Would You Take This Pill?

Imagine that you are a medical doctor or other health care provider and you get a letter that reads something like this:

Medical doctors are now being advised by some authorities to offer Nutritional Counseling as the number one way to offset the effects of a soft economy. According to the CDC, 75% of chronic disease is preventable ($2.4 Trillion dollars spent in the US.) President Obama says we are now “paying more, getting less and going broke” when it comes to health care. TIME magazine reports “Fruits and Vegetables Could Save Your Life.”

Meanwhile the MEDSCAPE 2011 Year in Medicine #1 Top Game Changer for Primary Care is The Dark Side of Vitamins and Supplements. Isolated vitamins and supplement formulas are not the answer. Whole foods are the answer.

What if there were a prescription that you could recommend costing less per day that a Starbuck’s coffee and clinically proven to: be absorbed by the body, reduce the oxidative stress associated with chronic disease and aging, reduce systemic inflammation, enhance the immune system, reduce DNA free radical damage by 66%, improve vascular health (including lowering homocysteine), improve the health of both the skin and the gums, and having no negative side effects. Would you prescribe it?

What if the patients on this prescription had a 70% chance that they would consume less fast food, a 42-55% chance of taking less over-the-counter or prescription medication, a 67-79% chance they would begin drinking more water, and a 51-55% chance of missing less school or work due to illness, would you prescribe it?

Would you take that pill yourself?

It exists. And you don’t need a doctor’s prescription to get it. Call (425) 348-5207.

How To Prevent Back Pain: Putting on Shoes

Notice the Lower Spine Forward Bending

“Yesterday morning I was sitting down lacing up these boots, and all hell broke loose.” (Sudden onset LOWER BACK PAIN broke loose) “I don’t know how I could get in such bad shape without doing anything.”

“… last time it was brushing my teeth.”

These are the opening comments of a patient seen in our office today. It describes the so-called natural history of back pain which I have spoken of here previously.

Here are some of the issues we know about. First, it’s early morning. The body isn’t warmed up. It may be, and probably is stiff (this patient is 72 years old). Second, at night while horizontal in sleep, the discs between the vertebrae expand and fill with water (if they are healthy enough). That increases the pressure inside the disc making it even more vulnerable to damage if stressed by postural alterations. Thirdly, even if none of that were the case, you still need to know when you are not maintaining the Neutral Spine posture.

Sitting in a chair leaning forward to lace shoes is a classic example of when folks violate the Neutral Spine rule without realizing it. (Kinda like the lady in the lawn chair in the photo.)

x-ray.lumbarflexion

Imagine the pressure on the lowest lumbar disc. Even when it’s perfectly healthy disc (which is rare), it’s still a high risk move.

So How Do You Tie Your Shoes Safely?

Instead of sitting on the chair and bending over to tie your shoes, stand up. Put your foot on the chair. Keep your spine straight and bend your knee and hip to reach your shoes. Now, I know, not everyone has that kind of flexibility, and not everyone is going to have it. But if you still do have it, or you can get it, that is one way to avoid the risk of injuring or re-injuring your back. Keep it straight (or in Neutral Spine if possible), but try not to bend the lower back forward any more than you have to.

BTW, maintaining Neutral Spine while brushing your teeth is also a good idea. It’s like doing dishes. That little bit of forward bend – if you are at risk or in recovery – can put you over the edge into a relapse or new episode.

There are ways and times when you want to bend the lower spine forward to stretch out the back muscles. That’s not what we are talking about and is a different conversation.

I hope this helps.

Corporate Wellness through Tai Chi

If you are in the Everett area? Call (425) 348-5207 to start your company on the path to health and wellness through Tai Chi.

Dennis Dilday, D.C.
Everett Tai Chi Chuan

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,900 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Nonbiological pollutants

Master Wang Doing a Double Sword Form

Indoor Air Pollutants

Here are a couple of discussions about the health impacts of poor indoor air quality.

The long version.

The short version.

Here the EPA talk about Formaldehyde, one of the main culprits.

The bottom line

Air quality is critically important. We are wise to be aware in this area. We can not avoid the contaminants, so we are probably wise to invest in the best air purifiers we can afford. We would also be wise to “air out” our work spaces and homes often.

Because we can’t avoid breathing some of these pollutants in, we would be wise to have a “de-tox” thought process in place that helps to deal with getting these things out of our bodies.

I am reminded of a Boeing Tai Chi Club picnic that I was invited to once. A Master Wang from China was the honored guest. He was leading a group in some Qi Gong when they started up the Barbeque. The second he smelled the smoke from the Barbeque he stopped all activity and moved to get away from the smoke.

