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Getting rid of mid back pain with Chiropractic care.

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

Mid back pain is pain in the area below the neck and above the low back. The middle back is composed of 12 vertebral bones. This section of the back is called the thoracic region of the spine. The middle back is naturally strong and stable. The elastic cartilages which are found between each bone are called discs and they serve as shock absorbers.

There are many different problems that could trigger mid back pain. Muscle strains are the most common cause of pain in the middle back. Other causes of mid back pain include poor posture, emotional stress, improper lifting, traumatic accidents, standing for hours, sleeping uncomfortably, and overexertion.

Persistent mid back pain may indicate a more serious condition wherein if it continues for more than a couple of months, it would need medical advice. If the thoracic spine is directly injured, it can cause misalignment of the bones and create impingement of the spinal nerves therefore causing dysfunction to the nervous system. Within the spinal region, there are pairs of spinal nerves emitting from the middle back to various digestive parts which includes stomach, liver, gall bladder, and small intestine. Problems in communication with the nerves may lead to numerous digestive disorders.

Upon examination, it is common to find a certain type of back misalignment. Mid back pain is a common problem like low back pain. Back pain of that kind can be addressed using chiropractic treatment. Chiropractic care has been highly successful in treating patients seeking alternative health care. Without the use of drugs or scalpels, a chiropractor does multiple exams and takes x-rays to identify the underlying cause of the patient’s problem.

Once the x-rays are reviewed, the doctor will go over the treatment plan with the patient.  When the patient agrees with the treatment protocol, the chiropractor will perform an adjustment by applying precise and gentle pressure to the specific areas of misalignment. Other forms of conservative treatments that chiropractors may use are massage, electrical stimulation, hot/cold packs, and ultra sound.

Additional services chiropractors provide include exercise, pelvic stabilization, ergonomics, and education on diet. Exercise and rehabilitation are very important to prevent the pain from coming back. Many patients are relieved from their mid back pain after a few visits and others choose to continue into maintenance care because it keeps their bodies in optimum condition.

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The 3 Unlikely Causes Of Low Back Pain

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

When back pain victims think of what causes back pain, they often believe that all of a sudden, they make a quick and sudden movement or pick up a heavy object and their back goes out. While this may happen in some circumstances, it is far more likely that repetitive conditions leading up to a sudden traumatic injury have much more to do with the pain than the proximate cause itself. While there are a large number of reasons for back pain, here are a few that are not often discussed.

First, people who have static postures for long periods of time will create compression forces on their spine and discs. This is especially true if workers are forced to perform tasks in a posture with a flexed trunk type bending over posture. There is a greater risk and higher incidence of developing back pain over time. These types of postures can greatly increase the forces on the lower back and the longer they need to be held, the more likely it is that chronic discomfort or injury will be the result.

Another cause of low back pain is simply sitting down while working for long periods of time. Long-term sitting postures at the workplace have a tendency to lead to chronic back discomfort. People who sit down hunched over a computer for 8-10 hours every day are asking their lower backs to perform functions for which it was not designed. Just getting up and extending the back with a stretch periodically throughout the day can help prevent long-term pain.

Finally, a very little-discussed cause of back pain and the third one here is vibration. This is especially true if it is occurring when in a seated position. Sitting in a car or on the bus or train for several hours a day while commuting to work can cause stress on the spine and connective tissues. These vibrational forces are unpredictable and challenge the body’s ability to stabilize the spine. Over time, sitting while vibration is going on can lead to chronic back pain, even though the cause and effect may never be linked.

Everyone should consider these causes of back pain. At New Century Spine Centers in San Diego, these causes of back pain are regularly treated by the chiropractors and spinal decompression doctors. Avoiding back pain is important. Knowing what causes back pain is the first step to preventing back pain.

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When You Go To The Doctor, Do You Get REAL or FAKE Medicine? And Which One Is Better?

