Roger Clifford, D.C., D.A.C.N.B.

The low back is the most common body region to suffer from chronic pain (1). Low back pain is the second most common reason for primary care physician visits, and it is the most costly medical condition in the United States (2). The most common tissue source for low back pain is the intervertebral disc [..]

A Simple Model Approximately half of the adults in America suffer from chronic pain (1). Chronic pain affects every region of the body. The most significantly affected region of the body is the low back (2). The largest modern review of the chiropractic profession was published in the journal Spine on December 1, 2017, and [..]

The Anatomical, Clinical,and Management Distinctions The Cervical Disc isNOT a Mini Lumbar Disc Most of what is understood and taught about the intervertebral discs was ascertained by studying the lumbar discs. The “era of the intervertebral disc” began in 1934 when William Jason Mixter and Joseph Seaton Barr read their paper, Rupture of the Intervertebral [..]

Low back and/or pelvic pain in pregnancy is extremely common. A study published in the journal Spine in 1996 indicated that 76% of women reported back pain at some time during pregnancy (1). A study published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 2002 indicated that 35.5% of pregnant women [..]

Six years later, in 1986, prescribing opiates for chronic pain was further enhanced when physicians Russell Portenoy, MD, and Kathleen Foley, MD, published a small case series (38 subjects) that concluded that chronic opioid analgesic use was safe in patients with no history of drug abuse (5). By 2017, America’s opioid crisis had escalated to [..]

Clinical practice guidelines are systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and patient decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. Clinical practice guidelines define the role of specific diagnostic and treatment modalities in the diagnosis and management of patients. Clinical practice guideline recommendations are based on evidence from rigorous systematic reviews and synthesis of [..]

Approximately 36 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches. Current pharmacological treatments are not very effective and they may have dangerous side effects (1). Migraines are the second most prevalent neurologic disorder (after tension-type headaches), with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1 and an estimated 1-year prevalence of approximately 15% in the general population (2). The total [..]

The word “light” brings up familiar images. The common image of “light” is that of something we see. Yet, the “light” that we can see is only a small slice of a much larger range of waves that are known as the “electromagnetic” spectrum. The entire “electromagnetic” spectrum is considered to be “light.” Yet, vast [..]

The sciatic nerve is a nerve that begins in the lower back and travels through the buttock and into the leg and then into the foot. It is the longest and widest nerve in the human body. The sciatic nerve is made up of five lumbosacral nerve roots, L4, L5, S1, S2, and S3. When [..]

Important Numbers Members of our military and military veterans are plagued with musculoskeletal pain problems: 2007 (1) - An analysis of United States Navy Physical Evaluation Board data between February 2005 and February 2006 indicated that musculoskeletal diagnoses were frequent (43%), with back pain (29%) being the most common musculoskeletal diagnosis. 2008 (2) - There [..]