Health and Wellness in Bel Air, MD

Referred Pain

2012-01-18T12:46:00.001-08:00

Q:If it's my back that's out, why does my leg hurt instead? A: Referred pain
Referred pain comes in 2 main types (3 really. The third being trigger points, a muscle based problem-but that's a different story for a different day): Sclerotomal and Deramatomal. No, I didn't just make those up, and hopefully they're not as boring to you as they may sound. The difference between the 2 is very important in the diagnosis and treatment of pain generating conditions. They also explain the often counter-intuitive: if it's my back, why does my leg hurt?

Dermatomal is relatively easy. It's neurogenic pain, i.e pinched nerve. Just like when you kink the hose. It affects the water coming out the end, not where you're holding it. When you herniate a disc in your spine, the disc innards push out and kink your nerve. That's why you get burning, numbness and or tingling in your legs when it is in fact your back-All in a very predictive pattern based on which nerve/where is pinched.

Sclerotomal, on the other hand, is not nerve based pain. It's based on the fact that we were all once worms. As we're cooking in momma's oven; we transform from a long, worm-like tube into the handsome devils we are at birth. During this metamorphosis, our tissues twist, turn and intertwine. It puts our backs and upper leg on the same plane; and the same for shoulders and neck. So when something goes wrong in your back, you may not feel it in your back; but in your buttocks and leg and even knee instead.

Hold on, I need some B vitamins, I just put myself to sleep. There, better. Point is pain is not a disease, but a side effect, or sign. Just like the check engine light in the car-doesn't mean broken light bulb that we should drive around and ignore or cover up with a piece of tape. That leads to a $600 tow charge out of the Harbor Tunnel, so I've heard. Just like a problem with the engine makes the light come on; a problem in your back will make your rear-end, thigh, leg, knee, foot and or ankle hurt. Same goes for you neck and shoulder, arm, hand, fingers. And just like covering up the light prolongs and worsens the inevitable; so does covering up the pain with aspirin, oxy and/or Jack Daniels.

"In one year and out the next week"

2012-01-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

It’s been said-“A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other.”
Last year about this time, I wrote the following on New Year’s Resolutions:

Why Bother?

This is the time of year when people start telling themselves this is the year that they are going to get in shape, eat right and stop stealing office supplies. And most will have failed the first two goals by the end of the Sugarbowl Halftime Report, and #3 by 4:00 on the first Monday after the holiday. So in other words, don’t bother.

The problem with lofty goals is that they are unattainable. Then when you slip, you get depressed and completely give up. Or sometimes people will set these ridiculous goals knowing they can’t do it, giving themselves an “out” of doing what’s right.

You can’t go from doing 12 ounce curls on the couch to training for a marathon on New Years Day. You can’t go from 3000 calories of processed meats and sugars to an 1800 calorie whole food diet (and not want to commit homicide) in just a week. And you’re never going to start buying your own stamps when the Post Office keeps raising their rates.

It was either Shakespeare, Lau Tzu or the cast of Glee that said: ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.’ If you want to change, you’re going to have to make reasonable, attainable, measurable goals. Not just make random cheap champagne fueled wishes on the back of a cocktail napkin.

I propose the 1% solution. It was either me or NY Times bestselling author Tom Connellan who coined the phrase. Instead of setting yourself up for failure with crazy hair-brained ideas; just be a little bit better every day.

Instead of sandwiches, eat salads; water not soda; red wine not beer (1 not 12); stairs not elevator; exercise 30 min not 20; and add or take away a little more over time until you’ve reached your goal. If it takes you 11 months instead of quitting in 11 days, that’s much more than 1% better.

Need help losing weight? Hurt yourself trying to get in shape? Need advice on nutrition and vitamins? We’re here to help!

Let Dead Dogs Lie

2011-12-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

Honestly, you shouldn't go around touching dead animals, they could carry disease. Also, who wants to talk about something so depressing right before Christmas anyway?

But anyway, the holidays are one of those times where you have to be around people you may not like (surely not me) or want to be around just because you share their blood (note-sharing blood may also lead to disease) or through that really lame wedding your wife dragged you to last year with all those people you thought you wouldn't have to see again so you broke out your 'best' karaoke.

Eggnog notwithstanding, many do not enjoy this time of year. They dread having to be around that one person who said/asked/did something that offended them, and feelings are still hurt; and/or you're afraid they'll say/ask/do the same thing again. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident: there's what's said, what was meant to be said, what you heard and the intent with which it was said/heard and how much box wine went into the hearing/saying.

We allow the event to play over and over in our head like a top 20 song on the radio. It begins to not only affect but consume us. We will allow this negative energy to damage our relationship with the offender, it will also impact our ability to make and manage other relationships also. It will become a major drag on our mental and emotional health along with a stumbling block to our success and well being.

Overtime, the emotional stress brought on by an offense (real or perceived) will begin to make physiological changes in our tissue. Stress hormones are catabolic, which means they destroy tissue. There will be a change in our muscle tone that will affect the function of our joints. Our body's ability to process oxygen and digest food will also change. These neuro-chemical and hormonal alterations will then lead to diseases from headaches to disc pain to cancer to heart disease.

Life is at best short - so why would we allow these thoughts to steal our precious time and drain our energy? It's time to start looking at letting go of the past. But the question is how?

Try this:

Press the PAUSE Button and Ask:

1. Is it something I can learn from to become a better person?

2. Is it something I can use to motivate me to act?

If the answer is yes, then do it and move on. If the answer is no, take the memory, write it down on a piece of paper and throw it out, light it on fire or be responsible and recycle it. Then it's over, it's done; it's forgotten. And you can move on with your life, move on with your relationship(s) and let dead dogs lie.

Kinda Creepy

2011-11-09T07:49:00.000-08:00

Creep-(noun): My college roommate... Why girls never came over.

Creep-(verb): a soft tissue reaction where as a displacement in amplitude or length of collagenous structures over a period of time when a force is applied... Why you’re shorter at the end of the day.

How often do you have to adjust the rear-view mirror on the drive home? Sure, Harford County roads are partially to blame, but by 5pm we’re all about 1-2% shorter. Blame Darwin; we’re just animals adapting to our environment.

We start our day hunched over simple carbs and neuro-stimulants. Then off to be hunched over the steering wheel, keyboard, not so smart ‘smart’ phone, back to steering wheel (stopping off somewhere for some extra-high inflammatory processed lunch from McSatan’s) then home again and back to the keyboard (but this time it’s okay because you’re reading this).

This causes a shortening and tightening of our anterior muscles: Rotator cuff/thoracic outlet and carpal tunnel syndromes & decreased oxygen consumption. And conversely a slow over-stretching and weakening of the posteriors: headache, neck pain, back pain & abnormal nerve activity.

That’s why for those of you we performed a Functional Capacity Examination on; we strive for a 1:1.14 flexor: extensor ratio. In other words, your back needs to be a little stronger than your front (except your knees, they’re backwards). So, in short, stretch the front and build up the back. Don’t know how? Try Google. But if you want the right answers, ask me.

The White Stuff

2011-10-24T08:17:00.001-07:00

Tricked or Treated

Today's edition is brought to you by the real boss, Mrs Spine:

It's that time of year again, where parents will be busy with all sorts of Halloween related activates. My kids like yours are so hyped up about the upcoming "Holiday". My middle daughter came home yesterday and informed me that she needed to use a pillow case for trick or treating because you can get more candy that way. Halloween has turned in to sugar-polooza. Once a year is one thing. But anyone who's ever tried to lose weight, rid themselves of Candida or balance their pH knows that sugar is el Diablo.

But sugar is found in almost everything we eat, in addition to the obvious sweet and tempting treats such as candy and cookies, cakes and pies, sugar is found naturally in fruit and milk, and is an ingredient in many brands of yogurt, tomato sauce, and salad dressings. Also, many foods are converted to sugar once they pass the pie hole. It's called the 'glycemic index,' Google it, you may be surprised.

Sugar not only adds sweetness to foods; it also plays a role in our ability to eat and enjoy food in many other ways. It creates texture and color in baked goods, adds body to yogurt, balances acidity in tomato products and increases the boiling point and reduces the freezing point in foods.

Have you ever noticed that your kids act differently after eating certain foods? Most people will build up a tolerance to sugar as you eat more you do not feel its effects. In our house you will find fresh fruits, veggies, nuts, yogurt and other healthy snacks. But on occasion we do let our kids have whatever they want. I can instantly see a difference in their attitude and behavior. For example when taking our oldest girl to a certain Italian Ice stand, we immediately notice a difference in her attitude and behavior. She turns into a completely different little girl...for the worse I might add. My weakness is chocolate like most women. When I first met Doctor Lee, my favorite green food was green peanut M&M's. I loved chocolate with all three of my pregnancies. The only thing I found to help curb my chocolate addiction was when I completed the Novolife cleanse, three years ago. Completing this cleanse stopped my cravings for chocolate and carbs as well. I went from eating chocolate every day to having a bite of brownie every once and awhile, and a few bites of birthday cake.

The Hip Bone is connected to the....

2011-10-04T11:42:00.001-07:00

Last month I experienced a first. My first earthquake. Actually it wasn’t my first, but the only one I’ve ever felt. Strange because I live through a few in California and Asia that knocked stuff off the wall, but I was sleeping or just didn’t notice. But the big (not that big according to West Coasters) East Coast Quake of 2011 I felt. It’s one of those forever remember what you were doing moments: sitting where I’m sitting now. My mind went through the list of possibilities: Another truck hit the light pole/bank on the other side of the parking lot (happened already), this close to APG I thought they did something or worse Peach Bottom; then one of the dozens of helicopters flying past went down. (My brother the Air Force pilot and Astronautical Engineer has always said planes are designed to fly, helicopters to crash). No matter, when you live this close to DC, NYC, an army base and nuclear plant, your heart skips a beat anytime there’s a rumble.

Turns out it was an earthquake down in Virginia, 154 miles away from my front door, according to Google. That was the epicenter, but it was felt as far away as New York and Georgia. According to one of my very nerdy friends, the reason this earthquake has such a large spread was something to do with how the continental shelf is connected. Your back is the same way.

