Chiropractic Office Software

After years of the chiropractic industry having to settle for electronic medical records (EMR) software that wasn’t made to suit the needs of their specific specialty, Midwest Software releases Chiro QuickCharts, the EMR/Notes program built specifically with a chiropractic doctor’s needs in mind.

With years of experience in the EMR industry, Midwest Software took all they’ve learned from chiropractors and office staff and developed a program that allows patients to enter a full medical history in just a few minutes. For follow up office visits, patients check themselves in, and answer a few questions about how they are doing that day. The list of patients waiting is displayed on all of the office computers so doctors can see how many patients are waiting at a given time- and even tracks as a patient moves throughout the office.

All of these things bring the program in line with the top requests that Midwest Software has received over the years.

“Ever had a knock on the door while you were in with a doctor? Our system can help eliminate these interruptions with our built-in notification/chat window. Office staff can talk with doctors – right over the computer!”

Chiro Quick-Charts also offers a free trial version for doctors to try for a month before buying, something few software packages offer.

For more information, please visit Midwest Software’s new product website at www.quick-charts.com

Greetings DCs!

What a great time to announce the introduction our new product to you. We listened to you and have created the most advanced chiropractic software system.

Chiro QuickCharts is a powerful note taking system which provides so much more than patient notes alone. With years of experience working with chiropractors like you, we learned what worked the best for them. Surprisingly, it was the travel card that worked best. This gave you all the needed patient data, and was easy to use.

We engineered a travel-card patient chart that will amaze you and satisfy the reviewers. Chiro QuickCharts combines patient history, patient flow, patient notes and office chat to keep your office moving quickly. See Main Screen and visit our website to see the full product tour and watch previews. http://www.quick-charts.com

• Patient Check-IN (kiosk)
• Patient Tracking/WorkFlow
• In-Office Chat
• Travel Card Layout
• Built-in Scanning
• Reminders/Alerts
• Manage Contacts
• Case Reports (soap notes, exams, etc)
• Practice Management Compatibility
• Re-exam Date Reminder
• Number of Visits Reminder
• X-ray Report
• Extensive Handouts
• Superbill print-out

• Product Tour
  

• Product Brochure (pdf)

• Demos

• Contact us

Thank you!

Midwest Software, L.L.C.
www.quick-charts.com
Phone: (515) 979-1185
Email: info@quick-charts.com

Arthritis

Stiffness in the joints is a common condition that increases with aging. When the stiffness worsens to the point of being painful, arthritis may be the diagnosis. Arthritis is breakdown of normal cartilage caused by either excessive joint wear and tear or from an autoimmune disease called rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease where the body is actually fighting itself. This is what the term autoimmune means. Rheumatoid arthritis is usually occurs on both sides of the body. This means it occurs in both hands, both knees, etc. In contrast, the other form of arthritis, called degenerative arthritis, will usually occur on one side. This form of arthritis is chiefly due to wear and tear or repetitive injury to the same joint or joints.

Early detection of arthritis is essential. Once damage to a joint surface begins, little can be done to restore it back to the original condition. This is because cartilage, the material that makes up the surfaces of the joint, has a poor blood supply. Although cartilage will heal to a degree, it simply will not heal as well as muscle or skin. The good news is that with proper care and supervised rehabilitative exercises, the surrounding support tissues can be strengthened to compensate for many of these joint disorders.

As cartilage continues to be won down, the joint has to more difficulty functioning. A simple analogy to this is to go loosen the hinges on a door and see how poorly it opens and closes. Even if the swelling could be entirely removed from a very arthritic joint, the lack of proper joint motion would cause so much additional stress to the joint that the swelling would quickly return.

It is important to reduce and control the swelling of arthritis as swelling itself contributes to the destruction of the cartilage. People who suffer from degenerative arthritis commonly experience swelling after activity. People with rheumatoid arthritis usually see swelling in the affected joint after rest, especially upon awakening.

It is important to use arthritic joints as disuse also leads to more arthritic changes; however, it is vital to not over stress an arthritic joint; otherwise, the swelling may significantly worsen. If you have either form of joint arthritis, your Doctor of Chiropractic should be consulted before you begin any exercise program or commit to any significant physically related lifestyle changes.