There is a reason (or several) that Tai Chi folks choose Parks to practice in (most natural surroundings – better quality air), and early morning (better quality air), and often near water (better quality air with more negative ions).

BTW, “nonbiological” pollutants struck be as an interesting way to say man-made. It’s estimated that we modern humans are exposed to over 70,000 made-made chemicals in our environment that our ancestors did not experience. These tend to do harm in our bodies one way or the other in the long run. We are wise to be aware and take what measures we can.

Lake Chelan

A good article on an important subject: short, easy to read and understand, important to be aware of.
http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/12/22/bluewashing-the-truth-behind-bottled-water/

The Best Exercise For Improving Your Mood

The Many Layers of Tai Chi and Yoga

The Sound Holistic Health Clinic above the Co-Op in Everett has begun sending out an e-newsletter. Today it came with an article on Yoga as the best exercise for improving your mood. I won’t go into the details, if you want to read the article, here is the link.

I mention this only to remind you that anything and everything that can said about Yoga, can also be said about Tai Chi – and visa versa – (the one exception is that Tai chi of sufficient caliber can offer real transferable self defense skills). Of course I mean once you get past the Yoga-is-an-Indian-thing and Tai Chi-is-a-China-thing, and Yoga is mostly seen as a holding still thing; Tai Chi is mostly thought of as a moving thing (neither are really true but you know what I mean, there are some obvious differences). I am referring to health benefits.

There will be lots of reasons why you choose one over the other, starting with what is available to you. Nowadays the average Yoga class is of high enough caliber that you will likely not get hurt if you are careful (though I still get several new patients a year from Yoga classes). That can’t necessarily be said about Tai Chi classes: there is a lot of variation in quality of teaching, and while intentions may be good, “a minute discrepancy can lead to an error of a thousand miles” as they say in the Tai Chi Classics.

The other important point, one I make constantly, is that Yoga, like Tai Chi is a complete system (with that one exception I mentioned). It does offer many many benefits, including the production of all those happy chemicals (think GOOD mood). I argue that unless you have lots and lots of free time to do everything separately, doing Yoga or Tai Chi is a great way to leverage your time and get a wide variety of benefits, safely. Sure there are other ways to stretch. There are other ways to get strong, even better ways. There are many other ways to train balance, coordination and to condition the cardio-vascular system. There are other ways to train self defense: most are too dangerous to be practically called a “health” practice though. And there are other ways to rehabilitate various body parts and to restore normal qualities of movement and proper biomechanics. There are other ways to develop focus, concentration, awareness and sensitivity. Lastly, there are several other ways to train and restore to normal your breathing patterns (something you will be hearing more and more about if you follow the health and fitness industry). There are only a few ways to get all those benefits and more SIMULTANEOUSLY! Yoga is one way. Tai Chi is another.

And then there is the fun factor. Tai Chi has that in Push Hands practice if no where else.

So as you contemplate what you will do in terms of exercise as your New Year’s Resolution, consider a Yoga class or video, and consider Tai Chi. it will do your body good.

#1 Treatment for Back Pain

Back Pain is what brings most patients to the Chiropractor

Back pain will affect almost everyone. Back pain will at some point cause almost everyone to miss work. Once a person has had back pain, they will have it again. The natural history is that it will gradually get worse, episodes will occur more easily be more difficult to recover from and full recovery to full function will be illusive.

Causes of back pain are many but most is considered “mechanical” back pain, otherwise referred to, ironically, as “simple” back pain. I say ironic because in general all the experts are in the dark as the precise cause at any given time of anyone in particular’s back pain.

The other bad news is that mainstream medicine has not much to nothing to offer. Pain medication, muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories, etc. all may or may not help. They all have unwanted side effects that are nearly as bad or worse than having the back pain.

What’s worse is that if the pain does not go away with these measures a patient is referred for Physical Therapy. That may or may not be beneficial in relieving the pain. Hopefully it is because there is still a tendency (in our area at least) to recommend back surgery – even in these times when almost all the evidence is generally against recommending it – which is not at all likely to help in the long run. Well, I take that back, it helps run up the cost of health care. It helps generate revenue for mainstream medicine (think MRIs, the anesthesiologist, the hospital, the surgeon, etc., etc.).

A marketing guy on the phone with me the other day wanted to demonstrate how poorly placed my websites were on the internet by Goggling “back pain, Everett, WA”. My site wasn’t at the top (the expensive providers who pay out a bundle to get placed there were there, of course).

I offer this post not so that everyone in Everett with back pain finds me when the do a Google search. This post is just a reminder to my main audience (my patients) that I have 7 years worth of posts on preventing back pain, and avoiding back pain, and on rehabilitation after back pain to restore function to the highest possible level. I have also written several articles on the subject, and offered presentations in the office, and out in the community, including classes and workshops on a wide variety of subjects.

