Utah Chiropractic & Spinal Decompression

06/03/2026

As we’ve discussed in the past, an anti-inflammatory diet, exercise within YOUR personal tolerance level, not smoking, getting enough sleep, and obtaining chiropractic adjustments every two weeks to four weeks are well documented methods of “controlling” chronic LBP (as there really ISN’T a “cure” in many cases). You may be surprised to hear that maintenance care has good literature support for controlling chronic LBP. In the 8/15/11 issue of SPINE (Vol. 36, No. 18, pp1427-1437), two Medical Doctors (MDs) penned the article, “Does Maintained Spinal Manipulation Therapy for Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain Result in Better Long-Term Outcomes?” Here, they took 60 patients with chronic LBP (cLBP) and randomly assigned them into one of three groups: 1) 12 treatments of sham (fake) SMT (spinal manipulation) have over a one-month period; 2) 12 treatments over a one-month period but no treatment for the following nine months; or 3) 12 treatments for one month AND then SMT every two weeks for the following nine months. To measure the differences between the three groups, they measured pain, disability, generic health status, and back-specific patient satisfaction at baseline, 1-, 4-, 7-, and 10-month time intervals. They found only the patients in the second and third groups experienced significantly lower pain and disability scores vs. the first group after the first month of treatments (at three times a week). BUT, only the third group showed more improvement at the 10-month evaluation. Also, by the tenth month, the pain and disability scores returned back to nearly the initial baseline/initial level in group two. The authors concluded that, “To obtain long-term benefit, this study suggests maintenance SM after the initial intensive manipulative therapy.” Other studies have reported fewer medical tests, lower costs, fewer doctor visits, less work absenteeism, and a higher quality of life when maintenance chiropractic visits are utilized.

Low back pain (LBP) is the second most common cause of disability among adults in the United States (US) and a very common reason for lost days at work. The total cost of back pain

06/03/2026

Whiplash—or WAD (whiplash associated disorders)—is an injury caused by the rapid movement of the neck and head. This is the net result of the “classic” motor vehicle collision, though other injury models (like slips and falls) can result in similar injuries. Previously, we listed basic facts, of which one was that patients had better results (less long-term pain and disability) if they received initial active treatment of the neck with mobilization/manipulation, exercise, and encouraging movement vs. placing a collar on the patient and “resting” the injured neck. Though there are a few studies that suggest no difference in results, the majority state that it is BEST to actively treat the patient and encourage movement (of course, assuming no unstable fractures have occurred) rather than to place the patient into a collar and limit activities. The first question that we’ll address this month is, why is this important?

The simple answer is that you, as an advocate for an injured friend, family member, or as a patient yourself, may NOT be offered “the best” treatment approach by an ER or primary care physician. In fact, one study cited a survey regarding the management of whiplash injuries in an ER and reported that between 23-47% of physicians prescribed a soft cervical collar for acute whiplash rather than promoting immediate active treatment.
https://chiro-trust.org/whiplash/whiplash-rest-or-treatment/
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06/03/2026

A review of the literature published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons showed that in most cases of degenerative disk disease (DDD), non-surgical approaches (like chiropractic care) are the most effective treatment choice. They report the success rate of spinal fusions for DDD is only 50-60%. The advent of artificial disks, which originally proposed to be a “cure” for symptomatic disk disease, has fared no better with possible worse long-term problems that are not yet fully understood. The authors of the review wrote, “Surgery should be the last option, but too often patients think of surgery as a cure-all and are eager to embark on it… Also, surgeons should pay close attention to the list of contraindications, and recommend surgery only for those patients who are truly likely to benefit from it.” Another study reported that, when followed for ten years following artificial disk surgery, a similar 40% of the patients treated failed and had a second surgery within three years! Similar findings are reported for post-surgical spinal stenosis as well as other spinal conditions.

https://chiro-trust.org/back-pain/can-chiropractic-help-the-post-surgical-patient/

Low back pain (LBP) accounts for over 3 million emergency department visits per year in the United States alone. Worldwide, LBP affects approximately 84% of the general population, so eventually almost EVERYONE will have lower

06/02/2026

A Danish study found that WAD patients with immediate, high-intensity neck pain and stiffness were more likely to be disabled one year following their injury than those with a delayed onset of symptoms or those with low-grade pain. By combining scores for neck pain and stiffness along with other non-painful symptoms (such as blurred vision, nausea, and dizziness), the authors found that they could identify those at risk for long-term disability within a week of their accident.

