The old “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it!!” attitude has proven to cause devastating problems when it comes to joint health. I have often treated patients whose chief complaint is pain in one area of the body, such as low back, foot, arm or hand. During our evaluation, in addition to the primary complaint, we also find loss of flexibility and tenderness upon palpation of the neck. Two such cases have motivated me to write this article and share this information:

• A 64-year-old woman, with a painful arm and hand, which has slowly gotten worse and was bothering her during the night. She did not recall ever injuring her neck, and had been active/energetic until about five years ago. Further evaluation revealed that she had a severely restricted neck and pain with palpation. What we found was a condition called vertebral subluxation of her neck. Remember, her primary complaint was not her neck. After some discussion she remembered that she had had a bad fall during which she received a serious head wound in her early teens. The x-rays above showed premature aging of the joints of her neck due to this 50-year-old trauma. We proceeded to treat her with the gentle, specific Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractic Technique. It was not long before she reported sleeping through the night, increased energy and, finally an elimination of her arm and hand pain.

• The other case involves a sixty-eight year old gentleman, who presented with low back pain. He had back surgery about 30 years ago and the pain had been increasing in frequency and intensity over several years. He had been treating headaches with medicine, but did not remember ever having trauma to his neck. His neck was severely restricted and exhibiting very tight muscles. Evaluation revealed a significant subluxation of his upper cervical spine. Eventually, he remembered having an automobile accident forty-nine years ago (at age 19) during which the car was totaled. Many people think that because they walk away from an accident, they are injury free. You can see the result of that accident in the second x-ray. After a period of less than 30 days he reported recovery of low back. And he was headache free for the first time in many years.

Correction of the subluxations restores joint function and reduces nerve interference, necessary for optimum health and vitality. Unfortunately, there are millions of Americans, whose lifestyle reflects a wait and see approach, rather than a proactive lifestyle. Pain is often the final, not the first, sign of a health problem.

I will be discussing several recent research studies relating to my clinical findings at an upcoming workshop. It will be held at Durden Chiropractic Clinic, 1130 Senoia Road, Suite B-4, Tyrone on Saturday, March 25 at 9 a.m. Call to reserve a seat, 770-631-7600.

Submitted by Dr. Marilyn Durden

login to post comments