Chiropractors see many patients with degenerative arthritis. The spine is especially susceptible to this disorder. In fact, you may have the early signs of spinal degenerative arthritis but just have not noticed the symptoms yet. Simple palpation (feeling) of the vertebrae while the spine is slowly being moved can discover joints that do mot move as freely as other joints do. This is one finding that could lead to a diagnosis of degenerative arthritis. Another revealing procedure is a simple x-ray. A x-ray film can reveal the bony changes associated with either degenerative or rheumatic arthritis.

The treatment for the two types of arthritis is similar. Both require ice, passive motion (the practitioner moves the joint while the patient remains relaxed) and or the use of ultrasound to help control the swelling. Moist heat is also needed to help increase circulation. Paraffin wax baths are helpful for hands and wrists while moist hot packs are used for the spine, shoulders, and knees. Arthritic hips may require deep-heat sources like microwave or short-wave diathermy. This is because the hip joints are seated to deeply in the pelvis to reach with more commonly used therapies. Your chiropractor can provide, prescribe, or recommend these therapies as needed. The application of spinal and or extremity manipulation may also be used to help you gain control over your arthritic condition. Nutritional counseling, exercise instruction, and lifestyle changes may additional considerations during your course of care.      

Asthma

An asthma attack is caused when a sudden constriction of airway passages, called the bronchi, occurs. These tiny tubes help to transport the air from the trachea (windpipe) into the lungs. The insides of these tubes are lined with smooth muscle that allows them to contract and expand much as our arteries do. When a message from the nervous system tells these tubes to constrict too tightly, an athsma attack is the result.

Asthma attacks can come on at any time and there are still many unanswered questions as to why only some people suffer from this disorder. One type of an asthma attack is triggered by activity. This form of asthma is called exercise-induced asthma. The second and more common form of idiopathic (unknown cause) asthma seems to be triggered by certain allergens to foods or particulate matter in the air like pollen, grasses, chemicals, and mold spores. No matter which form of asthma you suffer from, an asthma attack is a frightening feeling. If nervousness is also a trigger for this condition, the expected normal anxiety associated with having asthma can be a self-perpetuating prophecy of continued attacks.

Help for asthma sufferers has been on the market for a long time in the form of different inhalers to help dilate (open) the bronchial tubes but there are other ways to more naturally achieve a more effective way to relieve, reduce, and control your asthma.

Currently there is not enough research available to determine if asthma can be inherited or not. If there is no genetic (inherited) link, then the present belief is still that there are two types of asthma triggers, allergens, which causes atopic asthma attacks and non-atopic asthma attacks, which has no known cause.

For cases of atopic asthma, any number of microscopic airborne particles can trigger an attack. Mold spores are being increasingly recognized today as asthma triggers. This may be one reason asthma is on the rise in the U.S. The increased use of home insulation materials prevents the beneficial air exchange, which encourages the growth of mold. Also an increasing use of basement conversions as living space is another source of increased mold exposure. Besides mold spores, the other common allergens that can trigger an attack are pollen, grasses, and foods.

Non-atopic asthma is difficult to diagnose, as allergy testing can be an exhaustive process. If there truly is a form of asthma that is not triggered from pollen, grass, mold, fungus, chemicals, or some environmental factor, more research needs to be done to find it. A genetic link is still possible although a nervous system or hormonal link to asthma is believed to be more likely.

Chiropractors have successfully treated asthma in a number of ways. Chiropractic manipulation in the area of the upper back can relieve tension on the nerves that supply the bronchial tubes. This may be an effective way to control a non-atopic asthma condition. Other forms of therapy, nutritional support, and lifestyle changes, have also been recommended by chiropractors to help decrease the number and the severity of asthma attacks.

About Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common ailments afflicting society today. In the United States alone, back pain accounts for more than 7,000,000 new cases and 250,000 surgeries each year. In fact, nearly all of us will experience some degree of back pain at least once in our lifetime. Our lower back is especially vulnerable to this malady, mostly due to increased weight bearing, mechanical stress, and the lack of rib support to this region.

