bone setting to improve equilization disorders

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Thesis:
Cervical spine manipulation (chiropractic adjustments) can be utilized to dramatically improve equalization disorders.

History:
Vertebral manipulation (chiropractic adjustments) have been proven very effective for inner ear disorders (fluid congestion, earache, imbalance, vertigo). The research regarding this subject has been properly done, valid, and repeatable.

I have been practicing chiropractic for 20 years. Success with inner ear disorders following chiropractic adjusting is so common, it is anticipated with confidence.

Several years ago, a patient presented to me who was going to give up diving because she could not equalize well. Diving was impossible. Her spouse was going to give up diving as well, as they shared this wonderful hobby. The drugs used to treat this disorder did not sit well with her.

We began a process of specific cervical spine adjusting, to correct physical\mechanical joint dysfunction in the neck. The outcome was positive and she corrected the CAUSE of her equalization problems. She dives frequently now with no problems. The positive outcome kept this couple together in diving.

I have been conducting ongoing research into this cause\effect. The outcome has been repeatable and positive, to the extent that I feel confident bonesetting is a vailid treatment for equalization disorders.

Currently, a young member of this board is undergoing this research experiment. She dives along with her mother and father and brother. Recently, she was considering giving up on the sport, because she could not equalize effectively in one ear. It was too painful as soon as she began descent. We are treating her 1X\week for 6 weeks. Then we will re-evaluate and go to the pool. I'll keep the board posted on this outcome.

This professional vowes to report the outcome objective and truthfully. I'll keep you all posted.

I welcome comments regarding this issue. Please share your experiences with this doctor\diver.

page.crow dc

 

[scubadoc]

It would be of interest if you would post your published references to manipulation of the neck in reduction of problems equalizing. I cannot find any studies (RCTs) in Medline or anywhere else that point to this benefit.

On the contrary - there are numerous references to the dangers of cervical manipulation causing problems.

See Medline abstracts at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...=Display&dopt=pubmed_pubmed&from_uid=12671424

In view of the published accidents and injuries caused by neck manipulation, it might be wise for divers to explore other means and techniques of clearing their ears before rushing to undergo chiropractic manipulation - a procedure of highly questionable efficacy and one which might possibly be a danger to their wellbeing.

Best regards for safe diving!

Ern Campbell, MD
Diving Medicine Online
http://scuba-doc.com/

 

[Isbadd]

An interesting and fear mongering reply doc. Let's take a closer look at some of those "published" research articles you reference.

number 1 on the list studied 9 cases of vertigo with a reported onset post manipulation over a period of 3 years.

A chiropractic physician is highly trained in exam and diagnosis. orthopeadic tests such as George's test will rule out the exact precondition this study reveals.

There are over 60,000 licensed chiropractic physicians practicing in the US today giving an average of 25 adjustments per day. Do the math doc, that equates to 1,500,000 adjustments per day. Over a 3 year period they found 9 cases of vertigo that all had preexisting conditions that admitedly should have been discovered during examination.

This hardly justifies your imbelishment of the danger of this recognized safe and effective treatment option.

 

[Isbadd]

the second and thrid studies are regarding traumatic spinal fractures!! It has nothing to do with physician apllied specific cervical adjustments.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10788863&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9563109&dopt=Abstract

 

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My reply to Dr. Campbell:

Medlars is a medical database. It is controlled by the medical establishment. Medlars does not publish positive chiropractic outcome studies. Your reply is typical of the medical profession's attempts to misinform the public and suppress any health care practice that is not medical\surgical based.

I have practiced chiropractic for 20 years. I see 40-70 patients a day, young and old. I have NEVER had an adverse incident in my office. Surely doctor, after all these years, if bonesetting were "injurous and accident-prone", someone would have told me by now.

The art and science of vertebral manipulation has been practiced in America for over 100 years by chiropractors. MDs practice bonesetting in China (called tui-na) and have done so for over 5000 years. They scoff at western medicines' attempts to discredit this practice.

Chiropractic research can be accessed via chirolars, www.dynamicchiropractic.com, www.icpa4kids.com, JMPT to name a few. Any chiropractic college can direct you to specific research if you so seek it.

Research, paperwork, published documents, etc. can all say what anybody wants them to say. But does that get the patient well? No.

I come to this forum to offer help and assistance to the diving community. I bring with me my 20 years experience in my profession. I am certain that the practice of specific vertebral manipulation has a positive effect on helping divers achieve pressure accomodation and equalization. I have seen this happen repeatedly. The success stories abound in my office. I wouldn't be here saying these things if I didn't confidently feel they were true.

I have attempted to have this information reported in some of the major diving publications. I was quickly rejected. Medical doctors run the show.

I suggest that chiropractic is a safe, effective, clinically proven, technique for the correction of pressure accomodation disorders. I suggest divers having this problem consider chiropractic. Talk to your diving peers, your divemaster, a chiropractor about this subject. Don't fall victim to a medical doctor's attempt to spread misinformation and fear.

