Posts by Dr. Mark Holland

We see a lot of individuals with headaches in our North St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Holland has been able to support many of them. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one half of all adults struggle with some type of headache condition, so this really isn’t surprising. One of the most prevalent sorts of headaches that our patients endure is cervicogenic headache which, luckily, chiropractic can usually help.

Cervicogenic Headaches Defined

A cervicogenic headache is one that starts from issues in the cervical spine. It can be thanks to an issue with either the spine itself (in particular, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it may be attributed to a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This dysfunction in your spine leads to compression or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can bring on headache pain.

How do you distinguish if the headache you are feeling is a cervicogenic headache? Other than being given a diagnosis from a healthcare specialist, a typical symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or pain in your neck. This is sometimes coupled with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

How Chiropractic Helps

Considering cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever issue is initiating them is corrected, it is critical to receive treatment as opposed to just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an effective solution, and one that offers a great deal of relief.

In one study published in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers followed 80 people who had regular cervicogenic headaches. Fifty percent received chiropractic care and the other fifty percent underwent light massage therapy. Each participant was assessed 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment and it was found that chiropractic delivered the optimum effects.

Specifically, this study uncovered that chiropractic adjustments gave patients more pain relief and diminished the frequency of headaches that occurred. Furthermore, it also reduced the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. Holland can do for you and your headache pain, call us today. We'll do our best to get you the pain relief you deserve!

References

• Haas M, Schneider M, Vavrek D. Illustrating risk difference and number needed to treat from a randomized controlled trial of spinal manipulation for cervicogenic headache. Chiropractic & Osteopathy 2010 18(9).
• World Health Organization. (2012, October). Headache disorders. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs277/en/

We see a number of patients in our North St. Louis, MO office with ankle sprains but Dr. Holland has had a lot of success helping them heal more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic help?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), approximately 25,000 people in the US sprain their ankles every day. In fact, these injuries make up nearly half of all sports injuries, causing people to spend time away from the activities they enjoy most.

Like any injury, there are many causes of ankle sprains. The most frequent is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can take place due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over a period of time, and exercises that increase the risk for this type of ankle sprain include running and jumping. You're also at risk if you have previous ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Treatments and Dr. Holland Help?

A paper published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to discover chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. The authors recruited 33 individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 who had a history of ankle inversion sprains, who were experiencing tenderness and/or pain, and had not re-injured the area in the previous six weeks.

Eighteen of the participants were assigned to receive rehabilitation and the other 15 individuals received chiropractic in addition to rehab. Each individual had five full weeks of therapy, with the rehab group receiving treatment seven days a week and the rehab plus chiropractic group receiving treatment six out of the seven days.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Ankle Sprains

Researchers found that the individuals who participated in both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Furthermore, no negative effects were reported, showing that chiropractic is safe.

If you're near our location in North St. Louis, MO and you're struggling with an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and moving... literally!

Citations

• American College of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Ankle sprains and the athlete. Retrieved from https://www.acsm.org/docs/current-comments/anklesprainstemp.pdf
• Lubbe, D et al. (2015, January). Manipulative therapy and rehabilitation for recurrent ankle sprain with functional instability: a short-term, assessor-blind, parallel-group randomized trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 38(1), 22-34, doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2014.10.001

Regrettably, a large number of our North St. Louis, MO patients know the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. Holland has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of research studies have confirmed that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Chiropractic and Disc Herniations

In one report, a group of doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were dealing with pain in their lower back and legs due to a herniated disc (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each person then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the area of his or her disc problem.

Results were obtained after the initial treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to determine what type of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to treating this particular problem. Among the information collected was the person's self-reported changes in both low back and leg pain.

Investigators found that, as a whole, the study participants reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the study participants claimed that their pain "improved" within the first three months, with 88% still citing improvement one year after their first treatment session.

Even those test subjects who were defined as "chronic" still claimed an improvement in pain at a rate of 89% one year beyond when treatment first began. This is the same positive effect that was found in the following case study.

Case Study Results

In this study, a 26-year-old male had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the low back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had suffered with these problems for more than two years after sustaining a sports injury, and his herniated disc was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic care, "The patient responded favorably and his multi-symptom complex resolved within 90 days of treatment." In addition, the patient was still experiencing relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how useful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and reducing the symptoms they bring about. So, if you are suffering from back ache caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic can be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our North St. Louis, MO office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for a consultation or appointment.

References

• Leemann S, Peterson CK, Schmid C, Anklin B, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective observational cohort study with one-year follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37(3):155-163.
• Polkinghorn BS, Colloca CJ. Treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation using activator methods chiropractic technique. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1998;21(3):187-196.
  

