Recent Posts

Many people experience headache pain, and tension headaches are a common problem in our busy world. Postural problems and stress are common sources of tension headache, and ones that Dr. Harrell and the staff here in our Tumwater chiropractic office have a lot of experience in treating.

Research Shows Chiropractic Eases Tension Headaches

The scientific literature verifies our findings: A 2016 study from Spain managed a group of 76 men and women with chronic tension headaches. The participants were divided into four treatment groups: 19 patients were treated with suboccipital inhibition (the doctor presses on the tight tissues at the top of the spine); 19 with chiropractic adjustments; 19 with both adjustments and suboccipital inhibition; and 19 received no treatment.

The authors reported that the spinal adjustments were helpful at relieving pain, and that the best results were found when spinal adjustments were combined with the suboccipital inhibition.

When we get stressed, the nerves and tissues in the neck can be disrupted, leading to pain. Chiropractic works by removing these strains and restoring the normal nerve function to the area.

We're Here to Help Patients Find Relief From Tension Headaches

If you live in Tumwater and are suffering from any kind of headache, we're here to help you get relief. Call Dr. Harrell today at (360) 489-0635 for an appointment or more information.

Reference

Espi-Lopez GV, Rodriguez-Blanco C, Oliva-Pascual-Vaca A, et al. Do manual therapy techniques have a positive effect on quality of life in people with tension-type headache? A randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Physical Rehabilitation Medicine 2016; February 29.

Chiropractic is centered on the concept of enabling your body to heal naturally through spinal adjustments and lifestyle changes that stimulate wellness. For Dr. Harrell, this means working to reestablish your body's normal functioning to avoid the need for drugs or surgical treatments. We find that most of our Tumwater patients are relieved to find a natural approach for their health problems.

One advantage of chiropractic care is that it helps people reduce or even eliminate the use of narcotics. Prescription medications are oftentimes issued to patients who have back pain. This is such a significant problem that the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) issued a news release stating that opioid (painkiller) risks overshadow the benefits when administered for back pain.

Some of the most well-known narcotics, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, include hydrocodone (Vicodin), oxycodone (OxyContin and Percocet), morphine, and codeine. Data offered by the AAN cite the fact that approximately half of the patients taking these drugs for a period of three months are still taking them five years later. This can further complicate the problem of back pain and healing, particularly if an narcotic addiction arises.

Contrast that to chiropractic which engages natural healing and the advantages are clear. While a drug might be helpful at briefly relieving the symptoms of a health problem, it's not a solution to the problem. Drugs can't fix your injured spine; it will only mask the pain.

Dr. Harrell will first examine you to get to the origin of your back problems and then work with you to correct the problem -- without risky drugs.

If you're ready for relief of your pain, naturally, give our Tumwater office a call at (360) 489-0635 to make an appointment with Dr. Harrell.

References

• Risk of opioids outweigh benefits for headache, low back pain, other conditions. American Academy of Neurology;September 29, 2014.
• What are opioids? National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/prescription-drugs/opioids/what-are-opioids

We treat many car accident cases in in our Tumwater office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is thoracic outlet syndrome. Chiropractic is a great way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome. Let's look at how thoracic outlet syndrome is caused by a crash and how Dr. Harrell can help you.

The thoracic outlet is a bundle of blood vessels and nerves that pass through your neck and shoulder to your arm. These nerves and blood vessels don't have a lot of space, so they travel under and between the strong bands of muscles that support your head.

In a crash, these muscles can be stretched and strained. If damaged, the muscles become inflamed and tender, and they can develop scar tissue which limits motion and puts pressure on the tissues of the thoracic outlet. Pressure on the nerves can cause tingling or pins and needles in the shoulder, elbow and even the hand. Pressure on the blood vessels can also cause problems in the arm.

Tumwater Thoracic Outlet Treatment

Chiropractic can be an effective way to treat thoracic outlet syndrome, as Dr. Harrell will help improve mobility in your spine and restore normal nerve function in your neck and shoulder.