Let’s say your main diagnosis is a herniated L5 disc. Your disc is the epicenter of your problem, not the only problem. That disc doesn’t exist in a vacuum, It’s attached to stuff (and yes, stuff is the technical term). The damage from a bad disc spreads out all over your body. It leads to muscle spasm up and down the spine; muscle imbalance throughout the trunk, arms and legs; tendonopathy, neuropathy, and myopathy from head to toe and can mess with the innards too.

This is why we employee a whole body approach to treating what may seem like 1 sq inch of disease, but that’s attached to stuff.

It ain't worth the price

2011-08-31T11:46:00.000-07:00

These days it’s important to keep health costs as low as possible. You may think that putting off treatment is a way to save money. But, many or most times, procrastinating on a health problem is only going to make it more serious—and more costly to deal with—down the road. Think of health care, like regular maintenance visits to a chiropractor, as an investment in yourself. In this way, like regular blood work for your medical doctor, we can find small problems before they become large ones. Like many of our wellness minded, proactive patients do to keep their body functioning the best they can so that it doesn’t have the opportunity to give them pain again.

Whether it’s your dentist, doctor or chiropractor, you shouldn’t wait until you’re in some sort of crisis before making an appointment. Preventive maintenance is, in the long run, a far less costly policy. And it goes beyond just pain. Regular chiropractic care has been proven to lower blood pressure, over-all inflammation and increase immunity.

Maintenance care is not for everyone and if it is more your style to “wait till it’s broke”, well, that is your choice. Just don’t be mad about it when it takes longer to fix and costs you more at the time you decide to fix it. That is a decision each person makes for themselves and no one will judge you on that either way; and we’ll still be here to help.

And now that the kids are finally in school, what else are you going to do with all your free time?

Nice Kicks

2011-08-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

Having just spent the weekend in OC I made the following observations: people either don’t take a friend swimsuit shopping, or their friend lies to them.

Remember when friends were supposed to be honest with you and not just prop you up in your own delusions? Remember the 1980’s Friends don’t let friends drink and drive, do drugs etc? Well, consider me your friend. And I don’t want you wearing shape-ups or other rocker type shoes anymore (nor do I want to see you in some of those, let’s say ‘European Style’ suits I saw on the boardwalk).

Let’s be honest, did anyone really think you could get booty-licous by just walking around with your Cinnabon at the mall? Turns out, not only did Vida Guerra it did not make, they were damaging your health. The abnormal motion grossly alters the gait cycle. In other words leading to accelerated degeneration of the feet, knees, hips and low back. So much so numerous class-action lawsuits have been filed.

Want to bounce a quarter off it? Try running, wall squats and pilates-esk exercises. All while wearing proper fitting shoes; not just for your foot size, but foot shape too. Questions? Come see me for your free foot-structural analysis.

Fibromyalgia? Yes You Can!

2011-08-02T12:25:00.001-07:00

Yes you CAN!

Gen. Halstead conquered fibromyalgia, so can you!

After 27 years of service, decorated U.S. Army Brigadier General Becky Halstead (Retired), the first female West Point graduate in U.S. history to command at the strategic level in Iraq and Afghanistan, decided to retire after being diagnosed with fibromyalgia - a medically unexplained syndrome affecting the muscles and connective tissues. Currently, the disease affects as

many as 12 million Americans and has been reported two times as prevalent in

deployed veterans (Annals of Internal Medicine, June 7, 2005, Vol. 142 No.11).

"Agonizing pain, debilitating fatigue, joint stiffness and sleep deprivation-you name it and I felt it," says Halstead. "There I was in Iraq, responsible for over 20,000 military men and women, and I privately struggled to physically keep myself going."

Initially, Halstead was prescribed every drug imaginable, though the pills only masked the pain and resulted in a spiral of reactions affecting her psychological and physical health. It wasn't until a close friend suggested chiropractic that she was able to find relief and return to a normal, nearly pain-free life. She discovered that the comprehensive treatment of chiropractic care improves joint motion, reducing and in some cases eliminating the pains and symptoms associated with fibromyalgia - such as fatigue, sleep deprivation anddepression.

"Chiropractic treatment helped improve my whole outlook on dealing with this chronic ailment," she says. "The spinal adjustments along with the postural and nutritional advice I received helped to treat the fibromyalgia and allowed me to have many days with minimal pain -- and most days without any medications. The care of a doctor of chiropractic was life changing for me."

Today, Brig. General Halstead has made it her personal mission to educate others suffering with fibromyalgia - and to consider consulting with doctor of chiropractic, as she did.

To heel spur or not to heel spur?

2011-04-20T09:20:00.002-07:00

Have you ever tried to get out of bed in the morning, and it felt like your heel was bruised and it hurt to walk? Don’t remember injuring yourself, what could that be?

That’s classic for plantar fasciitis-the swelling of the plantar fascia, erroneously known as heel spurs (though over time a spur will form on the calcaneus from chronic stress, it is not a pain generator). The bottom of your foot is composed of 3 arches that act as shock absorbers. They are covered by tissue known as fascia. As you stand and walk, you exert 3-5times the force of gravity on your feet. Over time, the fascia over stretches and becomes inflamed. Not that you expressly did anything to mess it up, it just happens. Like a rubber band that you pull over and over and it eventually frays. This is extremely painful and sometimes debilitating. Though it may seem like it came on overnight, it has actually been brewing for some time. Just like no good wine before its time, there’s no good crippling foot pain before its time (doesn’t rhyme as well).

Ice is a powerful anti-inflammatory and excellent home remedy. Also make sure you are wearing proper fitting, well-made and not over-worn shoes. However, to prevent it from coming back or getting worse, most people will need a round of rehab to correct the damage followed with customized foot orthotics to help stabilize the foot and ensure proper function.

Learn more @ http://susquespine.com/custom_content/c_125152_foot__ankleheel_pain.html

Have you always wanted that amazing night’s sleep on a luxurious Tempur Pedic mattress but thought it wasn’t affordable? Well now TempurPedic is offering 12 months same as cash, delivered to your bedroom financing on the professional line when purchased through authorized health care professionals (that’s me).

2011-03-28T11:29:00.001-07:00

Can chiropractic help with arthritis?

Certainly! Arthritis alone is the general inflammation of joints, which leads to pain, stiffness, and decreased function of the joint. There are several types of Arthritis. Each form has its particular symptoms, demographics, and development. Osteoarthritis is most directly the result of generalized “wear and tear” of joints and their associated structures. Rheumatoid, Psoriatic, JRA, Septic all are systemic forms of arthritis that develop as a result of the presence of variants in the blood. Lastly gout and pseudo gout are metabolic forms of joint inflammation that is generally associated with dietary input into the body as well as improper metabolic function of the body. Each form has its specific signs and symptoms that Chiropractors are trained to recognize during a comprehensive health history, physical exam, and utilization of x-ray diagnostics. Chiropractors are expert in the operation of joints and in the therapies that keep them working properly. Though the spine is the chain of joints they are best known for working on, their training lets them help with ailments of all the body’s joints. Depending on the type of arthritis you have, the condition can flare and subside. A key to managing the disease is a balance between rest and exercise. Your chiropractor can give you a regimen of exercise, like stretching and dance moves, that improves range of motion in arthritic joints; strengthening exercises, including weight lifting, which can tone the muscles critical to joint support; and aerobic or endurance exercises, which help improve the cardiovascular system, tone muscle and control weight. A Chiropractor can make recommendations for dietary changes as well as the use of vitamins and supplements to reduce swelling and promote healing mechanisms within the body and joints. Additionally the mobilization of joints will create a pumping mechanism which aids in the circulation of swelling out of the joint spaces. As always, for more visit www.susquespine.com or on Facebook as Susquehanna Spine N Rehab.

Breaking News

2011-03-09T07:42:00.000-08:00

Observation and warning

Breaking news!!! For the 10^th straight year, Dr Lee has been voted the coolest, most-handsome chiropractor in the land…And a warning on a popular anti-biotic.

Many people feel that Chiropractors are anti-medicine and anti-medical establishment. For the most part we aren’t. Like the old Jeff Foxworthy bit goes: Not all Southerners are crazy or stupid, only the ones on TV are; same thing with my kind. I try not to be anti-anything. I am for anything and everything that will make you, my friends and patients, healthy.

Today however, I am here to speak out on a particular drug: Levaquin. In 2 weeks I have had 2 patients come in with chemically induced rotator cuff tear and 1 with an ACL tear, all from Levaquin. In fact, the following is straight from the National Institute of Health’s website: “WARNING-Using levofloxacin injection increases the risk that you will develop tendinitis (swelling of a fibrous tissue that connects a bone to a muscle) or have a tendon rupture (tearing of a fibrous tissue that connects a bone to a muscle) during your treatment or for up to several months afterward. These problems may affect tendons in your shoulder, your hand, the back of your ankle, or in other parts of your body…”

In short, taking Levaquin may (and does) have the same effect on your body as falling down the stairs or 20 years of manual labor.

Great Big Fancy Word of the Day

2011-02-08T08:43:00.001-08:00

As many of you know I have 3 little girls that LOVE everything pink. So it goes without saying that Pinky Dinky Doo is one of our favorite shows. Just in case you haven’t seen it (I’ll try not to give it away) Mlle. Dinky Doo goes about telling her little brother and pet Guinea Pig a story using the “Great Big Fancy Word of the Day.” Today’s GBFWDs are ‘acid-base precipitation reaction’.

‘Acid-base precipitation reaction’: Kidney stones. I have been told that the pain from a kidney stone is worse than labor. Kidney stones are like snowflakes, no 2 are alike; and shaped much like one too. Spherical with sharp and jagged edges, they are many time as or larger in diameter than the small, sensitive ureter and kidney vessels they pass through. Think of swallowing a golf ball coated in broken glass, but down stairs. Yet they are quite preventable

Precipitation is well, rain. The atmosphere is full of water, and when conditions are right, that water precipitates out. While urine is sterile, it is not pure. There’s lots of stuff floating around in it, but dissolved. When conditions are right, like concentration and pH, the stuff goes through a, GBFWD-acid-base precipitation reaction, and ‘un-dissolves’ itself forming stones.

