Americans Are Flocking to Alternative Therapies

Yet another survey confirming the fact that patients get better and stay better with chiropractic
-Dr. C


July 22, 2011 — Most Americans believe that prescription medications are the most effective treatments for many common illnesses, but a Consumer Reports survey of more than 45,000 people finds that three-fourths of us are turning to alternative therapies like yoga and acupuncture.

The new report says 38 million adults make more than 300 million visits per year to acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, and other practitioners of alternative and complementary techniques.

"Despite the hoopla over alternative therapies, when we asked respondents how well the therapies they used worked for 12 common health problems, results showed that they were usually deemed far less helpful than prescription medicine for most of the conditions," Consumer Reports Health says in its September issue.

Also, over-the-counter medications in many cases are more popular among consumers than widely used dietary supplements, according to the survey.

Most Popular Alternative Therapies

Chiropractic, deep-tissue massage, and mind-body practices like yoga dominated the list of alternative treatments that respondents said were helpful for back pain, neck pain, and the aches of osteoarthritis.

And though meditation is widely touted as an effective way to relieve anxiety, insomnia, and depression, the survey says prescription antidepressants are used by more people.

Among key findings of the survey:

•Consumers ranked prescription drugs as most effective for nine of 12 conditions -- allergies, cold and flu, depression, anxiety, digestive problems, headache and migraine, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, and osteoarthritis.
•Of the 46% of respondents who used prescription drugs for osteoarthritis pain, 53% said it helped a lot; 54% of respondents used glucosamine/chondroitin for osteoarthritis symptoms, and 25% said it helped a lot.
•Of the 27% of respondents who used meditation, 42% said it helped "a lot" with anxiety.
•43% of respondents used deep-breathing exercises for anxiety, and 34% found it helped a lot.
•Chiropractic care was ranked as the most effective treatment for back pain.
•Pilates, yoga, and deep-tissue massage all rated about the same as prescription medication for back pain.
•Vitamins and minerals were the most commonly used alternative treatments for general health, with 73% of respondents taking them.
•A majority of people who said they used alternative therapies had told their doctors about it.

Respondents were online subscribers of Consumer Reports.


Dr. Louis S. Crivelli II
Chiropractor
Greenbelt MD

I just wanted to thank everyone who voted for me, it means a lot.

-Dr. Crivelli

http://www.chesapeakefamily.com/My-Kids/Kid-s-Health/familyfavoritedoctors/Page-7

Neck Injury in a Motor Vehicle Collision and Future Neck Pain

The objective of this population-based cohort study was to investigate the association between a lifetime history of neck injury from a motor vehicle collision and the development of troublesome neck pain. The current evidence suggests that individuals with a history of neck injury in a traffic collision are more likely to experience future neck pain. However, these results may suffer from residual confounding. Therefore, there is a need to test this association in a large population-based cohort with adequate control of known confounders.

A cohort of 919 randomly sampled Saskatchewan adults with no or mild neck pain in September 1995 were formed. At baseline, participants were asked if they ever injured their neck in a motor vehicle collision. Six and twelve months later, we asked about the presence of troublesome neck pain (grade II–IV) on the chronic pain grade questionnaire. Multivariable Cox regression was used to estimate the association between a lifetime history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and the onset of troublesome neck pain while controlling for known confounders. The follow-up rate was 73.5% (676/919) at 6 months and 63.1% (580/919) at 1 year.

A positive association between a history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and the onset of troublesome neck pain after controlling for bodily pain and body mass index was found. The analysis suggests that a history of neck injury in a motor vehicle collision is a risk factor for developing future troublesome neck pain. The consequences of a neck injury in a motor vehicle collision can have long lasting effects and predispose individuals to experience recurrent episodes of neck pain.

A study published in the British Journal of Orthopaedic Medicine (1999)22(1):22-25 reported that chiropractic is the only proven effective treatment in chronic cases of whiplash injury. The study was prompted by a previous article in the journal Injury which demonstrated that chiropractic treatment had benefited 26 out of 28 patients suffering from chronic whiplash syndrome.

Reference: Nolet P.S., Côté P., Cassidy J.D., Carroll L.J. The association between a lifetime history of a neck injury in a motor vehicle collision and future neck pain: a population-based cohort study. European spine journal 2010(MAR 7).

Dr. Louis S. Crivelli II
Chiropractor
Greenbelt, MD