The Back Vitalizer

For years, since I began private practice, patients have always asked me about back supports. Obus Forme, Therapeutica, home-made devices, etc. In search of being able to answer my patients properly, I have tried them all without much success. Each device has its pluses and miinuses. Despite being a significant player in the physical support industry, I have always found the Obus Forme back rest a bit cumbersome and restrictive of arm movements. Instead, I enjoyed the sleek Therapeutica back rests that provided minimal lumbar support but provided tactile presence for the entire spine to keep it aligned while sitting. But, it still wasn't providing the total package that sitters and back pain sufferers seeked.

Enter the Back Vitalizer! If you're a patient of mine, and have read my emails, you know that I recently purchased a new product - the Back Vitalizer (BV). The BV is touted as a multifunctional neuromuscular and biomechanical sitting device. The BV is both a lumbar support and a postural trainer. One puff of air into the BV turns it into a slim device that mimics sitting on an exercise ball. Sit with erect, spine-neutral posture on the BV and start exercising your core muscles. Then, slip it behind your back as a lumbar support.

Patients and clinicians seem to love this product. So far so good for me. It seems to do what it claims - promoting better sitting posture and providing needed lumbar support. Stay tuned for an update. For now, I recommend the Back Vitalizer if you're seeking an alternative to your current sitting support.

To be continued ...

Patient X-Files: Neck Pain & Headaches

Patient X, a 30 year old female nurse, presented to my office with pain and stiffness in her neck and back as well as daily headaches in the back of the skull and temple region. Her symptoms had been progressing for approximately one year. Following a thorough examination including appropriate orthopaedic, neurological and chiropractic testing patient X was diagnosed with cervicogenic headaches and chronic spinal joint restrictions. Cervicogenic headaches are a classification of headaches that are caused by injured muscles and joints of the neck. This is the most common source of headaches. Unwilling to rely on pain medication, especially because of the negative side effects medicine has on her body, patient X began a course of conservative care including spinal manipulation, deep tissue massage, laser therapy, and prescriptive home exercises. After her first treatment, patient X’s pain in her back and neck subsided and the frequency of her headaches decreased significantly to only one headache per week. Patient X has had three more visits (total of four) and her symptoms continue to decrease. The pain in her back and neck continue to be absent and her headache frequency and severity is significantly decreased.

Another chiropractic & laser therapy success story!

Saving Trees

This summer I began saving trees in a chiropractic sort of way. I successfully transitioned my office to paperless chiropractic files. Recently, the Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA) began endorsing and supplying (with a licensing fee, of course) Ontario chiropractors with ChiroWrite - an excellent electronic chiropractic records program.

The office cannot be completely paperless, however. New patient forms still require paper, but all appointment records are now computerized. Fumbling through files and hard to read handwritten notes are a thing of the past. Technology keeps taking me further. In fact, my lousy Dell laptop broke (again!) causing me to invest in a new laptop. So, armed with a new laptop (Lenovo!), wireless mouse, and my electronic records program, I am ready to help restore your body's healing ability with chiropractic care, all the while recording it via the click of a mouse.

You don't need an excuse to come in for a visit and have your spine aligned for healthy living, but if you're looking for an excuse come check out ChiroWrite! There is much talk, especially south of the border, about health care reform and saving the environment. I for one am now providing both: preventative health care and environmentally friendly.