CHIROPRACTIC NEWS
Chiropractic included at Vancouver Winter Olympic Games
February 24, 2010
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, include chiropractic care inside the Olympic Village Polyclinic, a multi-disciplinary facility offering comprehensive healthcare and medical services.
While DCs have historically been included on the Olympic medical staff, this year’s events mark the first time that DCs from the host country will be treating athletes and officials from around the world directly inside the Polyclinic.
“This is an historic event not only for the chiropractic profession, but also the athletes who will now have access to the care that will help them prepare their bodies for competition,” states Michael Reed, DC, MS, DACBSP, and team USA’s medical director (USOC). “These athletes train hard and endure significant physical demands. Sports-focused DCs, along with other members of the sports medicine team, are specially skilled to assist them in reaching peak performance.”
Chiropractic care has experienced several major moments in Olympic history, dating back to Leroy Perry, DC, who provided chiropractic care to athletes representing Antigua during the 1976 Games in Montreal, Canada. During the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, NY, George Goodheart, DC, became the first official chiropractor appointed to the U.S. team. With each subsequent Olympic Games and Pan American Games, the U.S. teams ,along with a growing number of other national teams , have included at least one doctor of chiropractic on their medical staff.
Source: Southern California University of Health Sciences, www.scuhs.edu
Chiropractic care can help pregnancy pain and ease delivery
March 3, 2009
The stress placed on a woman's body during pregnancy can lead to many complications that, while not life-threatening, cause discomfort or pain. In many cases, chiropractic adjustments can alleviate pregnancy pain, decrease delivery time, and improve the babys position in-utero.
Anne Packard-Spicer, DC, a faculty clinician at Northwestern Health Sciences University, says chiropractic adjustments can balance a womans spine and pelvis for normal functioning of the muscular and nervous systems. This allows better maternal body function, which will have a benefit to the baby.
According to Packard-Spicer, when a womans pelvis is properly aligned, the uterus will be under less nerve and mechanical stress, which causes the baby to be in a more comfortable position during labor. Chiropractic adjustments can begin at any time and can continue all the way up to the day of delivery.
Many women worry about getting adjusted while they are pregnant, but chiropractic is gentle and very safe throughout pregnancy,says Packard-Spicer. There is no evidence that adjustments have ever harmed a pregnant woman or her baby. In my 12 years of experience, it is safe, gentle, and effective.
Packard-Spicer says that pregnant women who are experiencing little to no pain should seek chiropractic evaluation to assess whether they are experiencing any misalignments. Asymptomatic patients may not need to be adjusted, but should be evaluated on a regular basis during pregnancy. Additionally, women who are considering becoming pregnant should receive chiropractic evaluations three months before conceiving.
Pregnant women who are experiencing back or leg pain should be adjusted two-to-three times a week until their pain is stabilized, says Packard-Spicer.
After delivery, women should seek chiropractic care within the first 12 weeks, adds Packard-Spicer. During pregnancy, the hormone relaxin circulates throughout the body, loosening the joints so that the pelvis can stretch open during delivery. After birth, the joints begin to tighten again. Checking for proper spinal alignment during this time may allow for the correction of chronic problems by allowing the spine to tighten in a normal alignment.
Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu/nwtoday/index.html
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