Vancouver Spine Care Centre
1678 Broadway W # 102 V6J 1X6 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Vancouver Spine Care Centre Patient Notice May 23, 2020 Dear Patient:... The Vancouver Spine Care Centre re-opened May 19th, 2020. It has been a pleasure to see many of you this past week and we look forward to seeing those we have not seen yet. We have adapted to the new guidelines and procedures to carry on with our service to the community. So far, so good! We appreciate you calling for an appointment, arriving on time, wearing a personal protective mask and your wonderful spirit to carry on. We opened, maintaining our usual business hours of operation from Monday to Saturday. Please call our office number 604-873-6029 to reach Michelle and schedule an appointment. To comply with social distancing rules, we have scheduled appointments in such a way as to reduce patient numbers in our reception area at any given time. Sometimes meeting up in a hallway may happen so we ask that you step to the side and pass each other in a respectful way. The best way to avoid issues is to wear a non-medical mask, as recommended by Dr. Theresa Tam (Chief Public Health Officer of Canada) and Dr. Bonnie Henry (BC Provincial Health Officer) during your chiropractic visit. Sanitary cleaning of high touch spots, disinfecting of treatment tables after every patient, digital clinic record keeping, and enhanced doctor and staff safety protocols are being followed. Behind our face masks is a sincere smile and virtual hug to see you again soon. Yours in Health, Dr. Richard Hunter, Dr. Dean and Paul Greenwood and Michelle. www.vancouverspinecarecentre.com Facebook; vancouver spine care centre

Back pain: Four ways to fix bad lockdown posture by copying astronauts June 19, 2020 Authors...Continue reading

Back Braces Help! Back pain patients fear moving, concerned that they may trigger pain. Back braces reduce pain and fear of pain and allow a return to normal activities of life.(1) For spinal stenosis patients with back pain, back belts improved walking distance.(2) And for acute compression fractures, a back brace is usually used. A soft brace is just as effective as a rigid brace to prevent spinal deformity, improve quality of life and lessen back pain.(3) Back braces aren'...t necessary forever, but for short term and for certain conditions, they help! (1)Shahvarpour A, Preuss R, Sullivan MJL, Negrini A, Larivière C: The effect of wearing a lumbar belt on biomechanical and psychological outcomes related to maximal flexion-extension motion and manual material handling. Appl Ergon. 2018 May;69:17-24. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2018.01.001. Epub 2018 Jan 6. (2)Ammendolia C, Rampersaud R, Southerst D, Ahmed A, Schneider M, et al: Effect of a prototype lumbar spinal stenosis belt versus a lumbar support on walking capacity in lumbar spinal stenosis: a randomized controlled trial.The Spine Journal 2019 (March); 19(3):386-394 (3)Kato T, Inose H, Ichimura S, Tokuhashi Y, et al: Comparison of Rigid and Soft-Brace Treatments for Acute Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fracture: A Prospective, Randomized, Multicenter Study. J Clin Med 2019 Feb 6;8(2). pii: E198. doi: 10.3390/jcm8020198.

GIVE IT TIME... AND CHIROPRACTIC! Leg pain (lumbosacral radiculopathy or sciatica) and loss of motor strength naturally concern patients. "When will it come back?" is a typical question. Keep in mind that studies show that treatment outcomes are quite similar for surgical and non-surgical care of disc herniation patients with leg radiculopathy.(1) One classic study reported that loss of motor strength due to sciatic nerve damage returned over 3 years with 10% in 6 months, 3...0% at 1 year, 50% at 2 years and 75% at 3 years.(2) A brand-new article concurs: Improvement comes over time regardless of treatment (surgery or non-surgery). Most patients in this new study did not choose surgery. Almost all of them regained full strength at 1 year with it typically occurring in the first 3 months though ongoing recovery took a year.(3) Don't hold back! Ask us the tough questions. We'll share with you the research-based answers. 1)Hanne A, Manniche C: The Efficacy of Systematic Active Conservative Treatment for Patients With Severe Sciatica: A Single-Blind, Randomized, Clinical, Controlled Trial. Spine 2012;37(7):531-542. 2)Yuen E, Olney R, So Y: Sciatic neuropathy: clinical and prognostic features in 73 patients. Neurology 1994;44(9):1669-74. 3)Akuthota V, Marshall B, Boimbo S, Osborne MC, Garvan CS, Garvan GJ, et al: Clinical Course of Motor Deficits from Lumbosacral Radiculopathy Due to Disc Herniation. PM R 2019 [Epub ahead of print]

