New Research Connects Chiropractic Care and Fertility More than 6 million women in the United States are infertile, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and more than 9 million use some kind of infertility service. These same women, according to new research, may find hope at the chiropractor. A series of articles in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research suggests that chiropractic adjustments may benefit infertile women, regardless of the woman’s age, number of years infertile, previous medical intervention, or health history, including amenorrhea, miscarriages, colitis, or blocked fallopian tubes. All of the women in the studies were found to have vertebral subluxations, and after chiropractic treatment, all became pregnant. There is a link between chiropractic care and fertility because the nerves to the reproductive system run through the spine, explains Madeline Behrendt, DC, lead researcher for the series of articles and the subject of several special syndicated television news features, including a WCBS-New York special report. When the back is misaligned, the nerves cause a hormone imbalance, which can cause infertility. “Infertile women are not healthy,” says Behrendt. “While they can become pregnant through external intervention, that doesn’t improve their health. With chiropractic care, their health can improve, including fertility function.” Although these studies bridge the gap between chiropractic care and public knowledge, many women are now asking why they have not received less invasive initial choices/referrals by their infertility specialists, says Behrendt. Chiropractors, however, do not need to feel restricted concerning a patient’s medical background, explains Behrendt. “The one factor in common for all the women was the presence of vertebral subluxations. As they cleared with chiropractic care, fertility function improved. That is something all chiropractors can appreciate.”

ACA and Trigon Go Before a Three-Judge Panel
George McAndrews, American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA) general counsel, attempted to convince a federal three-judge appellate panel recently that Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield conspired to discriminate against doctors of chiropractic. During the hearing in Richmond, Va, before the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, McAndrews presented arguments why he believes the case deserves to be sent back to the district court for trial.

McAndrews presented evidence that Trigon had altered the federal government’s 1994 guidelines on acute low back pain to remove reference to chiropractic-style spinal manipulation for economic reasons. Trigon’s new referral guidelines direct low back pain patients away from chiropractors and to pharmaceutical treatment by medical doctors. “They changed the critical definition of manipulation,” McAndrews explained to the panel. “The evidence is that they weren’t trained in [manipulation]. It was panic time.”

Trigon attorneys contended there was no evidence of a conspiracy and that doctors of chiropractic were paid less than medical doctors because they are not as highly educated. According to Trigon attorneys, Trigon has the right to make such business decisions that it feels is in its best interest.

A decision about the case from the appellate court will be rendered within 1 to 6 months.

Antibiotics Associated With Breast Cancer Risk Antibiotic use may be linked with an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Group Health Cooperative’s Center for Health Studies, the University of Washington, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and the National Cancer Institute. Appearing in the February 18, 2004, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), of more than 10,000 women showed that those who took antibiotics for more than 500 days (or more than 25 individual prescriptions) over an average period of 17 years had twice the risk of breast cancer as women who had taken no antibiotics. It is emphasized, however, that those who never take antibiotics may have different lifestyle characteristics, decreasing their breast cancer risk. Because this is the first study of the link between breast cancer risk and antibiotics within the United States, more research is needed. “It may be that women who take a lot of antibiotics have some other processes happening in their bodies—such as a weak immune response or hormonal imbalance—which may be an underlying cause of breast cancer,” says Christine Velicer, PhD, a Group Health research associate and the lead author of the study. There are various theories suggesting the link between antibiotic use and breast cancer. One is that antibiotics affect the bacteria in the intestine, interfering with the metabolism of certain foods that are known to protect the body against cancer. Other theories include antibiotics’ impact on the immune and inflammatory responses. “This is not the time to say all antibiotics are bad,” says John D. Potter, MD, PhD, director of the Public Health Sciences Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and co-author of the study. “Antibiotics are an extremely useful tool for the treatment of infection, but they must be used appropriately.” However, when Chiropractic Products asked Jeffrey Ptak, DC, Los Angeles, about the effects the study’s findings have on the chiropractic community, he responded, “This demonstrates, once again, that no drug is safe. All drugs have effects on the body and alter the normal physiology.” He also stresses the importance of embracing the unique mission chiropractors have to restore well-being and to reconnect physical with the spiritual. “For chiropractic to thrive for the next seven generations,” he says, “we must see how the medical model is failing. We must be willing to step out of our offices and share our vision and mission of a life from the inside out, versus a fear-driven, symptom-driven, disease-based, germ-based existence.”

Palmer Holds Homecoming
Palmer Chiropractic University, Davenport, Iowa, will be holding its Palmer Homecoming, formerly Palmer Chiropractic Lyceum, August 12–14. Educational sessions with more than 70 speakers are expected. This year, participants have the opportunity to be honored during homecoming. Seven chiropractors will be recognized in two categories: conquering adversity and the seven miracles of chiropractic.

