Posts by Dr. Mark Holland

When you're trying to sustain your family, take care of your home, and pay all of your bills on time, every day at your job counts. Work injuries can be a huge problem for many folks, and we see many of these types of injuries in our North St. Louis, MO office. Dr. Holland appreciates your situation and is here to help.

The benefits of chiropractic care for work injuries are well-documented. A 2013 research paper involving 651 adults who were suffering with either back or neck pain found that the people who didn't see a chiropractor missed work at twice the rate of those who were seeing a chiropractor.

So, why don't more people use chiropractic?

According to the respondents in this report, two of the primary factors were that they thought they needed a medical referral for chiropractic care (which is typically no longer true) and they overestimated the costs associated with chiropractic treatment sessions by almost 70 percent.

The truth is, chiropractic patients actually spend less on care than medical patients, plus they are less likely to use drugs for their symptoms.

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you've been injured at work, we can help. Give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for an appointment.

Resources

"Thousands of Minnesotans with Back and Neck Pain Don't Seek Treatment." (2013, June 12). ChiroCare.

Approximately 2.3 million people are hurt each year in automobile accidents in the U.S. While most people are able to heal from their injuries relatively quickly, many are left to deal with chronic pain and disability. We see many of these patients here in our North St. Louis, MO office. Fortunately, Dr. Holland is here to help you recover from your auto injury.

The science confirms what we see in our office: A British study was carried out on 28 people diagnosed with chronic whiplash syndrome. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments and 93 percent of them experienced pain relief following their adjustments, even though 43 percent of whiplash sufferers overall usually never find relief. This confirms that chiropractic is a great way to avoid long-term pain after an auto injury.

It's important to note that studies have also found that putting off care after a car crash can adversely affect recovery time, so getting in to see Dr. Holland at the earliest opportunity is key to having a speedier recovery.

Dr. Holland has worked with many auto injury sufferers, and we're here to help you, too. Call our North St. Louis, MO office today for more information or an appointment.

Sources

• Association for Safe International Road Travel. Retrieved from http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics
• Dies S & Strapp J. (1992, September). Chiropractic treatment of patients in motor vehicle accidents: a statistical analysis. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 36(3), 139-145.
• Woodward M et al. (1996, November). Chiropractic treatment of chronic 'whiplash' injuries. Injury, 27(9), 643-645.

Dr. Holland sees many patients weekly in our busy North St. Louis, MO chiropractic office who are looking for relief from the pain and agony they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the medical research verifies that chiropractic is a successful way to treat herniated disc problems.

One particular 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 patients reported that they were experiencing pain, reduced range of motion, and sensory issues bad enough to keep them off work.

Over the course of the research period, the individuals were managed using one of two common chiropractic techniques: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the people 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 rest of the study. Based on the extent of the disc herniation, treatment ranged anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being performed at a variety of stages to determine what impact, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

The authors discovered that 80 percent of the patients experienced a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other symptoms, such as numbness. Furthermore, 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 adjustments is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and you're near Dr. Holland in North St. Louis, MO, 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.

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

Dr. Holland has treated many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical research explains what causes these types of symptoms. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are often 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, irritation of the nerves can cause problems in other parts of your body.

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

Research shows that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms begins in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can fix 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, relieving the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Holland has found that jaw and headache symptoms 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 crash, Dr. Holland can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 2000, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 for an appointment.

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.

Knee pain is a frequent problem for people in our North St. Louis, MO chiropractic office, and Dr. Holland has successfully provided many of these men and women relief. This is largely because chiropractic care has been found to help with many types of knee pain.

For instance, some people encounter pain in and around the knee area due to osteoarthritis. Research has proven that this ailment responds very well to chiropractic--and rather quickly, too. In fact, one study published in The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association found that men and women with osteoarthritis in their knees felt significant pain relief and improved function after just two weeks of chiropractic care.

If your knee pain is caused by a medial meniscus tear, chiropractic could likely help with that as well. One article found that integrating chiropractic with soft tissue therapy, rest, ice, and compression on the affected knee helped lower the intensity of the pain.

Of course, sometimes a knee replacement surgery is necessary in order to repair the issue, and if that's the case, chiropractic can also help improve the outcome. How?

Medical research has shown that people with low back pain often have less positive results after knee surgery. Therefore, dealing with your back pain through chiropractic prior to having a total knee arthroplasty can help with your post-surgery recovery.

No matter what your knee issue, Dr. Holland can likely help. Call our North St. Louis, MO location today and find out what we can do for you!

Studies

• Pollard H et al. (2008, December). The effect of a manual therapy knee protocol on osteoarthritic knee pain: a randomised controlled trial. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association;52(4):229-42
  Boyle J et al. (2014, March). Influence of low back pain on total knee arthroplasty outcome. Knee;21(2):410-4
• Jarosz B & Ames R. (2010, December). Chiropractic management of a medial meniscus tear in a patient with tibiofemoral degeneration: a case report. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine;9(4):200-8

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you've been in a motor vehicle accident, you need to know that you don't have to suffer from chronic symptoms.