Thursday, September 16th, 2010

Imagine this: You have a joint pain…such as back or neck pain. You go to a rheumatologist – a doctor who treats arthritis and other joint problems. He or she examines you and determines your problem. He or she prescribes a treatment and describes the treatment to you as “a potentially beneficial medicine not typically used for your condition.”

What Would You Do? Would you follow his or her recommendations? Probably. And you would probably do it without much question or skepticism at all. Right?

Would THIS information change your decision? According to an October 23, 2008 Associated Press article, a recent survey found about 50% of American doctors REGULARLY give their patients drugs or vitamins that won’t help their condition. But that’s not the worst part… These “placebo” treatments are not explained to their patients.

For example, in the survey, a random sample of 1,200 internists and rheumatologists were questioned; 679 of the doctors responded to the survey, and…62% Believed Using A Placebo Treatment Was Ethically Acceptable

But really, is that so bad? After all, some studies have shown the “placebo effect” to be real. A certain percentage of patients actually get better when they believe the treatment they are getting works – when in reality, it is a sugar pill sham. (Which is an amazing testament to the power of your mind and the human body!)

Think about it. Just believing you are going to get better has the ability to make you better.

How Can This Be? Actually, it’s simple. Allow me to explain…

Imagine you’re walking in a really dark place. Maybe it’s in the woods… or an unlit street… or you’re home alone one night and all the lights in your house are off…And in the complete darkness… someone sneaks up on you and touches you. Or yells, “BOO!!!” What happens? Yes… you almost jump out of your skin. But what happens INSIDE YOU?

Here’s what: Your heart rate suddenly and sharply increases. Your pupils dilate. The hair follicles on your body stand on end. Your breathing increases. You stomach feels queasy. You instantly sweat. And you are wide awake and ready to go!!!

It’s called the “fight or flight” response. In an instant, your brain signals your body and you produce an incredible array of chemicals – commonly called an “adrenaline rush.” What’s more, anytime you are under stress, your body has a similar response. If the stressor is not so sudden or intense – your body’s response will not be as severe.

This is exactly how many people can become “suddenly” ill with a serious disease, even those that seem to have no blatant cause. Small or moderate amounts of stress can cause your body to dump these “fight or flight” chemicals into your body over and over again for years and years and years. And just like smoking cigarettes over a long period of time can lead to lung cancer and other serious health problems, your body’s reaction to stress can slowly break down your immune system and lead to real problems. Which is exactly why so many people say… Stress Kills!

On the other side of the coin, if your body can produce “bad” chemicals, it can also produce “good” ones. That’s what the placebo effect is. When you believe 100% you are taking a medication that will help, your body reacts in a way that heals.

Here’s one very good theory about why that happens…When you are faced with stress, your body reacts in a harsh way in an attempt to save you from the impending danger. The adrenaline rush is important to quickly get you out of harms way, if necessary. So it makes complete sense that if you REMOVED stress from your life – you would not only never produce the harmful chemicals from the fight or flight reaction – but your body may produce healing chemicals instead.

After all, what happens when you get a placebo? You are sick and stressed out because you are sick. You don’t know if it is serious, if you will get better or if you will get worse. We humans have a tendency to let our minds run crazy and always think of the worst case scenario, don’t we?

I’m sure you’ve had a little ache or pain at some point and thought you had a disease you were going to lose a limb or die from… and then it turned out to be NOTHING!!! We all have.

Anyway, back to the placebo effect. When you go to the doctor and he tells you he knows what is wrong with you and gives you something to take care of it – you instantly RELAX. All the stress and strain of the unknown mystery disease that was going to kill you is gone. Not only is the stress removed, but your body is able to relax and do what it does best…

Heal! So… the placebo effect is a good thing, right? Certainly. But there is an ethical question to all this, that was raised in the above-mentioned survey. You see, for the placebo effect to work, you really have to believe 100% you are receiving a treatment that works. Can you see the catch 22 for doctors here? In order for the placebo effect to work they must lie to you.