You can prevent stones by controlling urine concentration and pH. First, 8 glasses of water a day, minimum. Second, diet. What you eat and drink shifts your body chemistry either acidic or basic. Animal proteins, carbs, sugar and alcohol tend to run acidic while vegetable matter basic. You should keep a good balance of both to keep your body chemistry operating at the optimal pH.

If you aren’t getting enough vegetables in your life, you should try Anabolic lab’s Essential Greens: a day’s supply of vegetables along with extra anti-oxidants and enzymes in one serving.

Did any of you catch the teaser for the local news during the Superbowl pre-game about this new “fountain of youth pill?” Well, it ain’t exactly new. They were talking about resveratrol, a compound found in grapes, pomegranate, blueberry, mangosteins, goji berry’s and a handful of other fruits. It is a super anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory that does slow the effects of aging. However it is most, GBFWD-bioavailable-dissolved in alcohol as in red wine. It has to be naturally dissolved, so pomegranate martini’s don’t’ count. If you’re concerned about the extra calories or just don’t like red wine, the best place to find the fountain of youth is in Lyflo Select’s Inflammation Defense; as with Anabolic’s Greens, exclusively available here.

Ironic isn't it?

2011-01-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

It’s like Rain…

…On your wedding day. Ironic really. Almost embarrassing. I, Dr. Lee, a chiropractor and self-proclaimed most handsome disc specialist in Harford County if not all of Maryland, threw my back out. I saw it coming. As with most cases, it wasn’t one single event like saving a little girls bunny from a raging river, it developed over time. And obviously so, can happen to anyone anytime.

A few years back I injured my foot skiing. I rehabbed it. But the tendons and ligaments of the leg are very plastic in nature and never go back 100%. I wasn’t the most diligent in my follow up care; so I injured it again running. And I was even less diligent in my follow up care. So I then developed an abnormal gait pattern (hitch in my get-a-long). This caused my spine to over-compensate weakening the joint. Add that to my diminished workout schedule due to my bad foot; the fact I’ve been slacking on my veggie eating now that my CSA is out of season; staying up too late to watch Colberet; only getting adjusted monthly as opposed to bi-weekly-Wham! There goes my disc. Luckily for me, I am the above-mentioned handsome-most disc expert in Maryland. I’ve been on the spinal-decompression machine and rehabbing the heck out of it.

Just like cops have to be tased to carry a taser, it’s good for doctors to be on the other side of the table at least once. I have a better appreciation for what my patients go through and more sympathy for their plight (except somehow female OB’s seem to be more hardened in an “I did it so can you” kind of way).

So, if you or a loved one is suffering back or neck pain, not only am I one heck of a nice guy to refer to, I know where you’re coming from.

Why bother?

2010-12-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year when people start telling themselves this is the year that they are going to get in shape, eat right and stop stealing office supplies. And most will have failed the first two goals by the end of the Sugarbowl Halftime Report, and #3 by 4:00 on the first Monday after the holiday. So in other words, don’t bother.

The problem with lofty goals is that they are unattainable. Then when you slip, you get depressed and completely give up. Or sometimes people will set these ridiculous goals knowing they can’t do it, giving themselves an “out” of doing what’s right.

You can’t go from doing 12 ounce curls on the couch to training for a marathon on New Years Day. You can’t go from 3000 calories of processed meats and sugars to an 1800 calorie whole food diet (and not want to commit homicide) in just a week. And you’re never going to start buying your own stamps when the Post Office keeps raising their rates.

It was either Shakespeare, Lau Tzu or the cast of Glee that said: ‘a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.’ If you want to change, you’re going to have to make reasonable, attainable, measurable goals. Not just make random cheap champagne fueled wishes on the back of a cocktail napkin.

If you want to get in shape, start small. A 5 minute warm up, 5 minutes on the treadmill/elliptical/bike/street then a 5 minute cool down 3 times a week. Then ad a minute every week until you’re up to 5/30/5. If you want to eat better, do Novolife then replace your daily bag of chips with a cup of broccoli and drink water instead of soda; then go from there.

With any goal, no matter if it is health, financial or other, you need support. This is actually true for any change you are trying to make. If you enlist someone (who cares) in your journey you are much more likely to make it. That’s why, as a married man, I’ve been party to lot’s of goals.

So do bother, and as Nike said (I’m sure they stole it) “Just do it.”

If you haven’t heard, the Man is shutting me down. Not completely, just on Facebook. Be sure to look for the new page (Susquehanna Spine & Rehab) and ‘like it’ today!!!

COW
Slipped discs: Did you know a disc actually doesn’t “slip.” It’s just an old term to describe a herniated or bulging disc. Either way, it hurts. And as with most spinal issues, it doesn’t get better on its own, just worse. If you or a loved one is suffering from a bad disc; we can help. Have them call for their complimentary consultation.

De-stress

2010-12-13T13:20:00.001-08:00

All disease and disorder is caused by stress. Be that mechanical/physical, chemical and or emotional stress. The stress of life, the stress of work, the stress of family, the stress of trying to decide what you want to get me for Christmas not only tightens up your muscles it causes structural abnormalities in your cervical spine and shoulders. These go on to not only cause pain and discomfort but feed back into your system affecting your over all health. Now I can fix it, but isn’t an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure?

So am I saying you should quit your job, emancipate from your family and skip me over this holiday season? No, no and most definitely no. What I’m saying is take control of your emotional and mental well being.

#1 It is physically impossible to be anxious, stressed, angry sad or/or afraid while you are grateful. Be thankful for what you have and be sure to thank those around you. An attitude of gratitude will make you more powerful than your current circumstances.

#2 To be happy, focus on happiness. Every morning and night think about, say and/or do something that makes you happy (and yes, dreaming of me counts). Make happiness your priority then do the things it takes make it a reality.

#3 Don’t just wait for it to get better, it won’t. You have to “do;” take action to better your situation, whatever that may be. That band-aid isn’t loosening with time, yank it off.

#4 Simplify/Time Management. Learn to say no. Delegate, don’t waste major time doing minor things. Constantly ask yourself “is this the best use of my time right now?”

#5 List your MIT’s (Most Important Things). Of your 1000 item long to do list, write down the most important 3, do them, and move on. Avoid distractions and don’t create new ones in avoidance.

Miracles Never Cease

2010-11-18T14:52:00.001-08:00

Hang around chiropractors long enough and your bound to hear stories of how a patient who had been suffering from asthma, dysmenorrhea, ADD, colic, infertility, chronic ear infections and a whole host of other diseases had been seemingly cured with just a few adjustments. I’m sure most people file those stories away with other urban legends, but in fact they are true. Not everyone, every case every time, but ‘miracles’ happen everyday in clinics across the globe, and many happen here.

Really, it’s not that miraculous, it’s scientific. It’s all easily explained by neuropathophysiology. First, we must understand the nature of disease. Disease is caused by a bad interaction of our body with our environment. We are daily exposed to physical stress, chemical stress and emotional stress. These stresses affect our spine. Sitting in traffic causes our backs and necks to stiffen; putting up with your spouse will do the same. So does about 10,000 other things we do on a daily basis.

Many of you know that I grew up in Texas. Many of those years were spent in Houston. Four of which were in Pasadena. Yes the same Pasadena, TX that was home to Mickey Gilley’s where Jon Travolta rode the mechanical bull and met Sissy. The same Pasadena that is home to numerous chemical spills and fires. When there was a spill, the alarms would go off triggering Shelter In Place. Everyone was to shut and lock their doors and turn off the AC; the emergency radio would go on and we all waited anxiously.

When our spinal joints are offended, they become hypomobile (less mobile). This leads to biomechanical stress that causes cellular damage that causes cell walls to break spilling their guts everywhere exposing intracellular fluid (in other words, a toxic spill), triggering the firing of nociceptive nerve fibers and an endocrine (hormonal) response.

Nociceptive nerve fibers travel up and down the spinal cord exciting the Autonomic Nervous System (think fight or flight) hampering digestion, reproduction, and skin health; trigger mast cells (histamine release-allergies) and a whole host of other issues. As they travel on to the brain, 10% go to the thalamus creating the sensation of pain. The other 90% goes to the hypothalamus were their signal is processed as nausea, dizziness, malaise, changes in digestion, respiration, heart beat and reproduction.

The endocrine or hormonal response is much the same. It also leads to the production of enzymes (chemicals) such as PGe2, TNF and other cytokines/eicosanoids. Doesn’t matter what they’re called, they’re bad news. They are the chemicals that lead to the outbreaks and symptoms of asthma, infertility, dysmenorrhea, colic and pretty much every other disease you could name.

Restoring full and complete motion to the joints shuts off the alarm and reverses the “spill.” Restoring full and complete motion to the spinal joints is the proprietary domain of chiropractic.

So there you go. That’s how chiropractic fights disease. We fix the hypomobile joints that cause pain 10% of the time, but disease the other 90%. If you, a friend or loved one is suffering, we can help.

Get busy...

2010-10-27T09:11:00.001-07:00

Getting busy

One of my favorite movies from the 90’s was Shawshank Redemption. The two things I remember most are when I saw it originally for some reason I was watching the airplane edit and a friend of mine had to loudly announce what word was being bleeped out along with the famous quote: “get busy living, or get busy dying.”

There are few other such black and white, ying or yang options in life. Inflammation is one of them. We are either inflaming or de-flaming. Inflammation, technically speaking, is the biochemical process that mediates disease. It is a chemical reaction in our body that makes us feel pain, sick, look and feel old along with causing disease. Everything you do in life from the way you sit and stand, eat and drink/don’t eat and drink and even everything you think and feel is either promoting inflammation and disease, or is fighting it.

Inflammation is kind of like ants. If you have some somewhere, you have it everywhere.

It can spill over, it almost exponent-ialize itself. Meaning, if you have a bad back that’s causing inflammation, and then you tweak a knee, the inflammation Wonder-Twins itself and gets worse. Also true is if you eat a lot of processed grains producing inflammation in your gut it will add fuel to the inflammation in your back, or knee or wherever.

You can create disease, make disease worse and conversely treat and prevent disease by regulating inflammation. Common, treatable inflammatory disorders are arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, fibromyalgia, girly-problems, psoriasis and a list longer than I have paper to write.