Dr. Campbell refers to "other means and techniques of clearing their ears..." What are you referring to? Drugs? The drugs do not work. Also, the dangers, side effects, and bad feeling you get from taking drugs make that a poor option. Also, the drugs do not CURE anything. You have to keep taking them to get the desired effect. I invite you, Dr. Campbell, to review your "other means and techniques".

I am suggesting a safe, non-toxic, effective way to correct ear equalization disorders. Why suppress that?

I invite other divers to share their experiences regarding chiropractic. Its one thing to publish a research study. It's much more fun to help a diver overcome the disabling effects of pressure accomodation and get them down to depth.

I wish all well.

page crow dc

 

[JohnStrr]

In lak'ech

 

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Dr. Webster,

I noted your website address on your post reply. I went to www.scuba-doc.com and checked it out. Nice looking website.

I made a search inquiry on your site www.scuba-doc for the following terms:

ear equalization disorders
ear equilization disorders
pressure accomodation disorders
ear pressure accomodation disorders
inner ear
middle ear
ear squeeze
ear problems

All the website would return was "no matches"

When I typed barotrauma, I was directed to the ENT section.

Your website front page makes this statement:
"This is a large web site containing comprehensive information for the non-medical diver, the non-diving medical professional, and the diving medical specialist."

If people use your website, then go to your search engine, then try to find information about how to fix their ear problems, a person would have a hard time finding any information about their ear.

I RESPECTFULLY SUBMIT THIS TO YOU DOCTOR. <humbly bowing>

When I went to the ENT section from the glossary page, I found a PDF document from a physician on equalizing techniques. The document describes two actions to take: take nasal decongestant drugs and variations on facial, throat, sinous movements with pressure. Not much help.

When I studied further in your website in the ENT section, I viewed several articles. But not much at all was written about how to get your ears to pressure equalize. You describe more drugs, but thats it sir. Not much else. Surgery. A note on acupuncture.

Doctor Campbell, I'm an Eagle Boy Scout like you. I also swam on the team here in Missouri. I am behind you in time by about 40 years. I am a diver and lover of knowledge, like you. I am a health care provider too. We both have our jobs. I want the same stuff you do for your patients and divers. But get hip to this sir: In all your years of study in medical ENT, you only are considering and offering to the public a few options to help their ear problems with diving: wiggling the face with pressure, nasal drugs, surgery. I know you have strong convictions for your medical work, and I respect you for that. Try to consider this: There's more than one way to look at the elephant. You see it black and white from only one perspective. You may be missing out (and I think you are) on a HUGE piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding the ENT anatomy and physiology. The nervous system affects and controls musculature in the all structures of the body. The vertebral spine directly affects the nervous system. So do the facial bones, TMJ, mastoids, occiput etc. Specific controlled manipulation of the spine has an INCREDIBLE positive effect on the ENT. You are so into ENT how can you ignore this? I have never hurt anybody doing what I do. I get them better all the time. Little babies with earaches-piece of cake to fix. Yeah. We work on them too. Amazing, huh? It's wonderful. You should see it. You would dig it, I believe. It doesn't hurt kids, or old people. Sure, I will readily admit this work can be done wrong by a chiro who has no skill. Can mistakes happen? In any profession. It's just much more rare than you think, practically non-existant. But that's not what the medical establishment would have you or the public think. Don't fall victim of your profession's negative propoganda. You practiced in the era when the AMA effectively suppressed my profession. It doesn't work that way anymore. We are too well educated these days. Our DCs are highly schooled and trained.

Chiros, DOs, and eastern MDs even do facial bone (ethmoid, sphenoid etc.) temporal, TMJ adjustments that would blow your mind. Don't get stuck in your thinking. Don't be obstinate. This stuff is going on all around you. Putting it down has never and will never make it go away. It gets people better, without the drugs and surgery.

There are pts who incur immediate loss of taste and smell when they have sinous blockage and pressure, then try to clear their nose forcefully, or sneeze strongly. Instant loss of taste and smell. I've heard ENTs tell their pts, "Bacteria or virus got in there and ate up your nerves...the sinous medication did it...I don't know what caused it, let's do some more tests..." And so on. The cause is more logically described by the idea that immediate high facial bone loading and pressure stress separated ethmoid and sphenoid. When this happens to pts, they lose taste and smell and they are told by their ENT it probably won't come back. And it doesn't. Enter bonesetters. Note the work of Dr. Upledger DO-decades ago he was adjusting these pts and they were regaining nervous sensory. Note Mark Pick DC. His work: Cranial Sutures-Analysis, Morpholgoy & Manipulative Strategies. 500 pages of kick-butt wisdom. You think your surgery stuff is cool. You should check out what we are doing! It's incredible. No adverse side-effects. None.