And that’s exactly what the survey found. According to the Associated Press article, “Half of the doctors reported using placebos several times a month, nearly 70 percent of those described the treatment to their patients as ‘a potentially beneficial medicine not typically used for your condition.’ Only 5 percent of doctors explicitly called it a placebo treatment.” And here’s what may be shocking: “Most doctors used actual medicines as a placebo: 41 percent used painkillers, 38 percent used vitamins, 13 percent used antibiotics, 13 percent used sedatives, 3 percent used saline injections, and 2 percent used sugar pills.” When questioned, 60% of doctors said they would prescribe a sugar pill for chronic pain if it had been shown to work better than no treatment. According to the AP article, Franklin G. Miller, one of the authors of the study and director of the research ethics program at the U.S. National Institutes for Health said, “It’s a disturbing finding. There is an element of deception here which is contrary to the principle of informed consent.”

Clearly, there are two BIG issues here: Always doing what’s best for your patients and always informing them everything that is going on. You may ask yourself this: Would you rather receive a placebo and not know about it and get better… or… be 100% informed and stay sick? Only you can answer that question.

But on the bright side – this demonstrates the body’s amazing ability to produce whatever it needs to heal itself. And more of your time and effort should be spent on eliminating all the stressors in your life – and focusing on all the wonderful things life has to offer. There is no doubt you will be happier and healthier!!!

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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome May Have Absolutely Nothing To Do With Your Wrist!

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) maybe one of the most misunderstood and misdiagnosed and mistreated conditions in modern medicine. It’s a crying shame because countless carpal tunnel victims could end their pain and suffering…almost overnight…if they only knew what I’m about to reveal to you.

I’m serious. If you’re suffering with CTS, what you’re about to discover can literally give you your life back. If you know anyone battling carpal tunnel, give them this newsletter. You may be responsible for changing their life. So, without any further adieu, let’s jump right into it. Here are the facts: The U.S. Department of Labor has concluded that carpal tunnel syndrome is a “chief occupational hazard – disabling workers in epidemic proportions.” Carpal Tunnel Syndrome affects over 8 – million Americans.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the #1 reported medical problem, accounting for about 50% of all work related injuries. Only 25% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients were able to return to their previous professions following surgery. Up to 36% of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients require unlimited medical treatment. Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the second most common type of surgery, with well over 230,000 procedures performed annually.

I don’t know about you, but reading those statistics tells me something is wrong…radically wrong…with the “accepted” methods of treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out surgery is NOT the way to go when 230,000 are being performed each year and only 25% are able to return to their previous jobs. And returning to work does NOT mean pain-free. I wonder how many of that 25% were actually pain free? Add in the inherent risks of all surgeries (like the ones that go horribly wrong) and your option of going under the knife starts looking like a DISTANT last resort. NOT a valid first option.

So, What Other Options Do You Have? Carpal Tunnel Syndrome has traditionally been defined as an entrapment of the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel of your wrist. The floor of the carpal tunnel is made of eight carpal…or…“wrist” bones. They are odd shaped and fit together kind of like a puzzle. Ligaments (which are like fishing line) help hold the bones together. The roof of the tunnel is a ligament – the transverse carpal ligament – that stretches from one side of the tunnel to the other. The space that is formed between the carpal bones and the transverse carpal ligament is about the size of your pinky. A bunch of “things” pass through that small space, including: nine flexor tendons (tendons attach muscle to bone), blood vessels and ONE nerve, the median nerve, which is the primary nerve to your hand.

The traditional definition of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is compression of the median nerve as it passes through that tunnel. Nerves are like tiny wires that transmit electrical impulses from your brain and spinal cord to the rest of your body. Every time you want to move your hand, your brain sends electrical impulses down the median nerve to the muscles in your hand, causing them to contract. Nerves are VERY sensitive and can easily get “pinched” or “compressed.” If the median nerve gets pinched or compressed as it passes through the carpal tunnel — it causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. It is commonly thought that an injury or repetitive stress to the wrist can cause such an injury.

