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Dr. BenEliyahu sees many patients weekly in our busy Selden and Coram, NY chiropractic office who are looking for relief from the pain and distress they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the scientific literature verifies that chiropractic care is a successful way to treat herniated disc problems.

Don't Suffer! Dr. BenEliyahu and Chiropractic Care Helps With Disc Herniation

One particular research project 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 individuals documented that they were experiencing pain, limited range of motion, and sensory problems bad enough to keep them off work.

During the course of the research period, the subjects were treated using one of two common chiropractic methods: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the men and women who had herniation issues in the low back.

Each person was seen four or five times per week for the first two weeks, then three times weekly, and then as needed for the remainder of the study. Based on the extent of the disc herniation, therapy ranged anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being conducted at a variety of stages to determine what effect, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Herniated Disc

The authors reported that 80 percent of the subjects obtained a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other symptoms, such as numbness. Additionally, 77 percent of these people also showed MRI evidence that their disc herniation was either reduced or resolved completely. This resulted in 78 percent of the study subjects being able to return to their place of employment and led the authors to conclude that chiropractic adjustments is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and suffer from chronic back pain and are near Dr. BenEliyahu in Selden and Coram, NY, 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.

In our Selden and Coram, NY office, we see a lot of patients who are dealing with back pain, and some of these patients have been informed they might need surgery to recover. Fortunately, Dr. BenEliyahu has helped many people get relief without the need for any type of surgery. The scientific research agrees with the results we see in our office. One medical study published in the academic journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first move in dealing with your back pain may literally keep you out of the operating room.

In this research study, medical researchers from Dartmouth reviewed statistics from 1,885 workers from the state of Washington who first saw either an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractor for their back-related issues. They then used three years' worth of follow-up medical records to find out whether the subjects wound up having back surgery in an effort to treat the issue.

What the authors found was that about 43% of the individuals who first saw a surgeon for their back problems ended up in surgery in that 3-year time span, whereas only 1.5% of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:

"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."

These are remarkable outcomes. Consulting with a chiropractor significantly decreases your odds of getting back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this study "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.

Let's also take into account this important point: this study was conducted by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most prestigious medical publication on spinal injury.

Surgery: The Last Resort

Any surgical procedure has risks, but a major downside related to spinal surgery is that there's a very high rate of failure. In an important review in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:

"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."

The experts in this same study concluded:

"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."

As a chiropractor, Dr. BenEliyahu is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last resort for treating back pain. Chiropractic works to restore your spine to its normal function--without the need of high-risk surgery or drugs--and many research studies have confirmed the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.

If you live in Selden and Coram, NY and you need care for your back pain, give our office a call today at (631) 736-4414 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!

Studies

• Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. 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.
• Mannion AF, Elfering A. Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment. European Spine Journal 2006;15(Suppl 1):S93-S108.
  

If you suffer from shoulder pain after an auto collision, you're not alone. Dr. BenEliyahu sees this type of problem frequently in our Selden and Coram, NY office. Why is shoulder pain such a common problem after an auto collision? How can chiropractic care help you recover?

There are at least two ways that you can get shoulder pain after an accident: by direct trauma to the shoulder or by radiating pain from the neck.

Direct injury can be caused by striking your shoulder on a hard object in the car during the crash, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end impact. With this type of trauma, you'll often be aware of the pain soon after the crash.

More frequently, Dr. BenEliyahu finds that shoulder or arm pain does not immediately appear after a crash, but starts a few days or weeks after the accident. This type of shoulder discomfort actually starts in the cervical spine. Injured ligaments or muscles in your neck can squeeze nerves in your neck, causing numbness, tingling, or pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated both types of shoulder problems in our Selden and Coram, NY office. This approach involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural mobility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Dr. BenEliyahu is here in Selden and Coram, NY to help you recover from shoulder pain. We've been helping patients since 1983 and we can probably help you, too. First, we'll do a careful evaluation to determine the root cause of your problem, and then decide how to restore your body's natural functioning. Ready to make an appointment? Give us a call at (631) 736-4414 and we'll get you back on the road to health.

We care for a large number of patients in our Selden and Coram, NY office, and Dr. BenEliyahu has helped many people overcome a wide array of health problems. In spite of this, one worry that seems to prevent some folks from getting treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the issue), the answer to this concern is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Australian Study: Chiropractic is Safe

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 women and men between the ages of 20 and 85. Each person reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the other half received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to discover whether or not any unpleasant side effects occurred as a result of the actual chiropractic treatments.

Researchers found that no participants documented any significant adverse side effects whatsoever after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some individuals did state that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) after treatment, but the effects were not serious.

Large US Survey Confirms that Chiropractic is Safe

The second research study(2), also published in the influential medical journal, Spine, was conducted in an effort to establish the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger -- 20,000 individuals. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the experts found no serious adverse side effects. The experts calculated the risk of total side effects to be approximately 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some people did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this prompted the researchers to determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Care Is Safe for Your Children

This third research paper(3) is different from the previous two pieces of research, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, the authors analyzed results reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the young ones, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse side effects. When parents were surveyed, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on these three studies (and many more!), chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To learn what chiropractic can do for you, call our Selden and Coram, NY office and make an appointment today at (631) 736-4414.