If not exercising, not practicing proper ergonomics, eating processed and unnatural foods and drink along with ‘stinking thinking’ promote inflammation; then the opposite would fight it. Want to know what else fights inflammation quite well? Regular chiropractic care, it’s true, it works. Come see me and find out for yourself.

A Three Hour Tour

2010-10-12T12:10:00.001-07:00

Not to bore you with the mundane of my life, but in Sunday School lately we’ve been reading from Isaiah. His prolific work is often quoted by the majority of all major religions and is also widely used in history and classic humanities. His biggest claim to fame though was the use of allegories. I have one for you, but unlike the prophet, I won’t make you figure it out yourself…

It’s a nice, calm and sunny day, so you take your yacht out on a long ocean voyage. All of a sudden, you start to take on water. Luckily for you, you have a giant bucket. You’re able to bail it all out, but you discover a hole. At this point you really only have 2 choices: wait for the boat to fill up again to the point of sinking, then get out the bucket or bail it out as you go. Then attempt to fix the hole (but you have a 2 ½ inch patch for a 3 inch hole).

You are the boat. The hole is a result of your daily routine (sitting in the car, sitting in front of the computer, falling down the stairs back in college, having been pregnant, what you eat, the vitamins you don’t take, the coke you drink instead of water, putting up with your boss and on and on and on). The water is disease, discomfort and disorder. I am the bucket, all be it and extremely handsome, intelligent and witty bucket, but a bucket none the less.

Your life is what gets you to my office. Together, we can undo the damage, but you still have a life to live. You can wait till it catches up with you again, and start the healing process all over or you can enjoy the benefits of continued chiropractic care in all its glory. Then attempt to de-stress your life. Which you never will; you’ll either have to go to work or be broke, put up with your spouse or be lonely (or happy with ½ your stuff) and switch your diet to an all picked only when ripe veggie and grass feed organic meat diet-but it’ll never be enough, there will always be a hole in the boat.

Healthy Highlight

Depending on where you’re from, Maryland is the northern most Southern state, the southern most Northern state or the middle most middle state. Which ever, it’s that time of year where we no longer receive direct rays of sunlight to synthesize enough Vitamin D for our immune system and emotional well being. Pick yours up today.

Fat is Fun

2010-09-29T12:07:00.001-07:00

Fun facts about FAT

-Your (and yes I’m talking to you) brain is made mostly of fat

-Eating fat does not make you fat (eating more calories than you burn, be they fat, carbs or protein makes you fat).

-Fat is the primary fuel source for your heart, especially during aerobic activity.

-Unsaturated fats (the one’s you can’t see at room temperature) are good for you.

-The food your food eats determines the tertiary structure of fat molecules. Omega 3 fatty acids are made by animals that eat what they were evolutionarily designed to eat. In other words, when a cow eats grass, its fat is Omega 3, when it eats corn, soy etc, it’s Omega 6. Omega 6 fatty acids are pro-inflammatory. They promote the development and manifestation of inflammatory diseases and disorders. Omega 3’s fight inflammation.

-Fats produce almost twice as many calories per gram than carbs and protein.

-Low fat foods often times have more calories, sugar and salt than their “normal fat” counter-parts.

-Consumption of fat is necessary for eye, nerve, and brain development along with absorbing vitamins A, D and K amongst others.

-Depending on your needs and health, you should get 10-25% of your daily calories from fat.

Healthy Highlight:

Fiber. Dietary fiber moderates gut activity, absorbs excess cholesterol and fat from your food and promotes the growth of probiotics. Get yours today. Mention this ad for 10% off.

C.O.W.

TMJ/TMD. Headaches? Pain/clicking in the jaw? Ringing in the ears? Face pain? Could be the jaw. Call today for your complimentary consultation.

Day 6 of Novalife Kenny Primeaux

2010-09-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

8:00am- Great Monday and not freely hungry or upset because I cant eat. I am almost done my Nova-life experience and I must say I have tried harder things with no results. I am telling you its definitely worth the 1 week experience to do the right thing in order to loss weight.

10:00am- Not thinking about eating I can tell you that

12:00pm- Ready to start working out again today feeling good.

2:00pm- Got some almonds and I am good to go

6:30pm- Trying peppers and onion with salmons for the first time hope its good because I am feeling good.

Day 5 of Novalife Kenny Primeaux

2010-09-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

8:00am- I think my stomach is shrinking. I just got finished drinking the shake and I fill full. So I am thinking that the Nova-life is working.

12:00pm- I wanted something to eat so I got a salad. It was huge, but I am upset. Why you may ask? Because I sat there with my very big salad and I could even finish the whole thing. I am a grown man and can even finish a bowl of lettuce.

6:00pm- I just checked my weight because I was bored and I have lost 6 pounds already. Thats what I am talking about.

Day 4 of Novalife Kenny Primeaux

2010-09-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

8:00am- Not tired of the program yet. I am basically use to it. Not really hungry either.

12:00pm- Another shake bites the dusk

4:00pm- Thinking about food right now. I am hungry. Guess I'll go wash the car to change my frame of thought.

7:00pm- Washing the car worked. I am not hungry anymore. I've come to the conclusion that if your thinking about food and its not time for you to eat do something to get rid of that craving for example walk somewhere, play a video game, etc.

Day 3 of Novalife Kenny Primeaux

2010-09-13T12:15:00.000-07:00

8:00am- Back to the great shake and mixed it with the ultra cleanse. Still all good not ready to break yet

10:00am- Honestly, not really hungry yet

12:00pm- Another shake down and still feeling good.

2:00pm- Brought some almonds to eat to help me throughout the day until seven

6:00pm- Yes I get to eat 600-800calories, salmon and broccoli here I come.

Kenny Primeaux Day 2 of NOVALIFE

2010-09-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

Day 2

7:30am- Survived the first day and I am right back at it. I wasn't hungry at all throughout the night. I notice that when you have things to do you don't think about being hungry. So make sure you do something to stop your cravings.

8:00am- Still following the novalife program and taking the vitamins, cleanse, and shake. Believe it or not I am not hungry yet, but I am drinking the shakes and cleanse.

10:00am- Just heard my stomach, but I have patients to help so it can wait till 12:00.

12:00pm- I usually put one scoop, but this time I put 1 and a half, guess I felt like treating myself.

Overall, I know I can do this program, besides its just a week, also I get to eat a 600-800 calorie meal on days 3,4,5. I think I might have spinach and a salmon fillet.

Kenny Primeaux Day 1 of NOVALIFE

2010-09-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Day 1

7:30am-I am so excited to start the program so I can be on my way to a six pack! I am not really up for drinking the shakes because I have tried shakes in the past and they were horrible.

8:00am- Tried the mint chocolate chip shake and its really good. It really taste like the girl scout mint chocolate chip cookies. Best part is you don't even have to add milk to make it taste better. Water does the trick.

10:00am- I a little hungry.

12:00pm- I couldn't wait for the shake and once again its was good.

7:00pm- I had my last shake and throughout the day I had a hand full of almonds to satisfy my urges. Overall I think that I can do the 7-day novalife program.

A place called Vertigo

2010-08-17T13:06:00.001-07:00

Vertigo, a kind of cool Hitchcock movie and a really cool U2 song. But there’s nothing cool about the world spinning around you and puking everywhere. College students everywhere spend their weekends in the bottom of a Nat Light can trying to reproduce it; but there’s many people out there trying to stop it.

Vertigo, just like other symptoms (pain, burning, numbness, tingling, coughing, runny nose…) is not a disease or disorder, but the sign or side effect of a disorder. There are 4 main, treatable causes of vertigo: BPPV, Migrainous vertigo, TMJ disorders and upper cervical trauma/disorders along with intra-cranial masses that maybe somewhat treatable by doctors who drive nicer cars than me, like brain surgeons.

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) dizziness is thought to be due to debris which has collected within a part of the inner ear. This debris can be thought of as "ear rocks", although the formal name is "otoconia". Ear rocks are small crystals of calcium carbonate derived from a structure in the ear called the "utricle" . While the saccule also contains otoconia, they are not able to migrate into the canal system. The utricle may have been damaged by head and or neck injury, infection, or other disorder of the inner ear, or may have degenerated because of advanced age/abuse. BPPV is treated by reversing the damage to the head and neck and through gentle adjustments to the ears coupled with specific exercises that dislodge the rocks.

Migrainous Vertigo is just what it sounds like, vertigo from a migraine. A migraine, as you may remember from earlier posts, is more than a headache, it’s an event. A migraine happens when the blood vessels of you neck spasm allowing too much or too little blood into your brain which results in pain, blurred vision, hallucinogenic events, so on and so on along with vertigo. As with migraine headaches, if you stabilize the joints and associated structures of the neck, you can ward off migraine attacks.

The TMJ aka the temporo-mandibular joint, or jaw. People who are under lot’s of stress grind their teeth at night, even though they don’t know it oftentimes. Also people who eat lots of hard and or chewy foods, chew gum, who’ve been whacked in the head or neck, spend a lot of time in front of a computer and/or have bite issues develop TMD (TMJ disorder). TMD is manifested by headaches, ringing in the ear, facial pain, tooth and jaw pain, and as you’ve guessed, vertigo. I am more than the self-proclaimed TMJ expert of Harford County, I am the TMJ expert of Harford County.

The most common form of head and neck trauma that leads to vertigo is whiplash. They say there are 2 types of people in the world: those who believe in whiplash, and those who haven’t had it yet. The facts about whiplash are another story for another day, but it happens, and I’ve fixed it.

Healthy Highlight:

Joint Complex-developed by SD State pharmacist to help her husband, the softball coach and former catcher re-grow cartilage in his knee, and it works. Joint problems? Pick up a bottle.

Hate Tennis

2010-07-29T12:05:00.001-07:00

Hate Tennis

When people other than me play tennis, the ball goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth for hours without end. Sometime during the Regan Administration I was a student at Mt Valley Middle School in Satler, TX. Coach Dement tried to teach us redneck children how to play tennis. But it just turned into Mike Hewitt and I trying to see if we could hit the teacher’s cars with the ball; but I digress…

When people let their hate for each other, groups, ideas, and especially themselves go back and forth, it becomes extremely destructive.

