CF 136 Chiropractic’s Effect On Strength and More, Status of Muscle Relaxers, And The Best Recovery Posture

Today we’re going to talk about Chiropractic’s Effect On Strength and More, Status of Muscle Relaxers, And The Best Recovery Posture But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

 

OK, we are back and you have found the Chiropractic Forward Podcast where we are making evidence-based chiropractic fun, profitable, and accessible while we make you and your patients better all the way around. We’re the fun kind of research. Not the stuffy, high-brow kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers. I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast.

If you haven’t yet I have a few things you should do. Like our Facebook page, Join our private Facebook group and interact, and then go review our podcast on iTunes and other podcast platforms. We also have an evidence-based brochure and poster store at chiropracticforward.com While you’re there, join our weekly email newsletter. No spam, just a reminder when the newest episodes go live. Nothing special so don’t worry about signing up. Just one a week friends.

Check your JUNK folder!! Do it do it do it. You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #135 Now if you missed last week’s episode, we talked about adjusting in the areas of known disc complications, bulges, herniations..things of that sort. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class. While we’re on the topic of being smart, did you know that you can use our website as a resource?

Quick and easy, you can go to chiropracticforward.com, click on Episodes, and use the search function to find whatever you want quickly and easily. With over 100 episodes in the tank and an average of 2-3 papers covered per episode, we have somewhere between 250 and 300 papers that can be quickly referenced along with their talking points. Just so you know, all of the research we talk about in each episode is cited in the show notes for each episode if you’re looking to dive in a little deeper.

On the personal end of things….. Nothing new to report really. We aren’t growing in our visit count week to week but, at the same time, we aren’t shrinking either. We’re holding steady at about 80% of where we were before the COVID train wreck and here’s what I’ve sort of decided. I’m just going to be OK with 80%.

Like I said last week, while we’re billing out less and collecting less, we’re also spending less both in the practice as well as in my personal life. Some of you aren’t. Some of you think it’s a hoax and all that stuff. You’re going out and traveling and vacationing and all that jazz. We aren’t. We are not afraid but we also do want to be smart and be diligent. I’ve come to the mindset that if I wind up getting it, I’ll probably do just fine with some time but regardless of how severe or mild symptoms are, I’ll STILL have to shut my office down.

Now, how many of us can afford to just shut the doors for 2-4 weeks without any issues? Honestly, I’m a saver so I could actually do it and survive but I damn sure don’t want to. I have other plans for that money don’t you know. It wasn’t saved so that I could cover my practice financially if I get sick for a month. Hell no. It was saved to invest. So, we are being smart, we are wearing our masks and no….I don’t give one damn what anyone thinks about masks. Honestly. This has been the most disappointing aspect of human observation in recent memory.

The mask debate or debacle. Absolutely a waste of time and energy talking or listening to people on that deal. Anyway, we are wearing our masks. Our patients are wearing their masks. We are still cleaning and having our lobby closed. We are still not allowing visitors in with our patients. We are still using our UV air scrubbers in each room. We are still doing it to keep my most fragile patients safe and confident in us as a clinic, we doing it all to protect the staff, and we’re doing it to protect me as much as possible so we don’t all have to shut down for a month.

Makes perfect sense to me.

We know some things that increase your chances of having a hard time with COVID. Or at least there is some research to back up that low vitamin D puts you at risk. Obesity, underlying conditions like diabetes, low testosterone, smoking, and being of the blood type A. These are just a few things I recall off the top of my head. My question to you is, “What factors under your control are you bolstering or addressing?” I am overweight. I’m naturally a big guy but I’ve gotten a little lazy in the last 5 years. OK…..A LOT lazy.

I started the Couch to 5K program a few weeks ago and am slowly trudging through that. My knees are super pissed at me about it but I’m still doing it. I have addressed any hormone issues I needed to look at. I have gotten on a Vitamin D replacement regimen. I am trying to get more sleep more consistently. I don’t smoke.

Of course, there’s nothing you can do about what type of blood you are but….my point is, what steps are you taking to lower your risk of complications should you wind up with it? I’d love to hear if you’ve changed anything at all or if you’re just like the Russian boxer Drago in Rocky 4…..If he dies, he dies.

Item #1 Let’s get to it. This first one is not sexy. I’m saving the better ones for here in just a minute. Let’s start off nice and simple here with one called “Effects of Two Different Recovery Postures during High-Intensity Interval Training” by Michaelson, et. al(Michaelson J 2019). and published in Translational Journal of the ACSM in February of 2019. Hmmmmmm…..yep… Hot enough. Out of the way.

Why They Did It The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of two different recovery postures, hands on head (HH) and hands on knees (HK), as a form of immediate recovery from high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

How They Did It Twenty female Division II varsity soccer players completed two experimental trials in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Each trial consisted of four intervals on a motorized treadmill consisting of 4 min of running at 90%–95% max heart rate with 3 minutes of passive recovery between each interval. Heart rate recovery was collected during the first 60 seconds of each recovery, where the volume of carbon dioxide and tidal volume were recorded each minute during the 3-min recovery period.

What They Found Results showed an improved heart rate recovery, greater tidal volume, and increased volume of carbon dioxide, with hands on the knees when compared with hands on the head.

Wrap It Up “These data indicate that HK posture may be more beneficial than the advocated HH posture as a form of immediate recovery from high-intensity interval training.”

