Women Matter News Report – Chiropractic and Infertility

Today I wanted to share a great story that a local news station in Omaha Nebraska did on Chiropractic and Infertility. It features the story of one women who became pregnant after 3 months of chiropractic care when other infertility treatments had failed her.

For any couple wishing to have a child, this story represents real hope.

But it’s just one women and one situation and if you saw this segment on your evening TV, it would be easy to dismiss the story as a coincidence. The critical question is… how many other infertile women has chiropractic helped and what is the likelihood it will work for me?

The doctor in the story explains how spinal adjustments can aid fertility issues. His explanation is that adjustments ensure that the nerves which send signals to the ovaries and other reproductive organs are transmitting properly. One of the basic tenets of chiropractic care is that normal nerve function is necessary for good health – which of course includes normal hormonal functions, ovulation and menstruation.

But again, he is just one doctor in one town.

Is there any evidence that chiropractic really improves fertility among women that are struggling to conceive?

The answer is yes.

At the end of the news story the anchor makes reference to a research study (Behrendt, 2003) that showed 14 of 15 women with a history of fertility issues became pregnant after starting chiropractic care. The women’s stories are all quite different and all very personal.

One 32-year-old woman had had no menstrual cycle for the past 12 years. She had been unsuccessful with medical infertility treatments. Then after 4 months of chiropractic care her menstrual cycle resumed and after two additional months she became pregnant – unassisted.

Another great story to emerge from the study was that of a 26-year-old woman with terrible scoliosis. She had had multiple medical fertility treatments to help her conceive. She became pregnant – again unassisted – in her seventh month of chiropractic care.

Reflecting upon the findings of the study Dr. Behrendt commented that “although not conclusive, the results of the research should stimulate consideration of structure as a factor in infertility and increase awareness of the role of the central and peripheral nervous system in fertility.” We couldn’t agree more.

As a woman reading this article, do you know where in your spine the nerves that supply your reproductive organs are located? Most likely not. And if you are like most women, you’ve never thought about reproductive issues from the perspective of nerve signals.

Fortunately, this line of thinking is starting to make its way into the mainstream.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that the American Pregnancy Association website makes reference to nervous system function and the benefits of chiropractic care for infertility. The American Pregnancy Association site states that “in many cases, fertility issues may be associated with improper nervous system function, poor nutrition, high stress and poor lifestyle habits.” It goes on to note that “chiropractic care can be used in conjunction with traditional approaches to fertility issues and can greatly enhance the chances of successful medical procedures such as IVF.”

Once you factor in the price and possible side-effects of IVF treatments, choosing chiropractic care first to aid conception is a very logical choice backed by solid evidence.

If someone you love is struggling with infertility and has never visited a chiropractor for an evaluation, please share this article with them. If you personally are having difficulty conceiving, please call us so we can answer your questions about chiropractic and fertility.

Have High Blood Pressure? Check Your Mercury Levels

“Mercury toxicity should be evaluated in any patient with hypertension, coronary heart disease, cerebral vascular disease, cerebrovascular accident, or other vascular disease.”


This was the conclusion of an August 2011 study that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension. 

For those of you lucky enough to not know the term, hypertension is the medical name for high-blood pressure. About one out of every three adults in the United States has high blood pressure (National Center for Health Statistics, 2008) so the odds are that at least one of your parents or grandparents is affected. Or, perhaps it you that has high blood pressure? Either way, this is a study you’ll want to know about since it clearly connects how mercury toxicity (which can be tested for and reduced) can manifest itself as hypertension and other vascular diseases.

Most research studies you hear about on the evening news or popular science programs are full of data and statistics. These types of studies are typically trying to correlate two facts – such as people with higher mercury exposure have greater incidence of heart disease – and may go future to try to establish causation. However, statistical methods don’t ever really settle the causation question. For that we need biochemistry.

Biochemistry is all about understanding the different pathways that nutrients (and toxins) travel in our bodies. This particular study looked at the many internal processes that mercury interferes with in order to establish a biochemical basis for the resulting symptoms  - hypertension and coronary heart disease. Here’s what they found.

