Autoimmune Diseases are on the Rise

Virginia  Ladd, President of the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) said “With the rapid increase in autoimmune diseases, it clearly suggests that environmental factors are at play due to the significant increase in these diseases. Genes do not change in such a short period of time.”

The key words in her statement are environmental factors , because what environmental changes have happened  in the our  world’s health in the last 40 years? Do the plants still grow the same? Yes. Do wild animals still grow the same? Yes. Is a little girl in a third world nation as susceptible as you to an Autoimmune Disease? Statistics say “No”. Then we need to ask ourselves WHY? What has effected the health of an entire segment of our population?

One researcher took a look at statistics and wrote this paper “THE EFFECT OF INFECTIONS ON SUSCEPTIBILITY TO AUTOIMMUNE AND ALLERGIC DISEASES” by JEAN-FRANÇOIS BACH, M.D., D.SC.  In his article in the New England Journal of Medicine September 2002, the French researcher Jean-Francois Bach correlated a possible relationship with the decrease in treatable childhood diseases and the incurable autoimmune diseases. Please see the graph below.   http://coronadobio.com/pdfs/Bach%20NEJM%202002.pdf

More research in Japan has lead to some new theories involving the T-cells:

New research suggests that systemic autoimmunity (SLE – systemic lupus erythematosus) is the consequence of overstimulating the immune system with an antigen to levels that surpass the body’s homeostasis (normal function).    http://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/pdf/10.2217/ijr.10.94

In the book The UltraMind Solution,  Dr. Mark Hyman says “We are becoming hypersensitive to our environments, perhaps because we live in an over-sterilized environment and our immune systems don’t mature properly or because we are eating hybridized and genetically modified (GMO) foods full of antibiotics, hormones, pesticides, and additives that were unknown to our immune systems just a generation or two ago.”

According to  Dr. Frederick Miller of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences “The best way to combat the rise in autoimmune diseases is to do research to understand the genetic and environmental risk factors for them, so that those who are at highest risk for developing disease after certain environmental exposures might be able to minimize those exposures and prevent the development of autoimmune disease.”

The immune system is a wonderful and complicated system. We have yet to scratch the surface of how it works. When a patient wants a full and complete immune system, We don’t think there are any short cuts. It’s just like training for a marathon: you start off small and work up to larger and larger distances, so that when the Marathon comes you’re prepared. If you’ve always used vaccinations, antibiotics, and antivirals to crutch your immune system, the “27 mile” pneumonia may be too much for you to handle.

At Palmer Chiropractic, we work with our patients to correct vertebra that are misaligned and causing neurological dysfunction. When the nervous system is free of interference and the body can utilize the maximum ability to command and control all of the bodily functions, many of our patients complaints go away. As a chiropractor I do not treat disease, but many of my patients who have had their vertebra  adjusted and the interference corrected, have commented how much better they feel. Call today for an appointment with Dr. Trace Palmer for your chiropractic evaluation.

Palmer Chiropractic
11400 Ford Ave
Richmond Hill, GA  31324
912-756-3433

Scoliosis – New Research

Scoliosis is a lateral curvature of the spine that mostly occurs in the growth spurt just before puberty. Although scoliosis can be caused by conditions such as cerebral palsy and muscular-dystrophy, the cause of many scoliosis conditions are unknown to the medical community.

Dr. Fred Barge stated in his 1981 book Scoliosis that “From the time children are very young, the swing, play pens and walkers, are encouraging children to walk too soon. Exercises in school such as sit-ups, and bending over touching the toes are destructive to the proper development of normal spinal contours. The enforced sitting in school all day also contributes to improper development of normal spinal curves. All of these things can lead to the development of curvatures and scoliosis. If the problem is detected early in a young child, it can often be straightened. Regular chiropractic examination, especially after a severe fall or sports activity, can detect spinal subluxations. Chiropractic spinal adjustment can correct these misalignments and return the spine to its proper position.”

Medical treatment for scoliosis in children is bracing, according to researchers “Bracing in adolescent males had unsuccessful results in 76 percent of the cases, with 46 percent requiring surgery for idiopathic scoliosis” . It is estimated that  38,000 teen and young adults undergo spinal fusions per year in the United States from failed bracing techniques.

A recent study on Scoliosis & Chiropractic care –

leads to positive outcome among the cohort of participants

A 2011 study concluded that as a result of chiropractic spinal adjusting and chiropractic spinal manipulation, a thoracolumbar curvature (scoliosis) averaged a 17.2° reduction that was maintained for 24 months, the length of the study. Across all spinal groups, an average 10° reduction persisted for 24 months, again the length of the study. It was also concluded that pain scales reduced by 60 percent at 24 months and function improved by 70 percent, while respiratory capacity increased by 7 percent

If you know someone who suffers from scoliosis, have them evaluated by your local chiropractor, to see if chiropractic may be an option for them.

Back Surgeries in the South

How dangerous is a spinal surgery?

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),  which is part of the Federal Government that tracks medical statistics, Southerners are 45% more likely to have a spinal surgery than people in the Northeast and West regions of the United States. You also have a 1 in 500 chance of death. It will cost $80,998 on average to have the surgery. In 2010, the US spent $15.5 Billion on spinal surgeries.  http://www.ahrq.gov/

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Spinal Surgery
Region Total number of discharges Charges, $ (mean) In-hospital deaths
Northeast 66,437 (15.36%) 73,423 172 (0.26%)
Midwest 92,369 (21.35%) 80,561 197 (0.21%)
South 189,709 (43.86%) 80,998 370 (0.20%)
West 84,030 (19.43%) 121,400 177 (0.21%)
Weighted national estimates from HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), 2009, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), based on data collected by individual States and provided to AHRQ by the States. Total number of weighted discharges in the U.S. based on HCUP NIS = 39,434,956. Statistics based on estimates with a relative standard error (standard error / weighted estimate) greater than 0.30 or with standard error = 0 in the nationwide statistics (NIS, NEDS, and KID) are not reliable. These statistics are suppressed and are designated with an asterisk (*). The estimates of standard errors in HCUPnet were calculated using SUDAAN software. These estimates may differ slightly if other software packages are used to calculate variances.

60% of Low Back Surgeries could be avoided

with Chiropractic Care

Medical Researchers have said:  Sixty percent of patients, who had failed other medical management, benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they had undergone surgical intervention. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21036279 “Sciatica is a serious spinal condition that causes pain, numbness, or weakness in one or both legs. Many times symptoms become debilitating and without further help, surgery is prescribed to alleviate discomfort. But surgery is not without financial and physical drawbacks.”  The study also looked at the costs: for every $1.00 spent with a chiropractic provider, it saved $22.90 in medical care.

If you’re looking for a less invasive approach to your healthcare, at Palmer Chiropractic we focus on natural chiropractic care. Chiropractors adjust the spine and vertebra to relieve nerve interference that restricts the expression of life. Serving Richmond Hill, Savannah, Midway, & Georgetown.