Hate and anger (while the inspiration for some pretty cool heavy metal lyrics in the 90s) destroys not only personal, business and community relationships, but is also the cause of many if not all international conflicts; along with perpetuating disease.

Hate and anger along with all other forms of mental anguish initiate the fight or flight reaction. That causes a rise in your blood pressure, a decrease in organ function and hormone production, along with constricted blood vessels leading to muscle and tissue hypoxia leading to degeneration and decay and thus, when chronic, disease.

Don’t be a Darth Vader, don’t let anger control your life. It is no good, it is a cancer. It will grow and fester until it destroys you and those you love. I once heard Dennis Waitley say that others don’t make you mad, you and only you allow yourself to get that way. Your own interpretation and hang up over people and situations are the main impediments to personal growth. He said to take out a piece of paper, write down the name of the person or situation that is making you that way, then throw it in the trash. It’s over, it’s never coming back the only reason hate is still hanging around is because you let it.

Don’t get caught up in the back and forth. Don’t let your emotions take control of your life and health. Let it go, forgive; stop playing hate tennis.

I pulled a John Kerry

2010-07-12T08:12:00.001-07:00

In natural and holistic health care provider dating games, contestants are asked questions like: “bachelor #1, if you were a nutritional supplement, what kind of supplement would you be and why?”

There was a time I would have said magnesium. Magnesium (Mg) is the Rodney Dangerfield of vitamins and minerals. One could almost say the re-headed step-brother to Calcium (Ca). Without Mg, Ca couldn’t work. They’re co-factors. In addition, Mg helps stabilize blood sugar, blood pressure, muscle tone and the effects of stress on the body. Mg is extremely important and often over-looked. It’s commonly found in organ meats and greens and is depleted with stress, alcohol and caffeine consumption.

Well, due to new information and my current understanding, I have changed my view; or as Carl Rove would say, flipped-flopped. I am now an Omega Man. Omega 3 fatty acids, known to many as fish oil/flax seed oil/evening primrose oil. The 3’s are the bomb-diggity (anybody even talk like that anymore)? They have many wonderful benefits. First, they compete and counteract the Omega 6’s. Omega 6 are the oils found in saturated fats, trans fats and the so forth that cause cardio-vascular (cholesterol and blood pressure) and brain disease (stroke). They have the same affect on blood as aspirin (anti-clogging) with out the side effects. Just recently I posted the link on my Facebook page (Susquehanna Spine N Rehab) where the FDA and NIH have now said daily aspirin therapy is dangerous. Omega 3 has also been found to have anti-inflammatory properties that protect against aging and chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, ulcerative colitis and more.

Healthy Highlight

While you’re here picking up your Omega’s, might as well grab you a Lyflo Joint Complex while you’re at it. Developed by a pharmacist and research chemist at South Dakota State to treat her husband’s crapped-out knees. There’s no rule that says you have to let your joints slow you down. You can soothe and refresh them, simply and naturally. Lyflo Select™ Joint Complex helps lubricate and restore the health of your joints with a premium blend of liquid glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM and vitamin C – without any shellfish or harsh chemical processing. Lyflo Select Joint Complex gets to work fast and is easier to take than pills, because all of its ingredients are already dissolved in liquid. And unlike pills, Joint Complex requires only a single dose each day. Gret for people with knee pain (such as me) and/or disc disorders!

2010-06-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

Let ‘Em See You Sweat

In undergrad out west, we didn’t have air conditioning. We had swamp coolers. Anyone who’s ever been in the inter-mountain west knows what I’m talking about; so the remaining 99% have no clue. A swamp cooler is a giant refrigerator size box that sits on top of your house (they do have funny looking window units). The tap water in the Utah Mountains felt to be just barely above freezing; so what they do is run it through coils and blow air over it and through the house.

Sweating is our bodies’ natural swamp cooler. As the water evaporates, it creates a cooling effect that cools us down; in theory. Obviously evolution did not occur on the Gulf Coast.

Sweating is also an effective way of balancing electrolytes. As we have all noticed, our sweat is quite briny. As we sweat, we rid our bodies of sodium. Most of us have sodium imbalances that lead to hypertension, aka the silent killer.

In certain areas of our bodies (pits and low back mainly) our sweat is extra special, it’s much more viscous due to the presence of enzymes that are to protect us from harmful invaders (hence the yellow stain).

Yet for its good, we should be mindful of our sweating habits. During the summer, an average adult can sweat up to 4 liters, with most of it evaporating before we even notice. At only 2% dehydration (a 200 lbs man loosing 4 lbs of body weight to the water loss associated with sweat-not hard to do, back in HS football in S Texas I would loose 10-15 pounds per practice) we loose 20% function. So without out having to do all the math, I’m pretty sure that 4 liters is close enough to cause problems. Dehydration can have the same affects on the body as sleep deprivation and intoxication. Chronic dehydration is associated with headaches, muscle pain and spasm, fibromyalgia, sleep issues, overeating, inability to loose weight, kidney stones, irritability so on and so on.

So, what do we do? Get regular chiropractic adjustments. That doesn’t really affect your water balance, (but water balance does affect the effectiveness of an adjustment) just thought I’d throw that in there. But seriously, you need to drink water. Not coffee, not tea, not even any scotch in the water, just water. 8 glasses a day. More if you’re outside or drinking that scotch.

All that and good looking too.

2010-05-26T08:17:00.001-07:00

Everyday people will ask me what exactly I do. Other than optimizing human performance, increasing vitality, making you look and feel younger, adding life to your years and years to your life along with improving your quality of living; not that much.

I do it all by focusing on disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the nervous system, and the effects of these disorders on general health. Even though it’s mostly to treat neuromusculoskeletal complaints, including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, pain in the joints of the arms or legs, and headaches; through therapeutic and rehabilitative exercises, as well as nutritional, dietary and lifestyle counseling.

The most common though being a “spinal manipulation,” also called “chiropractic adjustment.” The purpose of manipulation is to restore joint mobility by manually applying a controlled force into joints that have become hypomobile – or restricted in their movement – as a result of a tissue injury. Tissue injury can be caused by a single traumatic event, such as improper lifting of a heavy object, or through repetitive stresses, such as sitting in an awkward position with poor spinal posture, and through a varying barrage of chemical and emotional stress for an extended period of time. In either case, injured tissues undergo physical and chemical changes that can cause inflammation, pain, and diminished function. Manipulation, or adjustment of the affected joint and tissues, restores mobility, thereby alleviating pain and muscle tightness, and allowing tissues to heal.

Adjustments also remove the affects of the other forms of stress on your body, boosting your immune system and improving performance helping to treat and prevent all forms of disease and disorder (more on this to come).

Healthy Highlight

Whether you are an athlete or an arthritis sufferer, Lyflo Select Topical Pain Crème helps provide speedy relief to aching joints, muscles and bruised tissues. Using Celadrin®, an all natural proprietary ingredient clinically proven to reduce pain and inflammation as well as rapidly promote joint health, Lyflo’s Topical Pain Crème acts fast with deep absorption to improve flexibility and mobility.

COW

Know anyone with headaches? Stop the pounding fast with chiropractic!

La Leche

2010-05-11T08:56:00.000-07:00

Breast milk is kind of like Coke, there’s nothing better than the real thing. When at all possible, breast milk should be the only source of calories for children for as long as possible. Does that mean 17 years old? Probably (ok, definitely) not. But 6-18 months is doable under most circumstances. It’s the perfect food, it has everything you need.

The milk lobby is better than its product. They have many people thinking that cow’s milk is just as good and is good for adults too. In a pinch, whole milk can work for kids under 2; for everyone else, dairy is a condiment, not a serving. Turns out it’s not as good for us as we once thought. So lots of people have switched to soy.

Well, soy, in a large population of people, causes intestinal inflammation; especially in children. This inflammation spills over into other systems and can be made manifest in hyper-sensitivity and hyper-irritability disorders such as colic, sleep disturbance tactile abnormalities and ADD/HD.

Then there’s the cereal that we put in the milk so the kid gets fuller so we can hopefully sleep instead of watching Last Call with Carson Daily holding a bottle. Well, like any other carb, the cereal burns out too fast actually making the little poop machines hungrier in the long run (kind of like Chinese noodles). If that wasn’t enough, our intestinal tract is home to 100’s of different types of single-cell organism such as yeasts and bacteria that live in a happy, separate but equal medium. Disturb the balance, and your innards turn into 1990’s Yugoslavia where numerous factions with un-pronounceable names battle for control of the same little area wreaking havoc on everything insight.

Simple carbs too early in life and too many in toddlers through adults help feed the over-growth of the yeasts that snow balls over time resulting in chronic, progressive intestinal inflammation. Manifested by: ADD/HD, tactile abnormalities, blood sugar issues, irrational behavior, anxiety, depression, bowel disorders; chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis, lupus, fibromyaglia and so on and so on and so on.

Healthy Highlight

The breath of life. Isn’t it kind of funny how the thing that gives us life is the same thing that deteriorates it? Oxygen. It’s really not that good for you. Technically, it’s half bad for you. Oxygen is taken into the blood, transported to the cells and cleaved in half to power cellular activity. The problem is, these oxygen halves run around the cell wreaking havoc like Boy Scouts at a pizza buffet trying to steal electrons in a process known as oxidation (yes, the same oxidation that rusts American cars). Oxygen makes you look and feel old from that damage. That’s why I take anti-oxidants like the ones found in Lyflo Select’s antioxidant complex to help me keep my boyish good looks-Ok, so maybe I’m not the best spokesman, but could you imagine how bad it would be if I didn’t take them?

COW

Disc disorders-disc disease, such as degenerative disc disease, herniated discs, bulging discs, internal disc derangements and the such are responsible for the vast majority of back pain. Good thing Dr Lee is a disc expert. If you or anyone you know is suffering from disc problems, low back or neck, let us know!

