It ain't worth the price

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

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!

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?

 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).

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

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

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.