Dr. Harrell has been helping patients in Tumwater since 2009, so we know what you're living with. We're here to help you, too. Dr. Harrell will first determine what's causing your pain and then work to restore your body to its natural functioning. Give our office a call today at (360) 489-0635 to make an appointment.

When playing sports activities that require a lot of lower body movement, like football, soccer, and basketball, it's not at all uncommon to suffer some type of injury to your lower extremities. Between pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, knee injuries, and more, many players have found themselves out of commission. Dr. Harrell has seen all of these problems in our Tumwater patients. Fortunately, chiropractic can help prevent some of these injuries from occurring and research proves it.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps With Sports Injuries & Recovery

Dr. Harrell keeps up-to-date with all of the recent scientific research, and in a study published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, researchers from Macquarie University in Australia studied 59 semi-elite Australian Rules footballers. Roughly one-half were placed in a control group and the other half were put in a treatment group that received sports chiropractic care at regular intervals. During the first six weeks, this meant engaging in care once a week. The following three months consisted of an adjustment every two weeks before decreasing those to one visit monthly for the final three months of the study.

The authors noted that there was a "significant" difference in the number of leg strains the players received in the treatment group when compared to the control. Furthermore, they noticed that the subjects who engaged in chiropractic also had fewer weeks of missed practice and games as a result of non-contact knee injuries. This led them to conclude that sports chiropractic intervention should be added to "the current best practice management."

Every major sports organization in the US and the US Olympic Team has chiropractors on staff for their athletes, because they know that chiropractic works. If you live near our practice in Tumwater and would like to see if Dr. Harrell can help you boost your performance or reduce sports injuries, give our office a call today at (360) 489-0635 for an appointment.

Dr. Harrell Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Sports Injuries and Recover Faster

If you're struggling with severe pain, Dr. Harrell and our staff are here to help you heal. Give our Tumwater office a call today at (360) 489-0635 for an appointment today.

Reference

Hoskins W, Pollard H. The effect of a sports chiropractic manual therapy intervention on the prevention of back pain, hamstring and lower limb injuries in semi-elite Australian rules footballers: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders 2010;11(64).

In our Tumwater office, it's common for us to see patients struggling with sciatic nerve pain, and Dr. Harrell has helped many of these people improve with chiropractic. What makes chiropractic so useful to those who suffer with this condition? For starters, it shortens their healing time and a Norwegian medical study confirms it.

In the study, which took place in a Norwegian hospital's orthopedic division, researchers looked at 44 patients who presented with abrupt low back pain that was identified as acute sciatica. The participants were all treated by a chiropractor, with the mean follow-up being two years after treatment.

The researchers discovered that all but two patients went back to work after receiving chiropractic adjustments, which is a 95% success rate. What's more, the average period of time that the individuals spent off work "was reduced by two thirds as compared with that associated with conventional medical treatment."

Given the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 170,450 days of work were missed in 2013 due to employees dealing with back or spine-related issues, that is about 112,500 work days that could potentially be recovered each and every year solely by receiving chiropractic care. Not only could that increase productivity, but it would also reduce costs to businesses and employees from lost work.

If you live in Tumwater and you suffer from sciatica pain, Dr. Harrell is here to help. Give us a call at (360) 489-0635 and we'll work with you to find the root cause of your sciatica and get you back on the road to health.

Orlin JR, Didriksen A. Results of chiropractic treatment of lumbopelvic fixation in 44 patients admitted to an orthopedic department. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2007;30(2):135-139.

Headache and neck pain are common problems that affect millions of people around the world. If you are suffering from this type of problem, you're not alone. The good news is that chiropractic is the best way to not only treat these common issues, but also help prevent future episodes.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Neck Pain and Headaches

For many years, patients with neck and headache pain in Tumwater have been helped by the chiropractic adjustments of Dr. Harrell. Our success is backed up by a recent review done in Canada that found that non-invasive, non-drug treatments are the best choice for neck and headache pain.