Novolife Cleanse for Caitlin Day 6 And the FInal Day &

2010-05-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

Day 6 - so this day was a little hard becuase you had those three wonderful days where you got eat dinner of chicken and vegetables and then you had to start drinnking the cleanse again and only shakes so I thought I would miss the food a lot but becuase of it being later in the week the shakes actually filled me up more and I was not nearly as crappy as I was on Day 2!

Day 7- definetly went by slow cause it was the last day and I was looking forward to the next morning. But other than that it wasnt bad. The cleanse even tasted better and I did not have a lot of cravings for the foods I ate before the cleanse. I was really ok and am still doing fine. Let you know if I lost any weight but the big thing for me was changing my cravings and I feel great!

Novolife Cleanse for Caitlin day 4 & 5

2010-05-08T14:58:00.001-07:00

Day 4&5 - these two days were basically the same for me. I had more energy then I did on the other days and in general since cleansing and I was not craving foods and was full most of the day off the shakes and some almonds and then ate my 400-600 calorie meal at night and felt completely satisfied. Overall I would say these have been the easiest days especially because the shake for meals has sort of become routine now.

Day 2&3 Novolife cleanse for Caitlin

2010-05-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Day 2 - so this day got alittle bit harder...I noticed I was hungry a little more and was not as energetic but overall I felt better. This was probably the toughest day for me so far.

Day 3 - This day was great because I got so excited that I got to have "real" food at the end of the day. and you don't drink the cleanse on these days so you start to enjoy what you are eating. The shakes have always tasted great so not having to drink a cleanse with them is great

Novolife Cleanse Day 1 for Caitlin our Patient care coordinator

2010-05-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

End of the first day of the cleanse and besides being very cold in this freezing office I feel ok. I wasnt too hungry today shakes really were filling. The cleanse portion did not taste that great but it was bearable and got better every time I drank it. It also seems to taste a lot better with cold water. So I am still alive and besides a little cold feel great!

To Kill a Rabbit

2010-04-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

To kill a rabbit

Not too many of you under 50 might know what that means. Back in the days before the ‘Clear Blue Easy,’ you had to wait till Aunt Flow didn’t show, go to the doctor, pee in a cup and then they’d inject the urine into a rabbit. When you’re pregnant, your body creates a hormone called hCG, which allows your ovaries and uterus to prepare for and maintain pregnancy. Well, the hormone also causes a rabbit’s ovaries to change, so the lab would inject a woman’s urine into a rabbit, cut it open and see if the ovaries were swollen, thus killing the rabbit and Steven Tyler’s drunken ramblings: “You’re telling me things but your girlfriend lied You can’t catch me cause the rabbit done died.” Instead of 2 minutes in the privacy of your own WC, you had to wait.

There is nothing in the world more stressful than pregnancy. There’s not hardly a single person on earth not stressed about being pregnant and wanting to be, being and not wanting; not and wanting to be, not and trying not to; a combination of or close/related to someone in the above categories. And as we all know stress is not good for your (and baby’s) health.

When stressed, the body initiates the autonomic nervous system, aka fight or flight. Just how Geordie had to reduce the shields to get more power to the warp drive (I had a roommate in college that turned every night into a NG marathon), your body has to divert energy from certain, not-at-the-time necessary organs to send it to the heart, lungs and muscles to get you away from the omnipresent, cave man scenario saber-toothed tiger. Fast forward a few hundred thousand years and saber-tooth’s are gone, but the stress remains the same. The constant physical, chemical and emotional stress in our modern lives has caused us all to live in a sympathetic state (fight or flight overload), greatly affecting and down-grading our systems, especially reproductive.

For those who are not pregnant and want to be, worrying about it makes it just that much harder.

The body knows if you are in any condition to get and maintain a pregnancy. If you under any degree of physical stress (weight, job/home requirements) chemical stress (what you’re eating or not eating, drinking or not, the air you breath, environmental pollution) and/or emotional stress, your body isn’t going to allow it to take on the massive amounts of stress involved with being pregnant.

A complete wellness overhaul starting ASAP, but preferably around a year before you plan on conceiving, may make hunting wabbits that much easier. Wellness coaching, including chiropractic care has been able to help countless couples with un-diagnosable infertility find success.

Not now, I have a headache.

2010-04-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Headaches can be due to a wide variety of causes, such as drug reactions, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), tightness in the neck muscles, low blood sugar, high blood pressure, stress and fatigue, the majority of recurrent headaches are of two types: tension headaches (also called cervicogenic headaches) and migraine headaches.

Tension type headaches are the most common, affecting upwards of 75% of all headache sufferers. Most people describe a tension headache as a constant dull, achy feeling either on one side or both sides of the head, often described as a feeling of a tight band or dull ache around the head or behind the eyes. These headaches usually begin slowly and gradually and can last for minutes or days. Tension headaches are often the result of stress or bad posture, which stresses the spine and muscles in the upper back and neck.

Migraines are intense and throbbing headaches that are often associated with nausea and sensitivity to light or noise. They can last from as little as a few hours to as long as a few days. Many of those who suffer from migraines experience visual symptoms called an "aura" just prior to an attack that is often described as seeing flashing lights or that everything takes on a dream-like appearance.

Migraines are caused by a spasm in the blood vessels in the brain. During the constriction of the blood vessels there is a decrease in blood flow, which is what leads to the visual symptoms that many people experience. Once the blood vessels dilate, there is a rapid increase in blood pressure inside the head. It is this increased pressure that leads to the pounding headache. There are a number of things that can trigger migraines, such as lack of sleep, stress, flickering lights, strong odors, changing weather patterns and several foods; especially foods that are high in the amino acid tyramine (found most in aged foods).

No matter the headache or cause, they all respond well to chiropractic and wellness care. If you or someone you know is suffering, call ‘now;’ now you’ll have to find another excuse.

Supplement Spotlight: Anti-oxidant support. Not only does it make you feel younger; you’ll look it too. Anti-oxidants reverse the damage of life on your body.

What is Wellness

2010-03-24T09:54:00.001-07:00

Wellness. Wellness is a word that people like to throw around a lot. It’s almost become a marketing buzz word. So what is it? I’ll tell you what it’s not: a noun, or even an adjective. It’s not something you achieve or become, it’s not a state of being, but a state of doing; it’s not even a verb, but an adverb. You live it. Wellness is also not just a lack of disease or being sick, it’s the opposite of that. Wellness is also more than just living a lifestyle not to get sick, but a lifestyle to get the most out of life for you, for the ones you love and for those in your and surrounding communities.

Wellness is lived by moving right, eating right and thinking right. Here’s the short list: loose weight; Eat more food that comes out the ground, not a sack; take your vitamins. Drink more water and less soda, coffee and beer. Exercise. Be more forgiving and less vindictive; instead of fighting over who’s right, figure out how to make things better. Have more s-e-x with who you are in a committed relationship. Hug your kids. Sleep at least 7 hours each night. Go outside. And most of all, get your chiropractic (by me) adjustments.

Want to help out? Visit https://atl.etapestry.com/fundraiser/DomesticViolenceCenterofHo/HopeBowl/individual.do?participationRef=657.0.70870041 to donate to my fight against domestic violence.

My 2 cents

2010-03-10T08:51:00.001-08:00

Jenny McCarthy, THE hottie of my under-grad years; where are you now my beloved Jenny? She’s done a few ‘had to pay the rent’ roles, but usually out stoking the vaccine-autism link debate.

Just recently, The Lancet, under extreme pressure, retracted its years old article noting the link. There’s tons of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence in favor, but the official evidence paid for and submitted by the manufacturers of the vaccines and bought politicians says no. So who’s right? They both are. Having slept in both camps as former a researcher in the vaccine industry and now as part of the counter-culture alternative medicine society, I’ve got my views.

Except for having a headache after getting clocked in the head with a baseball bat, there are very few one-cause diseases in the world. Everything else from dandruff to ingrown toenails, from the abdomen to the zygomatic arch and everything in between; all disease and disorder is the result of the interplay between physical, chemical and emotional stress and your body’s reaction to that stress. The sum is more than the whole of the parts. Just like a cake is more than flour, eggs, sugar and butter. This explains why someone who smokes 4 packs a day will live to 100 and die from being hit by a bus, and someone else who’s never smoked will die of lung cancer at 30.

It all starts with grandma. The eggs of a female begin developing while she’s a fetus. Your kid’s developmental pre-dispositions start with what type of stress your mother was under when she was pregnant, especially the first 3 months when she might not have known. What did she eat and drink and not? How well did she sleep? What type of emotional stress was she under? What type of chemicals and toxin was she exposed to? Fast forward 20 or so years and ask yourself the same questions.

Autism, like any other disease, is caused by the same. Water boils at 100 degrees C. 99 degree water is hot, but not boiling. To make it boil, you need to add an additional calorie. Autism is boiling water. Vaccines are calories. They are chemical compounds designed to invoke stress on your body. They create a reaction, and according to the laws of physics, they must have just as many side effects as intended reactions.

So, if a fetus is under stress because mom smokes, drinks, is worried, doesn’t eat well, doesn’t exercise, has certain genetic pre-dispositions, has a traumatic birth, is not breast-feed and on and on and on, that baby is now 99C. Then a vaccine is that extra calorie that makes the water boil.

Snack yourself Skinny

2010-02-17T06:18:00.001-08:00

Snacking yourself skinny

Now that the Olympics have pre-empted most every show on TV, I have found myself channel surfing more than usual. I came across one of the shopping channels with a program titled: “Eat yourself thin.” Since I’m a man, I just kept flipping for another hour or 2, and missed it, but the premise does hold true.

Take a wood-burning stove. If you throw a lot of wood in, it will flame up really big, get really hot and waste most the heat and die. Then you have to repeat the same in-efficient process over and over. Now if you were to add just a little wood at a time, you’d keep a nice, steady fire that keeps the house at an even temperature. Your metabolism is the same.

That is what happens to us when we eat 2 or 3 meals a day. Breakfast, lunch and supper is a scam devised by the robber barons of the industrial revolution. Workers were given one break in the middle of their 12-16 hour shift and that was it. Our earlier forbears were more Forrest Gump-esk. When they were hungry they ate, when they were sleepy they slept and when they had to you know, they you knowed.

