Individual Alpha Frequency & McKenzie vs. Cranio-Cervical Flexion

The Chiropractic Forward Podcast: Evidence-based Chiropractic Advocacy

CF 332: Individual Alpha Frequency & McKenzie vs. Cranio-Cervical Flexion Today we’re going to talk about Individual Alpha Frequency & McKenzie vs. Cranio-Cervical Flexion But first, here’s that sweet sweet bumper music

Purchase Dr. Williams’s book, a perfect educational tool and chiropractic research reference for the daily practitioner, from the Amazon store TODAY!

OK, we are back and you have found the Chiropractic Forward Podcast where we are giving evidence-based chiropractic a little personality and making it profitable. We’re not the stuffy, elitist, pretentious kind of research. We’re research talk over a couple of beers. So grab you a bushel.

I’m Dr. Jeff Williams and I’m your host for the Chiropractic Forward podcast. I’m so glad you’re spending your time with us learning together. Chiropractors – I’m hiring at my personal clinic. I need talent, ambition, smarts, personality, and easy to get along with associates. If this is you and Amarillo, TX is your speed, send me an email at [e-mail] If you haven’t yet I have a few things you should do.

• Go to Amazon and check our my book called The Remarkable Truth About Chiropractic: A Unique Journey Into The Research. It’s excellent resource for you and is categorized into sections so the information is easy to find and written in a way that is easy to understand for everyone. It’s on Amazon. That’s the Remarkable Truth About Chiropractic by Jeff Williams.
• Like our Chiropractic Forward Facebook page,
• Join our private Chiropractic Forward Facebook group, and then
• Review our podcast on wherever you listen to it
• Last thing real quick, we also have an evidence-based brochure and poster store at chiropracticforward.com

You have found yourself smack dab in the middle of Episode #332 Now if you missed last week’s episode, we talked about The WHO’s Sources For Opinion On Spinal Manipulative Therapy (Part 14). We’re coming to the end of the series and will be wrapping it up soon. Make sure you don’t miss that info. Keep up with the class.

On the personal end of things….. I’m typing this out after the Memorial Day weekend here in 2024. They just ran the 150th Kentucky Derby this month and guess what?? I just got back from a trip to Louisville KY for a high school graduation and you better believe your sweet behind that we took that opportunity to go to Churchill Downs and bet on some horses! We won about $5 overall so I’ll take it. We’re not big on gambling so it’s not about the money. It was about the experience and it was quite the experience. What a place. Pretty historic and pretty special. If you’re friends with me on Facebook, go check out the pics and videos.

My 16 year old daughter had never been to the horse races before and she had big ol’ wide eyes. She thought it was pretty darn cool! When you go to Louisville, AKA Bourbon Town, you have to bourbon a little so I had some smoked old fashions out there. One had bacon in it. I wasn’t too excited when they brought it to the table but it was yummo, folks.

Who knew?

Since we had Monday off, we have a short week which means I need to get on with this podcast and get back to work ASAP, mi amigo so let’s get right to it.

Item #1

Our first one this week is called, “Lower individual alpha frequency in individuals with chronic low back pain and fear of movement” by Ho et al and published in Pain Journal in May 2024 and it’s so incredibly en fuego! Remember, the citations can be found at chiropracticforward.com under this episode.

Ho, Rachel L.M.a; Park, Jinhana; Wang, Wei-ena; Thomas, James S.b; Cruz-Almeida, Yeniselc; Coombes, Stephen A.a,*. Lower individual alpha frequency in individuals with chronic low back pain and fear of movement. PAIN 165(5):p 1033-1043, May 2024. | DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000003098

Why They Did It

• Significant progress has been made in linking measures of individual alpha frequency (IAF) and pain.
• A lower individual alpha frequency has been associated with chronic neuropathic pain and with an increased sensitivity to pain in healthy young adults.
• However, the translation of these findings to chronic low back pain (cLBP) are sparse and inconsistent.

How They Did It

• They assessed individual alpha frequencys in a cohort of 70 individuals with cLBP,
• implemented 3 different individual alpha frequency calculations,
• and separated cLBP subjects based on psychological variables.
• They hypothesized that a higher fear movement in cLBP is associated with a lower individual alpha frequency at rest.
• A total of 10 minutes of resting data were collected from 128 electroencephalography channels.

What They Found

• Our results offer 3 novel contributions to the literature. First, the high fear group had a significantly lower peak alpha frequency.
• The high fear group also reported higher pain and higher disability.
• Second, we calculated individual alpha frequency using 3 different but established methods; the effect of fear on individual alpha frequency was robust across all methods.
• Third, fear of movement, pain intensity, and disability highly correlated with each other and together significantly predicted individual alpha frequency.

Wrap It Up They say, “‘Our findings are the first to show that individuals with cLBP and high fear have a lower peak alpha frequency.”

