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

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

The objective of this technique is to keep you away from the surgeon's knife, and that is exactly what it's accomplished for a number of folks, as it has a documented 85% success rate.

A few of the issues spinal decompression helps with include generalized back pain, sciatica, herniated discs, degenerative disc disease, compression fractures, and joint pain.

Spinal decompression works by reversing the effects of wear, tear, and gravity that compresses the intervertebral discs in your spine. The movie below shows how it works to reduce pressure on your back and helps reduce pain and disability.

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

Unfortunately, quite a few of our San Angelo patients know the pain associated with a herniated disc all too well. Fortunately, Dr. Tim Pittman has helped many people with disc pain, and a number of research studies have confirmed that chiropractic care can help people recover from this kind of problem.

Research on Herniated Discs and Chiropractic

In one study, doctors from Switzerland selected 148 patients who were coping with pain in their lower back and legs due to a disc herniation (which was confirmed through magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI). Each individual then received chiropractic adjustments that focused on the area of his or her disc problem.

Data was gathered after the preliminary treatment session at set intervals--namely, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year--to determine what kind of short-term and long-term effects, if any, chiropractic care offers when it comes to resolving this particular problem. Among the data gathered was the person's self-reported changes in both low back and leg pain.

Investigators found that, as a whole, the study participants reported "significant improvement" for both types of pain every time the results were collected. In fact, over 90% of the individuals reported that their pain "improved" within the first three months, with 88% still citing improvement one year after their first treatment session.

Even those people who were defined as "chronic" still claimed an improvement in pain at a rate of 89 percent one year beyond when treatment first began. This is the same positive result that was found in the following case study.

Case Study Results

In this study, a 26-year-old man had presented with disc herniation symptoms such as pain in the low back, left leg, and left groin area, along with left foot drop and muscle weakness. He had endured these symptoms for more than two years after sustaining an athletic injury, and his disc herniation was confirmed via MRI.

After receiving chiropractic, "The patient responded favorably and his multi-symptom complex resolved within 90 days of treatment." In addition, the patient was still enjoying relief one year after the chiropractic intervention.

Studies like these show how helpful chiropractic can be when it comes to alleviating herniated disc pain and reducing the symptoms they cause. So, if you are suffering from back pain caused by a herniated disc and wish to find some relief, chiropractic might be an effective solution.

Don't suffer from chronic herniated disc pain. Give our San Angelo office a call today at (325) 223-9355 for a consultation or appointment.

References

• Leemann S, Peterson CK, Schmid C, Anklin B, Humphreys BK. Outcomes of acute and chronic patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed symptomatic lumbar disc herniations receiving high-velocity, low-amplitude, spinal manipulative therapy: a prospective observational cohort study with one-year follow-up. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2014;37(3):155-163.
• Polkinghorn BS, Colloca CJ. Treatment of symptomatic lumbar disc herniation using activator methods chiropractic technique. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1998;21(3):187-196.
  

Dr. Tim Pittman sees a lot of people struggling with carpal tunnel syndrome in our busy San Angelo chiropractic practice. While some people think that the origin of this wrist-related pain is muscular, it's really a condition that arises from the nerves--and not just the nerves in your hands.

Recent research printed in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy assessed 71 women between the ages of 35 and 59 who were diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome. Upon studying the subjects' neck range of motion, the researchers found that the patients had reduced cervical mobility when compared to a healthy control group.

In addition, it was also observed that the degree of the women's reported carpal tunnel pain was connected to the lateral flexion of the cervical spine. In other words, the less range of motion in the neck, the higher the level of pain.

This research is very important, as you cannot successfully address a problem until you fully understand its cause. By realizing that the root of carpal tunnel pain is in the neck, this means that all-natural approaches like chiropractic can often restore normal function, reducing the need for risky surgery.

If you are suffering from carpal tunnel pain, call our San Angelo location and ask how Dr. Tim Pittman can help you get relief!

Studies

De-la-Llave-Rincon A et al. (2011, May). Women with carpal tunnel syndrome show restricted cervical range of motion. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy;41(5):305-10.
Simon H. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. University of Maryland Medical Center. Updated May 6, 2012. Retrieved from https://umm.edu/health/medical/reports/articles/carpal-tunnel-syndrome on November 2, 2015.

