About Us
Dr. Marc Schluter has been a Chiropractor treating patients in Bartlesville for over 20 years using gentle chiropractic methods, acupuncture, exercise, nutrition and therapies such as muscle stim and traction.
Recently we started using a cold laser to help reduce pain inflammation and promote healing.
Our primary goal at Schluter Chiropractors is to help you health reach your full potential without drugs or surgery. It is up to the patient to decide what their goals are concerning their treatment. We can offer more than just superficial relief of pain. There are different types of treatments we provide and we always respect your personal and health goals by allowing you to make decision about which you would like.
It is possible to feel better and have residual structural problems that will affect you later, especially when our bodies are so good at adapting and working around pain. Regardless of your health goals, we know that you deserve proper care. It’s your body, your health and your future and our job is to offer you the finest chiropractic care possible.
Acupuncture better than drug for sciatica
cupuncture could be better than a common drug for treating sciatica pain, a recent small study suggests. After three treatments, 57% of acupuncture patients were cured compared to just 27% of patients taking a common pain killer and 20% receiving alkaloid injections.
Researchers from China divided 90 sciatica patients into three groups receiving one of three treatments: warming acupuncture, tablets of a common drug called Nimesulide, or injections of a plant-based alkaloid used as a natural anti-shock treatment. The researchers then measured patients initial pain thresholds. Acute and chronic pain tends to lower your overall pain threshold, or the level of pain you can tolerate. As expected, the sciatica patients had lower pain thresholds compared to 300 healthy participants tested. Over time though, as patients began to recover with treatment, their pain thresholds crept upwards. Patients in the acupuncture group experienced more significant improvements; their pain threshold increased by 1.65 mA compared to 0.5 mA for the drug and 0.72 mA for the injection group.
Researchers pointed out that acupuncture could release chemicals that alter neurotransmitters to block the transmission of pain. They also suggested that the burning moxa used in warming acupuncture could dilate capillaries in the affected area and improve circulation to strengthen the analgesic effects of acupuncture. Though previous research has suggested that acupuncture can relieve back and neck pain, this study suggests it could also be beneficial for patients with sciatica.
Reference
Chen M, Wang P, Cheng G, et al. The warming acupuncture for treatment of sciatica in 30 cases. Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2009; 29 (1): 50-3.
SchluterChiropractic.com
Chiropractic Safe & effective for Disk Herniations In Neck | Bartleville Chiropractor
Outcomes From Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Confirmed Symptomatic Cervical Disk Herniation Patients Treated With High-Velocity, Low-Amplitude Spinal Manipulative Therapy: A Prospective Cohort Study With 3-Month Follow-Up.
Source
Professor, Department of Chiropractic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Orthopedic University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. Electronic address: xraydcpeterson@yahoo.ca.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this study was to investigate outcomes of patients with cervical radiculopathy from cervical disk herniation (CDH) who are treated with spinal manipulative therapy.
METHODS:
Adult Swiss patients with neck pain and dermatomal arm pain; sensory, motor, or reflex changes corresponding to the involved nerve root; and at least 1 positive orthopaedic test for cervical radiculopathy were included. Magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed CDH linked with symptoms was required. Baseline data included 2 pain numeric rating scales (NRSs), for neck and arm, and the Neck Disability Index (NDI). At 2 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months after initial consultation, patients were contacted by telephone, and the NDI, NRSs, and patient’s global impression of change data were collected. High-velocity, low-amplitude spinal manipulations were administered by experienced doctors of chiropractic. The proportion of patients responding “better” or “much better” on the patient’s global impression of change scale was calculated. Pretreatment and posttreatment NRSs and NDIs were compared using the Wilcoxon test. Acute vs subacute/chronic patients’ NRSs and NDIs were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test.
RESULTS:
Fifty patients were included. At 2 weeks, 55.3% were “improved,” 68.9% at 1 month and 85.7% at 3 months. Statistically significant decreases in neck pain, arm pain, and NDI scores were noted at 1 and 3 months compared with baseline scores (P < .0001). Of the subacute/chronic patients, 76.2% were improved at 3 months.