Maybe you are thinking of seeing a chiropractor and have some questions? Here is a link to our Canadian Association. If you have more questions, see our website; www.vancouverspinecarecentre.com

Exercise Just a Little Each Week; It Helps! It doesn't take much to improve your health, reduce your back pain, and lessen your experience of cervical spine disability. It really doesn't! A new report states that just 60 minutes of progressive exercise once a week makes a difference. Such exercise improves overall physical health and decreases the occurrence of cervical spine disability and low back pain in patients with musculoskeletal pain. (1) Let's talk about how you might fill those 60 minutes with effective, do-able exercises just for you! www.vancouverspinecarecentre.com 1) Satpute K, Hall T, Bisen R, Lokhande P: The Effect Of Spinal Mobilization With Leg Movement In Patients With Lumbar Radiculopathy - A Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial. Arch J Phys Med Rehabil 2018 [Epub ahead of print]

WALKING AND BACK PAIN Walking is important. How often do you think about walking? How often are you thankful for the ability to put one foot in front of the other? Most of us don't give walking a second thought until we can't do it or can't do it as easily as we once did. Chronic non-specific low back pain tends to affect patients' motor control while walking. It's suspected that the erector spinae are working overtime in these patients, leading to a stiff lumbar-pelvic regio...n and a more difficult time of walking. (1) A new report shows that spinal manipulation in combination with individualized exercise improves the walking ability in back pain patients suffering with lumbar spinal stenosis better than medical care (medications/epidural steroid injections) and/or group exercise in the short term. (2) Further, spinal manipulation for patients with lumbar radiculopathy (leg pain) also benefits the relief of leg and back pain, disability, range of motion and patient satisfaction. (3) Our chiropractic care incorporates one or all these approaches as needed to get you the relief you want from back pain and keep you walking without a second thought. 1)Koch C, Hänsel F: Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain and Motor Control During Gait. Front Psychol 2018;9:2236 2)Schneider MJ, Ammendolia C, Murphy DR, Glick RM, Hile E, Tudorascu DL, Morton S, Smith C, Patterson C, Piva S: Comparative Clinical Effectiveness of Nonsurgical Treatment Methods in Patients With Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2019;2(1):e186828. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.6828 3)Rodríguez-Romero B, Bello O, Vivas Costa J, Carballo-Costa L: A Therapeutic Exercise Program Improves Pain And Physical Dimension Of Health-Related Quality Of Life In Young Adults. A Randomized Controlled Trial. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2018 [Epub ahead of print]

SEE YOUR CHIROPRACTOR FIRST You know seeing your chiropractor is beneficial. Your pain eases. You feel better. A benefit you may not realize since you are a chiropractic patient is that seeing a chiropractor reduces the chance of back surgery. A new report noted that there is a "very strong association" between back surgery and the first healthcare provider seen for the back pain issue. 42.7% of workers who first saw a surgeon first had surgery while only 1.5% of those who sa...w a chiropractor first had back surgery. (1) Plus, the chiropractic adjustment works wonders on the autonomic nervous system. This tie is described well in a new case report of a tension-type headache sufferer with major depression who found relief of both. (2) For a depressed back pain sufferer, relief from chiropractic care is most welcome! (1) 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 (Phila Pa 1976) 2013;38(11):953-64 (2)Chu ECP, Ng M. Long-term relief from tension-type headache and major depression following chiropractic treatment. J Family Med Prim Care. 2018 May-Jun;7(3):629-631. doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_68_18.