Before we get to the next paper, I want to tell you a little about this new tool on the market called Drop Release. If you’re into IASTM also known as instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation, then it’s your new best friend. Heck if you’re just into getting more range of motion in your patients, then it’s your new best friend. Drop Release is a revolutionary tool that harnesses the body’s built-in protective systems to make muscles relax quickly and effectively.  This greatly reduces time needed for soft tissue treatment, leaving more time for other treatments per visit, or more patients per day. Its inventor, Dr. Chris Howson, from the great state of North Dakota has is a listener and friend. He offered our listeners a great discount on his product. When you order, if you put in the code ‘HOTSTUFF’ all one word….as in hot stuff….coming up!! If you enter HOTSTUFF in the coupon code area, Dr. Howson will give you $50 off of your purchase. Go check Drop Release at droprelease.com and tell Dr. Howson I sent you.

Item #2 Item 2 is called “Assessment of Physician Prescribing of Muscle Relaxants in the United States, 2005-2016” by Soprano et. al(Soprano S 2020). and published in JAMA Open on June 24, 2020 and that’s damn sure a steaming heaping helping right there.

Why They Did It They wanted to measure national trends in muscle relaxant prescribing over a 12-year period. 2005-2016

How They Did It It was a cross-sectional study It used data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey The study included those with ambulatory care visits with non-federally funded, office-based physicians in the US Included almost 315,000,000 office visits.

What They Found Get this y’all – During the study period, office visits with a prescribed muscle relaxer nearly doubled from 15.5 million in 2005 to 30.7 million in 2016 Although visits for new muscle relaxer prescriptions remained stable, office visits with continued muscle relaxer drug therapy tripled from 8.5 million visits in 2005 to 24.7 million visits in 2016 Older adults accounted for 22.2% of visits with a muscle relaxer prescription. Concomitant use of an opioid was recorded in 67.2% of all visits with a continuing muscle relaxer prescription.

Wrap It Up “This study found that SMR use increased rapidly between 2005 and 2016, which is a concern given the prominent adverse effects and limited long-term efficacy data associated with their use. These findings suggest that approaches are needed to limit the long-term use of SMRs, especially in older adults, similar to approaches to limit the long-term use of opioids and benzodiazepines.” And we wonder how we ended up with an opioid and pill problem. Cheese ’n’ rice people. Godzilla it’s just clear as day but nobody’s listening. Are you inundated with referrals from physicians in 2020? Some of you are. Most of you, the large very vast majority of you are not at all and it’s a shame because we can prevent so much of this garbage.

Item #3 Alright, the last item and my favorite one this week. It’s called “Effects of Chiropractic Care on Strength, Balance, and Endurance in Active-Duty U.S. Military Personnel with Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial” by Vining et. al(Vining R 2020). published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in July of 2020. Another helping of boiling thought nuggets for you to feast upon.

Why They Did It They wanted to investigate whether chiropractic care influences strength, balance, and/or endurance in the active-duty United States military personnel with low back pain

How They Did It It was a prospective randomized controlled trial using a pragmatic treatment approach Participants were randomly allocated to 4 weeks of chiropractic care or to a wait-list control Chiropractic care consisted of spinal manipulation, education, advice, and reassurance Naval Air Technical Training Center branch clinic at the Naval Hospital Pensacola Florida One hundred ten active-duty military personnel 18-40 years of age with self-reported LBP Outcome measurements included Isometric pulling strength from a semi-squat position was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were single-leg balance with eyes open and eyes closed, and trunk muscle endurance using the Biering-Sorensen test. Patient-reported outcomes such as pain severity and disability were also measured. Outcomes were measured at baseline and 4 weeks. Linear mixed-effects regression models over baseline and 4 weeks were used for analysis.

What They Found Participants had a mean age of 30 years, 17% were female, 33% were non-white, and 86% reported chronic LBP. Mean maximum pulling strength in the chiropractic group increased by 5.08 kgs and decreased by 7.43 kgs in the wait-list group, with a statistically significant difference in mean change between groups Statistically significant differences in mean change between groups were also observed in trunk muscle endurance and balance with eyes closed, but not in balance with eyes open Differences in mean change between groups were statistically significant in favor of chiropractic for LBP-related disability, pain intensity and interference, and fear-avoidance behavior.

Wrap It Up “Active-duty military personnel receiving chiropractic care exhibited improved strength and endurance, as well as reduced LBP intensity and disability, compared with a wait-list control.”

Alright, that’s it. Y’all be safe. Keep changing the world and our profession from your little corner of the world. Continue taking care of yourselves and taking care of your neighbors. Tough times are upon us but, the sun will shine again. Trust it, believe it, count on it. Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week. Store Remember the evidence-informed brochures and posters at chiropracticforward.com.

The Message

I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots. When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few. It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient. And, if the patient treats preventatively after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!

Key Point: At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints….

That’s Chiropractic!

Contact Send us an email at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com and let us know what you think of our show and tell us your suggestions for future episodes. Feedback and constructive criticism is a blessing and so are subscribes and excellent reviews on podcast platforms. We know how this works by now. If you value something, you have to share it, interact with it, review it, talk about it from time to time, and actively hit a few buttons to support it here and there when asked. It really does make a big difference.

Connect We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward. Website https://www.chiropracticforward.com

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About the Author & Host

Dr. Jeff Williams – Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger

Bibliography

Michaelson J, B. L., Suprak D, McLaughlin W, Dahlquist D, (2019). “Effects of Two Different Recovery Postures during High-Intensity Interval Training.” Translational J ACSM 4(4): 23-27.

Soprano S, H. S., Bilker W, (2020). “Assessment of Physician Prescribing of Muscle Relaxants in the United States, 2005-2016.” JAMA Open 3(6).

Vining R, L. C., Minkalis A, Gudavalli MR, Xia T, Walter J, Coulter I, Goertz C, (2020). “Effects of Chiropractic Care on Strength, Balance, and Endurance in Active-Duty U.S. Military Personnel with Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial.” J Altern Complement Med 26(7): 592-601.