The patient, June Cram, woke up after surgery with several stitches in her abdomen, a catheter and IV tubes attached to her arm, but none of that bothered her. "It was the awful pain in my neck and head that I couldn't stand," she explained. "When the medications and ice packs they gave me didn't help relieve the constant pain, I asked them to send for Dr. Knowles, my chiropractor, and they did."
Jeffrey Knowles, D.C., who practices in Carlsbad, California, arrived at Scripps Memorial Hospital in San Diego feeling a little unsure about his reception at the hospital desk. Upon his arrival, however, he was treated with professional courtesy and directed to his patient's room. Any thoughts about his own discomfort vanished when he saw his patient lying in the hospital bed in a great deal of pain.
Ms. Cram was suffering severe bilateral neck pain radiating into her upper thoracic spine and she was experiencing a severe migraine type headache with accompanying nausea. According to Dr. Knowles, these symptoms occur frequently during or following surgery when a patient must lie for a long period of time with the head and neck in one position. In fact, while Dr. Knowles was there treating Ms. Cram, the patient in the next bed complained that she was experiencing head and neck pain also and thought maybe she would ask to have her chiropractor called in.
Dr. Knowles pulled the hospital bed away from the wall and after carefully moving June to a comfortable position, gave her an adjustment of the cervical spine. June stated that she received immediate relief and had no further neck pain or headache for the duration of her hospital stay. She appreciated Dr. Knowles coming to the hospital to give her a needed adjustment and was grateful to her treating doctor, Benito Villaneuva, M.D., and the hospital for agreeing to have Dr. Knowles provide chiropractic care in the hospital.
While it is unusual for a hospital or a medical doctor to consent to such an arrangement, Dr. Knowles points out that there is a significant need for chiropractic care in the hospital setting. He believes that Scripps Memorial Hospital and Dr. Villaneuva are both to be commended for their foresight and for putting patient needs and requirements above philosophical views on alternative health.
When sports chiropractors first appeared at the Olympic Games in the 1980s, it was alongside individual athletes who had experienced the benefits of chiropractic care in their training and recovery processes at home. Fast forward to Paris 2024, where chiropractic care was available in the polyclinic for all athletes, and the attitude has now evolved to recognize that “every athlete deserves access to sports chiropractic."
It is estimated that 61% of patients with CTS avoid taking surgical options due to postoperative complications and costly surgical procedures. Chiropractic care offers a comprehensive and effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome, addressing the condition from multiple angles. Recent studies also have unveiled a game-changing adjunct to chiropractic treatments for CTS: nerve flossing.
Some doctors thrive in a personality-based clinic and have a loyal following no matter what services or equipment they offer, but for most chiropractic offices who are trying to grow and expand, new equipment purchases help us stay relevant and continue to service our client base in the best, most up-to-date manner possible. So, regarding equipment purchasing: should you lease, get a bank loan, or pay cash?
