Recent Posts

If you are dealing with shoulder pain after a car crash, you're not alone. Dr. Pittman sees this type of problem frequently in our San Angelo office. The key to recovering from shoulder pain caused by a crash is to understand the root cause of the problem and how chiropractic care can help.

There are at least two different ways that you can get shoulder problems after a crash: by direct injury to the shoulder joint or by referred pain from the neck.

Direct damage can be caused by hitting your shoulder on a hard object in the car during the crash, or can occur if you have a tight grip on the steering wheel during a rear end crash. With this type of injury, you'll often be aware of the pain soon after the wreck.

More commonly, Dr. Pittman finds that shoulder or arm pain doesn't immediately appear after a crash, but starts a few days or weeks after the accident. This type of shoulder discomfort actually starts in the neck. Injured muscles or ligaments in your neck can squeeze nerves in your neck, causing tingling, numbness, or pain in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated many types of shoulder pain in our San Angelo office. This treatment involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural mobility and home exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

You don't have to suffer from shoulder pain. Dr. Pittman is conveniently located in San Angelo to help you get better, whether you've been in a car crash or not. Dr. Pittman will first determine what's causing your pain and then work to restore your body to its natural functioning. Call us today at (325) 223-9355 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

Asthma is a huge concern for many people in San Angelo and for a society as a whole, since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that this problem currently affects almost 19 million adults and 7 million kids in the US. A full-blown asthma attack likely means a emergency room visit. Thankfully, Dr. Pittman has helped many folks in San Angelo get relief from asthma symptoms.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Asthma

The medical literature confirms what we see in our office. For example, a paper published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy evaluated 31 adult asthma patients after getting four weeks of chiropractic adjustments. The researchers found that the individuals who received chiropractic adjustments had a 34% decrease in asthma symptoms.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics published another asthma-based study, except this one involved children. In this paper, the 36 patients ranged from 6 to 17 years in age and their asthma was considered either mild or moderate in severity.

After 12 weeks of chiropractic adjustments, as a whole, the children reported a higher quality of life and a reduced level of severity. As a bonus, they also indicated that they depended less on their bronchodilator and these positive effects lasted one year after chiropractic care was complete.

We Can Help Clients Find Comfort From Asthma

So, whether you're 8 or 80, if you have asthma, be sure to contact Dr. Pittman in San Angelo and schedule an appointment today. We'll do what we can to help you breathe easier!

References

• Asthma. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Bronfort G et al. (2001, July-August). Chronic pediatric asthma and spinal manipulation: a prospective clinical series and randomized clinical pilot study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;24(6):369-77
• Nielsen N et al. (1995, January). Chronic asthma and chiropractic spinal manipulation: a randomized clinical trial. Clinical and Experimental Allergy;25(1):80-8

We tend to a large number of people in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Pittman has helped many people manage a wide array of health problems. Even so, one worry that seems to stop a lot of folks from seeking care is whether or not chiropractic care is safe. Luckily, according to three separate studies (out of countless on the subject), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first article(1) was published in Spine and involved 183 men and women. Each individual reported affected by some kind of back pain, and half of the people received real chiropractic care whereas the remaining patients received two fake chiropractic adjustments. Information was collected after each real or fake adjustment to discover if any unfavorable side effects were caused by the actual chiropractic treatments.

The authors reported that nobody reported any significant negative side effects whatsoever after getting one or two sessions of chiropractic care. Some people did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (37 percent) after treatment, but the results were not serious.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

The next article(2), also released in the distinguished publication, Spine, was performed in an effort to ascertain the safety of chiropractic. The study group was much larger as it involved just under 20,000 people. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments of the cervical spine, with over 50,000 total adjustments for all patients.

Once again, the experts discovered no serious adverse side effects. The experts determined the risk of total adverse reactions to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the first study, some participants did report non-serious, milder, unwanted effects such as dizziness (16 out of every 1,000 treatment consultations and 15 out of every 1,000 treatment sessions) or a headache (4 out of every 100), and this caused the researchers to determine that "the risk of a serious adverse event, immediately or up to 7 days after treatment, was low to very low."