References

1. Walker BF, Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, Clarke BR, Bowden RS, Losco B, French SD. Outcomes of usual chiropractic. The OUCH randomized controlled trial of adverse events. Spine 2013;38(20):1723-9.
2. Thiel HW1, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: a prospective national survey. Spine 2007;32(21):2375-8.
3. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. Explore NY 2009;5(5): 290-5.

We encounter a good deal of sports injuries in our Selden and Coram, NY clinic, and Dr. BenEliyahu is generally able to assist these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital states that over 3.5 million children of the ages 14 and below are hurt each year while playing sports. Add that to the almost 2 million adults injured annually while taking part in sports-related activities, as reported by statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can begin to see the necessity of preventing these sorts of common injuries. One approach to possible achieve that goal, as stated in a study released in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to receive routine chiropractic treatments.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg injuries are commonplace, often sidelining the players and affecting their team's odds of winning. One specific study was administered using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see if chiropractic could diminish these injuries and help keep them playing.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps in Treating Sports Injuries

For this study specifically, every one of the volunteers was given medical treatment. Furthermore, half of them also were given chiropractic sessions at the rate of one treatment each week for the first six weeks, biweekly sessions for the following three months, and one session a month for the final 3 months of the study. The other participants were given no chiropractic intervention whatsoever and were used as the control group to determine the benefits of chiropractic.

After twenty-four matches, researchers reported a lessened amount of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had been given chiropractic care. Furthermore, that same 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 added to sports training programs to effectively decrease the quantity of leg injuries.

Dr. BenEliyahu Can Help Patients Find Relief From Sports Injuries & Help You Recover Faster

If you or your child plays sports and you want to ensure more time is dedicated on the field versus on the bench, call our Selden and Coram, NY office at (631) 736-4414 and make 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.

Dr. BenEliyahu works with countless sciatica patients here in our Selden and Coram, NY office, and quite a few of these men and women were worried that they might need surgery to treat their pain. The most recent research indicates that many people don't need surgery for this widespread issue, and that chiropractic is more effective 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 procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly placed in 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 obvious difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between the surgery group and the chiropractic group. Additionally, roughly 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find assistance from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Put another way, chiropractic provided the same positive benefits as surgery without having to undergo the increased amounts of surgery-based pain or suffer through lengthy recovery times often affiliated with that specific treatment option. Additionally, you also don't run the risks associated with surgical microdiscectomy, which includes nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery should be the last resort for sciatica pain. If you live in Selden and Coram, NY and you're suffering from back pain or sciatica, give Dr. BenEliyahu a call today at (631) 736-4414. We'll help pinpoint the source 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.
  

According to The American Academy of Pain Medicine, more Americans suffer with chronic pain than diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cancer combined. What's more, neck pain is the third most reported type of pain, beat out only by back problems and headache.

Of course, many patients come to our Selden and Coram, NY office seeking neck pain care, and Dr. BenEliyahu has helped many of them find relief. This is a smart decision, as some research shows that over 90% of neck pain patients get relief with chiropractic.

Studies Confirm Chiropractic Effective for Neck Pain

A report published in The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy involved 64 men and women who were suffering with neck pain. Around half were placed in an experimental group and the other half were designated to a comparison group. Both were given chiropractic adjustments of the neck as well as a home exercise plan, while the experimental group also received adjustments of the thoracic spine.

Data was collected before treatment began and one week post-treatment. Researchers found that 94 percent of the experimental group reported "significantly greater improvements" in regard to pain and disability in their neck symptoms. Just 35% of the patients who received neck adjustments showed the same level of improvement, showing that looking at the entire spinal column is a critical part of restoring the body's normal function.

Yet another study posted in Physical Therapy involved 60 individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 who reported suffering with neck pain. Each individual was randomly allocated to one of two groups--thoracic spine thrust manipulation or non-thrust manipulation--with examinations occurring two and four days after the adjustments.

The investigators discovered that the study patients who received the thrust manipulations (the same manipulations that offered such positive results in the first report) "experienced greater reductions in disability" than the patients who received the non-thrust adjustments. Their pain was lower as well, which shows that this type of approach offers many benefits.

Help After Failed Neck Surgery

Another study even found the same type of positive results after thoracic adjustments in a patient who had a failed neck surgical procedure. This particular case involved a 46-year-old patient who had recently had neck surgery but still experienced neck pain, headaches, pain in her elbow, and muscle fatigue.

The woman reported decreased pain in her neck and reduced headache intensity, right after the first chiropractic treatment session. After six weeks of care, which involved chiropractic, exercise, and patient education, the patient still rated her pain at a zero on a scale of 1 to 10. Her neck disability reduced as well, with a rating score that represented that it was a "great deal better."

