How to get an objective assessment of the effects of a selected therapy? Can any known health assessment tools serve as an adequate instrument to evaluate such effects?
Health assessment is the key to evaluating the effects of an administered therapeutic procedure. The traditional approach of western medical practice is targeted on treating a specific disease. Once we realize we have a health-related concern, we usually pay a visit to a doctor. Upon doing a routine health checkup, which includes health questioning, physical examination and perhaps some basic lab works and instrumental tests, the doctor comes up with a certain diagnostic hypothesis and prescribes an appropriate treatment. Symptomatic treatment is common and often the only treatment strategy. It consists of eradicating clinical symptoms of the disease and mitigating patient's condition. In some cases this strategy helps the patient to effectively fight the disease. In other cases, it is not enough and in the long run the disease will continue to develop. A more thorough health evaluation could find the real causes of the disease, which are typically coming from more complex disturbances of the body's inner regulatory mechanisms. This subject was discussed in more detail in our article "Professional Health Assessment - a New Approach". These mechanisms determine our actual health condition in general, so their thorough evaluation would allow us not only to get a general health assessment but quantitatively measure real effects of the undertaken therapeutic treatment.
In some health conditions there might be substantial but rather revertible disruption of the function of the internal regulatory mechanisms appearing as disturbances in the autonomic balance or levels of the autonomic regulatory activity. For example, in cervical osteochondrosis, a common problem is deformation, flattening and displacement of intervertebral disks. This causes considerable pain, which acts as an internal stressor to the autonomic regulation. In addition, it causes chronic stimulation of the sympathetic nerve fibers. This results in developing a complex pathological process negatively affecting various internal organs and systems. Traditional symptomatic treatment by means of using various pain killers alleviates pain and gives temporary relief. However the negative effect of this complex pathological process remains and the absence of an adequate treatment may lead to its worsening even though everything seems alright. The use of express methods of health assessment based on measuring regulatory function of the autonomic nervous system would allow for the evaluation of its condition caused by the disease. Professional chiropractic treatment of this condition may help to correct mechanical displacements and thus relieve pain, increase blood flow in affected areas and reduce unwanted pathological stimulation of the sympathetic fibers. The positive effect of such treatment may take place within minutes after administering a chiropractic adjustment. It can be reliably measured by means of using a quick instrumental health assessment test before and after the treatment procedure. Comparison of indexes of the autonomic balance and level of the autonomic regulatory activity before and after the treatment will give an objective quantitative measure of the effect of the undertaken treatment.
In some other health conditions, the therapeutic effect of selected treatment procedures takes place over a prolonged period of time, so the doctor must administer a longer course of repetitive treatment sessions. As it was shown in our previous article "Professional Health Assessment - a New Approach" a real trigger mechanism of the developing of various diseases is a repetitive or prolonged disruption of the autonomic regulatory function happening under the influence of certain health risk factors. So it makes sense to use express health assessment methods showing the stats of the autonomic regulatory function to evaluate the effects of certain therapeutic treatment. To do that, it is recommended to perform health assessment testing before each treatment session. Accumulating the results of such testing over the course of treatment followed by their comparative analysis will allow assessing a long-term sustained effect of the treatment. A positive trend in parameters of the autonomic regulatory function will objectively and quantitatively justify the adequacy of the chosen treatment option.
Health assessment tools. One of the most effective tools for health assessment based on measuring a regulatory function of the autonomic nervous system and its adaptation reserve capacity is the
Heart Rhythm Scanner developed by Biocom Technologies. The key technologies used in this tool were developed by a group of biomedical researchers. For many years this tool has been successfully used by medical professionals and researchers in many clinics and universities worldwide. The Heart Rhythm Scanner provides three important testing capabilities for comprehensive health assessment: autonomic balance test, cardiovascular health test and baroreflex sensitivity test. All three tests can be used for evaluating of a quick effect of many therapeutic treatments by means of testing patient before and after administering the treatment. Continued use of these testing procedures over the course of multiple treatment sessions along with the progress reports on the parameters reflecting the autonomic regulatory function allows for an assessment of the long-term effect of the selected therapy.