Item #2

Our last one this week is called, “McKenzie neck exercise versus cranio-cervical flexion exercise on strength and endurance of deep neck flexor muscles, pain, disability, and craniovertebral angle in individuals with chronic neck pain: a randomized clinical trial” by Chaiyawijit et al and published in Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy in October of 2023 and that’s some smoky sausage. Jalapeno flavored. Chaiyawijit, S., & Kanlayanaphotporn, R. (2024). McKenzie neck exercise versus cranio-cervical flexion exercise on strength and endurance of deep neck flexor muscles, pain, disability, and craniovertebral angle in individuals with chronic neck pain: a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Manual & Manipulative Therapy, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/10669817.2024.2337979

Why They Did It To compare the effectiveness of McKenzie neck exercise and cranio-cervical flexion (CCF) exercise on strength and endurance of deep neck flexor (DNF) muscles, pain, disability, and craniovertebral angle (CVA) in individuals with chronic neck pain.

How They Did It

• Forty individuals with chronic neck pain were randomly allocated to the McKenzie neck or cranio-cervical flexion exercise group.
• Each group performed exercises at home daily.
• The strength and endurance of deep neck flexor muscles were measured at baseline, immediately after the first exercise session, and each week follow-up for six weeks.
• Average pain over the past week was measured at baseline and each week follow-up for six weeks.
• Disability and craniovertebral angle were measured at baseline and the end of six weeks.

What They Found

• At six weeks, both groups exhibited significant improvements across all outcome variables but there were no differences between groups.
• The significant difference from baseline in the strength of deep neck flexor muscles was observed as early as the second week of each intervention.
• The significant difference from baseline in the endurance of deep neck flexor muscles was observed as early as the first week in the cranio-cervical flexion exercise group and the second week in the McKenzie neck exercise group.
• A significant decrease in pain intensity from baseline was observed after the first week in the McKenzie neck exercise group while it was after the second week in the cranio-cervical flexion exercise group

Wrap It Up

Both the McKenzie neck exercise and cranio-cervical flexion exercise produced similar effects in enhancing the strength and endurance of the deep neck flexor muscles, decreasing pain, alleviating neck disability, and improving the craniovertebral angle. And now you know stuff you didn’t already know.

You’re welcome!

Alright, that’s it. Keep on keepin’ on. Keep changing our profession from your corner of the world. The world needs evidence-based, patient-centered practitioners driving the bus.

The profession needs us in the ACA and involved in leadership of state associations. So quit griping about the profession if you’re doing nothing to make it better. Get active, get involved, and make it happen. Let’s get to the message. Same as it is every week.

Store Remember the evidence-informed brochures and posters at chiropracticforward.com.

Purchase Dr. Williams’s book, a perfect educational tool and chiropractic research reference for the daily practitioner, from the Amazon store TODAY!

The Message

I want you to know with absolute certainty that when Chiropractic is at its best, you can’t beat the risk vs reward ratio because spinal pain is primarily a movement-related pain and typically responds better to movement-related treatment rather than chemical treatments like pills and shots. When compared to the traditional medical model, research and clinical experience show us patients can get good to excellent results for headaches, neck pain, back pain, and joint pain to name just a few. It’s safe and cost-effective can decrease surgeries & disability and we do it through conservative, non-surgical means with minimal hassle to the patient. And, if the patient treats preventatively after initial recovery, we can usually keep it that way while raising the overall level of health!

Key Point: At the end of the day, patients should have the guarantee of having the best treatment that offers the least harm. When it comes to non-complicated musculoskeletal complaints…. That’s Chiropractic!

Contact Send us an email at dr dot williams at chiropracticforward.com and let us know what you think of our show and tell us your suggestions for future episodes. Feedback and constructive criticism is a blessing and so are subscribes and excellent reviews on podcast platforms. We know how this works by now. If you value something, you have to share it, interact with it, review it, talk about it from time to time, and actively hit a few buttons to support it here and there when asked. It really does make a big difference.

Connect We can’t wait to connect with you again next week. From the Chiropractic Forward Podcast flight deck, this is Dr. Jeff Williams saying upward, onward, and forward.

Website http://www.chiropracticforward.com

Social Media Links https://www.facebook.com/chiropracticforward/

Chiropractic Forward Podcast Facebook GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/1938461399501889/

Twitter https://twitter.com/Chiro_Forward

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtc-IrhlK19hWlhaOGld76Q

iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/chiropractic-forward-podcast-chiropractors-practicing/id1331554445?mt=2

Player FM Link https://player.fm/series/2291021

Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-chiropractic-forward-podcast-chiropractors-practicing-through

TuneIn https://tunein.com/podcasts/Health–Wellness-Podcasts/The-Chiropractic-Forward-Podcast-Chiropractors-Pr-p1089415/

About the Author & Host Dr. Jeff Williams – Fellow of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (FIANM) and Board Certified Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Professionals (DABFP) – Chiropractor in Amarillo, TX, Chiropractic Advocate, Author, Entrepreneur, Educator, Businessman, Marketer, and Healthcare Blogger & Vlogger

The post Individual Alpha Frequency & McKenzie vs. Cranio-Cervical Flexion appeared first on Chiropractic Forward.