How To Reduce the Need for Chiropractic Adjustments

I am frequently asked by my patients and others why it is that my patients seem to need more chiropractic adjustments than I do (the doctor). It is a very legitimate question and one in my opinion that deserves a response. The answer is simple and at the heart of health awareness mentoring....do it for yourself!

No, I am not being sarcastic. The essence (at the core) of physical health is movement. I am sure you all get endlessly fatigued, even annoyed at times by me asking what kind of exercise are you doing. The bad news is that this kind of questioning is not going to go away. The good news is that is worth repeating endlessly because it is a universal principle that health, energy, alertness, and a positive attitude are directly linked to the quality and consistency of movement in our life.

When you add in movement (i.e a regime of walking) into your daily routine, you are doing yourself a huge favor. You will discover that the additional tissue circulation and oxygenation will brighten your outlook on life, reduce your stress (actually give you alone time and an opportunity to decide how to better manage your stress), improve digestion and elimination and stimulate breathing capacity (just to name a few of the health benefits you’ll receive).

Now for how that applies to reducing the need for chiropractic adjustments. That is accomplished by taking the exercise commitment to the next level. The Chiropractic adjustment again is about movement of the individual segments (vertebrae) of the spine and the associated soft tissues (muscles, tendons and ligaments). On a weekly basis I participate in a variety of physical activities that may surprise you. I understand the necessity of a varied exercise particularly as we age to accommodate our bodies’ need to maintain strength, flexibility and stamina to be able to do all that we have to do individually in a day. Other than walk, I bicycle, occasionally swim, take an energetic step aerobics class, lift weights, do resistance band exercises, take yoga and pilates, and participate in high energy dance exercise classes such as Zumba and Nia to strengthen ligaments and maintain musculoskeletal and neurological balance. These types of exercising and fitness dramatically reduce my need for chiropractic adjustments because they bring mobility to every aspect of my being. Try it yourself...I guarantee as you become familar with the concept it will not only add a wonderful new dimension to your health, but it will also reduce the frequency you will need to visit any health care practitioner.

HEALTH CARE REFORM - Continues

The battle on health care reform wages on. I believe it is not a matter of if but only a matter of when we will see congress present us with the bill. And by the bill I mean the particulars of the new system which they will begin to put into effect and the cost that inevitably will have to be absorbed by the taxpayer.

On Friday, 9/4/09 Baucus ( the Senate’s chief democratic negotiator on a health care bill) said the members of his group agree on several big-picture items, including the need to control costs, provide access to affordable coverage for all Americans and ensure that health care fixes don't add to the deficit. The negotiators have been working on a pared-back bill that would cost under $1 trillion over 10 years and drop contentious components, such as the government-sponsored insurance plan that liberals insist must be in the legislation. Since the Republican leaders are solidly opposed to Obama's approach to the health care reform, the GOP negotiators are under tremendous pressure not to cooperate.

Unfortunately I have not seen any concrete evidence that the plan will make health care more cost effective and quality conscious. The emphasis continues to be making it more universally available. This issue is not only going to get politically much bigger and increasingly more contentious but significantly more important to every American who will be accessing the health care system. Stay tuned , you are going to want to know how this will affect you!

Acetaminophen can be Poison

Acetaminophen overdoes is the leading cause of liver failure in both the United States and Great Britain. Fifty percent of all acute liver failure in the United States is attributed to acetaminophen consumption. While many of these cases result from an overdose, either intentional or unintentional, even “correct dosage” has been cited as causing liver damage, liver failure and death. In the United States, approximately 56,000 liver injuries requiring emergency treatment, 26,000 hospitalizations and 458 deaths per year are attributed to acetaminophen consumption.

One of the main problems with this drug is how easy it is to overdoes unintentionally. As most of us know, acetaminophen is the primary ingredient in medications like Tylenol. But acetaminophen is also in almost 200 brand name and generic products, most of which are available over the counter. These products are as varied as headache and backache pills, cold, flu and sore throat medications. It is not hard to imagine a patient taking acetaminophen for pain and fever and then taking other medications for sore throat, cough, congestion, and cold symptoms. Without a thought, the patient is overdosing. Compound that with the risk of fasting, alcohol consumption or genetic predisposition to liver disease and the patient is destroying his or her liver. We know that fasting is as dangerous as alcohol consumption when taking acetaminophen.

In cost-analysis studies, chiropractic care is often seen as more costly than simply taking acetaminophen for pain. However, if this medication’s long term effects are factored into the equation including liver injuries, liver transplants and death, then chiropractic care looks much more attractive than using this popular drug.

References: William Morgan, D.C., Larson AM, et al. Acetominophen Induced Acute Liver Failure, Nourijah P. Ahmad SR Karwoski C Willy M. Estimates of acetominophen associated overdoes in the United States, Pharmacopidemiol Drug Saf. 2006 June 15; (6): 398-405

Article from the FDA on Liver Injury.

