The cold and flu season is upon us once again. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on average 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from seasonal flu-related complications. Seasonal influenza, commonly called the flu, is caused by influenza viruses, which infect the respiratory tract (i.e., the nose, throat, lungs). Unlike many other viral respiratory infections, such as the common cold, the flu can cause severe illness and life-threatening complications in many people. Are you ready for the cold and flu season?

The healthcare community is in unanimous agreement that the secret to fighting colds and the flu is a healthy immune system. Unfortunately, you cannot buy a healthy immune system or pop a pill to have a healthy immune system. A healthy immune system comes about as a result of having a properly functioning nervous system and body.

Chiropractic can give your immune system a boost through spinal adjustments. Let me give you the facts and a recent study about chiropractic and the flu: A study shown in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research in 1997 showed chiropractic care to be effective in treating the cold and flu. Over 2,800 individuals received regular chiropractic care and the result was an average 15% decrease in the incidence of colds and the flu.

According to the World Chiropractic Alliance, an international organization representing doctors of chiropractic, spinal adjustments can help your immune system function better. A Chiropractic adjustment corrects what are called vertebral subluxations which can cause interference of the nervous system and prevent the body from functioning as it should. When an adjustment is performed, it releases pressure on the nerves and allows more efficient interaction between your body’s nervous system and immune system. When your immune system is healthy it is better prepared to prevent or combat a cold or the flu.

Regular chiropractic care is beneficial to the body and preventing a cold and the flu is just one of the many positive side effects of regular chiropractic maintenance. Do you really need a flu shot? Or could great flu-fighting benefits accrue from taking a healthier and more natural approach to fighting the flu? And of course eating right, exercising, and having a healthy body are all important issues in combating the flu as well.

by Dr. Cherron J. Jenkins, DC

Forget Sudafed, NyQuil, Robitussin and the rest! For a quicker, easier, cheaper and effective remedy just listen to a chiropractor:

Alternate thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger.  This causes the vomer bone, which runs from the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth and will loosen congestion. After about 20 seconds you will feel your sinuses begin to drain. 

Chiropractic is #1 for lower back pain says CBS News

http://youtu.be/HhWyrkomdZ8

NFL uses chiropractic

Lake Murray Pain and Rehab is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Sean Phillips, DC to our team. 

Dr. Sean Phillips is a graduate of Life University’s chiropractic college.  Dr. Phillips received his Bachelor of Science from N.C. State University in Structural Engineering.  He then turned his focus to the structure of the human body.  He attended Logan Chiropractic College in Saint Louis, Missouri, where he was voted president of his class.  He then attended Life University, College of Chiropractic, where he refined his technique in Chiropractic Bio-Physics, the most researched technique in chiropractic.  Dr. Phillips is Board Certified by the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners as a Doctor of Chiropractic and is a member of the American Chiropractic Association and the Fibromyalgia Centers of America.  he is also Board Certified in Radiology of Physiotherapy.

As a student he received merit based scholarships in chemistry and chiropractic and was inducted into the prestigious Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society.  He was among the first to complete the PEAK program, an externship offered only senior students who meet a high standard of academic and moral excellence.  Dr. Phillips is published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research on the effects of chiropractic treatment on blood pressure in humans.

“As a freshman in high school I became a chiropractic patient and my experience helped me later realize God’s plan for me.  I developed a passion to help those who suffer and find relief and then, maximize their potential.  In high school I ran cross country, and I was literally the slowest on the team.  I had suffered with progressively worsening back pain and performance was severely inhibited.  Then I sought chiropractic help over the summer.  Not only did I find relief from back pain, but I started getting faster and faster with every race.  Over the next three months, I went from last to second place on the team; the only person faster on the team was a senior and a national top six runner.

My experiences have given me a great opportunity to care for patients with a wide variety of ailments from which they may suffer.  I have seen chiropractic do more then cure back pain and headaches, including: increase physical performance and improve the functions of every system of the body.  My mission is to restore health through natural chiropractic care thereby allowing my patients to live longer and fuller lives.  I look forward to serving the families and community of the Midlands.  Please feel free to call me with any questions, chiropractic, or related to any condition you have.”

Lose of motion in your hips will cause muscles in your back to work harder, change the  way you walk, thus straining your lower back and causing uneven wear and tear on your spine and lumber discs.

There are some easy ways to exercise the hip, keeping the joints loose and allowing the hip to move like it should. 

First, try laying on your back, knees up- bring your knees out sideways and then back to the center. Repeat slowly for 10-20 repetitions. You can also do it standing, bringing your knees out and in, rolling your feet. 

Another good stretch is to lay on your side allowing one leg to hang over the other. This will stretch the hips and the oblique muscles. You can do this lying on the edge of the bed so that your above leg can stretch and hang more. 

Our rehab therapist take special time to stretch your hips during your appointment and many of our patients need their hips adjusted hips along with their back to help relieve their pain.