Mercury:

1. Inactivates many reactions that depend on sulfer-containing enzymes
2. Inactivates many sulfer-containing antioxidants
3. Substitutes itself for zinc, copper and other trace minerals in certain reactions

As a result:

Mitochondria – the energy powerhouses of the cell – malfunction. The body’s oxidative defenses are diminished increasing oxidative stress and inflammation
Which manifests in the body as:

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Coronary heart disease
• Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Atherosclerosis
• Renal dysfunction, and
• Proteinuria

Even if you didn’t follow any of the preceding couple paragraphs, you can appreciate the need to ‘connect-the-dots’ between cellular-level processes and downstream diseases. This study connected the dots between high levels of mercury and the many downstream disease states listed. A brilliant piece of work!

So, what should you do if you have hypertension or other types of coronary heart disease? The study authors advise testing for acute or chronic mercury toxicity. Modern mercury toxicity tests are done using urine, blood, hair and toenail samples so they are minimally invasive and results come back fairly quickly.

Good News about Medical Flexible Spending Accounts

Can I Use My Flexible Spending Account for Chiropractic Care?
As of the time this article is being written – Yes you can use your FSA account to pay for chiropractic services.

Bear in mind that exactly what is and is not eligible inside a Flexible Spending Account is ultimately determined by the IRS. The rules covering FSAs can and do change year-to-year and there is some gray area which is open for interpretation.

The relevant IRS publications to consult for all the details are Publication 969: Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans and Publication 502: Medical and Dental Expenses.

You can find both of these online at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p969.pdf and http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf

This article isn’t intended to provide tax advice or address your specific situation, but it will give you a broad overview and direct you to resources where you can learn more. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, here is what consumers should know.

IRS Publication 502 clearly states - “You can include in medical expenses fees you pay to a chiropractor for medical care.” This rather short statement covers the core things we do such as exams, diagnostic tests and spinal adjustments. Good news for you!

It also states that “You can include in medical expenses amounts paid for transportation primarily for, and essential to, medical care.” This includes gas for your own car and also public transportation fees you pay in order to come to our office. Just keep track of your mileage, commuting routes or receipts in a log book.

The IRS draws a distinction between ‘medical care’ and general health. Most purchases intended to keep you healthy or enhance your health don’t qualify. This includes nutritional supplements, exercise equipment and health club memberships. Weight loss programs also don’t qualify unless you are under medical supervision for a disorder such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease where weight loss is part of the disease treatment program.

Note that there are two players for every FSA plan – the IRS and the benefits company providing the plan. In most cases the benefits company will allow everything the IRS allows, but some may have additional restrictions of their own. If in doubt about whether a specific service we provide is eligible, consult your corporate benefits administrator.

Common Causes of Back Pain

Understanding the cause of your back pain is the key to proper treatment.

There are many different underlying conditions that cause back pain. The more common causes of back pain are described below. Don’t try to make your own diagnosis. A trained chiropractor that deals with back pain complaints on a daily basis will know what to look for and what questions to ask you to determine the underlying cause.

1.    Muscle strains and muscle spasms are the most common cause of low back pain.  Patients may or may not remember the initial event that triggered their muscle spasm. Back pain from muscle spasms can be incredibly painful and feel like nerve pain when the muscle tighten and twitch around a key nerve such as the sciatic nerve.

2.    A ruptured intervertebral disc, also called a herniated disc, is another common cause of back pain. The terms ruptured, herniated, slipped and bulging disc don’t really have precise definitions to distinguish one from another and are often used somewhat interchangeably to describe protruding disc material. It is important to note that a large percent of the population is walking around with bulging discs that cause no symptoms, so not every herniated disc warrants treatment or intervention.

3.    Discogenic back pain is the result of damage to the intervertabral disc, but without disc herniation. Diagnosis of discogenic back pain may require the use of a discogram.

4.    Spinal stenosis causes a lot of back pain in the elderly. As we age, the spinal canal can become constricted from arthritis and other conditions.  If the spinal canal becomes too tight, back pain can be the result.

5.    Arthritis most commonly affects joints such as the knees and fingers. However, arthritis can affect any joint in the body, including the small joints of the spine. Arthritis of the spine can cause back pain with movement.

6.    Spondylolisthesis causes back pain because adjacent vertebra become unstable and begin to "slip."  The most common cause of spondylolisthesis are degenerative changes causing loss of the normal stabilizing structures of the spinal column. 

As stated earlier, backaches are hard to self-diagnose. The causes listed above are just a few of more common possibilities. If you suffer from acute or chronic backaches, consult a qualified chiropractor for a complete exam.