CONCLUSIONS:
Most patients in this study, including subacute/chronic patients, with symptomatic magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed CDH treated with spinal manipulative therapy, reported significant improvement with no adverse events.
© 2013. Published by National University of Health Sciences All rights reserved.
Infant antibiotic use linked to adult diseases
A new study led by researchers at the University of Minnesota has found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life. The imbalances in gut microbes, called dysbiosis, have been tied to infectious diseases, allergies and other autoimmune disorders, and even obesity, later in life.
…..
…
University of Minnesota, Academic Health Center. “Infant antibiotic use linked to adult diseases.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 May 2015.
SchluterChiropractic.com
Solution to killer superbug found in Norway
Dec 31, 2009 By MARTHA MENDOZA and MARGIE MASON , Associated Press Writers
http://phys.org/news/2009-12-solution-killer-superbug-norway.html
(AP) — Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.
Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked.
The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs.
Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway’s public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.
…….
SchluterChiropractic.com
Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?
A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding “reliable declines” in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/soil-depletion-and-nutrition-loss/
CONTACTS: Journal of the American College of Nutrition, www.jacn.org; Kushi Institute, www.kushiinstitute.org; Organic Consumers Association, www.organicconsumers.org.
SchluterChiropractic.com
Epidural Corticosteroids for Sciatica: More Trouble Than They're Worth
By Deborah Pate, DC, DACBR
Use of epidural steroid injections has increased dramatically in recent years, despite the fact that studies have failed to demonstrate evidence this procedure is clinically helpful (while other studies suggest it may actually be dangerous).
Considering that lack of evidence – not to mention the terrible 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis / infections [see sidebar] caused by contaminated vials used for epidural corticosteroid injections – it is prudent at least to take a critical look at this procedure, particularly as it relates to conditions doctors of chiropractic treat.
Steroid Injections for Sciatica: Small, Short-Term Relief Only
In a recent meta-analysis of 23 randomized trials involving more than 2,000 patients in which epidural steroid injections were compared with placebo for sciatica, epidural steroid injections produced small, statistically insignificant short-term improvements in leg pain and disability (but not less back pain) compared to placebo. This improvement also was only over a short period of time – two weeks to three months. Beyond 12 months, there was no significant difference between groups.1
Side Effects Including Skeletal Deterioration, Fracture Risk
Besides infection, there are other side effects associated with epidural steroid injections: bleeding, nerve damage and dural puncture. Then there are side effects associated with the steroid medication, which include the following: a transient decrease in immunity, high blood sugar, stomach ulcers, avascular necrosis (mainly in the hip joint), cataracts and increased risk of fracture.
Tainted Steroid Injections: The Framingham Outbreak
In September 2012, the CDC and the FDA began investigating a multistate outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections among patients who had received contaminated steroid injections. The contaminated vials were tracked back to a New England compounding center in Framingham, Mass. The cases included fungal meningitis; localized spinal or paraspinal infections, including epidural abscess, basilar stroke, vertebral osteomeylitis and arachnoiditis; and infections associated with injection in a peripheral joint space such as the knee, shoulder or ankle. Ultimately, the outbreak resulted in 751 cases and 64 deaths in more than 20 states.This last complication is certainly not emphasized in clinical circles. Therapeutic steroids may reduce pain, however the use of steroid injections seem to promote deterioration of skeletal quality, which is not surprising since other forms of steroid medication have long been associated with osteoporosis.
A retrospective study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery looked at lumbar epidural steroid injection (LESI), and the potential impact on bone fragility and vertebral fractures (spinal fractures). Researchers identified a total of 50,345 patients who had medical diagnosis codes involving the spine; within that group, a total of 3,415 patients had received at least one LESI.