It is studies like these that prove the advantages of chiropractic adjustments, even if you've already attempted neck surgery that didn't provide relief. So, if you are suffering with neck discomfort and would like to find a solution that has a high success rate, try chiropractic. It may just be the relief you're looking for.

Our office is in Selden and Coram, NY and Dr. BenEliyahu can help you recover from neck pain. Give us a call today at (631) 736-4414.

References

• AAPM facts and figures on pain. The American Academy of Pain Medicine.
• Masaracchio M, Cleland JA, Hellman M, Hagins M. Short-term combined effects of thoracic spine thrust manipulation and cervical spine nonthrust manipulation in individuals with mechanical neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2013;43(3):118-127.
• Cleland JA, Glynn P, Whitman JM, Eberhart SL, MacDonald C, Childs JD. Short-term effects of thrust versus nonthrust mobilization/manipulation directed at the thoracic spine in patients with neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Physical Therapy 2007;87(4):431-440.
• Salvatori R, Rowe RH, Osborne R, Beneciuk JM. Use of thoracic spine thrust manipulation for neck pain and headache in a patient following multiple-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion: a case report. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 2014;44(6):440-449.
  

We see a considerable number of individuals with headaches in our Selden and Coram, NY office, and Dr. BenEliyahu has been able to provide relief for many of them. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 50% of all adults deal with some sort of headache disorder, so this actually isn’t unexpected. One of the most typical varieties of headaches that our patients have problems with is cervicogenic headache which, fortunately, chiropractic can often help.

What is a Cervicogenic Headache?

A cervicogenic headache is one that comes from a problem in the cervical spine. It can be caused by a problem with either the spine itself (primarily, the vertebrae, joints, or discs), or it might be brought on by a problem in the muscles and tendons of your neck. This problem in your spine results in constriction or irritation of the spinal nerves, which can contribute to headache pain.

How do you determine if the headache you are experiencing is a cervicogenic headache? Besides receiving a diagnosis from a healthcare expert, a common symptom of cervicogenic headaches is tenderness or discomfort in your neck. This is occasionally associated with pain in the back of your head or between your shoulder blades.

Headache Relief with Chiropractic

Considering cervicogenic headaches will not go away until whatever problem is inducing them is corrected, it is essential to get treatment as opposed to just trying to "wait it out." Chiropractic care is an excellent approach, and one that provides a considerable amount of headache pain relief.

In one study circulated in Chiropractic & Osteopathy, researchers followed 80 people who had repeated cervicogenic headaches. One-half got chiropractic care and the other fifty percent engaged in light massage therapy. Each participant was assessed 12 and 24 weeks after the treatment and it was found that chiropractic provided the best effects.

In particular, this study revealed that chiropractic adjustments offered patients more pain relief and diminished the frequency of headaches that occurred. Moreover, it also lessened the disability that resulted from these painful headaches.

To find out what Dr. BenEliyahu 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/

Regrettably, a large number of our Selden and Coram, NY patients are familiar with the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. On a positive note, Dr. BenEliyahu has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of scientific studies have confirmed that chiropractic can help patients recover from this kind of condition.

Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

In one study, researchers from Switzerland recruited 148 patients who were suffering 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 location of his or her disc herniation.

Data was gathered after the preliminary treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to determine what kind of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic offers when it comes to resolving this particular condition. Among the information obtained was the individual's self-reported changes in both low back and leg pain.

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

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

Disc Herniation and Chiropractic: A Case Study

In this paper, 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 endured these problems for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his disc herniation was confirmed via MRI.

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

Studies like these show how helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and relieving the symptoms they produce. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and want to find some relief, chiropractic might be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our Selden and Coram, NY office a call today at (631) 736-4414 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 a number of back pain patients in our Selden and Coram, NY practice, and Dr. BenEliyahu has been able to help a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. At the same time, recovering from back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to make a choice between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many individuals use both types of care with great outcomes.

Study Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Treatment Work Well Together

In a report published by the journal Spine experts¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and restricted function due to back symptoms. Some of the study participants received treatment via standard medical care, while the rest were given chiropractic care in addition to regular medical care, as researchers wanted to determine which patients fared better.

Researchers 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% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical care only group who indicated the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Thus, incorporating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medicine can work alongside each other, chiropractic offers some unique advantages over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Care Pulls Ahead

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

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients preferred over medical treatment were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors tend to spend much more time consulting with their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as explaining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Is a Natural Approach to Wellness

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are very different than those offered with medical treatment, but a large amount of the distinction is the fact that chiropractic is a natural approach to health and well-being. Rather than focusing on simply relieving the symptoms, chiropractic care involves searching for the primary cause of your pain, which often results in greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

Additionally, while medication is sometimes helpful for treating certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative responses to prescriptions and more permanent recovery.

You don't have to deal with back pain or other health problems. Give our Selden and Coram, NY clinic a call today at (631) 736-4414. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be 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.