Their study included 141 adults who contacted the ER within two days of the MVC complaining of neck pain or headaches arising from rear-end collisions without loss of consciousness or amnesia. None had prior neck or back pain or a history of severe headaches. The researchers found that 75% of patients with reduced neck motion still reported disability after one year.
https://chiro-trust.org/whiplash/whiplash-can-predict-long-term-problems/

06/02/2026

There are MANY different types of headaches, of which migraines are a common type. This discussion will concentrate on some unique characteristics that are associated with migraine headaches. This information may help you understand what type of headache you’re having. A unique feature of migraine headaches is that prior to the start of the headache, there is often a pre-headache “warning” that the migraine is about to commence. This is often referred to as an “aura,” and it can vary from a few minutes to a few hours, or in some cases, two days prior to the start of the migraine. Here are some of the more common “warning signs” that you are having, or are about to have, a migraine:
https://chiro-trust.org/headaches/is-it-a-migraine-2/

06/02/2026

Sinusitis, or rhinosinusitis, by definition is an inflammation of the sinus lining (mucous membrane) and is classified as follows: Acute – a new infection which can last up to four weeks and are divided into two types: severe and non-severe; Recurrent acute – four or more separate acute episodes within one year; Subacute – an infection lasting 4-12 weeks; Chronic – infections lasting >12 weeks; and Acute exacerbation of chronic sinusitis – recurring bouts of chronic sinusitis.

One cause of sinusitis can include a “URI” (upper respiratory tract infections) most often in the form of a virus (such as rhinovirus—there are over 99 types have been identified—or better known as “the common cold”). Bacteria can also cause a sinus infection. These infections tend to last longer and can follow a viral infection. A third cause is a fungal infection. These are more common in diabetic and other immune-deficient patients. Chemical irritants such as cigarette smoke and chlorine fumes can also trigger sinusitis. Chronic sinusitis can be caused by anything that irritates the sinuses for >12 weeks (viruses, bacteria, environmental irritants, tooth infections, and more). Allergies are also a common cause of sinusitis whether they are environmental and/or food/chemical induced.
https://chiro-trust.org/headaches/chiropractic-sinus-headaches/

06/01/2026

The cervical spine is made up of seven moving vertebrae. The top vertebra (C1) is called the atlas and is shaped like a ring. This ring shape allows the head to rotate left and right so we can check traffic, carrying on conversation with someone sitting off to the side, and so on. It pivots around a peg called the “dens” of C2, or the axis, and the function of these first two vertebrae is very important. This is because the uppermost three nerves that exit through this part of the cervical spine innervate the head and dysfunction here may be the cause of some headaches. Chiropractic adjustments concentrate a great deal on restoring function to this area. The C4-6 vertebrae make up the most mobile region of the spine in the forward and backwards directions. Generally, the greater the mobility, the lesser the stability, and because of this, injury to this area is quite common. We often see arthritis in this region first and we focus on keeping the areas that are less mobile (areas above and below C4-6) as mobile as possible.
https://chiro-trust.org/whiplash/whiplash-anatomy-2/

06/01/2026

spinal stenosis” (SS). Stenosis means “narrowing,” and it applies to two locations in the spine: 1) the holes through which the nerves in our neck and back exit out of the sides of the spine (called “intervertebral foramen” or IVF); and 2) the “spinal canal” through which the spinal cord travels. When narrowing occurs on the sides of the spine where the nerves exit, it’s called “lateral spinal stenosis.” When the spinal canal narrows, it’s called “central spinal stenosis.” Our spinal cord starts up in the neck as an extension off the brain stem and usually ends at the junction between the middle and lower back (around T12/L1) with the “cauda equina” (which literally means, “horses tail”) and extends downward. The cauda equina is made up of many nerves that travel down and exit out the sides of the lumbar spine (through the IVFs) and sacrum (tail bone) and transfer information (motor and sensory) to and from our legs and brain. When the size of the canal through which these nerves travel close down or narrow enough, sufferers will initially start feeling vague symptoms of leg heaviness or fatigue after walking for 30 or more minutes.
https://chiro-trust.org/back-pain/aging-lower-back-part-2/

06/01/2026

We’ve all heard of the “wear and tear” factor as it applies to clothing, automobiles, shoes, and tires, but it affects our bones and joints too! A condition that none of us can fully avoid is called osteoarthritis (OA). OA is the “wear and tear” factor on our joints, particularly the smooth covering called hyaline cartilage located on the surfaces of all moving joints. It’s the shiny, silky smooth surface that we’ve all seen at the end of a chicken leg when we separate it from the thigh. Osteoarthritis is the wearing away of that shiny, smooth surface and it can eventually progress to “bone-on-bone” contact where little to no movement is left in the affected joint. Bone spurs can also occur and be another potential generator of back pain. OA is NOT diagnosed by a blood or lab test but rather by an accurate history, physical examination, and ultimately, an x-ray.
https://chiro-trust.org/back-pain/aging-lower-back-part-1/

05/31/2026

caused by pregnancy. In fact, CTS is a common complaint among pregnant women due to an increase in fluid build-up in the tissues, including those in the forearms and wrist. Edema is the technical term for fluid build-up, and it is hard to avoid during pregnancy. This swelling results in increased pressure on the median nerve that originates in the neck, travels through the shoulder, into the arm, through the wrist to innervates the thumb, index, third, and half of the fourth finger. The “usual” initial symptoms include a “half-asleep“ sensation in the fingertips prompting the sufferer to shake and “flick” the fingers in attempt to “…wake them up.” These symptoms (with or without pregnancy) commonly occur at night, as many tend to sleep with wrists in bent positions. When we bend our wrist in any direction, the pressure inside the carpal tunnel will double.

https://chiro-trust.org/carpal-tunnel-syndrome/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-during-pregnancy/