The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point
  • About this web log

    This blog ran from 2006 to 2016 and was intended as an objective and dispassionate source of information on the latest CAM research. Since my background is in pharmacy and allopathic medicine, I view all CAM as advancing through the development pipeline to eventually become integrated into mainstream medical practice. Some will succeed while others fail. But all are treated fairly here.

  • About the author

    John Russo, Jr., PharmD, is president of The MedCom Resource, Inc. Previously, he was senior vice president of medical communications at www.Vicus.com, a complementary and alternative medicine website.

  • Common sense considerations

    The material on this weblog is for informational purposes. It is not medical advice or counsel. Be smart, consult your health professional before using CAM.

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  • Recent Comments

    Chiropractic treatment of radiculopathy

    Radiculopathy is any disease of the spinal nerves. For example, a “slipped disc” often compresses a spinal nerve, resulting in radiculopathy. Patients complain of pain, which extends from the spine outward.

    The PeaceHealth Medical Group, in Longview, Washington reports the outcomes following chiropractic management of radiculopathy in the hospital.

    First, the details.

    • The records of 162 patients with radiculopathy were reviewed.
    • Treatment included chiropractic manipulation, neuromobilization, and exercise stabilization.
      • In neuromobilization, patients perform prescribed motions to encourage normalized nerve function and thereby decrease symptoms.
    • Pain intensity was measured using the numerical pain rating scale.

    And, the results.

    • 86% of patients had resolution of complaints after an average of 9 treatment sessions.
    • The number of days between the first treatment and first symptom improvement was about 4 days.
    • Improvement in pain between initial and final score was 4.2.
    • 23 patients were referred for epidural steroid injection, further medication management, or surgery.

    The bottom line?
    The authors concluded there were “favorable outcomes for most of the patients with radiculopathy.” And, “the strategy appears to be safe.”

    They also concluded that rigorous studies are “needed to separate treatment effectiveness from the natural history of radiculopathy.”

    8/4/09 20:44 JR

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