Here’s the problem with all that: there is another condition that causes the exact same symptoms as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome that has little or nothing to do with the wrist! This condition is called Double Crush Syndrome and here’s how it works: There are many sites that can compress a nerve as it goes from your brain and spinal cord to your wrist. Simply put, Double Crush Syndrome occurs when you have multiple compression sites.

More importantly, a compression site closer to the spinal cord (closer to your neck) and brain makes it much easier for a nerve to be compressed elsewhere…like the wrist. In plain English…You Would NOT Have Carpal Tunnel Symptoms If You Only Had Compression In Your Wrist. It Is The COMBINATION Of The Compression Sites That Causes The Problem!!! So, in most case, if you remove the entrapment or compression that is closer to the spine (neck), many, if notall, of your symptoms will go away without ever touching the wrist!!!

The most common sites of compression or entrapment are – - a muscle in your forearm called the pronator teres, the thoracic outlet (by your shoulder), and your neck. The most common place seems to be as the nerve exits your spine in your neck. Is There A Solution? That’s why specific Chiropractic care can work wonders for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome when all else has failed. By gently restoring function of your neck via chiropractic care, compression on the nerve can be relieved… eliminating Double Crush Syndrome… the TRUE cause of your Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

A complete Chiropractic evaluation can also detect if your carpal tunnel symptoms are coming from one of theother compression/entrapment sites like your forearm, shoulder or wrist…and work on those areas as well. The important thing to remember is you must be evaluated by a doctor that understands Double Crush Syndrome and evaluate you for all the possible compression sites and fix them properly. A hand specialist may completely overlook the REAL cause of your problem…Double Crush Syndrome. If you are suffering with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), be sure your doctor has thoroughly examined you to determine if your CTS is due to Double Crush Syndrome. A proper examination for CTS would include the entire arm and neck in order to trace the full length of the nerve. Since the neck is the most common site for a Double Crush to occur, a consultation with a cervical spine specialist (Chiropractor) would be in your best interests, especially if you’ve been recommended for carpal tunnel surgery. Only by identifying the true cause can your doctor accurately treat and relieve your condition.

cts tx in San Diego

Carpal tunnel treatment in San Diego

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The Secret To Why It Hurts So Much Even though all you did was bend over to tie up your shoelace.

Monday, August 30th, 2010

I would guess that at one point or another you have had some type of pain in your body. This is a pretty safe assumption. I would bet that you have also had some kind of problem that was brought on by something very minor. Let me give you an example. You wake up in the morning and walk into the bathroom and as you go to squeeze the toothpaste out of the tube you drop the lid on the floor. So you bend down to pick it up and zap, lightning sharp pain shoots up your spine and back down again. You try to stand up straight but for some reason it feels like someone is pressing against your back causing you to hunch over and making it impossible to straighten up.

How about another typical pain invoking experience. You rush out the door because you are late for your appointment. As you settle into the car you remember that you forgot your keys so you hurry back into the house retrieve them and return to the car. As you start the engine and turn your head to back out of the driveway…whammo, someone stuck you with a hot barbecue poker in the back of the neck causing you great difficulty to return your head to a normal position without feeling that searing pain that we all enjoy. So it may not be a toothpaste lid or the turning of your head that provokes you to fall to your knees in agony, but I am almost certain that you have experienced a similar type situation in which the action you performed such not have caused SO MUCH PAIN!!! There are a few different responses to this type of situation. Before we talk about those, let’s just get real philosophical for a moment.

If you were hanging out with Hippocrates right now at Starbucks sipping on a Latte and talking about life and science and the human experience, how do you think he would respond if you asked him if it was normal for the body to respond like yours did when you bent over to pick up that heavy toothpaste lid or when you whipped your head around to back the cart out of the dirt road. I would guess that he would first ask you what toothpaste was and then once that was cleared up he would tell you ……NO. This is not a normal physiological response for your body to such a minimal action. The reaction does not equal the action.