To those searching for relief of back pain, that’s what almost all chiropractic doctors mostly do. We do a lot of that. Any patient, whether consistently active in their maintenance program of exercises and occasional visits to my office or the offices of other provides, will get into trouble and have back pain now and then. These patients will come in for relief of their back pain and help in getting back into an appropriate level of exercise and activity.

Wellness is not about back pain or any other pain for that matter. Mostly we try to get patient’s attention focused on the benefits of wellness rather than just relief: relief can be very short-lived if it is not followed by health practices.

So if wellness and prevention, health and a healthy lifestyle is what you are looking for, you will feel right at home in our office and feel the rapport immediately on any of my websites. The best patients to our practice are the ones who have found this Blog and spent some time looking at it, maybe the Tai chi site, and our main office site. They know who we are, what we stand for and how we practice. They feel comfortable before they even get to the office, whether or not they initially have back pain.

You are not a “back pain” case. You are a person who happens to have back pain. There is a reason why patients of chiropractic doctors are consistently happier with their care than patients of mainstream medical providers: we know the difference.

Oh, I forgot to mention the #1 treatment for back pain. See all of my workplace wellness posts on this blog. Search “bending & lifting” on this Blog. Get adjusted by a good chiropractor on a regular basis. Do tai chi or yoga daily. Eat the recommended 7-10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Drink enough water. Get enough sleep. And figure out a way to be happy (or at least pretend to be happy). Learn how to breath, stand, sit, walk, bend & lift, and get up and down off the ground properly. To the extent you do some or all of these things you will be less likely to get back pain, more likely to recovery fully from back pain, and experience less pain, discomfort, and disability when you do get back pain.

Call us at (425) 348-5207 for help.

Gobble-dee-gook

Here (below) is a response from an insurance company to a Letter to the Editor on the subject of “health insurance” and participation in preferred provider panels by doctors.

These insurance companies and the middle men who administer panels of doctors are the folks who now take over 50% of the dollars that flow between health care consumers/patients and health care providers/doctors.

And what do you get in exchange? Well, for one thing, we providers are required to spend a great deal of time in your file instead of on your back (chiropractors), or pay someone else to. We also get to write-off over half of our fees, do excessive amounts of paperwork, website and phone work, etc., etc., etc. You get higher deductibles, higher co-pays which do not go toward deductibles, and higher percentages of overall out-of-pocket expenses, not to mention the paperwork and impossible process of choosing a plan that best meets your needs (usually none do). And what do they actually do for that money that helps your health or your health care?

Remember the words of President Obama. We are paying more, getting less and going broke. The hugely unnecessary costs of mainstream “health care” are not “costs” to everyone: for some they are Revenues. The Drug companies, medical associations, and the insurance industry form an unholy cartel which benefit form the status quo. Also remember that depending on how you calculate it, mainstream medical care is either the third or the forth leading cause of death in this country. Makes you wonder how they could get away with that doesn’t it?

[I couldn't get it to copy and paste... so I guess I just needed to say that:-)]

Move More Eat Less

Here is the beginning and the end of a great article by Dr. Malic Slosberg. It is written for doctors who want to help patients so the details in the middle would probably bore you.

” Principles of Active Care
Malik Slosberg, DC, MS

Move More, Eat Less: Addressing Deconditioning and Obesity in Your Practice (Dynamic Chiropractic November 18, 2011)

In this sedentary society of ours, there has been a progressive decline in physical activity and a concomitant increase in weight gain despite multiple warnings from governmental agencies and a large and ever-increasing number of scientific publications recommending much greater amounts of physical activity and exercise, along with a reduction of caloric intake. An increase in obesity, deconditioning, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus and overall increased morbidity are some of the consequences.

Deconditioning and excessive caloric intake have exploded to epidemic proportions and not only impact the general population, but also adversely affect chiropractic patients’ ability to respond as well as possible to spinal adjustments and to comply with and perform effective exercise recommendations. Let’s review some of the recent evidence on deconditioning, obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the U.S.”

Move More, Eat Less

“So, the take-home message can be concisely expressed as, “Move more, eat less.” This is clearly the basic formula for a healthy, long and functional life. This essential advice can also be integrated into our patient care, education and management as a primary directive for our patients. It is important for patients to understand that they cannot simply be passive and compliant, but must learn to accept responsibility for their health and function. They need to understand that many of their symptoms and much of their dysfunction are within their control, not the doctor’s.13 As chiropractors, we can adjust our patients, educate them and prescribe exercises for them, but they need to be active partners in the recovery and maintenance of their health.”

