David Perna, D.C.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a disorder involving chronic pain that has no known cause. It is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and mood disorders. FM affects about 2% of the US population with a prevalence between 1% and 11% in other countries. It is more common in adult women than men (3.4% vs. [..]

We have all heard about the "placebo effect" and the "power of positive thinking." A placebo, according to Wikipedia, is "…a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient." When a placebo is used, it will sometimes have a perceived beneficial effect. When this occurs, [..]

We have all heard about the "placebo effect" and the "power of positive thinking." A placebo, according to Wikipedia, is "…a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient." When a placebo is used, it will sometimes have a perceived beneficial effect. When this occurs, [..]

When people think of chiropractic, they immediately think of low back pain and are often surprised to find out that chiropractic can benefit many conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow, headaches, rotator cuff tears, as well as hip, knee, and ankle conditions. There is also research support for manipulation (a key component of [..]

William H. Kirkaldy-Willis, MD, had an accomplished professional career.Dr. Kirkaldy-Willis was trained as an orthopedic surgeon. From 1965 to 1988 he was associated with the University Hospital in Saskatoon, Canada where he became Emeritus Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Head of the Department in 1967.He was President of the East African Association of Surgeons (1959-1960); [..]

For many years, Chiropractic has been at the forefront of treating low back pain (LBP) with both greater patient satisfaction and less lost time at work when compared with other non-surgical treatment approaches. There have been many explanations as to why chiropractic manipulation therapy (CMT) works but many of these studies include other treatment modalities [..]

The term "whiplash" usually brings to mind neck pain, headaches, and/or a stiff neck. However, there are other symptoms associated with whiplash that we don’t usually think of, such as ringing in the ears or tinnitus. In the absence of whiplash, there are many people who experience an occasional ringing or sound of some sort [..]

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition where the diagnosis is made by elimination since there are no specific lab tests for diagnosis. In the past, we’ve discussed the different types of FM, the lack of good diagnostic tests, many management recommendations derived from interviews with FM patients, and more.One of the many causes of FM [..]

People who spend a lot of time performing activities that require a high level of force or repetition, or use vibrating tools are at risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Other activities such as driving, playing musical instruments, knitting, using a sander, screw drivers, air wrenches, waitress work, or assembling small parts are also [..]

Given the close anatomical proximity between the neck and shoulder, it’s no wonder the two are intimately related. With our hectic lifestyles that include driving, hunching over computers and electronic devices, and talking on the phone (not to mention stress arising from multiple sources), sometimes it seems like the muscles in the neck, upper back, [..]

For 34 years, my academic and clinical interests have primarily centered around whiplash trauma, its understanding and management. I have often heard that the pathology for both acute and chronic whiplash pain are unknown and undiagnosable. It is commonplace to label the pathology of whiplash syndrome as unknown, self limiting, psychometric, secondary gain, biosocial, etc. [..]

Our government (United States of America) collects and owns what experts consider to be reputable biomedical healthcare literature. This literature is catalogued in a library that is physically located in Bethesda, Maryland. The name of the library is The National Library of Medicine. The biomedical journals of the entire world can be found in our National Library [..]