Ok, philosophy class being over let’s get back to how you would respond to this situation. Here are 5 common mistakes that I have observed from people who experience these types of situations. 1. I put a heating pad (hot water bottle/hot tub/long, hot shower) on the area and it felt great. I am not against heating pads or heat but here is the situation. When you have an acute injury (acute = from the time the injury occurs to at least 72 hours after it occurs) you never put heat on it. Heat opens up the blood vessels which are already engorged even more causing more swelling and fluid accumulation in the injured area. This will result in relaxation for up to 12 hours after heat use and then pain worse than the initial event after the trip to lala land has ended. There are exceptions but for the majority of people please resist the urge to use heat unless I’ve told otherwise.

The second is thinking that it would go away but it has been two to three weeks and the pain hasn’t stopped.

Ouch, this one is not good! The real question from me to you is why you thought that the pain would go away. Let me give you an analogy. Pretend the oil light on your car goes on, would you continue driving until it went out and just assume that the problem went away. I hope not. This is the best analogy that I can think of to relate to the pain signal that your body is sending you. Don’t pretend there isn’t something wrong. Get to the root of the problem. Come get adjusted immediately or as soon as possible after the initial event.

The third is thinking I don’t know why this happened, I am totally healthy, and there is nothing wrong with me.

This is my favorite one from the men. Guys, we have to admit to some facts. Women are much better at taking care of themselves then we are. The reason is because they are willing to tell someone when they aren’t feeling well and then they try to get help for it. Generally speaking, men are much more willing to put up with little problems that they experience. This is not good in the long run. One little problem + one little problem + one problem = One BIG PROBLEM. The proof is that women tend to live something like 4 years longer than men. Surprise, surprise, I wonder if we men just think Oh well we aren’t going to live as long anyways so why not just put up with what we got and die sooner. This is of course some faulty logic because if we did take care of ourselves we would live longer.

The forth is I know that I only need one or two adjustments and everything will be fine. The only man I know in history who performed one treatment on someone and they were fine was Jesus. I am not Jesus. I don’t know any chiropractors named Jesus. Normally when people tell me the chiropractor fixed them in one adjustment and I look in their files, or consult with the other chiropractors I see that they have been adjusted 4 times on the low end and 8-10 on the high end (normal, about 6 visits) for an acute problem. My goal is to see you out of pain as quickly as possible so that you can function normally, but my goals do not end there! Which leads me to the next common mistake…

The fifth is not getting adjusted regularly to prevent these occurrences in your life. Now I am not saying that if you get regular adjustments your life is going to be perfect. Life is not perfect. I myself get regular adjustments. I don’t stop getting adjusted all together because I know that if I didn’t get regular adjustments and a flare up occurred, it would be a lot worse than it normally is. Our bodies are not perfect but if we work preventatively to keep things moving and aligned throughout the course of our lives a lot of these irritating pains could be avoided.

The joints of your spine are some of the key messengers of your nervous system. If they are not working there is no way for you to know because you cannot see them. Pain is your only signal and by then a lot of times it is already too late. Chiropractors are trained to detect problems with these joints and help prevent the pain before it occurs. Science has proven that nerve endings are all affected during an adjustment. The goal of treatment is to get you out of pain first of all, but to keep you pain free and fully functioning is the main idea.

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Can Chiropractic Get To The Cause Of A Headache

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Continuous headaches are a mystery to many of us. As a chiropractor, I regularly treat headaches and migraines. Why they occur seems to be the most common question to many health care providers. Some patients’ migraine headaches can be easily explained but many seem to get headaches for no apparent reason at all. An often-overlooked cause of headaches is the spine and spinal trauma to the neck. How does this occur to many individuals?

There are delicate attachments of connective tissue that link muscles in your neck areas around your spinal cord. One theory to the headaches is that tension can develop in these structures producing headaches and head pain. Another possibility to headaches is that they may be due to forward head posture.