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/UCM172664.pdf

Video on the FDA tackles Acetominophen:
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/cb-tvIPZCZcb2Ll5K9bwCQhfIfoqPIixKZN/fda_tackles_acetaminophen/

Laughter Yoga

Laughter is the best Medicine. Check this video out and share some of your Laughter with Someone Today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eB3ISAYE-I

Feeling Inadequate - Try a Hair Piece

Have you ever felt that you just weren’t good enough?
Years ago struggling with my identity and losing my hair quickly I did I believe what many of us do when we struggle with issues in our lives like when we feel inadequate, unloved, or somehow lost in the vastness of life...I over compensated!
Looking back I probably see it better now than I did then but is always helpful to examine the process. I call it “crisis plus time equals humor”. Not feeling good enough is a universal feeling and hits most of us sooner or later but what matters most is not that it shows up but what we do with the feeling when it does. Without recognizing it for what it is at the time we may make some poor choices to compensate for the feeling in our effort to make it go away. In my effort to make the feeling go away I looked for a quick solution. Trust me there is no quick solution that removes the feeling, but there is a process that does work. I somehow started equating my feelings of inadequacy with the ongoing loss of my hair. I made the decision to get more hair which would obviously make me feel more competent and whole, right? What was I thinking?
When we are feeling lousy about ourselves we have a tendency to be incredibly vulnerable in our judgment and decision making process. The choices we make at such times can be disastrous or they can be very healthy. I will tell you about my disaster (not an emotionally healthy choice) so that hopefully you will avoid such a mistake in your life. I came across an advertisement (the ultimate temptation when not feeling good about yourself) to have more hair and roll back the aging process (whatever that means). With an impulsive decision to solve my feeling of inadequacy I flew to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and had a hair piece sewn into my head. I call it my hysterical nightmare! So far away from home I found myself trapped by my own decision. I had not carefully thought through the consequences of my choice. The company which had all the appearances of being successful and legitimate existed as do many other companies to help us temporarily feel better about ourselves had me where they wanted me. I decided I had not gone all that distance not to follow through with my decision and that having more hair would make me feel better about myself. I knew even then that something inside of me was screaming ‘this is not a good decision”. My need to compensate for my feelings of inadequacy were far greater at that moment than my need to understand my feelings and make a better choice.
I completed the procedure. During the surgery I was fully awake with just an anesthetized skull. Their intentions were to not let me see myself until the entire procedure was completed but when I had a brief moment to myself I ran out of the room to find a mirror. The shock of my life ensured. I was living my own horror movie with blood running everywhere down my face and neck and now with a head of spiked hair looking shocking similar to the bride of Frankenstein. It was too late I couldn’t go back I knew at that moment I would have to live with my decision. Before I left Philadelphia I had two major hair cuts and still looked like Liberace on a bad hair day. The nightmare continued having to return to Philadelphia at a moments notice to repair the hair piece. On two occasions I accidentally cut a suture when trimming my hair and the hair piece started unraveling; I had to immediately return to Philadelphia to prevent the hair piece from slipping off on my head. That decision cost me a lot of money and followed me for twelve years until I finally realized it did absolutely nothing to help me resolve my feelings of inadequacy. That whole process from a singular decision ended up being only a bandaid placed over a wound that was having a difficult time healing.
Feelings of inadequacy exist for a reason. Like many other things in our lives they exist to teach us about ourselves. They are valuable moments in time that offer us the opportunity to look inside to see what is really happening and to make necessary changes to make our lives better. From there the fact remains that the only way to resolve the feelings is to face them honestly. Denying their existence or attempting to go around them only delays resolve and inner peace.
When feelings of inadequacy show up first of all allow yourself time to reflect on what is happening to you. If ever there is a time in your life to slow down and pay attention, this is it! You are here for a reason. One of the major reasons feelings of inadequacy show up is because we temporarily cannot see or do not acknowledge that our life has significance and that our journey has purpose. I believe in God and I know with certainty my life matters to Him like I know he watches over you as well. I know that because every time I take the time to slow down and be grateful for the blessings, talents, gifts, and relationships in my life I truly begin to understand that I am not inadequate. Brief periods of loneliness, anxiety, or incompetence are simply momentary blind spots when we are unwilling to acknowledge the goodness, “the silver linings”, or “the pots of gold at the end of our rainbows”. To be thankful for what we already have is the first step in allowing our hearts and minds to find the way out of our feelings of inadequacy. The process is real ...it is universal

Health Care Reform - it continues

The battle on health care reform wages on. I believe it is not a matter of if but only a matter of when we will see congress present us with the bill. By the bill I mean the particulars of the new system which they will begin to put into effect and the cost that inevitably will have to be absorbed by the taxpayer.
On Friday, 9/4/09 Baucus(the Senate’s chief democratic negotiator on a health care bill) said the members of his group agree on several big-picture items, including the need to control costs, provide access to affordable coverage for all Americans and ensure that health care fixes don't add to the deficit. The negotiators have been working on a pared-back bill that would cost under $1 trillion over 10 years and drop contentious components, such as the government-sponsored insurance plan that liberals insist must be in the legislation. Since the Republican leaders are solidly opposed to Obama's approach to the health care reform, the GOP negotiators are under tremendous pressure not to cooperate.
Unfortunately, I have not seen any concrete evidence that the plan will make health care more cost effective and quality conscious. The emphasis continues to be making it more universally available. This issue is not only going to get politically much bigger and increasingly more contentious but significantly more important to every American who will be accessing the health care system. Stay tuned , you are going to want to know how this will affect you!

HAPPY LABOR DAY

I WANT TO WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY AND SAFE LABOR DAY WEEKEND!

BACK PAIN CAN HAPPEN IN MANY WAYS!

NEW PATIENTS WELCOMED