Chiropractic Care Is Safe for Kids

The third research paper(3) is unique from the first two reports, as it focuses on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, researchers analyzed data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic treatment sessions.

Out of 5,438 chiropractic visits made for the kids, chiropractors responding to the survey documented only three cases where there were adverse effects. When parents were surveyed, they indicated only two adverse side effects out of 1,735 visits. Additionally, both chiropractors and parents reported "a high rate of improvement with respect to the children's presenting complaints."

Based on studies like these, chiropractic care has been judged safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our San Angelo clinic and schedule an appointment today at (325) 223-9355.

References

1. Walker BF, Hebert JJ, Stomski NJ, Clarke BR, Bowden RS, Losco B, French SD. Outcomes of usual chiropractic. The OUCH randomized controlled trial of adverse events. Spine 2013;38(20):1723-9.
2. Thiel HW1, Bolton JE, Docherty S, Portlock JC. Safety of chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine: a prospective national survey. Spine 2007;32(21):2375-8.
3. Alcantara J, Ohm J, Kunz D. The safety and effectiveness of pediatric chiropractic: a survey of chiropractors and parents in a practice-based research network. Explore NY 2009;5(5): 290-5.

When you're trying to support your family, take care of your household, and pay all of your bills on time, every day at work counts. Work injuries can be a serious problem for many folks, and we see many of these types of injuries in our San Angelo office. Dr. Pittman appreciates your situation and is here to help.

The benefits of chiropractic for work injuries are well-established. A 2013 survey involving over 600 adults who were troubled with either back or neck pain found that the men and women who didn't see a chiropractor missed work at twice the rate of those who were seeing a chiropractor.

So, why don't more people use Chiropractic Care?

According to the participants in this study, two of the major reasons were that they thought they needed a medical referral for chiropractic care (which is typically no longer true) and they overestimated the costs associated with chiropractic treatment sessions by almost 70 percent.

The reality is, chiropractic patients actually spend less on care than medical patients, plus they are less likely to use drugs for their symptoms.

Dr. Pittman Can Help Patients Find Relief From Chronic Pain

If you live in San Angelo and you've been injured at work, we can help. Give our office a call today at (325) 223-9355 for an appointment.

Sources

"Thousands of Minnesotans with Back and Neck Pain Don't Seek Treatment." (2013, June 12). ChiroCare.

Because trauma to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is frequently rather painful, we do our best to help our San Angelo patients find relief as quickly and effectively as possible. In fact, Dr. Pittman will tell you that the medical literature shows just how much chiropractic can help ease discomfort in the jaw.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With TMJ Pain and Discomfort

For instance, a study published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice included 15 people with temporomandibular disorders who were managed with neck adjustments, middle-back manipulation, and trigger point therapy via dry needling. Subjects were evaluated prior to these methods and at two weeks and two months post-treatment. The clinicians reported positive results such as reduced pain, greater jaw mobility, and lower disability at both follow-ups.

Another research study carried out a review of almost 800 studies involving manual and manipulative therapy for conditions such as TMJ and revealed similar results. They concluded that there is a "fair...level of evidence" that chiropractic care can help ease pain associated with jaw pain and other upper extremity disorders.

This is great news since the triggers of TMJ are largely unknown. While trauma to the jaw area can cause pain symptoms, there are other causes to consider as well, such as bruxism, osteoarthritis, and clenching of the jaw due to tension.

Dr. Pittman Can Help People Find Relief From TMJ Pain

No matter what is making your jaw ache, call Dr. Pittman now and make an appointment to come into our San Angelo practice. We'll do our best to help you smile pain-free!