Forward head posture occurs when the head is thrust forward in the classic bad posture pose. This is a little like a turtle neck. It is also sometimes referred to as a military neck. This can remove the natural curve in the neck causing undue stress on the spine and head. Since the head is quite heavy weighing approximately 10-14 pounds, the muscles have to counter this weight. When the neck muscles resist the load of the head, they can develop tensions, knots, trigger points, and sometimes spasms in the neck. Normally the head is more balanced over both the shoulders.

Another neck problem that may cause headaches is a joint injury/sprain that can occur after whiplash trauma from a car accident. Over some time, this may lead to joint blockage where there is not the normal free and fluid motion from side to side. Quite often other joints must compensate for this lack of movement with hypermobility of the joints. Your muscles can become tense in these areas to protect the spine from unnatural movements overall.

These types of disorders are very common in society. They should be ruled out before leaning towards using medications over the long term. It is always important to have an accurate diagnosis before proceeding with any treatment. If your headaches have become chronic long-term and just never seem to go away, it is a sign that you are not getting to the cause of the problem.

Correcting neck disorders when they occur is always a best bet when it comes to treatment. Headache can sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. If there is history of neck trauma in your past, the neck can and should be a part of your headache management strategy. At the minimum the neck needs to be examined by the proper physician.

Chiropractic care has been shown in multiple clinical trials to help patients with both tension-type and migraine headaches. In these studies, the neck or cervical spine is adjusted based on local problems of poor posture and mobility. The chiropractors at New Century Spine Centers in San Diego use chiropractic care, active release technique, and spinal decompression therapy to fix the cause of headaches.

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Posted in Chiropractic, Headaches, Health | 2 Comments »

The Simple Secret That DOUBLES Your Chance Of Living For Over 100 Years

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

How would you like to live past 100? I guess that’s kind of a loaded question. Like the show, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Of course you do! Who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Well, not Bill Gates. Becoming a millionaire would make him poor; at least, RELATIVELY poor. Everything is relative. For example, living to 100 doesn’t interest me… if… I’m sick or in pain. On the other hand – I’d love to join the century club as long as the quality of my life… and health… was great.

You see, it’s all VERY relative.

That’s being said, here are the findings of a recent study that identified something that doubles your chance of reaching… and living past… the age of 100…

Here are the results according to an article in Earth times: “The researchers, Dr. Leonid Gavrilov and Dr. Natalia Gavrilova, say the age at which a mother gives birth is a major factor in the number of years the offspring lives. The chances of the child living up the age of 100 and beyond are almost double for a child born to a woman below 25 years of age.” The husband and wife team had previously discovered birth order is a major factor in longevity. For example, first-born children, especially daughters, are more likely to live past 100 years of age. The recent study shows the age of the mother is more important than any of the other factors. Gavrilov and Gavrilova used data from the U.S. Census, the Social Security Administration and

genealogical records to identify 198 centenarians born in the U.S. from 1890 to 1893 and then traced their family histories to establish possible predictors of their longevity. They found being born to a young mother had an important role in reaching the age of 100. There are other factors also like growing up in the Western part of the U.S., spending part of one’s childhood on a farm and being born first. They feel the study needs further elaboration and deeper research. Gavrilov suspects the younger women’s eggs are different in their quality, and the best ones, the most vigorous, go first to fertilization. The researchers are of the opinion that their findings may have important social implications because many women tend to postpone childbearing to later ages due to career demands.

