The Good News Keeps Coming

I read with interest an article in The Tahoe Daily Tribune, in which South Lake Tahoe, Nev chiropractor Paul Whitcomb says that he is helping 95% of his fibromyalgia patients recover and feel well enough to lead normal lives. Fibromyalgia produces chronic body-wide pain, with symptoms including persistent fatigue, headaches, cognitive impairment, memory loss, morning stiffness, and nonrestorative sleep. More than 6 million Americans, 90% of them women, suffer from the disease.

Several DCs and members of the chiropractic community that I contacted felt that although chiropractic care might not be a cure by itself, it can substantially benefit fibromyalgia patients. I’m happy to see groups such as the fibromyalgia community continue to recognize chiropractic care as an alternative or supplement to medical care for various ailments.

This past April, we saw encouraging news about the growing acceptance of chiropractic care, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a 2-year demonstration project to expand Medicare coverage of chiropractic services in five states. Now, chiropractic care is gaining more acceptance for the treatment of diseases such as fibromyalgia. And chiropractors are using some innovative techniques to help fibromyalgia patients.
Lawrence DelRe, DC at Health-1st, Pittsburgh, Penn, said that if fibromyalgia is localized to the spine and diagnosed early enough, chiropractic care can eliminate the disease. Full-blown fibromyalgia, in which a patient winces and pulls away when any muscle group is squeezed, used to be hopeless, DelRe says. But he says he built a handheld 100-milliwatt laser, which increases oxygenation to the affected muscles. This has worked better for fibromyalgia than anything else he has tried.

Craig S. Ross, a DC in Roseville, Calif, says he has had success using the biocranial method to treat fibromyalgia. With this method, the chiropractor uses a short, precise cranial correction that balances the cranial bones, reducing tension on the dura. Robert Boyd, DO, of the United Kingdom, developed the method.

And Tony Peters, a DC out of Charlotte, NC, emailed to tell me he uses a combination of chiropractic care, massage, nutritional support, exercise, and mental health care to help patients regain their health after experiencing symptoms of fibromyalgia.

The fibromyalgia community itself has begun recognizing that chiropractic care can benefit patients with the disease. National Fibromyalgia Association President Lynne Matallana, who spent 2 years in bed due to the disease, said that although she hates the word “cure,” people with fibromyalgia have definitely benefited from chiropractic care.

“We say it’s important for people to develop their own self-management program,” she says, adding that although her physicians did not recommend chiropractic care for her, she used yoga, water therapy, exercise, and other alternatives to regain her health. “Hopefully, there will be more research. With concerns out there about drug safety, we would like to see alternatives to that considered so we’ll have a better idea of what works.”

Just in the last few months, I’ve been excited to hear about the Medicare demonstration project, and then to hear from the president of the National Fibromyalgia Association, who touts the benefits of alternative care. The great news is accumulating rapidly.

Daryl Lubinsky
dlubinsky@ascendmedia.com