Sources

• Gonzalez-Iglesias J et al. (2013, November). Mobilization with movement, thoracic spine manipulation, and dry needling for the management of temporomandibular disorder: a prospective case series. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice;29(8):586-95
• Brantingham J et al. (2013, March-April). Manipulative and multimodal therapy for upper extremity and temporomandibular disorders: a systematic review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics;36(3):143-201
• Oral Care. WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/temporomandibular-disorders-tmd on November 2, 2015

We see a large number of sports injuries in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Pittman is often able to assist these athletes. Stanford Children’s Hospital reports that over 3.5 million children of the ages 14 and below are hurt each year while playing sports. Add that to the close to 2 million adults hurt each year while taking part in sports-related activities, as reported by statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and you can begin to see the importance of preventing these sorts of widespread injuries. One way to possible achieve that goal, as stated in a study released in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, is to receive routine chiropractic care.

In Australian Rules football, hamstring and other leg traumas are common, frequently sidelining the players and affecting their team's odds of winning. One particular study was conducted using 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers to see if chiropractic could diminish these injuries and help keep them in the game.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps in Treating Sports Injuries

For this study particularly, all of the players got medical treatment. Furthermore, half of them also received chiropractic treatments at the rate of 1 treatment each week for the first 6 weeks, biweekly treatments for the next three months, and one treatment each month for the last 3 months of the study. The remaining participants were given no chiropractic intervention at all and were used as the control group to assess the benefits of chiropractic.

After twenty-four matches, specialists noted a diminished number of lower limb muscle strains in the group that had been given chiropractic care. Additionally, that very group also missed fewer matches related to non-contact knee injuries. This lead the researchers to conclude that chiropractic ought to be added to sports training programs to dramatically reduce the quantity of leg injuries.

Dr. Pittman Can Help People Find Relief From Sports Injuries & Help You Recover Faster

If you or your child are active in sports and you want to ensure more time is dedicated on the field as opposed to on the sidelines, call our San Angelo office at (325) 223-9355 and make an appointment today. We will do our best to keep you in the game!

References

• Hoskins, W, & Pollard, H. (2010, April 8). The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian Rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 11(64), doi:10.1186/1471-2474-11-64
• Misra, A. (2014, March 17). Common sports injuries: Incidence and average charges. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Stanford Children’s Hospital. (n.d.). Sports injury statistics.

Dr. Pittman sees a lot of back pain patients in our busy San Angelo chiropractic office. Many of our patients have some kind of spinal disorder that is causing them pain and distress. Fortunately, Dr. Pittman finds that spinal decompression therapy is a highly effective way to help these people.

What is Spinal Decompression and How Can it Help Me?

Non-surgical spinal decompression is a treatment approach that takes all of the positive benefits that one normally gets from chiropractic, traction, physiotherapy, exercise therapy, and myofascial release and combines them all into one.

The goal of decompression is to keep you away from the surgeon's knife, and that is precisely what it's achieved for a number of men and women, as it has a reported 85% success rate.

Some of the problems spinal decompression helps with include generalized back pain, sciatic nerve pain, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, compression fractures, and joint pain.

Spinal decompression works by reversing the influences of wear, tear, and the force of gravity that compresses the intervertebral discs in your neck and back. The movie below demonstrates how it works to eliminate pressure on your back and helps lessen pain and disability.

Dr. Pittman Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Chronic Back Pain

If you live in San Angelo and you're suffering with back problems, spinal decompression treatment might be the solution. Call Dr. Pittman today at (325) 223-9355 for a consultation or appointment.

According to experts, about 2-5 percent of the population will suffer from painful ailments like frozen shoulder syndrome at some point in their lives. That makes shoulder-related pain a common occurrence and one that Dr. Pittman sees in our San Angelo practice on a regular basis.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Shoulder Pain

Generally, this condition is more prevalent for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and it tends to affect women more frequently than men. While ice, heat, and gentle stretching can sometimes help relieve the discomfort, so too can chiropractic.

For instance, one study released in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine looked at 50 people with frozen shoulder who received chiropractic care. The length of care ranged from 11 days to 51 days, with 28 days being the average.

The researchers found that almost all of the study participants fared extremely well with chiropractic care. The authors found:

8 of the subjects reported 50-75 percent improvement
25 indicated improvement ranging from 75- 90 percent
1 participant had complete resolution of their frozen shoulder pain

Only one patient reported an improvement of 50 percent or less, so reports like this show just how beneficial chiropractic can be when it comes to decreasing shoulder pain and increasing quality of life.

We Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Shoulder Pain

Let Dr. Pittman help you decrease your suffering by contacting our San Angelo office and scheduling your appointment today.

Resources

Murphy F et al. (2012, December). Chiropractic management of frozen shoulder syndrome using a novel technique: a retrospective case series of 50 patients. Journal of Chiropractic Medicine;11(4):267-272

Dr. Pittman works with many sciatica patients here in our San Angelo office, and many of these individuals were afraid that they might require surgery to relieve their pain. The most recent research reveals that many people don't require surgery for this common problem, and that chiropractic is more beneficial at clearing up sciatic nerve pain.

A common surgery for sciatica is microdiscectomy, and in a 2010 study, researchers looked at 80 women and men with sciatica who were referred for this procedure.

Forty patients were then randomly placed in one of two groups. The first group received surgical microdiscectomy and the second group was given chiropractic care.

Both groups got better; however, no noticeable difference in results was reported one year post-treatment between either group. In addition, around 60 percent of the participating patients who could not find assistance from any other treatment approach "benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention."

Simply put, chiropractic provided the same positive benefits as surgery without having to go through the greater levels of surgery-based pain or suffer through drawn-out recovery times often associated with that type of treatment choice. Plus, you also don't run the risks linked to surgical microdiscectomy, which includes nerve root damage, bowel or bladder incontinence, bleeding, or infection.

Surgery ought to be the last option for sciatica pain. If you live in San Angelo and you're experiencing back pain or sciatica, give Dr. Pittman a call today at (325) 223-9355. We'll help pinpoint the source of your pain and work hard to get you relief.

References

• McMorland, G et al. Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica? A prospective randomized clinical study. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2010;33(8):576-584.
• Solberg TK, Nygaard OP, Sjaavik K, Hofoss D, Ingebrigtsen T. The risk of "getting worse" after lumbar microdiscectomy. European Spine Journal 2005;14(1):49-54.
  

While many women automatically assume that carrying a child and severe pain in the lower back go hand in hand, they are often surprised when they learn that this is not necessarily the case. In fact, chiropractic can often help alleviate persistant back pain for pregnant women by as much as 85 percent.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Pregnancy

In our busy San Angelo chiropractic office, it isn't uncommon for pregnant women to reach out to Dr. Pittman for help relieving their back pain.

A research study published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies involved 115 women who were pregnant (most of which were in their third trimester) and reported pain in their lower back region, pelvic area, or both. Data was gathered prior to the study, as well as one week, one month, three months, and one year after treatment commenced. At each subsequent point in time, the participants were asked to rate their level of pain based on a 7-point scale to determine whether it was better, worse, or stayed the same. The results?

More than half reported that their pain was better after one week of chiropractic treatment. After one month, that amount jumped up to 70 percent, climbing even more to 85 percent showing improvement at the three month mark. Improvement was still reported at six months post-treatment, which was generally after childbirth, and continued to the final data collection one year after treatment commenced.

There are also many additional advantages of chiropractic care during pregnancy. Not only does it effectively ease back pain, but it does it in a completely natural and non-invasive way. This means that you don't have to worry about taking any medications or undergoing any type of treatment that could potentially harm your unborn child.

Dr. Pittman Can Help People Find Relief From Back Pain During Pregnancy

Additionally, it makes your time spent carrying your child more pleasant. When you're not sidetracked with aches and pains, you can enjoy the experience even more as you prepare your home and your life for all of the fun and exciting changes that lie ahead.

You don't have to suffer from back pain during pregnancy. We're here in San Angelo to help with natural chiropractic care. Give us a call today at (325) 223-9355 to make an appointment.

Peterson CK, Muhlemann D, & Humphreys BK. Outcomes of pregnant patients with low back pain undergoing chiropractic treatment: a prospective cohort study with short term, medium term and 1 year follow-up. Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2014;22(15):doi:10.1186/2045-709X-22-15.