We see many auto injury sufferers in our North St. Louis, MO office, and several of these folks are dealing with chronic pain caused by an old accident. In fact, research shows that a significant percentage of rear-end crashes lead to pain and disability even ten years after the initial trauma.

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

The most common causes of chronic problems are reduced mobility of your spine and the development of scar tissue in your spine. The ligaments of your neck and back can easily be damaged during a collision, and chiropractic care works by decreasing inflammation and restoring normal movement.

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

In our North St. Louis, MO practice, it isn't unusual for us to see people struggling with sciatic nerve pain, and Dr. Holland has helped many of these people heal with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic so beneficial to those who suffer with sciatica? First, it shortens their healing time and a Norwegian medical study confirms it.

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

The authors discovered that all but two patients returned to work after receiving chiropractic adjustments, which is a 95% success rate. What's more, the average amount of time that the patients 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 over 170,000 workdays were lost in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is nearly 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 could also decrease costs to businesses and workers from lost work.

If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you suffer with sciatica pain, Dr. Holland is here to assist. Give us a call at (314) 588-9100 and we'll work with you to find the source 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.

While many women automatically assume that pregnancy and back pain go hand in hand, they are often pleasantly surprised when they discover that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, chiropractic adjustments can often help reduce back pain for pregnant women by as much as 85 percent.

We've worked with many pregnant women suffering from back pain in our North St. Louis, MO office.

A research study published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies involved 115 women who were pregnant (most of which were in their third trimester) and reported pain in their lower back region, pelvic area, or both. Data was gathered prior to the study, as well as one week, one month, three months, and one year after treatment commenced. At each subsequent point in time, the participants were asked to rate their level of pain based on a 7-point scale to determine whether it was better, worse, or stayed the same. The results?

52% reported that their pain was better after one week of chiropractic treatment. After one month, that amount jumped up to 70 percent, climbing even more to 85 percent showing improvement at the three month mark. Positive effects were still reported at six months post-treatment, which was generally after delivery, and continued to the final data collection one year after treatment commenced.

There are also many additional benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy. Not only does it effectively ease back pain, but it does it in a completely natural and non-invasive way. This means that you don't have to worry about taking any medications or undergoing any type of treatment that could potentially harm your unborn child.

Additionally, it makes your time spent carrying your baby more pleasant. When you're not distracted with pain, you can enjoy the experience even more as you prepare your home and your life for all of the fun and exciting changes that lie ahead.

We're here in North St. Louis, MO to help you have a healthy, pain-free pregnancy. Give us a call today at (314) 588-9100 to make an appointment.

Peterson CK, Muhlemann D, & Humphreys BK. Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium term and 1 year follow-up. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014;22(15):doi:10.1186/2045-709X-22-15.

Dr. Holland works with countless sciatica patients here in our North St. Louis, MO office, and quite a few of these individuals were nervous that they might need surgery to relieve their pain. The latest research shows that a large number of people don't need surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A popular surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, physicians looked at 80 patients with sciatica who were referred for this operation.

Forty patients were then randomly sorted into one of two groups. The first group was to receive surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups improved; however, no apparent difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between either group. Furthermore, roughly 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find pain relief from any other treatment method "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Simply put, chiropractic offered the same positive advantages as surgery without having to go through the higher levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often affiliated with that particular treatment choice. Additionally, you also don't run the risks linked to surgical microdiscectomy, such as nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in North St. Louis, MO and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Holland a call today at (314) 588-9100. We'll help pinpoint the start of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.
  

We encounter a lot of sports injuries in our North St. Louis, MO office, and Dr. Holland is usually able to help these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital states that over 3.5 million children aged 14 and below are hurt each year while playing sports. Add that to the close to 2 million adults injured annually while participating in sports-related activities, as reported by statistics collected by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can begin to see the importance of preventing these sorts of common injuries. One way to potentially achieve that goal, as stated in a study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to receive routine chiropractic treatments.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg traumas are common, frequently sidelining the players and affecting their team's odds of winning. One particular study was conducted using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see if chiropractic could diminish these injuries and help keep them in the game.

For this study in particular, all of the volunteers received medical treatment. In addition, half of them also received chiropractic treatments at the rate of one treatment each week for the first 6 weeks, biweekly treatments for the next three months, and one session per month for the final 3 months of the study. The remaining group had no chiropractic intervention whatsoever and were used as the control group to determine the benefits of chiropractic adjustments.

Following twenty-four matches, specialists noted a diminished amount of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had been given chiropractic care. Moreover, that very group also missed fewer matches related to non-contact knee injuries. This lead the researchers to come to the conclusion that chiropractic ought to be made an addition to sports training programs to effectively reduce the quantity of leg injuries.

If you or your child are active in sports and you would like to make sure more time is spent on the field as opposed to on the bench, call our North St. Louis, MO office at (314) 588-9100 and schedule an appointment today. We will do our best to keep you in the game!

References

• Hoskins, W, & Pollard, H. (2010, April 8). 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, 11(64), doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-64
• Misra, A. (2014, March 17). Common sports injuries: Incidence and average charges. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Stanford Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Sports injury statistics.