•
80% of Canadians will suffer from back pain at some point in their lives.
•
Back symptoms are the most common cause of disability for individuals
under the age of 45.
•
20% of all Canadian military medical discharges are due to low back
pain.
•
More than 3 million Canadians will seek chiropractic care this year.
•
Chiropractic has been around for more than 100 years.
•
Today there are approximately 50,000 chiropractors in the United States
- 10,000 in Japan - 5,000 in Canada - 2,500 in Australia - 1,000 in
the U.K. - and 100-500 in each of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa, and The Netherlands.
•
In the western world 85% of people will be disabled by back pain at
some point in their lives.
Spine 12(3):264-268.
•
1992 costs associated with low back pain in the U.S. were estimated
to be $60 billion.
The Manga Report - 1993.
•
Nearly 30% of the Canadian population aged 18 and older have used chiropractic.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
•
WSIB studies indicate a 45-55% saving in overall costs when treatments
are provided by a chiropractors instead of a medical doctors.
California, 1972 - Wisconsin, 1978 - Florida,1988 - Utah,1991 - State
of Victoria, Australia, 1992.
•90%
of chiropractic users feel their treatment is effective.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
•
58% of those using chiropractic considered it an essential part of their
heath insurance package.
The Gallup Organization - 1991.
•
"Chiropractic patients were 3 times more satisfied with their care
than patients of family practice physicians."
Western Journal of Medicine - 1989.
•
"Chiropractors are now accepted as a legitimate healing profession
by the public and by an increasing number of physicians."
The Manga Report - 1993.
•
"Chiropractic is a growing component of the health care sector,
and it is widely used by the population."
The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, and Medical
College of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, January 1992.
•
94% of all spinal adjutments are performed by chiropractors.
RAND Corporation.
THE FLU AND THE FLU VACCINE
What is the flu? Influenza
is a respiratory infection that produces fever, chills, sore throat,
muscle aches, and cough that lasts a week or more. The flu can be deadly
for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems or who are
suffering from diabetes, kidney dysfunction and heart disease. Each
year about 20,000 Americans, mostly in these high risk groups, reportedly
die from flu complications such as pneumonia.
What is the flu vaccine? The flu
vaccine is prepared from the fluids of chick embryos inoculated with
a specific type(s) of influenza virus. The strains of flu virus in the
vaccine are inactivated with formaldehyde and preserved with thimerosal,
which is a mercury derivative.
Every year, federal health agency officials
try to guess which three flu strains are most likely to be prevalent
in the U.S. the following year to determine which strains will be included
in next year’s flu vaccine. If they guess right, the vaccine is thought
to be 70 to 80 percent effective in temporarily preventing the flu of
the season in healthy persons less than 65 years old (the efficacy rate
drops to 30 to 40% in those over 65 years old but the vaccine is thought
to be 50 to 60% effective in preventing hospitalization and pneumonia
and 80% effective in preventing death from the flu in the over 65 age
group). However, sometimes health officials do not correctly predict
which flu strains will be most prevalent and the vaccine’s effectiveness
is much lower for that year.
Does the flu vaccine protect against
all throat, respiratory, gastrointestinal and ear infections? The
flu vaccine only protects against the three specific viral strains which
are included in any given year’s flu vaccine. Throat, respiratory, gastrointestinal
and ear infections caused by bacteria or other kinds of viruses are
not prevented by getting an annual flu shot.
Why do doctors say I have to get a
flu vaccine every year? Like all vaccines, the flu vaccine only
gives a temporary immunity to the virus strains or closely related virus
strains contained in the vaccine. The only way to get natural and permanent
immunity to a strain of flu is to recover naturally from the flu. Natural
immunity to a particular strain of flu can be protective if that strain
or closely related strains come around again in the future. However,
because the vaccine only provides a 70 to 80 percent chance of temporary
immunity to selected strains and those strains may or may not be prevalent
each year, doctors say you have to get a flu shot every year.
Are there reactions to the flu vaccine?
The most common reactions, which begin with 12 hours of vaccination
and can last several days are: fever, fatigue, painful joints and headache.
The most serious reaction that has been associated with flu vaccine
is Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) which occurs most often within two
to four weeks of vaccination. GBS is an immune mediated nerve disorder
characterized by muscle weakness, unsteady gait, numbness, tingling,
pain and sometimes paralysis of one or more limbs or the face. Recovery
lasts several months and can include residual disability. Less than
5 percent of GBS cases end in death.
What are contraindications to the flu
vaccine? Among high risk factors listed by the CDC and the vaccine
manufacturers are anyone who: (1) is sick with a fever; (2) has an impaired
immune system; (2) has an egg allergy; (3) has a mercury allergy; (4)
has a history of Guillain-Barre syndrome. In years past, pregnancy was
also a contraindication to flu vaccine but, today, the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) recommends flu vaccine for women more than 14 weeks pregnant.
The package inserts published by the flu
vaccine manufacturers state that "Animal reproduction studies have not
been conducted with influenza virus vaccine. It is also not known whether
influenza virus vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a
pregnant woman….Although animal reproductive studies have not been conducted,
the prescribing health care provider should be aware of the recommendations
of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices …The ACIP states
that if used during pregnancy, administration of influenza virus vaccine
after 14 weeks of gestation may be preferable to avoid coincidental
association of the vaccine with early pregnancy loss."
Is Flu Vaccine Recommended for Children?
The flu vaccine has never been recommended for healthy children.
However, in the past few years there have been indications that health
officials are soon going to recommend flu vaccine for all children.
A nasal flu vaccine is scheduled to be on the market in late 2000 and
publicity promoting this vaccine has centered on its potential use in
children.
The current injectable flu vaccine contains
mercury as a preservative. In the summer of 1999, the FDA, CDC and EPA
directed the vaccine manufacturers to remove mercury as a preservative
in childhood vaccines. Mercury is a known neuro-toxin and American babies
under six months of age are currently exposed to mercury in childhood
vaccines that exceed EPA safety standards.
One consideration with the mass use of
flu vaccine in healthy children is the removal of natural antibodies
to flu which are obtained from natural infection. The question of whether
it is better for healthy children, who rarely suffer complications from
flu, to get the flu and develop permanent immunity to that flu strain
or it is better for children to get vaccinated every year to try to
suppress all flu infection in early childhood is a question that has
yet to be adequately answered by medical science.
What should I do? Become educated
about the flu and its benefits and risks and the vaccine and its benefits
and risks and make an informed decision after consulting multiple sources
of information and discussing your questions with one or more health
professionals.
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