Three thousand patients were randomly selected from the 3,415 injected population and 3,000 additional patients were selected from the non-injected group as a control group. There was no significant difference between the injected and non-injected groups with respect to age, sex, race, hyperthyroidism or corticosteroid use.
When incidence of vertebral fractures was assessed, researchers discovered that an increasing number of injections was associated with an increasing likelihood of fractures, and each successive injection increased the risk of spinal fracture by 21 percent.2 Based on this evidence, LESIs clearly exacerbate skeletal fragility. They promote deterioration of skeletal quality similar to the use of exogenous steroids, which is the leading cause of secondary osteoporosis. In fact, the rate of vertebral fracture following epidural steroid injections may be underestimated.
Both European and American guidelines, based on systemic reviews, conclude that epidural corticosteroid injections may offer temporary relief of sciatica, but do not reduce the rate of subsequent surgery.3 This conclusion is based on multiple randomized trials comparing epidural steroid injections with placebo injections, and monitoring of subsequent surgery rates.4 Facet joint injections with corticosteroids seem no more effective than saline injections.5-6
Rising Costs, Limited Benefits
Despite the limited benefits of epidural injections, Medicare claims show a 271 percent increase during a recent seven-year interval.7 Earlier Medicare claims analyses also demonstrated rapid increases in spinal injection rates. For patients with axial back pain without sciatica, there is no evidence of benefit from spinal injections; however, many injections given to patients in the Medicare population seem to be for axial back pain alone.7
Charges per injection have risen 100 percent during the past decade (after inflation), and the combination of increasing rates and charges has resulted in a 629 percent increase in fees for spinal injections.7 Yet during this time, the Medicare population increased by only 12 percent.
It all begs the question: Why such a huge increase in the use of a procedure that has limited benefit? Patients need to be informed about treatment options including the best evidence for effectiveness, uncertainties and risks, so they can take an expanded role in decision-making.
Clinical Pearls
* Epidural steroid injections have little clinical benefit (short or long term) and are associated with significant risks.
* Steroid injections cause deterioration of bone quality, elevating the risk of spinal fracture.
* Use of epidural steroid injections has increased dramatically despite lack of evidence to justify the procedure.
References
1. Pinto RZ, et al. Epidural corticosteroid injections in the management of sciatica: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med, 2012 Nov 13; [e-pub ahead of print].
2. Mandel S, Schilling J, Peterson E, et al. A retrospective analysis of vertebral body fractures following epidural steroid injections. J Bone & Joint Surg, 2013 Jun;95(11):961-964.
3. Armon C, Argoff CE, Samuels J, Backonja M. Assessment: use of epidural steroid injections to treat radicular lumbosacral pain. Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology, 2007;68:723-9.
4. Arden NK, Price C, Reading I, et al. A multicentre randomized controlled trial of epidural corticosteroid injections for sciatica: the WEST study. Rheumatol,2005;44:1399-406.
5. Airaksinen O, Brox JI, Cedraschi C, et al. European guidelines for the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain. Eur Spine J, 2006;15(Suppl 2):S192–S300.
6. Chou R, Rosenquist R, Loeser J. ACP-APS Guidelines for Surgical and Interventional Procedures for Chronic Low Back Pain. Presented at Symposium 312 of the American Pain Society’s 27th Annual Scientific Meeting, Tampa, Fla., May 8, 2008.
7. Friedly J, Chan L, Deyo R. Increases in lumbosacral injections in the Medicare population: 1994–2001. Spine, 2007;32:1754-60.
Click here for more information about Deborah Pate, DC, DACBR.
SchluterChiropractic.com
Manipulation or microdiskectomy for sciatica?