Good News And Bad News…

There appears to be both good news and some bad news. For example, if your mother was under the age of 25 when you were born… you’re probably doing back flips right now. On the other hand, if your mother was a little older when you were born, you may be a little depressed by what you just read. Well, the real truth of the matter is: you shouldn’t be too elated or discouraged by what Dr. Garilov and Dr. Garilova uncovered…

Here’s why: The first thing to understand is that correlation is not causation. This “study” was comprised of data from 198 people who were born from 1890 – 1893. 198 is not a lot of people and may not be representative of the overall population. In other words, just because a certain percentage of the study group who lived to be over 100 years old were born to a mother under the age of 25 does not necessarily mean that was the CAUSE of anything. For example – let’s say we were trying to find out what causes certain people to have high IQs. So, we looked at some data of 198 people with IQs of 150 and above. And in that data, we found that a high percentage of these people’s parents had blue eyes. Would your conclusion be that blue eyes are a cause of high IQ? Of course not! It is simply a correlation that has nothing to do with causation, especially if your data came from a part of the world where a large portion of the population has blue eyes!!!!

The second important thing about the study is that 1890 – 1893 was a long, long, long time ago. In terms of health and what we know about health…

It Is An Eternity!!!

To put this in perspective, let’s take a look at a few key medical discoveries and when they took place (plus a few nonmedical facts to make it even more interesting!):

1895: D.D. Palmer discovers Chiropractic. Wilhelm Roentgen discovers X-rays and the technology is immediately introduced into medicine.

1900: The invention of an easy-to-use device to measure blood pressure leads to the discovery of a new disease: hypertension. Measuring blood pressure gradually appears in general practice

1905: Scientists identify the organism responsible for Syphilis: Treponema pallidum.

1918-1919: Worldwide epidemic of influenza kills an estimated 20 million people (World population is approx. 1.5 billion at that time.)

1922: Banting discovers insulin.

1928: Fleming discovers penicillin, but basically ignores its implications. It is not developed as an antibiotic until 1941.

1935 – Social Security Act is signed into law. Something to think about: At the time of its passing, the age to start collecting is 65 and the average lifespan? 67.

1936: Volwiler and Tabern discover the general anesthetic Pentothal, which is administered intravenously.

1945: Women first admitted to Harvard Medical School.

1949 – Last case of Smallpox in the United States.

1950: First organ transplant. First modern credit card introduced.

1951: Color T.V. introduced. Truman signs peace treaty with Japan… officially ending World War II.

1952: Car seat belt introduced. Polio vaccine created.

1953: Watson and Crick discover DNA.

1954: Report says cigarette smoke causes cancer. Segregation ruled illegal in the United States.

1960: The Laser is invented.

1961: Soviets launch first man into space.

1967: First heart transplant. First Superbowl.

1969: Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon.

1970: Computer floppy disc introduced.

1971: VCR introduced.

1972: Pocket calculator introduced.

1978: First test tube baby.

1981: IBM introduces the first personal computer.

1987: DNA first used to convict criminals.

1989: President Bush announces that he does not like broccoli.

1993: Use of Internet grows exponentially.

1997: Scientists clone sheep.

Pretty interesting list… wouldn’t you say? It’s amazing that the Internet was virtually unknown only 13 years ago! And no one had a computer in his or her home 25 years ago! And that’s only a tiny fraction of all the changes that have taken place in the last 100 years. Incredible. This is why I’m not too sure you should be concerned about living to be 100 if your mother was over 25 when she gave birth to you. There are other factors that affect your lifespan that you can control such as weight, activity level (exercise) and stress.

…And remember, if you have any questions or concerns about your health, talk to us. Please contact us with your questions. We are here to help and enjoy participating in your life long good health.

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Posted in Chiropractic, Health | 2 Comments »

Spinal decompression Doctors Offer New Hope For Back Pain With spinal decompression And Chiropractic Care

