat spine complaints and therefore should be trained in the full spectrum of the biopsychosocial model. This study examines the use of psychosocial related terminology in United States doctor of chiropractic program (DCP) curricula, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) standards, and the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) test plans.
How They Did It
Nineteen academic course catalogs, CCE curricular standards and meta-competencies, and NBCE test plans were studied
Wrap It Up
Despite evidence suggesting the influential role of psychosocial factors in determinants of health and healthcare delivery, these factors are poorly reflected in United States DCP curricula. This underappreciation is further evidenced by the lack of representation of psychosocial terminology in NBCE parts III and IV test plans. The reasons for this are theoretical; lack of clarity or enforcement of CCE meta-competencies may contribute.
So when you hear people ask what we can do to make this profession better, stronger, and more respected…..this is just one more thing that can be done.
Our institutions can recognize the biopsychosocial aspect of chronic pain, they can teach it, they can teach yellow flags, and then they can test it.
Then we can look at making entrance into the schools a little more stringent and we can look at taking the subluxation slayers and spine whisperer courses out of our colleges. If someone wants to learn how to be doctor-centered and use x-rays to manipulate patients out of thousands of dollars a year, they need to be learning that garbage outside of an accredited chiropractic college. It has no place in our institutes beyond some historical perspective.
Over and out. Mic drop, bam, shazam, ala cazam.
That’s it. Y’all be safe. Keep changing the world and our profession from your little corner of the world. Continue taking care of yourselves and taking care of your neighbors. Tough times are upon us but, the sun will shine again. Trust it, believe it, count on it.
Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week.
Key Takeaways
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The Message
I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots.
When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few.
It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient.
And, if the patient treats preventativly after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!
Key Point:
At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints….
That’s Chiropractic!
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Connect
We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward.
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About the Author & Host
Dr. Jeff Williams - Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine - Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger
Bibliography
Fuglkjaer S, V. W., Hartvigsen J, Dissing KB, Junge T, Hestbaek L, (2020). "Musculoskeletal pain distribution in 1,000 Danish schoolchildren aged 8–16 years." Chiropr Man Therap 28(45).
Ghasabmahaleh S, R. Z., Dadarkhah A, Hamidipanah S, Mofrad R, Najafi S, (2020). "Spinal manipulation for subacute and chronic lumbar radiculopathy: a randomized controlled trial." The American Journal Of Medicine.
Gliedt J, B. P., Holmes B, (2020). "The prevalence of psychosocial related terminology in chiropractic program courses, chiropractic accreditation standards, and chiropractic examining board testing content in the United States." Chiropr Man Therap 28(43).