There are many causes of lower back pain but the most common cause is mechanical stress. Mechanical stress can be considered the action of movement under the presence of weight. For instance, when you bend forward with the knees straight, pick up an object, and twist while lifting that object, you apply a great deal of mechanical stress to the lower back. This is especially true if you lift the object with your arms away from your body.

The lower back is especially susceptible to this malady. This is because the lower back receives more weight and has less support from the mid-back region, due to the lack of ribs. To make matters worse, the lowest part of the lower back usually houses the largest nerve with the smallest space for that nerve to exit the spine. This nerve, is called the L5/S1 or Sciatic Nerve. It can be the source of lower back and/or leg pain (commonly called sciatica) when the lower back is out of alignment, becomes diseased, or the muscles and tissues surrounding the spine become inflamed.

Back pain can range from mild stiffness to the inability to move, bend, or walk, without great difficulty. Back pain can be constant or may be intermittent (come and go.) The pain can be dull and aching or sharp and stabbing. There may also be numbness or tingling, a sensation of heat, or weakness in one or both legs. In some cases, leg symptoms will present without back pain. Again, this may be due to irritation of the sciatic nerve by something like a disc that is bulging to the side. (Discs that bulge more to a side are more likely to cause leg pain as the predominant or only symptom. Discs that bulge more to the middle are more likely to cause back symptoms, rather than leg symptoms.)

Back pain is a sign that something is wrong and if mild symptoms persist or worsen over two or three days, you should seek professional help. If your pain happened due to an injury, you should seek attention as soon as possible. Treatment outcome is often greatly improved by treating pain from an injury as soon as possible. 

A Doctor of Chiropractic is trained and licensed in the diagnosis of back pain. Through careful history, examination, and the aid of x-rays, or in rare cases, if needed, computer tomography, or MRI. A Doctor of Chiropractic can often determine the cause of your back pain and recommend a treatment program.

Anyone who has ever suffered an acute episode of back pain is also acutely aware of how mechanical stress affects the back. For instance, some back pain sufferers will notice it hurts more when sitting than while standing. This is because sitting actually places 50% more weight on the bones of the lower back and more weight (pressure) equals more pain. Other back pain suffers notice an increase in pain from mechanical stress due to bending, stooping, lifting, or even from coughing or sneezing.

Chiropractors help many patients with mechanical types of back pain, which usually presents as when the bones of the spine, called vertebrae, are out of alignment. This misalignment between vertebras creates a mechanical stress that causes inflammation to the area that surrounds the nerves. When the nerves of the back become irritated, pain and dysfunction are the end result.

Lower back pain comes in many shapes and sizes. Pain can range from mild stiffness to difficulty or the inability to move, bend, or walk. Back pain can be constant or intermittent (come and go.) The pain can be dull and aching or sharp and stabbing. There may also be numbness, tingling, a sensation of heat, or weakness in one or both legs. In some cases, leg symptoms will present with or without back pain. This is due to a specific type of irritation to the sciatic nerve, called sciatica.

A disc bulge could be the underlying cause of some of the more serious types of back conditions and sciatica. A disc acts like a shock absorber and a pivot point between the two vertebra. When a disc gets overly stressed or injured, it begins to bulge. In the lower back, a disc bulge in the side of a disc is more likely to cause leg pain as the predominant or only symptom. A disc that bulges more to the middle is more likely to cause back symptoms, rather than leg symptoms.

Although back pain is most often caused from a mechanical stress, it could also be a sign of more serious trouble including genetic (conditions you are born with), nutritional disorders (osteoporosis), and malformation of the vertebra (improper bone growth), infection, and even malignancy (cancer).

No matter how back pain presents, if it persists, you should seek professional help to find out what is causing the pain and why it will not get better. However, if your pain happened due to an injury, you should seek attention as soon as possible, as treatment outcome can be greatly improved by treating the injury early.