The study looked at 15 studies from 1990 to 2015 and found that conservative treatment comprised of chiropractic adjustments, exercises, and stretches was recommended before resorting to drugs or more invasive procedures.

Past scientific studies have shown that chiropractic is effective and safe for neck pain and many other health conditions.

We Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Neck Pain and Headaches

If you're suffering from neck pain or headaches, Dr. Harrell and our staff are here to help you heal. Give our Tumwater office a call today at (360) 489-0635 for an appointment today.

Reference

Varatharajan S, Ferguson B, Chrobak K, et al. Are non-invasive interventions effective for the management of headaches associated with neck pain? An update of the Bone and Joint Decade Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration. European Spine Journal 2016; February 6:1-29.

There are many different kinds of headache, but one of the most common types is known as "cervicogenic headache," or headaches that originate in your neck.

Dr. Harrell sees a lot of people in our Tumwater office who are struggling with frequent headaches. Fortunately, chiropractic adjustments can often help, potentially reducing these types of headaches by 50%, and research confirms it.

Research Shows Chiropractic Helps With Cervicogenic Headaches

A study was conducted involving 80 participants who reported experiencing at least five cervicogenic headaches during the prior three months. The goal was to see how effective chiropractic was for this type of head pain, as well as to determine the number of treatment sessions necessary to achieve a positive effect.

The individuals were split into four separate groups, so that each group was similar in age, gender, number of cervicogenic headaches, and their intensity. Of the four groups, two engaged in chiropractic treatments and two received light massage. Furthermore, one group assigned to each treatment received eight sessions and the other group received twice that amount.

Each person was assessed based on head pain, neck pain, and disability prior to the study and 12 and 24 weeks after treatment was complete. The authors found that those who received chiropractic as opposed to massage reported fewer headaches at the conclusion of the study. Furthermore, improvements were maintained when checked six months after treatment ended.

Furthermore, patients who were taking medications for their headaches were able to lower their intake after completing the study. Those who received chiropractic care had lower drug usage 24 weeks post-study.

We Can Help Patients Find Comfort From Head Pain

Dr. Harrell has helped many people who were suffering from headaches in our Tumwater office. Call us today at (360) 489-0635 for more information or for an appointment.

Reference

Haas M, Spegman A, Peterson D, Aickin M, Vavrek D. Dose response and efficacy of spinal manipulation for chronic cervicogenic headache: a pilot randomized controlled trial. The Spine Journal 2010; 10: 117-128.

Dr. Harrell sees many patients weekly in our busy Tumwater chiropractic office who are searching for relief from the pain and agony they feel due to herniated discs. Our experience isn't unique; the scientific literature confirms that chiropractic is a successful way to treat herniated disc problems.

Don't Suffer! Dr. Harrell and Chiropractic Care Helps With Disc Herniation

One particular research study involved 27 people, 8 male and 19 female, who had magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirming a disc herniation in either their neck or lower back. The people documented that they were experiencing pain, limited range of motion, and sensory problems bad enough to keep them off work.

During the course of the research period, the individuals were treated using one of two common chiropractic practices: traction for herniated discs in the cervical area or flexion distraction for the patients who had herniation issues in the low back.

Each man or woman was seen four or five times per week for the first two weeks, then three times each week, and then as needed for the remainder of the study. Based on the extent of the disc herniation, treatment varied anywhere from six weeks to six months, with MRIs being carried out at a variety of stages to identify what impact, if any, the chiropractic care was having in regard to the disc herniation.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps With Back Pain and Herniated Disc

The investigators found that 80 percent of the participants enjoyed a "good clinical outcome," meaning reduced pain and a reduction in other symptoms, such as numbness. Additionally, 77 percent of these people also showed MRI evidence that their disc herniation was either reduced or resolved completely. This resulted in 78 percent of the study participants being able to return to their place of employment and led the authors to conclude that chiropractic is both "safe and helpful" for disc herniations.

If you have a herniated disc and suffer from chronic back pain and are near Dr. Harrell in Tumwater, contact our office today to see what chiropractic can do for you!