We see quite a few back pain patients in our North St. Louis, MO practice, and Dr. Holland has been able to help a lot of them get relief through various chiropractic techniques. However, dealing with back pain doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people utilize both types of care with great success.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well Together

In a study published by the academic journal Spine investigators¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who reported both acute pain and limited function due to back pain. Some of the patients engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the remainder received chiropractic care along with standard medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which patients fared better.

The authors found that the group that received standard medical care along with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the group that got medical care alone; 73 percent reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment only group who reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at two and four weeks.

Therefore, incorporating these two forms of treatment can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering benefits when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medical approaches can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical treatment.

Where Chiropractic Care Is Successful

Although it might seem as if each approach plays a 50-50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic care has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study conducted at UCLA² that was published in the American Journal of Public Health found that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical treatment.

According to the experts, the main aspects that patients liked over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can improve their health on their own, as well as discussing more carefully what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Certainly, the techniques associated with chiropractic are quite different than those offered with medical treatment, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on only relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves finding the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are tackling the problem at its source.

Furthermore, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to natural forms of treatment such as chiropractic. This means fewer negative side effects from prescriptions and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health problems. Give our North St. Louis, MO clinic a call today at (314) 588-9100. We'll do everything we can to help you get and remain free from back pain.

References

1. Goertz CM, Long CR, Hondras MA, Petri R, Delgado R, Lawrence DJ, Owens EF, Meeker WC. Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study. Spine 2013;38(8):627-634.
2. Hertzman-Miller RP1, Morgenstern H, Hurwitz EL, Yu F, Adams AH, Harber P, Kominski GF. Comparing the satisfaction of low back pain patients randomized to receive medical or chiropractic care: results from the UCLA low-back pain study. American Journal of Public Health 2002;92(10):1628-1633.

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you've been in a car crash, you have to know that you don't have to suffer from chronic pain.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Chronic Pain after an Auto Injury

We see many auto injury sufferers in our North St. Louis, MO office, and many of these individuals are experiencing chronic pain caused by an old collision. As a matter of fact, research shows that a significant percentage of rear-end collisions cause pain and disability even ten years after the original injury.

Dr. Holland is here to help you avoid developing chronic pain by helping to restore the healthy function of your spine soon after a collision.

The most common causes of chronic pain are reduced flexibility of your spine and the formation of scar tissue in your spine. The ligaments of your spine can easily be damaged during a crash, and chiropractic care works by reducing inflammation and restoring normal motion.

We Can Help With Chronic Pain and Auto Injury Recovery

If you're nearby our North St. Louis, MO office, and you've been hurt in a crash, don't wait to get attention. Dr. Holland is here for you. Give us a call today at (314) 588-9100 for an appointment or for more information.

Each year, there are millions of auto accidents in the world, and a significant number of men and women end up getting injured in a crash. Although most crashes are "minor," chronic back and neck pain are still common health problems. The good news is that chiropractic care is a fantastic way to correct these kinds of injuries.

We've helped many auto collision patients in our North St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Holland has been helping people with these types of injuries since 2000. During a car accident, your body is exposed to powerful forces that it simply wasn't built to deal with. These forces place stress and strain on your neck, shoulder, and back, and can cause damage to the ligaments that hold your neck and back together. A collision can result in a wide range of pain issues.

A ligament tear in the neck can result in pain, swelling, and radicular pain in the arm and hand. Chiropractic care works well for these types of injuries, because chiropractic concentrates on restoring the healthy function and flexibility of the injured structures.

Dr. Holland Can Help Patients Recover From an Auto Accident

Dr. Holland, your North St. Louis, MO chiropractor, can assist by decreasing irritation in the damaged area and can help reduce the formation of scar tissue that can cause chronic pain and disability.

You don't have to suffer from auto injury pain. Discover more about how we can help you get well here or call Dr. Holland today at (314) 588-9100.

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly typical problem reported by people after a car wreck, and it can be challenging for some health practitioners to identify the source of the problem. Complicating the matter, oftentimes you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.

Dr. Holland has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what produces these types of symptoms. During a crash, the tissues in your spine are commonly stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve injury. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause issues in other parts of your body.

For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a crash are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Dr. Holland sees this very frequently in our North St. Louis, MO office.

Research Supports Chiropractic Lessens TMJ Pain After an Auto Accident

Research indicates that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms begins in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. Holland will work to restore your spine back to health, alleviating the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Holland finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy state.

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you've been hurt in a car crash, Dr. Holland can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 2000, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for an appointment or consultation.

Ciancaglini R, Testa M, Radaelli G. Association of neck pain with symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction in the general adult population. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 1999;31:17-22.