Best song for the current times. (It’s still OK to groove...but keep your distance, cause Dr. Henry says :)

To Your Health June, 2017 (Vol. 11, Issue 06) Your Heart Hates These Medications By Editorial Staff... If you haven't figured it out yet, your heart is a big deal a very big deal, and we're just talking about the health side of things. So let's keep figuring out ways to keep it as healthy as possible for as long as possible. Avoiding use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for even a few days is one way, suggests research. This finding is big because NSAIDs are so readily available and commonly used for everything from headaches to back pain. Think Advil, Motrin and similar over-the-counter medications. In this large study (nearly 500,000 participants ages 40-79), NSAID use for one to seven days increased the risk of suffering a heart attack by 24-53 percent: 24 percent for celecoxib (Celebrex), 48 percent for ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), 50 percent for diclofenac (Voltaren) and 53 percent for naproxen (Aleve). Heart attack risk increased with higher doses and higher duration of use. Does this mean if you take NSAIDs, you'll suffer a heart attack? It depends on your cardiovascular risk, general health and other factors. But you certainly don't want to take the chance, particularly if there are safer options available to deal with your pain. That's where chiropractic and other drug-free therapies can make a big difference. By the way, this isn't the first time (and won't be the last) that over-the-counter medications have been linked to dangerous health outcomes. While the pharmaceutical industry, mainstream advertising and even your medical doctor have made NSAIDs seem like the first choice for managing pain, increasing research suggests they should be one of the last.

HEADACHES AND CHIROPRACTIC CARE Headaches are not unusual! One in 5 new patients who visit a chiropractor complains of headache. Headache patients make up a large part of the chiropractic practice. Chiropractors often diagnose primary and secondary types of headache and co-manage headache patients with other healthcare providers. (1) Being back pain specialists who use spinal manipulation, chiropractors offer spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) for cervicogenic headache, and it... is reported to be effective. For the most benefit, a new study reports that 18 SMT visits compared with 1, 6, and 12 visits, is most effective by reducing cervicogenic headache days by half. Compared with light massage, SMT also produced 3 more cervicogenic headache-free days a month. (2) Headache patients are welcomed in our practice and often find satisfying relief of their headaches. 1)Moore C, Leaver A, Sibbritt D, Adams J. The management of common recurrent headaches by chiropractors: a descriptive analysis of a nationally representative survey. BMC Neurol. 2018 Oct 17;18(1):171. doi: 10.1186/s12883-018-1173-6. 2)Haas M, Bronfort G, Evans R, Schulz C, Vavrek D, Takaki L, Hanson L, Leininger B, Neradilek MB. Dose-response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for care of cervicogenic headache: a dual-center randomized controlled trial. Spine J. 2018 Feb 23. pii: S1529-9430(18)30077-9. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2018.02.019. [Epub ahead of print]

PREVENT CHRONIC DISEASES BY TREATING MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES EARLY Musculoskeletal conditions like back pain, neck pain and osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, may lead to chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, chronic respiratory disease or obesity. For example, those with osteoarthritis appear to have an elevated risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The latest study reports that those with musculoskeletal conditions have a 17% increased risk o...f developing a chronic disease. What do the study's researchers recommend? Manage musculoskeletal diseases early in their development. Preventing and treating these musculoskeletal conditions early may help prevent the development of chronic diseases later. Just what the connection is between musculoskeletal conditions and chronic disease risk is curious and yet unknown.(1) Your chiropractor manages musculoskeletal pain conditions all the time and encourages you to get a handle on your back pain and neck pain issues sooner than later! 1) Williams A, Kamper SJ, Wiggers JH, O'Brien KM, Lee H, Wolfenden L, Yoong SL, Robson E, McAuley JH, Hartvigsen J, Williams CM. Musculoskeletal conditions may increase the risk of chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. BMC Med. 2018 Sep 25;16(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s12916-018-1151-2.