Reference
BenEliyahu, DJ. Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical follow-up: study of 27 patients receiving chiropractic care for cervical and lumbar disc herniations. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 1996;19(9):597-606.

In our Tumwater practice, we see many patients who are dealing with back pain, and a few of these people have been advised they might need surgery to recover. Fortunately, Dr. Harrell has helped many people get pain relief without the need for any type of surgical treatment. The scientific research confirms the success we see in our office. One study published in the medical journal Spine found that consulting with a chiropractor as your first step in dealing with your back pain may literally keep you out of the operating room.

In this research study, medical experts from Dartmouth reviewed statistics from about 1,900 workers from the state of Washington who first saw either an orthopedic surgeon or a chiropractic doctor for their low back issues. They then used three years' worth of follow-up medical records to find out whether the individuals wound up having back surgery in an effort to treat the problem.

What the researchers observed was that 42.7% of the patients who first saw a surgeon for their back issues ended up with surgery in that 3-year time frame, whereas only 1.5% of those who first consulted with a chiropractor had the same fate. The authors wrote:

"Even after controlling for injury severity and other measures, workers with an initial visit for the injury to a surgeon had almost nine times the odds of receiving lumbar spine surgery compared to those seeing primary care providers, whereas workers whose first visit was to a chiropractor had significantly lower odds of surgery."

These are remarkable results. Consulting with a chiropractor considerably reduces your odds of having back surgery, plus the chiropractic patients in this report "had lower odds of chronic work disability" and they also had fewer expensive MRI tests.

Let's also consider this important detail: this study was conducted by orthopedic surgeons from Dartmouth College, and published in the world's most distinguished medical journal on spinal injury.

The Risks of Surgery

Any surgery has risks, but a major downside associated with spinal surgery is that there's a very high failure rate. In an important review in the European Spine Journal, researchers wrote:

"Failed back surgery is a problem that has become sufficiently widespread to even warrant its own special conferences, with recent reviews reporting failure rates ranging from 5 to 50%."

The authors of this same study concluded:

"It is extremely difficult to identify unequivocal predictor factors that can be used to accurately predict the outcome of surgery."

As a chiropractor, Dr. Harrell is convinced that surgery should be the absolute last choice for treating back pain. Chiropractic care works to restore your spine to its normal function--without high-risk surgery or drugs--and many research studies have confirmed the usefulness of chiropractic for back pain.

If you live in Tumwater and you need relief for your back pain, give our practice a call today at (360) 489-0635 for a consultation or an appointment. We'll help get you back on the road to a pain-free life!

Studies

• Keeney BJ, Fulton-Kehoe D, Turner JA, Wickizer TM, Chan KC, Franklin GM. Early predictors of lumbar spine surgery after occupational back injury: results from a prospective study of workers in Washington State. Spine 2013;38(11):953-964.
• Mannion AF, Elfering A. Predictors of surgical outcome and their assessment. European Spine Journal 2006;15(Suppl 1):S93-S108.
  

We treat many auto injury cases in in our Tumwater office, and a common symptom we see in our patients is back pain. Your chiropractor can be very helpful for back pain symptoms after a crash. Let's see what causes back pain and why chiropractic works.

During a rear-end motor vehicle accident, your car and car seat are quickly accelerated forward against your torso. Since car seats don't perfectly align with the curvature of your spine, the seat can put uneven pressure on your lower back. This can cause some of your spinal vertebrae to move in one direction while an adjacent vertebrae might move in another direction. This differential motion can sprain or strain the tissues that hold your spine together. This kind of injury can cause chronic back pain if not treated right away. Thankfully, chiropractic is one of the most effective ways to treat back pain.

You don't have to suffer from back pain. Dr. Harrell is conveniently located in Tumwater to help you heal, whether you've been in a car crash or not. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis to determine what's causing your pain and then we will determine an appropriate treatment approach. Call us today at (360) 489-0635 if you have questions or would like to make an appointment.