Brantingham JW, Cassa TK, Bonnefin D, Pribicevic M, Robb A, et al. Manipulative and multimodal therapy for upper extremity and temporomandibular disorders: a system review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013;36(3):143-201.

Most of us suffer from back problems at some point in our lives. Experts estimate that nearly 1 out of 3 adults deal with some kind of regular spinal pain. Dr. Holland and our talented staff see many back pain cases in our North St. Louis, MO office, and we've found that chiropractic care is an effective way to not only help you heal from back pain, it's also a great way to avoid future episodes.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Chronic Back Pain

A recent article from the University of Utah verifies what our North St. Louis, MO patients have experienced: your North St. Louis, MO chiropractor is the best first choice for an event of back pain.

In this study, 747 participants were treated for low back pain. Each person was assessed based on the first person they sought treatment with, whether it was a primary care physician, a chiropractor, a physiatrist (also known as a rehabilitation physician), or a physical therapist.

What the authors found is that the subjects who first saw a chiropractor had fewer advanced imaging tests and fewer surgical procedures.

Other studies have found the same results. A 2012 study found that chiropractic patients had the best functional recovery and pain relief for chronic back pain.

Chiropractic works by restoring the natural, pain-free function of your spine. Dr. Holland and our team help your body heal with gentle chiropractic adjustments that don't use drugs or risky surgical procedures.

Dr. Holland Can Help People Find Comfort From Back Pain

If you live near our North St. Louis, MO office and would like to get out of pain, give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for an appointment.

Reference

Fritz JM, Kim J, Dorius J. Importance of the type of provider seen to begin health care for a new episode of low back pain: associations with future utilization and costs. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. 2015(Sep 29).

Cecchi F, et al. Predictors of functional outcome in patients with chronic low back pain undergoing back school, individual physiotherapy or spinal manipulation. European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine 2012;48:371-8.

Of the roughly 2 million rear-end collisions in the United States annually, a significant number of people find themselves enduring chronic pain and impairment. Some studies have shown that 18% of people are still in pain one year after a crash.

Dr. Holland sees many auto accident cases in our North St. Louis, MO office, and we often see people who have been hurting for many years and have not been able to find help. Dr. Holland has great success in helping these patients.

The Cause of Chronic Pain

During an accident, the tissues of your spine can be sprained or torn. The damaged area becomes swollen and inflamed and sends pain signals to the spine and brain.

Pain tells your nervous system that something is wrong, which tells the muscles in the damaged area to contract to shield the area from further injury.

If the damage isn't managed right away, a negative cycle develops. The damaged tissues keep sending pain signals and each time, your nervous system responds. This brings about a feedback loop in your nervous system that specialists refer to as "central sensitization." Your nervous system actually becomes oversensitive to any kind of stimulation, leading to chronic pain.

Dr. Holland is able to help this kind of issue, as chiropractic care is a proven way to restore the nervous system's healthy functioning. Research shows that adjustments are successful at reducing pain from auto collisions and shows that chiropractic actually has positive effects on the pain centers of the brain.

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and have been in a collision, you don't have to suffer with chronic pain. Give Dr. Holland a call today at (314) 588-9100 for a consultation or appointment.

• Ferrari R. A prospective study of the 1-year incidence of fibromyalgia after acute whiplash injury. Rheumatic & Musculoskeletal Disease 2015; doi:10.1136/rmdopen-2014-000007.
• Stone AM, Vicenzino B, Lim EC, Sterling M. Measures of central hyperexcitability in chronic whiplash associated disorder - A systematic review and meta-analysis. Manual Therapy 2012;18(2):111-7.

The latest figures show that there are over 500,000 spinal surgeries each year in the US. Although in some cases it's necessary to have surgery for back pain, the fact is that if you can avoid this type of invasive procedure, you're often better off.

Dr. Holland is here to make sure that people in North St. Louis, MO have a healthy, non-surgical option for back pain. We've helped many people recover from back pain without the need for surgery.

There are countless reasons to avoid unnecessary medical treatments: Surgeries often result in a longer recuperation time and complications, neither of which is a desirable scenario. Fortunately, as one medical study has found, chiropractic care may actually keep you out of the operating room completely.

In this paper, about 1,900 workers with back injuries were evaluated over a three year period. When the workers first sought care with a surgeon, over 42 percent ended up having surgery for their pain. For subjects who saw only a chiropractor, only 1.5 percent had surgery!

These findings indicate that chiropractic care can help you heal from back pain without surgical treatments.

If you live in the North St. Louis, MO area, Dr. Holland can probably help you with your back pain. Give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for more information or an appointment.

Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, et al. 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.