complementary medicine: why should acupuncture, herbs and ...€¦ · alternative medicines...

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CHIROPRACTIC

Confidential and proprietary material of

True Wellness™ Inc. All Rights

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Complementary and

Alternative Medicines

Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) is defined as a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine.

Examples of CAM in the United States include Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Herbal Supplementation, Massage, Yoga, and Meditation.

According to a nationwide government survey released in May 2004, 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over use some form of CAM.



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Quotation

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.

–Thomas EdisonConfidential and proprietary material of


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More than 20 million

Americans will seek

Chiropractic care this year. Back symptoms are the most common

cause of disability for individuals under the age of 45.

80% of Americans will suffer from back painat some point in their lives.

20% of all American military medical discharges are due to low back pain.

9 out of 10 chiropractic users feel their

treatment is effective.Confidential and proprietary material of


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Complimentary and Alternative

A study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has found that 63% of people who visited a rheumatologist for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgiaalso sought some form of complementary and alternative medicine.

Chiropractic was not only the most sought after form of CAM for those patients, but it was also among those found to be most helpful for these conditions.



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Chiropractic

Chiropractic is the art and

science of introducing

motion into joints when

there is none or little

present.

Unlike prescribing a

specified pill for a

specified condition, each

practitioner of chiropractic

is slightly unique.

The chiropractor uses an

adjustment to introduce

this motion. Confidential and proprietary material of


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Chiropractic Conditions

Chiropractic is used to treat problems with muscles, joints, bones, and ligaments.

Chiropractic has been proven to be as effective for migraine headaches as the leading pharmacological intervention, without the side effects.

Chiropractic has long been the method of choice for acute and chronic low back pain not extending past the knees.



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Chiropractic

When a joint is injured by one mechanism or

another, the muscles surrounding that joint tend to

spasm, resulting in further restriction of that joint.

This resultant spasm is very painful.



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Chiropractic

If left untreated, adjacent joints

are left to compensate for this

loss of motion with an increased

load placed upon them.

This results in early

degeneration of these adjacent

joints, increasing their

predisposition to injury,

increasing the associated

muscle spasm, and perpetuating

this cycle.



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Chronic Pain

and Chiropractic

70 million people, are affected by chronic pain. It

disables more people than cancer or heart disease and

costs the American people more than both combined.

Many people suffer with chronic pain because they are

unaware of treatment options that can help them live

more normal lives.Confidential and proprietary material of


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Healthy Vs Non-Health X-Rays

Note the lack of disc space and presence of bone spurs in the image on the right.



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Causes of Chronic Pain

People in their 20s and 30s are more likely to suffer from debilitating headaches. The incidence of back pain peaks in middle age. The elderly often face arthritis and other painful conditions, like stenosis.

The causes of pain aren't so surprising. As people age, their sins catch up with them. A lifetime of minor injuries -- a stress fracture from jogging in your 30s, a bad back from lifting a couch in your 40s -- can add up to serious pain.



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Women and Chronic Pain

Multiple studies support the fact that while women are

more likely to seek treatment for their chronic pain, they

are also more likely to be inadequately treated by health-

care providers.



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Women and

Chronic Pain

Typically, a woman expresses her pain experience in emotional terms, she may even cry which leads the health care provider to assess that the pain is psychologically-based without any physiological basis. This is often true in conditions such as fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, pelvic pain and TMJ.



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What is the Cost of Pain? Chronic pain has been said to be

the most costly health problem in America. Estimated annual costs, including direct medical expenses, lost income, lost productivity, compensation payments, and legal charges, are about $90 billion.

As many as 45 million Americans have chronic, severe headachesthat can be disabling. Migraine sufferers lose more than 157 million workdays because of headache pain.



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The Terrible Triad

Pain may cause a person to become preoccupied with the pain, depressed, and irritable. Depression and irritability often leads to insomnia and weariness, leading to more irritability, depression, and pain. This state is called the "terrible triad" of suffering, sleeplessness, and sadness.

You may have chronic pain if your pain has lasted more than six months and is not relieved by medical and/or surgical care.



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NSAID’s Common (Poor) Option

Over-the-counter painkillers --NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) like aspirin, Advil, Aleve, and Motrin -- can pose a significant risk of gastrointestinal bleeding.

The costs of treating complications from NSAIDs are more than $2 billion a year, almost the same amount that's spent on these drugs.

According for the CDC, over 16,500 deaths are directly related to complications of NSAIDs each

year.



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Chiropractic Safety As with any form of therapy that can help you, there is a

potential for harm. The good news is that the risk is extremely low.

According to Journal SPINE, the probability that a chiropractic treatment will cause injury severe enough to warrant further medical attention was approximately one in three million (or about .00000033).

The yearly incidence of hospitalization due to NSAID use in patients with varying forms of Arthritis was approximately 1.58%.

Chiropractors pay some of the lowest malpractice insurance of any medical practitioner.



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Doctor of Chiropractic Training

Chiropractors must be licensed, requiring 2 to 4 years of undergraduate education, the completion of a 4-year chiropractic college course, and passing scores on National and State

examinations.



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