Justin McCormick, D.C.

Understanding that cervical spine problems can cause headache is not a new understanding, yet is still all too often overlooked. In 1956, Emil Seletz, MD… a noted Beverly Hills, CA, neurosurgeon. He was member of the esteemed faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles, medical school, and had treated more than 20,000 injury patients [..]

Perhaps the most authoritative book written pertaining to the spine is Schmorl’s and Junghanns’ The Human Spine in Health and Disease. Georg Schmorl (1861-1932) was a German physician and pathologist. Herbert Junghanns (1902-1986) was the Chief of the Occupational Accident Hospital, Surgical Clinic, and Head of the Institute for Spinal Column Research, in Frankfurt, Germany. The [..]

aThis month it’s time for us to discuss the remarkably common nature of cervical spine degenerative joint disease in the general population. In a book titled Painful Cervical Trauma, John Hopkins University School of Medicine neurosurgeon John Aryanpur, MD, states:“Degenerative spondylosis, or osteoarthritis, of the cervical spine is common in all individuals over 50 years of [..]

A Common Sequela Of Neck InjuriesIn 1991, Denver Thoracic Outlet surgeon Richard Sanders, MD, wrote a book with the above title (1). In this months issue we are going to discuss many of Dr. Sanders’ remarkable observations… beginning with…His Definition of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)“TOS is neurovascular symptoms in the upper extremity due to pressure [..]

When considering whiplash injuries, three questions are important:What are the primary tissues that are injured during whiplash trauma?Which injured tissues are responsible for chronic whiplash injury pain?Which conservative treatments are best at preventing and treating chronic whiplash injury pain?Discussions to help answer these questions are to come in the following pages. However, I believe first a [..]

Can Injury Occur In Low Impact Motor Vehicle Collisions?Today in 2008 its almost a foregone conclusion and certainly professional experience confirms that automobile accident insurance company claim adjusters, defense attorneys, and medical experts for the defense continue to proclaim that an individual within a vehicle involved in a collision cannot be injured if their vehicle sustains only minimum structural [..]

A Commonly Overlooked Component In Unresolved Back Pain In 1895, German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays and radiographs. Soon thereafter, radiographs of the spine began to appear in prominent healthcare research and literature. Later in 1916, Harvard Orthopedic Surgeon Robert W. Lovett, MD, published the third edition of his book Lateral Curvature of the Spine [..]

British Medical JournalMarch 10, 2007;334:527-531Allan I Binder, consultant rheumatologistPresenting Features of Cervical SpondylosisSYMPTOMS* Cervical pain aggravated by movement* Referred pain (occiput, between the shoulder blades, upper limbs)* Retro-orbital or temporal pain (from C1 to C2)* Cervical stiffness—reversible or irreversible* Vague numbness, tingling, or weakness in upper limbs* Dizziness or vertigo* Poor balance* Rarely: syncope, migraine, [..]

Clinical NeurophysiologyFebruary 2007 Feb;118(2):391-402Haavik-Taylor H, Murphy BOBJECTIVE:To study the immediate sensorimotor neurophysiological effects of cervical spine manipulation using somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs).METHODS:Twelve subjects with a history of reoccurring neck stiffness and/or neck pain, but no acute symptoms at the time of the study were invited to participate in the study.An additional twelve subjects participated in [..]

Integrating Connective Tissue and Nervous System MechanismsMedical HypothesesVolume 68, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 74-80Helene M. Langevin and Karen J. ShermanThe primary author is from the Department of Neurology, University of Vermont, College of Medicine.FROM ABSTRACTAlthough chronic low back pain (cLBP) is increasingly recognized as a complex syndrome with multifactorial etiology, the pathogenic mechanisms leading [..]