Michael Dam, D.C.

Pain is a big problem in America. Of the 238 million adults in America, approximately 116 million suffer from chronic pain (1, 2, 3). The majority of pain and its suffering are musculoskeletal, and is quantified by body region as follows (4):Lower-Back Pain 28.1%Knee Pain 19.5%Severe Headache 16.1%Neck Pain 15.1%Shoulder Pain 09.0%Finger Pain 07.6%Hip Pain 07.1%As noted, [..]

The Posterior Cervical Sympathetic SyndromeThe Syndrome of Barre-LieouThe blood flows to the brain through two arterial systems:Anterior Circulation (branches from the internal carotid arteries)Posterior Circulation (branches from the vertebral arteries)The dividing line between the Anterior and Posterior circulation of the brain is the Posterior Communicating Arteries.The diameter of the blood vessels is controlled by post-ganglionic sympathetic efferent neurons (1). As [..]

There are 18 chiropractic colleges in the United States:Cleveland Chiropractic College - Kansas City, KSD’Youville College -  Buffalo, NYLife Chiropractic College West - Hayward, CALife University - Marietta, GALogan University - Chesterfield, MONational University of Health Sciences - Lombard, ILNew York Chiropractic College - Seneca Falls, NYNorthwestern Health Sciences University - Bloomington, MNPalmer College of [..]

Mild traumatic brain injuries are also known as concussions. It is estimated that these injuries have a prevalence of 3.8 million per year in theUnited States (1). Despite this high incidence, mild traumatic brain injuries and concussions are one of the least understood injuries facing the sports healthcare and the neuroscience communities today (2).In the [..]

Tissue injury/trauma results in an inflammatory cascade (1, 2). This inflammatory cascade alters the threshold of the tissue nociceptors, which is why tissue injury is usually painful (3). The resolution of this inflammatory cascade is fibrosis/scar, a fibrous tissue response (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14). This tissue fibrosis/scar will [..]

Front End StoryJim McMahon was a great football quarterback. He was a two-time All-American at Brigham Young University. He was a first round National Football League (NFL) pick (number 5 overall). In the NFL he played for the Chicago Bears, San Diego Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers, [..]

An Update on Healthcare RisksAn Update on Cervical Manipulation and Stroke Risk The realization that trying to stay healthy can be risky became international headlines in 1994 when Harvard’s Lucian Leape, MD, indicated that medical error was responsible for 180,000 deaths per year (1, 2). Dr. Leape’s analogy was that this was “the equivalent of [..]

AND Spinal Manipulation Spinal Postural Improvement BACKGROUND CONCEPTSUpright posture is a first class lever mechanical system, such as a teeter-totter or seesaw:Fulcrum       By mechanical definition, the fulcrum is where the forces are the greatest. In human spinal posture, the fulcrum is the intervertebral disc and facet joints.When the human head is bent forward, as in looking down, [..]

Terminology UpdateThe terminology pertaining to lumbar spinal disk herniations has been confusing, inconsistent, and contradictory. Consequently, in 2014, the North American Spine Society, the American Society of Spine Radiology, and the American Society of Neuroradiology convened a combined task force to agree upon the nomenclature. The results were published in the Spine Journal, and titled (1):Lumbar [..]

Why is Chronic Low Back Pain So Prevalent and Often so Treatment Resistant? The Concept of Hyper-innervation, Neoneuralisation, Receptive Field Enlargement Pain, like all perceptions, is a cortical event. Pain is experienced in the brain. Pain perception in the brain begins in a peripheral tissue and is transmitted to the brain via a nerve. Thus, the peripheral tissue [..]