Dr. Karin Mattern Chiropractic

 

3648 Departure Bay Rd  Nanaimo, BC  V9T 1C4

Phone: 250-758-7022  Fax: 250-758-7029

Office Hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Friday

 8:00am-11:30   1:30-5:30

email: drkarin@shaw.ca

 

 

"Look well to the spine for the cause of disease"

                                                          -Hippocrates

 

Clinical study at NHSU

Jan 4, 2012, Bloomington, Minn. – Spinal manipulation and home exercise are more effective at relieving neck pain in the long term than medications, according to a research study conducted at Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington, Minn. The results of the study were reported in the January 2012 Annals of Internal Medicine. “These changes were diminished over time, but they were still present,” said Dr. Gert Bronfort, an author of the study and vice president for research at Northwestern Health Sciences University. “Even a year later, there were differences between the spinal manipulation and medication groups.” The research study involved a group of 272 adults with neck pain that had no known specific cause. The subjects were divided into three groups and followed for about three months. One group was visited a chiropractor throughout the course of the study, making an average of 15 visits. A second group was assigned to take common pain relievers. The third group met on two occasions with physical therapists who gave them instructions on simple, gentle exercises for the neck that they could do at home. They were encouraged to do 5 to 10 repetitions of each exercise up to eight times a day. (The exercises are demonstrated at www.annals.org ). After 12 weeks, the people in the non-medication groups did significantly better than those taking the drugs. About 57 percent of those who met with chiropractors and 48 percent who did the exercises reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, compared to 33 percent of the people in the medication group. A year later, 53 percent of the subjects who had received spinal manipulation still reported at least a 75 percent reduction in pain, similar to the exercise group. That compared to just a 38 percent pain reduction among those who had been taking medication.

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Serving Nanaimo families for 30 years, Dr. Mattern provides corrective care to help you feel your best, and ongoing preventive care tailored to the individual patient to promote stability and prevent degenerative changes

We treat children from newborns to teens, and seniors from Zoomers to centenarians, and all those in-between!

 

We accept WCB, ICBC, DVA, RCMP patients.

Our office is wheelchair accessible.

YOUR FIRST VISIT TO A CHIROPRACTOR

What does a chiropractic treatment involve, and what can you expect when you visit a doctor of chiropractic for the first time? Initially, the chiropractor will take a history. This usually includes any falls or injuries you may have sustained even in early childhood, any motor vehicle accidents, surgeries, and health problems past or present which may have had an effect on your present alignment and spinal function.

Following the history, you will be examined for postural alignment, joint movement and neurological as well as muscle function. X-rays may be requested if they are felt to be necessary for an accurate diagnosis.

At this point, if the doctor is satisfied that chiropractic care is appropriate, a course of adjustments will be initiated. An adjustment is a controlled force in a specific direction to restore proper movement to a joint. In many cases the correction of abnormal movement involves the release of a restricted joint and is accompanied by a "popping" sound, much like "cracking" one’s knuckles. In most cases, adjustments are completely painless. Following the adjustment, the joint moves more freely within its normal range. A series of adjustments is required to keep the joint moving freely until the surrounding muscles and ligaments have readapted and the entire body is balanced and stabilized.

The American Medical Association Orthopedic Council has defined manipulative therapy as "the application of accurately determined and specifically directed manual forces to the body. The objective is to improve mobility in areas that are restricted, whether the restrictions are within joint, connective tissues, or in skeletal muscles. The consequence may be the improvement of posture and locomotion and the relief of pain and discomfort, the improvement of function elsewhere in the body, and the enhancement of the sense of well-being." It is interesting to note that the Supreme Court in Quebec has ruled that spinal manipulation is a procedure which requires extensive education and training and should be restricted to chiropractors only. Similar legislation has been enacted in several U.S. States.

Your chiropractor may also advise you on diet, nutrition, exercise and other aspects of your lifestyle which may have a bearing on your health problems. A corrective exercise programme may hasten recovery and aid in stabilizing your condition.

What you can expect, then, is a discussion of your past and present health problems, a comprehensive examination , and treatments whose purpose is to correct the cause of the problem and prevent further problems from arising.