There are many types of treatments for back-related pain. These treatments range from massage and acupressure to drugs and surgery. For those of us who would like to avoid taking medication, which only masks the symptoms, and avoid a surgery, there is a leading alternative choice of treatment called chiropractic care. A Doctor of Chiropractor is trained and licensed in the diagnosis of back pain. Through careful history, examination, and the aid of x-rays, or when needed, CT (computerized tomography), or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), a Doctor of Chiropractic can often determine the cause of your back pain and recommend a corrective treatment program. If your diagnosis demonstrates your condition cannot be treated with chiropractic, your Doctor of Chiropractic can refer you to the appropriate health care practitioner.

Chiropractors commonly adjust (manipulate) misaligned vertebra (the bones of the spine) to relieve back pain. When the alignment of the vertebrae is improved, the stress on the soft tissue and nerves in the surrounding area is relieved, which allows the natural healing process of the body to overtake the adverse effects of the misalignment. Continued treatment, good posture, proper rest, and exercise will help the healing process continue. Disc problems have also been successfully treated with manipulation or by specialized chiropractic treatments.

With flexion-distraction, a mild traction technique that helps to reduce both disc bulges and small disc herniations. Advances in the chiropractic care of disc cases has given many back pain suffers a desirable alternative to costly back surgery.

Your chiropractor may also apply various forms of physiotherapy such as massage, acupressure, moist heat, ice, or ultrasound, to help facilitate healing and ease your back pain discomfort. You may be advised to avoid certain activities that could hurt your recovery progress and you may also be shown and advised to do back-strengthening exercises, to help prevent re-injury. (A little known fact is that injured tissue heals first as a glob of fibers that patch the injured area, but over a two-year period, with proper care, strengthening, and stretching exercises, this patch can organize into working tissue that is almost as good as new.)

In addition to helping your body through a physical approach, today’s chiropractors often help their patients further by providing qualified nutritional advice, which can promote healing and result in over-all improved strength of the back and body. If you are one of the many whom suffer from back pain, you may want to consider the benefits of modern chiropractic treatment and take the first step towards putting your back pain behind you.

Bursitis

The bursa is a structure that is found mostly around areas where muscle and tendons slide over joints. It is the bursa that helps lubricate these sliding motions to prevent damage to the underlying bony structures. When this action is compromised, the inflammation that result in Bursitis. The most common areas where bursitis occurs are the shoulder, elbow, hip, and the kneecap. Bursitis tends to get worse the more these joints are moved.

A common cause of bursitis is from the overuse of a joint, especially when the joint is under the strain of excessive and repetitive use. Placing too much continuous pressure on a bursa can also cause bursitis. For instance, the bursa that is found in the back of the elbow can become inflamed by resting on the elbows for extended periods of time.

Another cause of bursitis is traumatic injury. Trauma such as a fall on the shoulder, elbow, hip, or the knee could create this condition. As the bursa swells, the normal function to decrease friction is decreased. This causes any movement of the joint to be painful. If too much swelling remains in the bursa for an extended period of time, calcium salts will invade the region and eventually create a more chronic condition knows as calcific bursitis.

Bursitis can be diagnosed by a chiropractor using history, simple examination, and by taking a x-ray of the involved joint. The calcific form of bursitis will show on the x-ray. The extent of calcium deposits within the bursa can easily be visualized on the film. The range of motion of the joint and the amount of palpable (feel) swelling around the joint will help determine the extent of the bursitis condition.

Your Doctor of Chiropractic can help decrease the inflammation and improve the gliding action to the muscles and tendons surrounding the joint. Chiropractic manipulation to the involved joint, therapies like alternating hot and cold packs, ultrasound, passive range of motion, and massage may be considered as part of your course of treatment. Even the more difficult form of calcific bursitis can be treated by slowly breaking down the calcium deposits and applying therapies like passive motion or motion under mild traction to circulate the salts out of the joint tissue. Provided treatment is continued so that improvement can be achieved, the return of the calcium deposits should be limited.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Eight tiny bones in the writs form a tunnel for three nerves and various blood vessels to pass from the arm into the hand. This tunnel is called the carpal tunnel. Irritation to the ligaments and bones that comprise this structure can result in the common malady known as carpal tunnel syndrome.