Every 14 Minutes… Someone Dies From Prescription Drugs

http://www.dynamicchiropractic.com/mpacms/dc/article.php?id=55629

Too Simple To Be True?

Comfrey grows like a weed in our back yard

This article is excerpted from Dr. Santillo’s book ProMetabolics: Your Personal Guide to Transformational Health and Healing. He is the Naturopath who developed JuicePlus+ and has since teamed up with the Nutripoint people. We get their newsletter, this came today…

THE POWER OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fruits and vegetables are rich in many helpful antioxidants. Antioxidants stop the free radical chain reaction by accepting renegade electrons into their own structure and hiding them away, rendering them harmless. It is clearly best for your health to counter free radicals with antioxidants, to prevent excessive free radical damage from pushing the body into a degenerative state that can create a focus of disease. If this disease process were to happen, part of your therapy would be to add more antioxidants to your diet.

Among the many antioxidants supplied by fruits and vegetables are vitamin E and the carotenoid beta-carotene, which defend cell membranes from free radical damage. Vitamin C protects the body’s watery components. It seems especially adept at neutralizing free radicals from polluted air and cigarette smoke, and it can also restore oxidized vitamin E to its active state. Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale contain lutein, another powerful antioxidant.

Many minerals are antioxidants as well. Iodine, for example, has been shown to be an antioxidant on par with or better than vitamins C and E; its incorporation into cell membranes helps prevent lipid peroxidation. (Smyth PP. Role of iodine in antioxidant defense in thyroid and breast disease. Biofactors 2003, 19:121-130; Tseng YL. Inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Lipids 1984, 19:96-102.) The mineral selenium is a component of the antioxidant glutathione peroxidase, which protects red blood cells and cell membranes from free radicals, working in conjunction with vitamin E (or replacing it). Selenium-rich diets might reduce cancer risks.

We would all do well to follow the advice in Jean Carper’s book Stop Aging Now: “Eat all the various fruits and vegetables you can. Nowhere will you find the anti-aging properties you get in fruits and vegetables. They possess countless known and unknown agents that transform your cells into fortresses against the free radical forces of aging. Much of what we call aging is really a fruit and vegetable deficiency.” (Carper J. Stop Aging Now. Harper-Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1996.)

Along those lines, a study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association identified spinach as the food most apt to prevent cataracts in a group of elderly people. (Seddon J, et al. Dietary carotenoids, vitamins A, C, and E, and advanced age-related macular degeneration. JAMA 1994 272:1413.) Some reports suggest an inverse relationship between DNA damage and vegetable intake–that is, more vegetables, less damage. (Djuric Z, et al. Oxidative DNA damage levels in blood from women at high risk for breast cancer are associated with dietary intakes of meats, vegetables, and fruits. J Am Diet Assoc 1998 98:524-528.)

From an analysis of 4,500 scientific studies and papers on the relationship between cancer and diet, the American Institute for Cancer Research concluded that 40 percent of cancer cases worldwide could be prevented if people ate a low-fat, plant-based diet of fruits and vegetables. (World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, nutrition, and the prevention of cancer: a global perspective. American Institute for Cancer Research, Washington DC, 1997.) Dr. Gladys Block, after reviewing 170 studies from different countries, stated similarly, “Eating fruits and vegetables regularly can slash your chances of getting cancer in half.” (Block G, et al. Fruit, vegetables, and cancer prevention: a review of the epidemiological evidence. Nutr Cancer 1992 18:1-29.)

Epidemiological studies have also shown that people with high intakes of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables have lower rates of cancer. More specifically, vegetables in the cruciferous family-cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and others–have been shown to contain phytochemicals (compounds found specifically in plants) that speed the removal of harmful estrogen from the body when it’s fighting off breast cancer.

The research results in this area go on and on-and we have not yet even discovered all of the compounds in foods that can have anti-cancer and anti-aging effects. It seems too simple to be true, but when you realize that each fruit and vegetable contains hundreds or thousands of known and unknown phytochemicals, you can better understand the power of whole foods. It is always best to eat the whole food to get all of its synergistic phytochemicals and nutrients in nature’s normal, optimal balance.

[The take home message: eat them, juice them or get them in powdered in Capsules, but get them. Your health depends on it.]

“After looking at all the research done on Juice Plus+, I recognized that there is nothing else available any place in the world, with or without a prescription, that has been shown to do all the those things in the human body.”

-Richard Dubois, M.D.
Past President of the Georgie Society of Internal Medicine,
The Infectious Disease Society of Georgia,
and The Medical Association of Atlanta