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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #109 - Recorded August 10, 2007

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –

• CMS Proposes Changes to Chiropractic X-Ray Reimbursement

• Physical characteristics of patients with developmental cervical spinal canal stenosis

• Relationship between proinflammatory mediator levels in disc material and myelopathy with cervical disc herniation and spondylosis

• Laser printers may pose health risks

• And finally, Morphological Lumbar facet anatomy changes in Spondylolysis

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #109, recorded August 10, 2007.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

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And Now for some news ….

CMS Proposes Changes to Chiropractic X-Ray Reimbursement

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), on July 12, 2007, published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would eliminate patient reimbursement for X-rays taken by a radiologist or other non-treating physician and then used by a doctor of chiropractic.

If approved, this proposal would reverse a long-standing policy originally obtained by the American Chiropractic Association, the ACA, and could severely hamper the chiropractic profession's ability to care for many Medicare patients.

The proposed change would specifically eliminate Medicare reimbursement in connection with the referral of a patient by a doctor of chiropractic to a radiologist or other non-treating physician for X-rays; however, according to this ACA article,  doctors of chiropractic will still be able to refer patients back to any treating physician, such as a primary care provider, for needed X-rays.

The ACA plans to submit comments on this proposal to CMS prior to the Aug. 31 deadline.  Further, individual doctors of chiropractic and chiropractic patients are strongly advised to contact CMS and urge them to abolish the recommendation. 

Surf to our Web Site for a link to make comments and a link to this article - http://acatoday.org/press_css.cfm?CID=2448

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3841/is_199912/ai_n8874688

http://www.acatoday.com/content_css.cfm?CID=984

http://www.emedny.org/ProviderManuals/Chiropractor/PDFS/Chiropractor_Policy.pdf

Physical characteristics of patients with developmental cervical spinal canal stenosis

There has been only one report on the physical characteristics of patients with developmental cervical spinal canal stenosis.

The objective of a consecutive clinical study published in Volume 16, Issue 7 of the European Spine Journal, was to identify the physical characteristics of patients with developmental cervical spinal canal stenosis.

The subjects were divided into two groups (the groups of patients with and without spinal canal stenosis) on the basis of their lateral cervical spine radiographs.

The six items examined were height, weight, sitting height, inter inner canthal distance, upper arm length, and head circumference in each patient, and then their values were compared between the two groups.

The mean inter inner canthal distance was 2.7 cm in the group of patients with spinal canal stenosis and 3.5 cm in the group of patients without spinal canal stenosis; a significant difference (P < 0.01) was observed. Regarding height, weight, sitting height, upper arm length, and head circumference, no significant difference was found while comparing the two groups.

In conclusion, developmental cervical spinal canal stenosis seems to be highly likely in patients with smaller inter inner canthal distance.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this study - http://www.springerlink.com/content/k2864034v0453432/

Relationship between proinflammatory mediator levels in disc material and myelopathy with cervical disc herniation and spondylosis

A study published in Volume 16, Issue 7 of the European Spine Journal investigated if there is a correlation between the levels of proinflammatory mediators (PIMs) in disc material and myelopathy associated with cervical intervertebral disc herniation and spondylosis.

The role of proinflammatory mediators in the degeneration of intervertebral disc and the inflammatory effects of disc herniations on radicular pain has been previously published. However, the possible relationship between proinflammatory mediators and myelopathy related to cervical disc herniation and spondylosis has not been investigated before.

This study has demonstrated that proinflammatory mediators are involved in cervical intervertebral disc degeneration with higher concentrations in the samples associated with myelopathy.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this study - http://www.springerlink.com/content/nr582043j575t6x3/

Laser printers may pose health risks

Emissions from office laser printers can be as unhealthy as cigarette smoke, according to an Australian professor who is now calling for regulations to limit printer emissions.

Office workers breathing easy since smoking was banned in public places in the U.S. and U.K. can start worrying again, according to research from the Queensland University of Technology's Air Quality and Health Program, led by physics professor Lidia Morawska.

The average printer releases toner particles that can get deep into the lungs and cause respiratory problems and cardiovascular trouble, according to Morawska's team, part of the International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, and specialists in atmospheric particles.

The study included Canon, HP LaserJet, Ricoh and Toshiba printers. The university had not released comprehensive results by the time this story was published.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this study with related links - http://news.com.com/Study+Laser+printers+may+pose+health+risks/2100-1041_3-6200085.html?tag=nefd.top

Morphological Lumbar facet anatomy changes in Spondylolysis

The aim of a study published in Volume 16, Issue 7 of the European Spine Journal to reveal the association between spondylolysis (SP) and the architecture of lumbar articular facets and the inter-facet region.

Three profound differences between spondylolysis and the norm appeared:

1.   In individuals with spondylolysis, the size and shape of L4’s neural arch had significantly greater inter-facet widths, significantly shorter inter-facet heights and significantly shorter and narrower articular facets;

2.   Only in the L4 vertebra in individuals with spondylolysis was the inferior inter-facet width greater in size than the superior inter-facet width of the vertebra below (L5) (38.7 mm versus 40 mm);

3.   In all lumbar vertebrae, the right inferior articular facets in individuals with spondylolysis were flatter compared to the control group.

In conclusion, individuals with L4 “spondylolysis” characteristics are at a greater risk of developing fatigue fractures in the form of spondylolysis at L5.

Surf to our Show Notes for a link to this study - http://www.springerlink.com/content/r3612491080p0224/

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.
And remember - COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"True hope dwells on the possible, even when life seems to be a plot written by someone who wants to see how much adversity we can overcome. True hope responds to the real world, to real life; it is an active effort."
– Walter Anderson, American painter

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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