The pain, numbness, and tingling associated with Carpal tunnel syndrome are caused from irritation to the median nerve, which runs through the center of the wrist. This nerve supplies feeling and motor function (the ability to move your fingers) to the first three fingers of the hand. Symptoms include pain, numbness, and tingling and usually occur at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Women are affected with this problem more than men. This may have to due with hormonal factors that affect fluid retention in the body. In general, any build up of fluid in the tissue can further compress the area within the carpal tunnel. 

The position of the hand and wrist can ease or worsen the symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Temporary relief from symptoms is often obtained by shaking the affected hand in the air, elevating the wrist, or placing the hand in hot water. Placing the wrist in an extended or flexed position, especially for a prolonged period of time, aggravates the symptoms and the condition.

Since decreasing blood flow to the area increases symptoms, it is believed that the median nerve irritation is a result of poor blood supply through the tunnel to the nerve.  There may also be a slight amount of hand discoloration, due to this suspected circulatory deficiency.

Although part of the thumb may be involved, the general area of involvement is felt in the index and middle finger. There may be slight difficulty or clumsiness associated with this condition. This is due to the lack of proper nerve function. Grip strength is usually only slightly decreased; however, patients who have this condition regularly report periods of weakness and may have problems with dropping things.

If you think you are suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, your Doctor of Chiropractic can help diagnose this condition. A careful examination and history can help your chiropractor outline a corrective or palliative (way of controlling and decreasing the symptoms) course of treatment for you to follow.

Chiropractic therapies that help this condition are manipulation of the wrist bones to improve circulation through the tunnel, proper stretching, conditioning, bracing (thumb-loop night brace), therapeutic, and nutritional measures (Extra B6, bromelain, etc.). It is important to follow the advice of your doctor, as this condition is not easily helped by exercise. Ultrasound also demonstrates disappointing results, as the swelling inside the tunnel is shielded by the wrist bones that make up the tunnel. Use of hot and cold hand soaks my therefore be recommended instead of ultrasound therapy to help treat this condition.  

Chiropractic

Chiropractic was created on the principle that everything the body needs to heal itself comes from within. This means that our bodies were gifted with an innate intelligence. It is this innate intelligence that takes care of every cell in your body. A large part of this inner system of communication is found in the parts of your brain that control your immune system. Although you are not consciously aware of this part of the brain, every day billions of impulses travel through this important part of your nervous system to constantly monitor and correct any problems in the cells of your body. As a simple example, think of the last time a minor cut you had was healed. Did you have to ‘think’ about anything to get the skin to heal, or did you just notice that after a few days the body had healed itself?

But what happens if this essential part of our nervous system is interfered with or is not properly supported? The answer is a breakdown in normal function begins. Chiropractors believe one way this problem can occur is when the nerves that carry these messages are irritated at the level of the spine where they exit. This irritation is the result of a subluxation, which is scientifically defined as a minor misalignment between joint. The theory is that a subluxation creates undue stress on the involved joints, much like a poorly aligned hinge would make it difficult to open and close a door. As this irritation continues, swelling takes place. The swelling builds up and because subluxated joints do not move well, there is no natural pumping action to help remove this swelling, so the problem persists. When the swelling reaches the point where it impedes either the circulation of the blood flow to the nerve, the nerve itself, or both, nerve transmission suffers.

The old model of this was the classic story of someone placing a foot on a hose, with the foot representing the pressure from the surrounding tissue and the hose representing a pinched nerve that cannot carry enough nerve impulses to the organs, muscles and tissues it supplies. More modern theory suggests that in actuality, the pressure in the region of the nerve may in the early stages aggravate it to send excessive nerve impulses to the body rather than a lack of impulses. Some studies have demonstrated that irritation to the nerves sets up a response of increased nerve activity, which in turn triggers a reaction in the surrounding blood vessels to contract. The decreased blood flow to the aggravated nerve exacerbates (worsens) the problem even more.