There is a large majority of people who do not want to take your drugs, inhalents, chemicals, and toxic, addictive, harmful meds. They are looking for ways to solve their problems without taking pharma dope.

If you really enjoy helpng others in diving with ENT, I suggest you become aware of what we do in the bone setting health care field. ENT is what I love to do. I know you are into it. I've seen your resume. I humbly acknowledge all you have contributed. Now sir...don't close your eyes to what we do in our field of service I love so much-chiropractic. It works and it's very safe.

Like I said earlier. I'm an Eagle Scout like you. We tell the truth. I'm telling it to you now.

page crow dc

 

[BillP]

page.crow once bubbled...


History:
Vertebral manipulation (chiropractic adjustments) have been proven very effective for inner ear disorders (fluid congestion, earache, imbalance, vertigo). The research regarding this subject has been properly done, valid, and repeatable.

page.crow dc

Dear Dr. Crow:

I too find your claims interesting and would like to see the "properly done, valid, and repeatable" research that backs it up.

All that I was able to find on my own was a 1999 article from chiropractors at the Northwestern College of Chiropractic published in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics (I believe you suggested this journal-found on Medline incidentally- as a reference source, didn't you?) that says, "Although chiropractors have anecdotally claimed success in treating otitis media" (middle ear inflammation), "there is little research to support their claims". They suggest that the studies could be done to investigate your claims though. See:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10395431&dopt=Abstract

I also found a 2003 article from the Department of Complementary Medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in England published in the New Zealand Medical Journal that concludes, "Only very few randomised clinical trials of chiropractic manipulation as a treatment of non-spinal conditions exist. The claim that this approach is effective for such conditions is not based on data from rigorous clinical trials". See:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14513080&dopt=Abstract

Now, granted the article from the chiropractors in Minnesota was looking at otitis media in children and it is 4 years old, and the article from England didn't say (in the abstract) exactly where it looked for studies to review and it is from a medical school and possibly biased, but they both seem unaware of any great body of "properly done, valid, and repeatable" research that backs up your claims.

I looked at the reference sources you suggested. I couldn’t find where articles published in "JMPT" (as available on Medline) support your claims. I could find a lot of slick promotional material on www.dynamicchiropractic.com and www.icpa4kids.com, but I didn't run across any science. I couldn't find Chirolar available online, and the chiropractic literature index I did find only listed titles of articles and no abstracts.

IMHO, chiropractic is a noble, honorable, safe, and effective art when practiced properly. I would recommend that any readers on Scubaboard who are considering chiropractic care take a look at:

http://www.quackwatch.org/

They have quite a lot on their website about what (in their opinion) constitutes proper and improper chiropractic care (scroll down on the main page to the section on “Chiropractic”). If you’re interested in that kind of thing, they also have primers on what techniques purveyors of all kinds of unproven or ineffective treatments use to promote their views- fascinating stuff.

Bill

 

[Isbadd]

Bill,

Thank you very much for taking to time to reveal the appalling lack of publications of the effectiveness of SMT.

A major part of my education was to attempt to publish a study in any refereed journal. This is a part of the training in all 14 CCE accredited Chiropractic colleges.

Ironically, even with several thousand papers submitted annually, very, very few(if any) are ever published.

It is interesting you reference quack watch. The editors of this web page were directly connected to the 1989 supreme court ruling that found the AMA guilty of conspirecy with an attempt to monopolize health care in America by isolating and eliminating chiropractic. (Wilk et. al. vs. AMA)

The ultimate victims of these attempts to suppress the truth of SMT is the American public. By the way, I am very proud to be listed on quackwatch.org.

 

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Bill is correct. The chiropractic profession woefully lacks published research regarding the effects of bonesetting (SMT). There is no excuse for this. Isbadd is correct that many properly done studies and research are simplly ignored by the medical publications. That's control and suppression. But I am no victim of that. The public and the medical professionals with an open and inquisitive mind don't get to learn about the wonderful outcomes with the use of chiropractic. Rather, the profession is publically whipped by misinformation from the medical establishment.

Misdirection is one tool-like Bill used here. Bill's referral over to quack watch misdirects the forum public here. The TOPIC was and still is CERVICAL SPINE MANIPULATION FOR EAR EQUILIZATION DISORDERS. Bill's attempt to misdirect the public to look at a defamatory website that calls chiropractors quacks is a common fallacious act.

Bill: I will agree there are DCs who are less than honorable. Some do stupid things. But isn't that true of any profession? I have practiced chiropractic for 20 years and have done my best to represent the profession in a good way. I wouldn't still be in business if my work was wrong or ineffective.

Subtle work there Bill. Calling my profession quackery, but taking it off the forum and letting some other entity do the trash talking. Very clever. I got to hand it to you. <smiling>

Name calling, misdirection, fallicious statements, general suppression, ignorance-these techniques work to keep others down. But it's not helping the diver get to depth without ear pain. That's what I'm trying to help with here. I'd appreciate it if you let my try.

page crow