Sixty percent of patients with sciatica who had failed other medical management benefited from spinal manipulation to the same degree as if they underwent surgical intervention.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21036279
SchluterChiropractic.com
An Apple a Day Keeps the Statin Drugs at Bay
To Your Health February, 2014 (Vol. 08, Issue 02) Share |
An Apple a Day Keeps the Statin Drugs at BayBy G. Douglas Andersen, DC, DACBSP, CCN
On the 100th anniversary of the first appearance of the phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” researchers from Oxford published a paper titled “A Statin a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Comparative Proverb Assessment Modeling Study.” After I read the paper, I felt “An Apple a Day Keeps the Statins at Bay” was a better direction for doctors and their patients.
In their paper, researchers calculated that if everyone over age 50 in the United Kingdom took statin drugs, approximately 9,400 deaths from cardiovascular disease would be prevented every year [if approximately 17 million people over the age of 50 who do not meet the U.K.’s Rx criteria took a statin drug anyway (5 million U.K. adults over age 50 take statins to lower cholesterol.).]
They then applied the same formula, substituting an apple for the drug and an equal number of calories, consumed by 70 percent of 22 million citizens ages 50 and above. (The 95 or so calories provided by the apple were subtracted from other meals so there would not be a daily increase.) Their results revealed that if 70 percent complied, a apple a day would prevent approximately 8,500 deaths a year – almost 1,000 less than the statin drug. However, when researchers estimated side effects, they discovered the stain drug also would cause almost 14,000 serious problems a year:
* Type 2 diabetes: 12,300 cases
* Myopathy (a muscular disease): 1,200 cases
* Rhabdomyolysis (a condition that can lead to kidney failure): 200 cases
When they repeated the exercise using adults ages 30 and older, the researchers estimated that statins would save another 200 lives each year, bringing the adjusted total of prevented deaths to 9,600. But apples would prevent 300 more deaths, reaching 8,800 annually. However, if 30-year-olds all started taking a daily statin, the number of side effects would explode:
* Type 2 diabetes: up 99 percent to 24,400 cases
* Myopathy: up 100 percent to 2,400 cases
* Rhabdomyolysis: up 100 percent to 400 cases
If compliance with the apple regimen (or a second apple, for those who already consumed one a day) was 90 percent instead of the 70 percent, the annual reduction of death from cardiovascular causes would reach 11,000 – a 29 percent increase for a 20 percent higher compliance rate.
At the end of the article is a text box titled “What This Study Adds”: “An apple a day or a statin a day is equally likely to keep the doctor away.” I must respectively disagree: Yes, they may be equally likely to keep the undertaker away, but with 14,000 preventable cases of diabetes and muscle disease every year, “A statin a day guarantees the doctor gets pay.”
Dr. G. Douglas Andersen is a sports chiropractor and certified clinical nutritionist who practices in Brea, Calif. He can be contacted with questions and comments via his Web site: www.andersenchiro.com.
SchluterChiropractic.com
Ohio BWC Announces New Rule... suggests Chiropractic before back fusion
Under BWC’s new spinal fusion rule, the agency requires those workers to first undergo at least 60 days of comprehensive conservative care before considering a surgical option. Conservative care includes physical therapy, chiropractic care and rest, anti-inflammatories, ice and other non-surgical treatments.
The rule follows several studies of BWC data by BWC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Stephen T. Woods, researchers at Case Western University School of Medicine and others that found fusion patients suffered considerably worse outcomes than non-fusion patients. Those outcomes included chronic opioid dependence, increased disability and high rates of failed back syndrome, as well as additional surgery and new psychiatric co-morbidities. One study in the journal Orthopedics found nearly 77 percent of fusion patients did not return to work within two years.
Oops
quote:
Patients with OA treated with tramadol had a 20%-50% higher risk of dying during the first year of treatment than did patients who were treated with NSAIDs, according to the results of a large, population-based study performed in British Columbia.
Within 1 year of starting treatment, 296 of 13,798 patients treated with tramadol had died, compared with 246 of 13,798 treated with naproxen, giving a death rate of 21.5 versus 17.8 per 1,000 person-years, and representing a 20% increase in all-cause mortality versus the NSAID (hazard ratio, 1.2)…