Dr. Patrick McNally, D.C
Licensed:
Virginia Board of Medicine
Certified:
National Board of Chiropractic Examiners
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Chiropractic Care
From VitalCare™
Relieving and
Preventing Pain
CASE HISTORY: CAR CRASH VICTIM GOES A YEAR IN SEVERE PAIN BEFORE THE RIGHT REFERRAL IS MADE.
(From How to Stay Alive and Well Despite Your Doctor, Your Insurance Company and Your Government. Names and personal details are changed to protect privacy.)
Tony was 54 when a drunk driver plowed into the back of his car while he was stopped at a stop light on the way home from dinner with friends. The crash was so hard that his car was totaled, and he was taken to the emergency room that night. He had pain in his neck and back, numbness in his left arm and hand, and severe headaches. After receiving a brief examination and given a prescription he was told to “see an orthopedist” if his pain did not go away in a few days. Not only did the pain remain, it got worse until Tony couldn’t tolerate it. He did seek out an orthopedic doctor and began treatment with medication including muscle relaxants and physical therapy. X-ray and MRI showed nothing broken, dislocated or herniated. Therefore no surgery was indicated and the doctor kept him on medication and gong to therapy. But Tony’s pain did not go away. After a few weeks he quit the therapy, continuing to swallow the prescription drugs to “take the edge off” so that he could continue working. He couldn’t, though, exercise or enjoy his favorite sport: golf. Driving in his car for more than an hour also caused flair-ups of back pain.
After a year and more than $10,000.00 in medical costs (most covered by his insurance), in desperation he asked his primary care doctor to refer him to me. My staff and I performed a thorough examination and found that Tony suffered from chiropractic subluxation (more commonly called “misalignment”) of spinal bones and joints with spasm of muscles and pinched nerves. Tony’s headaches had gotten so bad he had trouble sleeping and sometimes missed a day at work. He was terribly frustrated when we first met.
We carefully explained to Tony that the abnormal alignment of the bones and joints of his neck and back, which did show up on the x-rays but were considered unimportant to the medical doctors, was the cause of the now chronic muscle spasms and pinched nerves that caused so much pain and restricted his lifestyle. Tony began a series of treatments to his neck and back. He received physical therapy modalities including electrical muscle stimulation and therapeutic ultrasound along with chiropractic adjusting techniques to relieve pressure on nerves. Within a few treatments he was reporting significant improvement, and after a few more he was able to drive without pain and once more enjoy a few rounds of golf. The only remaining negative for Tony was his utter frustration that someone had not referred him earlier for the care that could have saved him a year of pain.
How does it work?
Chiropractic is gaining credibility through research (see research) into what conditions will respond effectively and why. As consumers become more educated they want to know what will give fast results for improved health without the dangers of surgery or drugs. Painful conditions in or around the spine often do not respond well to home remedies or drugs: That’s because the health problem is one of spinal joint position or mobility, not a simple chemical reaction. When joints of the body are out of normal alignment, compromised or sprained by injury or repetitive motion, it sets up a negative proprioceptive event. Proprioception is the ability of the brain to know joint positions throughout the body and respond with information to ligaments and muscles around the joints for postural support, balance and movement. Long term compromise to spinal joints results in pathologic changes (i.e., spinal disc herniation, disc decay, arthritis). Specific chiropractic adjustments can remove pressure on or reposition the spinal joints allowing the brain to withdraw signals through the nerves causing muscle spasms, pain and restricted motion. Even chronic conditions can respond well and in a reasonably short time when the underlying cause is corrected.
Your evaluation and options for care:
The first visit to our office as a chiropractic patient involves taking a history and performing a series of tests to find the cause of pain or other health problems. If x-rays are needed I can take them in the office and show them to you within minutes. It’s my policy to review the important test results with all patients and immediately explain conditions noted and options for care. To provide the fastest pain relief we’ll give you one or a combination of the following available treatments:
• Specific spinal adjustments – By locating and relieving compromised
spinal mobility and pinched nerves, relief comes quickly.
• Electrical muscle and nerve stimulation – Used to relax muscle spasm
and increase blood flow in tight or restricted areas, this physical
therapy modality has proved highly effective in acute stages of care.
• Therapeutic ultrasound – Applied to treat “trigger points” or localized
swelling ultrasound reaches into the tissues to provide a micro-massage for healing and relaxation.
• Intersegmental traction – When further mobilization is needed to open
disc spaces and increase flexibility between spinal segments you may
need this form of mechanical massage for maximum benefit.
Your treatment plan may involve a series of weekly sessions to relieve pain and rehabilitate for best response. The more treatment received in the short term the faster the improvement. If your condition has been chronic for a long period it may take several sessions over time to completely resolve pain and prevent recurrence.
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