What is Spinal Decompression Therapy?
Spinal Decompression therapy is a non-surgical, comfortable traction therapy for the relief of back and leg pain or neck and arm pain.  During the procedure, by cycling through through distraction and relaxation phases and by proper positioning, a spinal-disc can be isolated and placed under negative pressure, causing a vacuum effect within.

What can this vacuum effect do?
The vacuum effect accomplishes two things.  From a mechanical standpoint, disc material that has protruded or herniated outside the normal confines of the disc can be pulled back within the disc by the vacuum.  Also, the vacuum within the disc stimulates growth of blood supply, secondarily stimulating a healing response.  This results in pain reduction and proper healing at the injured site.

What machine is used for this purpose?
There are a number of spinal decompression machines presently used in the United States.  After significant research, Lake Murray Pain and Rehab chose the Triton DTS machine manufactured by Chattanooga, Inc for both of our clinics.

Who can benefit from Spinal Decompression Therapy?
Spinal decompression therapy is designed to unload the spinal disc.  Any back pain or neck pain caused in whole or in part by a damaged disc may be helped by spinal decompression therapy.  These conditions include #herniated, #protruding or #bulging #discs, #spinal #stenosis, #sciatica or #radiculopathy (pinched nerves).

Are there conditions where Spinal Decompression Therapy is not indicated?
Spinal decompression therapy is not recommended for pregnant women, or patients who have severe osteoporosis, serve obesity or severe nerve damage.  However, every patient is evaluated on an individual basis.  #Spinal #surgery with instrumentation (screws and metal plates or cages) is also contraindicated  Surgery to the discs without fusion or fusion using bony replacement is not contraindicated.

How oftendo I take treatment sessions?  How long does each session last?Each session includes decompression therapy and spinal stabilization exercises and takes about 1 hour.  Spinal decompression is usually performed 2-3 times a week for 15-20 minute sessions.

What are the results of Spinal Decompression Therapy?
Over 70%of patients have good pain relief.  Compare this success rate with the 74% failure rate of back surgery and the choice is clear.

What does Spinal Decompression Therapy cost?
For patients covered by insurance, typical out-of-pocket costs consist of a percentage of the total treatment cost, usually between 10 percent and 50 percent, or as much as $2,500. Most insurance companies do not cover Spinal Decompression because despite it’s success it is still considered an experimental treatment.  For patients not covered by insurance, treatment costs are typically $2800.  Compare this cost to the cost of back surgery:

• For patients not covered by health insurance, a laminectomy, typically used to treat spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that occurs mostly in people over 50, typically costs $50,000 to $90,000.
• For patients not covered by health insurance, spinal fusion, typically used to treat conditions such as a slipped vertebra, fractured vertebra or other spinal instability, typically costs $80,000 to $150,000 or more; a surgery in which high-end titanium implants are used instead typically will fall on the higher end.
• Back surgery is covered by most health insurance plans if ordered by a doctor. According to eSpine.com, the website of a Los Angeles back surgeon, most insurance plans will cover spinal surgery. Medicare generally covers back surgery.
• For patients covered by insurance, assuming the deductible has been met, typical out-of-pocket costs would consist of coinsurance of between 10 and 40 percent of the procedure, for a total of $200 to $2,000 or more, up to the yearly out-of-pocket maximum. Patients on a forum at Spine-Health.com discuss out-of-pocket costs.

At Lake Murray Pain and Rehab your health is our utmost priority.  We offer three options of 0% finance plans to help you meet your healthcare needs. Call today to schedule a consultation.

Irmo Clinic: 803-807-9960

Chapin Clinic: 803-345-0334

Conditions that respond well to our approach to spinal decompression are :

• Protruding and Herniated Discs
• Spinal Nerve Root Impingement
• Compression Fracture
• Facet Joint Disorder
• Sciatica
• Hypo mobility
• Degenerative Disc Disease
• Degenerative Joint Disease
• Arthritis
• Spinal Stenosis
• Numbness & Tingling

For patients not covered by health insurance, a laminectomy, typically used to treat spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine that occurs mostly in people over 50, typically costs $50,000 to$90,000.

For patients not covered by health insurance, spinal fusion, typically used to treat conditions such as a slipped vertebra, fractured vertebra or other spinal instability, typically costs$80,000 to $150,000 or more; a surgery in which high-end titanium implants are used instead typically will fall on the higher end.

Back surgery is covered by most health insurance plans if ordered by a doctor. According to eSpine.com, the website of a Los Angeles back surgeon, most insurance plans will cover spinal surgery. Medicare generally covers back surgery.

For patients covered by insurance, assuming the deductible has been met, typical out-of-pocket costs would consist of coinsurance of between 10 and 40 percent of the procedure, for a total of $200 to $2,000 or more, up to the yearly out-of-pocket maximum. Patients on a forum at Spine-Health.com discuss out-of-pocket costs.