In either case of too much or not enough nerve stimulation, the important measure is the effect on balance. When the nervous system is out of balance in either direction, muscles, organs, and tissues suffer. The principle of chiropractic adjustments (spinal manipulation) is to restore this normal balance by restoring as much proper joint function in the spine as possible. This takes the pressure off the nerve and allows for repair and normal nerve activity to be reestablished. The body then receives the correct messages to help heal any reparable damage to the muscles, organs, or tissues.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

It is a bit unsettling to tell your doctor that your chief complaint is feeling tired all the time only to here your diagnosis is called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, which basically means you are tired all the time. Understanding why your body is lacking energy is the key to understanding this ailment. Certainly, more research needs to be done to determine the cause of this condition.

Other complaints that often accompany Chronic Fatigue Syndrome are: Allergies, sensitivity to chemicals and certain odors, headaches, muscle soreness, sore throat, short term memory loss, trouble concentrating, and problems sleeping. Although these symptoms vary from one individual to another, the chief complaint of fatigue is the most stated reason for the loss of work or problems with handling daily activities.

Although the source of Chronic Fatigue is not known, there are theories that this condition could be either allergy related or caused by some virus or parasite that infects the tissues of the body. These foreign invaders create a prolonged chronic immune reaction that gradually drains energy from your body.  If you also suffer from sleep disturbance, the energy drain only worsens.

To find out if you suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not a simple task. Medically, the diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome often involves several tests to rule out other similar disorders like Ebstein Barr, anemia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and several other fatigue causing conditions.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is usually only diagnosed by the absence of these other disorders.

Chiropractors have treated many patients who present with this condition. Many times, a patient will seek out a chiropractic alternative when the exhaustive trips for medical testing seem to lead nowhere or your doctor concludes you simply have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Although chiropractors do not know the cause of this ailment either, the Chiropractic approach to helping the body to help itself is often a welcome and winning approach to helping those who suffer from this condition.

Some chiropractors have seen patients with this condition improve after upper cervical adjustments. This is the area in your neck that is about an inch or less below where your head and neck come together. It is believed that long term irritation to the nerves associated with the upper cervical spine may create several of the elements found in Chronic fatigue Syndrome such as an imbalance in the immune system, chronic muscle stress, and organ and glandular imbalances.

Chiropractic care also helps improve your response to this disorder through improving the oxygen exchange in your tissues. Therapies like massage treatments, acupressure, and exercise therapy, are often utilized in chiropractic offices. Creating a good diet is also another essential measure in ridding the body of fatigue and supplying it with energy. Your Doctor of Chiropractic can talk with you to discuss your particular nutritional needs. 

Cold Hands and Feet

Cold extremities are usually the result of poor circulation. Poor circulation can be caused from high blood pressure, obesity, arterial blockage, or poor heart function. If the heart is in good working order and there is no appreciable build up of plaque in the arteries, the coldness may be due to the constriction of the blood vessels that supply the hands and feet from stress.  

Stress can cause constriction of the blood vessels, which can decrease circulation to your hands and feet. Chiropractic manipulation, nutritional support, and relaxation therapy can help if this is the case. Your Doctor of Chiropractic can take a careful history and perform a simple examination to see if too much stress could be the underlying cause of your condition. Many patients have benefited from chiropractic manipulation and associated therapies such as massage and acupressure to relieve their stress and improve the circulation to their hands and feet.

If the apparent cause does not seem to be directly related to stress, lab tests can be ordered to see if the problem is coming from an under active thyroid or possibly an underlying condition such as diabetes. The heart and the arteries can be checked to see if the problem is coming directly from within the circulatory system. Habits like smoking also have to be considered. In extreme cases, smoking can lead to a condition known as Raynaud’s phenomenon, which causes sever lack of blood flow to the hands and fingers..

If it is determined that your cold hands and feet are the result of stress, your doctor of chiropractic can begin a regimen of stress reduction treatment. Manipulation to the spine and stress reduction therapies such as moist heat, acupressure, and massage therapy may also be recommended. With treatment and a well-constructed program of proper exercise, correct diet and nutritional supplementation, you should be able to enjoy the benefits of improved circulation and a more relaxed approach to living.