We see many back pain patients in our San Angelo office, and Dr. Tim Pittman has helped a lot of them get relief with chiropractic care. However, dealing with back problems doesn't necessarily mean having to decide between chiropractic care and medical treatment, as many people use both types of care with great success.

Research Confirms Chiropractic and Medical Care Work Well with Each Other

In a study published by the journal Spine investigators¹ looked at a group of active-duty military personnel between the ages of 18 and 35 who claimed both acute pain and restricted function due to back-related issues. Some of the test subjects engaged in treatment via standard medical therapy, while the rest received chiropractic care as well as regular medical care, as the authors wanted to see which patients fared better.

The authors discovered that the patients who got standard medical care in combination with chiropractic care scored "significantly better" than the patients who received medical care alone; 73% reported positive benefits compared to just 17% of the medical treatment only group who reported the same amount of improvement. This was true regarding both pain and level of function at the two- and four-week marks.

Accordingly, incorporating these two forms of care can greatly benefit you--the patient--offering advantages when compared to medical care alone. However, while chiropractic care and medical approaches can work together, chiropractic offers some unique strengths over medical therapy.

Where Chiropractic Pulls Ahead

Although it may seem as if each method plays a 50/50 role, there is one major benefit that chiropractic has over medical care and that is in patient satisfaction. In fact, a study from UCLA² that was printed in the American Journal of Public Health reports that, on average, chiropractic patients are generally more satisfied with their recovery than patients undergoing medical treatment.

According to the researchers, the main aspects that patients favored over medical care were "self-care advice and explanation of treatment." This isn't unexpected, as chiropractors typically spend much more time advising their patients as to how they can better their health on their own, as well as outlining more thoroughly what to expect from chiropractic.

Chiropractic Care Offers a Non-Invasive Approach

Without a doubt, the methods associated with chiropractic are quite different than those provided with medical therapy, but a great deal of the difference is the fact that chiropractic is a holistic approach to health and well-being. In contrast to focusing on just relieving the symptoms, chiropractic involves searching for the root cause of your pain, which often translates to greater improvement as you are addressing the problem at its source.

Furthermore, while medication is sometimes helpful for managing certain conditions, many health issues respond well to a natural approach like chiropractic care. This means fewer negative side effects from drugs and longer-lasting recovery.

You don't have to suffer from back pain or other health issues. Give our San Angelo office a call today at (325) 223-9355. We'll do everything we can to help you get and continue to be free from back pain.

References

1. Goertz CM, Long CR, Hondras MA, Petri R, Delgado R, Lawrence DJ, Owens EF, Meeker WC. Adding chiropractic manipulative therapy to standard medical care for patients with acute low back pain: results of a pragmatic randomized comparative effectiveness study. Spine 2013;38(8):627-634.
2. Hertzman-Miller RP1, Morgenstern H, Hurwitz EL, Yu F, Adams AH, Harber P, Kominski GF. Comparing the satisfaction of low back pain patients randomized to receive medical or chiropractic care: results from the UCLA low-back pain study. American Journal of Public Health 2002;92(10):1628-1633.

We treat many auto injury cases in in our San Angelo office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is shoulder pain. Why is shoulder pain such a common problem after a car accident? How can your chiropractor help you get better?

There are at least two different ways that you can get shoulder pain after a car crash: by direct trauma to the shoulder or by radiating 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 collision. With this type of injury, you'll usually be aware of the pain soon after the crash.

More commonly, Dr. Tim Pittman finds that shoulder or arm pain does not immediately appear after a crash, but starts a few days or weeks after the injury. This type of shoulder pain actually starts in the neck. Injured soft tissue in your spine can pinch nerves in your neck, causing numbness, tingling, or soreness in your shoulder, elbow, or wrist.

We've treated both kinds of shoulder problems in our San Angelo office. This process involves chiropractic adjustments to restore your spine's natural flexibility and exercises that strengthen your neck and shoulder.