According to the laws of physics, energy cannot be created or destroyed. After a long day you’ll throw down 7-800 calories, but your body only needed 500 of them at that time. What happens to the rest? Look behind you. Your body will run much more effectively and burn calories more efficiently when they are introduced fewer at a time. Don’t eat more or extra food; but you’ll run a lot better on 1500-1800 calories consumed as breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-supper than 2000 over 2 or 3 meals.

The Silent Killer

2010-01-25T07:16:00.001-08:00

The Silent Killer

No, I’m not talking about your old college roommate after burrito night at the dorms. I speak of hypertension. I can remember when high blood pressure was THE focus of primary care physicians and cardiologists. Then sometime in the ‘90’s the focus switched to cholesterol. Now that big pharma’s patents on statin drugs are running out, I’ve notice a switch back to the basics in the literature.

Lately I’ve seen throw backs to warning about salt intake. So much that in some jurisdictions in California and NYC, health departments is contemplating regulating restaurants’ usage. When we consume salt, sodium chloride, the sodium enters our blood stream. Because of homeostasis (the body’s inherit drive to keep everything equal-your body is a socialist) osmotic pressure forces extra fluid into your blood. By the laws of physics, if you increase the volume of a closed system, you increase its pressure. Thus putting extra work on the vessels causing them to harden and occlude which sets off a downward spiral of the above over and over until your lungs fill with fluid and your heart expands then dies.

Step 1, put down the salt shaker. 2) Drink more water. At first this may seem counter-intuitive, but the more water you drink, the more sodium that gets flushed out of your system. 3) Eat more veggies (unsalted of course). Everything that comes out of the ground is high in potassium. Potassium competes for space with sodium in your body. The more you eat, the less sodium, the less sodium, the lower your blood pressure. 4) Chill. Stress raises BP. 5) Chiropractic care. Many research studies have shown that a weekly chiropractic adjustment lowers BP by 10 points.

Held captive by a relationship?

2010-01-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

Whom do you try to avoid? An ex-employee? An estranged relative? An ex-associate? An especially demanding client? An ex-boss? Someone you just can't stand being around? (Please, please, please don't let it be me!!!!!!!!!!!)
You have allowed that person to imprison you.
It looks as if you're in control, orchestrating your life so you won't encounter them, expending massive amounts of energy in the process. Instead of being at ease, you're on guard. Instead of fully living, you find yourself continually defensive; on the lookout.
Eliminate this kryptonite from your life. It's based on the lie that this person "does" something to you. When in fact, whatever your reaction is, you do it to yourself. You create the uncomfortableness. You create the feelings of inferiority. You create the sense of dread. Or resentment. And massive amounts of emotional stress that feed back on your body causing/aggravating back pain, carpal tunnel, heart disease, diabetes, sciatica, take you pick of another million or so disorders.
If the person who is the source of all this angst lacks positive qualities (unlikely) then at least chose to become indifferent and lose the shackles.
Take out a piece of paper and write their name on it. Crumple it up and throw it away. Get the thought of them out of your life. Unless of course it's me. If it is; please, please accept my most sincere apology. If I or we've ever offended you, it was not on purpose. I know to many of you this may come as a surprise, but I am not infallible. If you are in pain, don't suffer because of something I may have said, done or failed to.

Right Now

2009-12-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

"It's going to be great when (fill in the blank)."
Not true. This common deception has us ignoring the present (the only place where we have any influence) in favor of trying to live in the future. This creates a way of being that either puts us on the sidelines; killing time waiting for the future to arrive, or causes us to rush headlong past unsmelled roses, bulldozing our way into the future.
Just remember that you'll be taking you with you into the future.
Your dissatisfaction with the present will most likely produce an unsatisfying future. So, if you're unhappy, fearful or stressed today, you're likely to be unhappy, fearful or stressed then. That's because everything is first conceived spiritually before it manifests physically.
Once you sow spiritual seeds of gratitude and appreciation for your current circumstances, regardless of what they are, your future will brighten. As will your present, especially with what we know about emotional-somatic connections. All disease, disability and disorder is caused by a combination of physical, chemical and emotional stress. As good as I am, and as hard as we work, your physical condition will never fully heal—and stay healed—unless you can control the stresses in your life.

Holiday Survival Guide

2009-11-16T14:55:00.001-08:00

As we all now, the year ends next Wednesday at 4pm. Sure, the calendar goes on, but we’ve all checked out; any aspirations of health have been replaced with visions of sugar plum (shots) and mini-crab cakes dancing in our heads. On Jan 2 we all crawl out of our eggnog induced haze and wonder what happened while celebrating the abrupt death of our resolutions with a trip to the Chinese food buffet.

So why weight (intentional pun)? Get proactive; to help, here’s my Holiday survival guide:

An all you can eat buffet is not a double dog dare. This is the thing I struggle with the most. I paid good money to eat all I can, and I’m going to get my money’s worth; take it from someone who’s learned that lesson, it’s not worth it. Also remember it’s not a race. Generally, the slower you eat, the less you will.
An open bar is not a challenge.
Water, water, water. No less than 6 glasses a day, more if you’re drinking or eating sweet/salty foods.
When possible, take a nap.
Instead of doubling your coffee to keep up, try vitamins.
Replace one meal a day with the endless salad, not the one from Olive Garden, that’s the endless waistline salad. Recipe: chopped peppers, cucumber, celery, onion, lettuce, other greens, radish, sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, endive, arugula; tossed with lemon or lime juice/vinegar or hot sauce (not wing sauce) Notice how no one said salt? Eat as much as you want, and this time I mean it.
What ever was said, can’t be unsaid, let it go. The holidays are an emotionally trying time. Harboring hate and resentment makes you sick. The past is the past and it’s not coming back. Take out a piece of paper and write down his/her name, wad it up, throw it away and forget it; you’ll be glad you did.
Exercise. Even if it’s an extra lap around the mall, or a round of Wii, get out and move it.
Just because you’re having dinner at 2 houses with 2 different families, doesn’t mean you have to eat as much as 2 families. Portion control is lost this time of year. Try this: Drink a large glass of water. Instead of using a dinner plate, eat off the salad plate-it holds less food. Drink another large glass of water and wait at least 5 minutes before going for seconds.
It really is better to give than receive.
Eleven, really? Ten isn’t good enough for Spinal Tap, neither for me. DON’T FORGET YOUR APPOINTMENTS!!! I’ll get lonely here without you, plus we don’t want to loose the progress we’ve made in getting you back to optimal health.

Glenn Beck and Keith Olberman are causing your back pain

2009-11-12T10:58:00.001-08:00

All disease is the result from stress and how our body interacts with that stress. Be it physical stress, chemical stress or emotional stress. Just as being exposed to nutrition-less food, toxins and pollutants affects our bodies, emotional stress affects us too. One of the most powerful emotional stressors is fear. The largest purveyor being 24 hour news; ‘if it bleeds, it leads.’ The fear and anxiety created (often symptomitized by ‘the need to know’) by watching, listening or reading “the news”- which is nothing more than sensationalism-causes a chemical reaction in your brain; much like that of nicotine, to which you become addicted; think adrenaline rush. The muckrakers are no different from tobacco companies. Instead of infusing you with a drug through cigarettes, the media is injecting it straight into your brain through your eyes. Exposure may lead to depression, anxiety, restlessness, sleep deprivation, loss of libido and a heightened level of stress that affects not only your body but mind and soul as well; in extreme cases bleeding from the eyes and anal leakage.

After experimenting on myself, and seeing first hand the wonderful benefits and results that I (like loosing over 15 pounds), my wife and staff experienced we started to offer the Novolife de-tox to cleanse the body, promote optimal function and weight loss. Right now I’m in the beginning of an emotional cleansing. I am fasting from the media. For the next 7 days, possibly longer, I am not going to watch, listen to or read the news, no yahoo news, no political blogs no nothing. I am going to disconnect. And so should you. Read a book (no puppies with cancer stuff either), do something productive, exercise, make-out or something else uplifting. You’ll be surprised how good you will feel, not just emotionally, but physically as well.

Man-o-pause

2009-10-26T12:45:00.001-07:00

DHEA is a hormone that serves as precursor to male and female sex hormones. DHEA levels are low in some people with anorexia, type 2 diabetes (non-insulin dependent diabetes) and a host of other disorders. DHEA levels may also be depleted by a number of drugs, including insulin, corticosteroids, opiates and especially hormonal birth control. High levels of physical, emotional and psychological stress also lowers DHEA concentrations.

Low levels of DHEA have been contributed to depression, abnormal weight gain, poor muscle definition, sexual dysfunction and decreased cognitive abilities.

We have DHEA available here in the office long with a full line of other high quality vitamins and supplements. And all vitamins are 10-30% off this month!!!Man-o-pause. Yes it's true, we have it too; unfortunately we didn't hire the better PR firm, so not as many people know. As we get older (Once you hit 25, it’s all down hill) our hormone production also starts to slow and we start to loose some of our secondary characteristics. Trust me, 10 years ago I look like I just walked off the set of those Spanish speaking soap operas shot on South Beach, with out even trying. As time goes by, it gets harder to keep that chiseled chest and washboard abs with that full, flowing lock of dark hair.

What can we do? First, don’t smoke. After that, make sure to get plenty of sleep (7 hours a night). Make sure to get plenty of exercise, avoid fatty and processed foods also foods that contain lots of soy (soy has estrogenic properties).

The main male hormone is testosterone. We can boost our testosterone production by not only the above, but

Get more exercise?

2009-10-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Get more exercise. How many times have we heard that? What exactly does that mean? Years ago I sat on an incline bike at 24 Hour Fitness in Pasadena, TX listening to a 300+ 50+ year old smoker complaining to his equally pre-disposed buddy that his doctor told him to get more exercise and that the afore-mentioned pending cardiac arrest was aghast when his doctor told him that being able to bench press over 200lbs didn’t count. Exercise can be divided and sub-divided into many different categories, but there is really 2 main types. Aerobic and anaerobic, Latin for with and without air; you breath during aerobic exercise, but actually hold your breath during anaerobic.

When your doctor tells you to get more exercise, he’s talking about aerobic (jogging, swimming, biking, basketball….) vs. anaerobic (weight lifting). Before all you nay-saying meatheads start leaving dirty messages on my facebook, strength training is important, just not that important.

