news for all who want to learn
Archive for November, 2009
New Stroke Recognition Tests
4914 days
One of the major concerns for chiropractors are stroke patients. Current research associates the risk of stroke after a cervical manipulation as about 1 in a million. However, these stats may be artificially high, since often people who seek chiropractic care for neck & head pain often have these symptoms because they are currently in a stroke status. Continue reading “New Stroke Recognition Tests” »
Tips for Getting Hired
0918 days
Get the job you want.
As December looms the largest graduating class of the year is getting ready to do just that… graduate. Unfortunately, many of us are facing the reality that getting job post school was a little more difficult than thought. This short article covers a view tips and advice that I have acquired either from others, or via my own experiences. Continue reading “Tips for Getting Hired” »
More Reasons NOT to use Discography
0927 days
by admin
in Experiments
Is it really worth it?
Discography, a painful imaging technique for the spine that involves the injection of a contrast medium, has long been debated for its efficacy and utility(1,2,3). Even though it has been around since 1948, research to this day still fails to establish Discography as a effective test. It has been suggested that it is an accurate test for only a minute group of conditions, while it is unreliable for disk degeneration, disk bulges and protrusions, as it lacks specificity and leads to unnecessary back surgery (4). Regardless, this procedure is still sees widespread usage as doctors argue it is better than MRI or CT.
New research published in Spine, decided to take a different role, and examine the risks to benefits ratio of a discography. In their experimental animal model, it was shown that the rats that received small needle punctures exhibited a significantly higher rate of herniation, endplate changes, disc grade progression and annular fissures; both in frequency and severity. They also demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in disk height and signal after the injection (5).
Dr. Carragee et al.’s study brings up serious concerns with the usage of discography. Why countinue to utilize a technique that has been so poorly proven to provide usable & correct clinical data, and that also causes what you are attempting to locate and fix. It appears that this is a classic case of Risks far outweighing the benefits. Continue reading “More Reasons NOT to use Discography” »
Strange Swine Flu Stat
3927 days
Swine Flu... its not the pig's fault!
This article is considered a “musing for entertainment” as it is solely based on statistical information (and possibly poor information). The author takes no stance pro or con vaccination.
Whether or not the swine flu vaccine is safe or effective continues to be a debate and is the basis for many families deciding against receiving the vaccine. So here’s an interesting consideration for you all. (But please don’t forget that correlation do not equal causation)
Mongolia has a population of roughly 3,000,000 people. According to the World Health Organization, as of November 4th there has been 6 deaths associated with swine flu. That means that 1 out of every 500,000 Mongolians have died of the swine flu.
The United States has a population of 305,000,000 people. According to the CDC on November 1st, there have been 4000 swine flu related deaths. That means that 1 out of every 76,250 Americans have died of the swine flu.
The kicker… Mongolia does not have the vaccine, the USA does. Is it that Mongolian Hospitals are superior to the US? Hardly… Mongolia’s health-care system is considered the 147th of 190. The USA ranks at 37. Is it because Mongolia is less densely populated? Unlikely. 1/3 of the population lives in a single city alone. Continue reading “Strange Swine Flu Stat” »
Multiplying our Pain
0930 days
Is it really the Egg?
There is no arguing that allergies are a fact of the human existence. You are truly beating the odds if you make it to adulthood without an allergy of some sort, be it pollen, dander, food, or chemical.
What most people do not realize is that allergens have the potential to act synergistically, that is, they multiply each others effects. A study by Johansen et. al. established that when individuals were exposed to two known allergens, instead of adding their effects, the allergic reaction tripled or quadrupled in intensity! Therefore a person who is mildly allergic to yellow 5, may experience an asthmatic reaction when its paired with another common mild allergen, caffeine. Mountain Dew anyone?
Taken a step further, there are some foods or allergens that do not effect us unless you are also exposed to their concomitant allergen. Let me explain. Many people are tested as egg allergic, however they exhibit an allergic reaction to eggs only at certain times of the year. This is Continue reading “Multiplying our Pain” »