Let us help you recover from shoulder pain. Dr. Tim Pittman has helped many people with the same problem, and we can probably help you, too. First, we'll do a careful examination to determine the root cause of your problem, and then decide how to restore your body's natural functioning. Call us today at (325) 223-9355 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.

Asthma is a significant worry for many people in San Angelo and for society as a whole, truly, 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. Tim Pittman has helped many folks in San Angelo get relief from asthma symptoms.

The scientific research verifies what we see in our office. For instance, a study published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy assessed 31 adult asthma patients after getting four weeks of chiropractic adjustments. The authors reported that the individuals who received chiropractic adjustments had a 34% decrease in asthma symptoms.

The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics printed another asthma-based study, except this one involved kids. In this article, the 36 kids ranged from 6 to 17 years in age and their asthma was regarded as either mild or moderate in severity.

After 12 weeks of chiropractic, as a whole, the patients 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 were still being demonstrated one year after chiropractic care was finished.

So, whether you're 9 or 90, if you have asthma, be sure to contact Dr. Tim Pittman in San Angelo and schedule an appointment today. We'll do what we can to help you breathe easier!

Resources

• 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

Over 2 million people are hurt each year in car accidents in the U.S. While some people are able to heal from their injuries relatively easily, many folks are left to deal with chronic pain and disability. We see many of these patients here in our San Angelo office. Fortunately, Dr. Tim Pittman is here to help you heal from your auto injury.

The science confirms what we see in our office: A British study was conducted on 28 men and women diagnosed with chronic whiplash pain. Each participant received chiropractic adjustments and 93 percent of them experienced pain relief following their adjustments, even though 43 percent of whiplash sufferers overall usually never find relief. This confirms that chiropractic care is a great way to avoid long-term pain after a crash.

It's important to remember that research has also found that putting off care after a car crash can negatively affect healing time, so getting in to see Dr. Tim Pittman immediately is key to having a speedier recovery.

Dr. Tim Pittman has worked with many auto injury sufferers, and we're here to help you, too. Call our San Angelo office today for more information or an appointment.

References

• Association for Safe International Road Travel. Retrieved from http://asirt.org/initiatives/informing-road-users/road-safety-facts/road-crash-statistics
• Dies S & Strapp J. (1992, September). Chiropractic treatment of patients in motor vehicle accidents: a statistical analysis. The Journal of the Canadian Chiropractic Association, 36(3), 139-145.
• Woodward M et al. (1996, November). Chiropractic treatment of chronic 'whiplash' injuries. Injury, 27(9), 643-645.

We care for a large number of people in our San Angelo clinic, and Dr. Tim Pittman has helped many people manage a wide array of health issues. However, a frequent concern that seems to stop many people from seeking treatment is whether or not chiropractic is safe. Fortunately, according to three separate studies (out of many on the topic), the answer to this question is a resounding: "Yes! Chiropractic is safe!"

Chiropractic is Safe, According to Australian Study

The first research paper(1) was published in Spine and included 183 men and women. Each test subject reported suffering from some kind of back pain, and half of the patients received real chiropractic care whereas the other half were given two sham chiropractic treatments. Information was gathered after each real or fake adjustment to see if any unpleasant reactions occurred as a result of the real chiropractic adjustments.

Researchers reported that no one reported any serious unfavorable side effects at all after receiving one or two sessions of chiropractic. Some participants did report that they got a headache (9 percent) or muscle stiffness (about 1 out of 3) post-treatment, but the effects were not of a serious nature.

National Survey Finds that Chiropractic is Safe

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

Once again, the researchers discovered no serious adverse side effects. The authors calculated the risk of total negative effects to be about 6 out of every 10,000 consultations or every 100,000 treatment sessions. And, just as with the previous study, some individuals did report non-serious, milder, side effects such as dizziness (about 1.6%) or a headache (4%), and this caused the authors to conclude 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 Children

The third research paper(3) is different from the first two pieces of research, as it concentrates on the safety of chiropractic care for kids. In this article, researchers investigated data reported by both chiropractors and parents involving 816 children who participated in 7,173 chiropractic adjustments.

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

Based on studies like these, chiropractic has been found to be safe and effective for everyone. To find out what chiropractic care can do for you, call our San Angelo office 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.