Aerobic exercise however, improves not just your physical, but psychological and emotional wellbeing too; and can be used to treat/prevent depression along with nearly every chronic disease from abetailpoprotenemia to zygomycosis including heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It keeps/burns the weight off while boosting your over-all energy levels promotes better sleep and (make the kids leave the room): sex. And for some demented souls out there, exercise can be fun.

What should you do? Pretty much anything you want that gets your heart rate to whatever 220 minus your age is for 20 minutes three times a week.

Product of the week: HGH support:

HGH is responsible for the repair and regeneration of human tissue throughout our lives. By the time most of us are 30 years old, our bodies no longer produce enough HGH to repair all of the damage that is occurring in our bodies. As our HGH levels continue to decline, the damage that we call aging continues to accelerate. By increasing the levels of HGH in our bodies, we can slow, or even reverse, many of the manifestations of aging.

The safest way for increasing HGH is to take a substance that increases the natural secretion of HGH by the pituitary gland. Growth Hormone Support contains the amino acids arginine and ornithine. These amino acids may synergistically support healthy growth hormone production. Growth hormone is naturally released by the pituitary

gland in response to sleep and exercise.

Swine Flu, Schim schflu, part deux

2009-09-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

Swine flu, part deux.

Like the proverbial bad penny, Swine flu, or H1N1 just won’t seem to go away. Let me re-phrase, the media’s obsession and government’s over-reaction with the swine flu won’t go away. I can understand the media, it’s all about selling more papers (figuratively speaking, no one reads newspapers anymore). Fear mongering equals high ratings. The government? Who knows, maybe they’re trying to divert us away from the fact that they’re hiding the bodies of little green men shot down over New Mexico.

A while back I talked a little about the swine flu; and the fact that it’s not Ebola or Hanta, it’s the sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, fever flu, with a cool new name; there’s some 16,000 known variants of influenza. Now, I’m not saying let’s just ignore it and hope it goes away, I’m just saying let’s get a little perspective. At last count about 109 Americans have died from the swine flu this year; 30,000 have been killed by complications from taking Tylenol in the same time period.

As Ben and I have both said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And I’m not talking about a vaccine, that’s being pro-active, and a whole host of other issues. Over the past 30something years, I’ve eaten tons of watermelons, seeds and all; and have yet had a vine grow out my ear (thanks Uncle Mike for scaring the bejesus out of me). What I’m saying is, just because you plant a seed, doesn’t mean a plant will grow. The environment has to be just right.

So how do we create a flu-unfriendly environment? #1Vitamin D. Vitamin C is to Marsh Brady what Vitamin D is to Jan Brady. We all know how great C is, but no one ever talks about D. Ever notice how fewer people are sick in the Summer? It’s because the direct rays of the sun create Vit D in our body. Once the equinox rolls through and takes away our direct UV light, we no longer make Vit D; quite possibly the most important vitamin involved in boosting our immune system. #2 Proteolytic enzymes. All disease is manifested via the prostaglandin E2 pathway. Enzymes such as bioflavanoids, ginger, turmeric (mustard), paipan (pineapple), NAC and a long list of others that are hard to say and spell, act on said pathway stopping the tissue damage and thus “dis-ease” of disease. #3 Me. As we go through our daily lives, life inflicts stress upon our bodies. This stress causes our joints to stop working, which causes immobilization degeneration leading to a chemical reaction the body mal-affecting the immune system. Regular chiropractic care reverses this boosting your immunity and resistance while improving your function and vitality.

Kids these days…

2009-08-25T12:56:00.001-07:00

Just this past week down in Ann Arundel County, 17 HS football players were taken to the hospital due to heat related illness; all 17 at the same time, not a cumulative count. Now that I’m old enough to say: “kids these days,” I have to say, kids these days are a little weak. I did 2 a days under the blistering South Texas sun under stifling coastal humidity, and we never passed out. Now the truth is the blame falls with the coach. He should have noticed something was wrong when that many boys are getting sick; but that is actually beside the point itself. Like I’ve mentioned many times before, being proactive is not prevention. Being preventative with hydration entails 24 hour a day vigilance, and more than drinking Gatorade and eating bananas. Just recently I wrote about hydration and it’s importance, when you dealing with extreme conditions, that importance quadruples. They need to be drinking no less than 8 glasses of water a day along with 1 more for every 15 minutes of activity, eating mostly fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and whole grains; a low-calorie carb/electrolyte replacement beverage (Gatorade) is fine for about every hour to two of activity.

I also want to talk a bit about childhood obesity. This generation of kids is the first in recorded history not expected to outlive their parents. Even though 2/3’s of children under 12 are clinically overweight, only 40% of parents believe that their children are (mostly because they are too and don’t realize it). Back when I was a kid (and yes I actually did walk uphill both ways in the snow. In college, in the Utah mountains where it snows feet upon feet, I lived on top of one hill and campus was on top of another.); I can count on one hand how many times we went out to eat in a year on one hand, we went outside at 9, and came back at 9, and soda was only for special occasions. Today, it’s McD’s 3 times a day, gallons of Mt Dew and the only exercise is thumbs on the video controller.

So what to do? Eat well, think well and move well…

Pro-active vs Prevention

2009-08-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

There's been lot's of talk about using preventative measures to lower health care costs during all this reform hoop-la. I'm here to tell you "their" idea of prevention won't save anything, and will cost extra, because it's not prevention at all but just being proactive. Heart disease: "they" say early testing and monitoring is cheaper than by-pass. It is, but stress tests, MRA's and angio-grams cost $10K each and then your avg cholesterol medication is about another 7 grand a year. It's cheaper for the insurance company for you to have a heart attack and die, that's called hedging your bet. "Their" so called preventative measures aren't really about prevention, but finding things that may or may not be wrong with expensive tests and medication.

Now, I'm not saying don't get your tests, early detection is far more valuable then money; do them, do them regularly and on time. Being proactive is priceless, but it's not prevention.

Want true prevention that actually prevents disease and saves money? Move well, eat well and think well. Exercise $75-100 for a good pair of shoes; putting down that snickers, saves you money; brocolli $2ish/pound; letting go of anger and angst, sometimes free; not having a heart attack, priceless.

Paying for health care

2009-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

I. End the corn subsidy. Corn is processed into corn syrup, a highly inflammatory, high but empty calorie goo that makes us fat and promotes disease. It also alters the histology and biochemistry of the animals that eat it; which in turn alters the biochemistry and histology of us meat eaters. Cows should be eating grass. Corn makes them bigger and is cheaper because of the subsidy. Take the money and put it to health care, and the increased cost will force farmers to raise healthier meats.

II. Tax fast food, prepared, processed and junk foods that all tend to be cheaper than healthy foods. Take that money and put it toward health care. It will also make healthy food cheaper (by comparison).

III. Make gym memberships, visits to true preventitive providers such as chiropractors and nutritionists tax deductible. Healthier people go to the doctor less.

IV. Make health insurance merit based, such as auto. In that I'm self-employed, I have to buy my own insurance. Private plans are exempt from ERISA rules; which means that people with unhealthy habits, the over weight, with pre-existing conditions and those who go to the doctor more, pay more. All health insurance should be the same.

V.Mal practice reform. Not tort reform.Currently 80% of all medical costs are diagnostic, not because the doctor doesn't know what's wrong, but so he can document he did his diligence incase you sue. Insurance companies charge outrages fees to doctors not because of law suits, but because they lost their shirts in the market. I know an OB that has been in practice over 20 years, never been sued and by law has to carry a $1 million policy, which he pays $100,000 a year for. If you capped malpactice payouts today, I doubt rates would go down. Insurance companies are there to make money first, provide a service second.

Put the burden (and financially) on the plantiff. If you loose, you pay for court costs, investigations and the doctors lost wages. Cases can only be filed after an obudsmen finds that it is true neglegence, not just a mistake.

Get Real About Health Care Reform

2009-08-10T11:25:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago I quit paying alot of attention to the news. I still listen to NPR, watch Stewart and Colbert and read homepage headlines; but I'm not super-engaged. So what I'm saying is, I'm not really that sure what is going on with health care reform, except it isn't really going. I do know that no one is even really talking about health care reform, but health care finance reform (and not really doing much with that either).

I'll hear on TV all the time that here in the US we don't have a health care system, but a sick care system. It isn't even that. We run a symptom care system. My head hurts, take this pill, I can't breath, take this pill; run this test, cut that out to alleviate this/that symptom. If we were even serious about sick care, we would get to the root cause of headaches, backpain, shortness of breath etc and fix it (which IS what I do, but that's another subject for another day).

The leading causes of death, disease and health care expenditures in this country are all life-style related. Smoking, diet, accidents and sexual. There isn't a single disease, disorder or system that smoking doesn't mal-affect. If in 2009 you still smoke, come by the office so I can wack you with a stick.

Diet. We eat like crap and don't exercise, and the food we eat we think is good, is crap. The average American should eat about 1800 calories a day, we usually get 2600; of which about 60% is usless, i.e has no nutritional value. Such as simple carbs, alcohol, fats and some dairy products (ice cream, processed cheese etc). We should get most of our calories from fruits and veggies (potatoes, lettuce and ketchup are not veggies); followed by lean meats (no visable fat) and tree nuts. Less than 10% should come from a refined source. In short, if it comes in a sack, box, bag or comes from the grocery store ailes and not periphery; don't eat it.

Even then, much of our fresh food is lacking or even dangerous. The way our meat is grown (feed corn, drugs and hormones) creates a biochemical change in that meat that promotes inflammation in our body.

If we want to get serious about health care reform, let's reform our health.

More of Me

2009-08-10T07:46:00.000-07:00

I've started this blog to further promote health, wellness and prevention. The real thing, not how a politician or salesman uses those words. Quickly, I am a trained chiropractor with physical therapy priveleges in Bel Air, MD. I have thousands of classroom and hundreds of thousands of experience hours in diagnosing and treating all manor of disease along with how to prevent it from a natural model of health. You can visit me on the web at http://www.susquespine.com or http://belairdiskpain.com and be my facebook friend: Susquehanna Spine N Rehab