“We are debuting a new kind of general session that will showcase and honor field doctors,” says Heather Arcaute-Gilmore, programming manager. “Very few chiropractors are recognized for what they’ve accomplished and overcome. We want to change that and also show future chiropractors the infinite possibilities of their profession.”

For more information or to submit a chiropractic story, call (866) 592-3861 or visit www.palmerseminars.com.

Veterans One Step Closer to Gaining Chiropractic Care
Veterans may soon have direct access to a doctor of chiropractic through the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) health care system. On March 30, DVA Secretary Anthony Principi issued an outline formalizing the full inclusion of chiropractic care into the US veterans health care system, and the following day, Congressman Bob Filner (D-Calif) introduced supporting legislation.

The Filner bill (HR 4051) seeks to amend Title 38 of the United States Code to permit eligible veterans to receive direct access to chiropractic care at DVA hospitals and clinics. Section 3 of HR 4051 states that “The Secretary [of Veterans Affairs] shall permit eligible veterans to receive needed [health care] services, rehabilitative services, and preventative health services from a licensed doctor of chiropractic on a direct access basis at the election of the eligible veteran, if such services are within the state scope of practice of such doctor of chiropractic.” The measure goes on to directly prohibit discrimination among licensed health care providers by the DVA when determining which services a patient needs.

“Congressman Filner is a powerful and effective leader on health care issues and a well-known fighter for America’s veterans,” says Donald J. Krippendorf, DC, American Chiropractic Association (ACA) president and a US Navy veteran. “He has shown time and again that he is committed to protecting the rights of doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic patients. Introduction in the US House of Representatives of the [bill] by Congressman Filner is a strong statement of support for chiropractic care and its positive benefits for veterans and other patients.”

NCA Accreditation Granted to Palmer Florida
Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida (PCCF), Port Orange, Fla, recently obtained accreditation status as a branch campus of Palmer College of Chiropractic (PCC), Davenport, Iowa, from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). PCCF now extends its accreditation to include the Master of Science in Clinical Research Training and the Doctor of Chiropractic program.

“This is a considerable accomplishment for Donald Kern [DC] and Palmer Florida,” says Douglas Hoyle, PhD, who has helped in the accreditation process. “He and Gloria Niles [DC] along with a host of others at Palmer Florida, have worked diligently to assure that PCCF is of the quality necessary to earn NCA accreditation.”

Palmer Florida also received an annual license to operate in Florida from the Florida Commission for Independent Education, based on its ability to meet the Florida Commission’s licensure requirements. “With this second jewel for Palmer Florida, along with the state licensure, we are now setting our sights toward completing the crown with CCE accreditation,” says Kern.

HAP Aims to Improve Low Back Pain Care
With more than 100 million people in the United States suffering from chronic low back pain (LBP), health care costs, time off work, and lost productivity remain a constant problem. In an effort to improve the quality of care for chronic LBP sufferers, while reducing health care costs, Health Alliance Plan (HAP), Detroit, recently awarded $878,000 to the Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine for a chronic low back pain study. The study, led by Robert A. Levine, PhD, codirector of the center, will involve 180 HAP members in metro Detroit. The center, located in Novi, Mich, is part of the Henry Ford Health System.

“The goal of the integrative medicine-based program designed by Dr Levine is to improve outcomes for patients while reducing potentially unnecessary surgery, high-technology testing, and pharmaceuticals,” says Mary Beth Bolton, MD, HAP senior vice president and chief medical officer. “HAP supports this research because evidence suggests that inadequate management of chronic pain may result in unnecessary procedures for patients and higher costs. These added costs do not benefit the patient with the disability.”

LBP is traditionally treated with physical therapy to rehabilitate the patient and pharmaceuticals, such as pain killers and anti-inflammatory drugs, to manage pain. “We expect the study to show that novel, integrative approaches are valid and produce positive results with patients,” says Levine. “Once the approaches are validated on a large scale, providers will be placed in parts of Henry Ford Health System to administer the treatments.”

After being evaluated by Shlomo Mandel, MD, a Henry Ford Hospital orthopedic specialist, patients will then receive comprehensive integrative care, which includes chiropractic manipulation, neuromuscular therapy, movement re-education, acupuncture, and hypnotherapy, or streamlined integrative care, which includes therapy that restores neuromuscular balance, nonneedling acupuncture, a joint mobilization technique, and hypnotherapy. Both services employ hypnotherapy to enable patients to be aware of how their subconscious mind drives automatic reactions that can lock back pain in place. “This is an innovative program because it is a multi-modes approach that comprehensively addresses the whole person,” says Levine. “Our integrative program maximizes the synergy between different treatments and offers the patient the best chance of recovery.”