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
San Diego chiropractors and spinal decompression specialists offer new hope for back pain victims. Advanced spinal decompression therapy and cold laser therapy are combined for a program that works wonders for many patients suffering from bulging discs, herniated discs, sciatica, and spinal stenosis. Up until now, there has not been a complete program for eliminating back pain. With the advanced spinal decompression therapy program at New Century Spine Centers in San Diego, former back pain sufferers are living pain free and enjoying life. These are patients that previously tried chiropractic, acupuncture, physical therapy, and even surgery. They finally ended their back pain with the advanced spine decompression therapy program.  Patients love the treatments because they are safe, non-surgical and effective. According to one patient, “I went to other doctors that do spinal decompression and got minimal relief. After I met with Dr. Pritsker, he was professional, understood my skepticism and concerns, and was very friendly. And best of all, after going through his program, I am completely pain free!” Dr. Michael Pritsker combines hands-on spinal adjustments with high-tech spinal decompression treatments, and then Dr. Dirk Kancilia strengthens the spine and surrounding structures with specialized rehab, cold laser therapy, and physiotherapy. The program covers every angle when it comes to eliminating back pain and keeping it off.  New Century Spine Centers has set up the website www.SanDiegoBackPainTreatment.com where those interested can request a free report and video about these advanced treatments.
One of the advanced treatments that are utilized at New Century Spine Centers is DRX 9000 non-surgical spinal decompression therapy. Spinal decompression therapy has gotten positive reviews from doctors from Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Stanford and UCSF. Spinal Decompression is an FDA cleared device that uses a technique that lowers pressure on the discs in the spine. By decreasing the pressure within the disc, the disc is able to rehydrate, thereby restoring the normal height to the disc and reducing the irritation to the joints and other structures. As the disc is distracted, the tears in the disc are brought into alignment. The result is a functional pain-free spinal joint. The use of the spinal decompression device and protocol creates an environment for a disc that optimizes healing of the disc and the surrounding tissue. The program focuses on long term relief. Spinal Decompression is the treatment of choice for lower back pain. It’s non-invasive and without the side effects of drugs and surgery. Hundreds of San Diego residents suffering with back pain and sciatica are heading to New Century Spine Centers in Mission Valley.
Back pain sufferers from all over the world are contacting the back pain specialists at New Century to find out more information about the groundbreaking computer-guided treatments. Patients are driving over 5 hours, passing many chiropractors and back pain doctors along the way, to get treated by Dr. Michael Pritsker and Dr. Dirk Kancilia, the top chiropractors at New Century Spine Centers. In the past, when spinal discs went bad, options were very limited. Most people had to choose between drugs and surgery. Today, thanks to a group of neurosurgeons, engineers and scientists, spinal decompression offers a new option for the treatment of back and leg pain that is successful in most cases. Spinal decompression performed by the right doctor just may be the best weapon ever discovered against low back pain and sciatica. This treatment has been tested, researched and found to be effective. The chiropractic doctors at New Century Spine Centers also employ cold laser therapy and active release sports therapy. By combining these with traditional chiropractic care and spinal decompression therapy, patients are not only able to get rid of their pain; they are able to keep it off.  After successfully treating over thousands of patients with back pain, sciatica, herniated disc, bulged disc, spinal stenosis, neck pain and whiplash, the chiropractors at New Century Spine Centers continue to deliver excellent results using groundbreaking high-tech treatments. To see these breakthrough treatments in action, simply go to the website www.BackCareTreatment.com. San Diego county residents can schedule a consultation with one of the doctors by simply calling the office at 619-630-9153.

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Posted in Chiropractic, Health, Low Back Pain, Spinal Decompression | 4 Comments »

New Century Spine Centers introduces new state of the art non-surgical treatment for back pain, sciatica, arthritis and disc injuries.

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

New Century Spine Centers acquires San Diego’s top spinal decompression specialist Dr. Michael Pritsker DC and introduces new state of the art non-surgical treatment for back pain, sciatica, arthritis and disc injuries.
For most severe back pain sufferers, permanent back pain relief is hard to find. Simple things like sitting, walking, and driving can be very difficult. Low back pain is experienced by thousands of people. Estimates are that 80% of the population in the western countries at some time during a persons’ life will suffer with back pain. In the majority of these cases, there is nothing physicians can do except prescribe pain killers, physical therapy, chiropractic care and advice. Traditional therapy offered has a history of poor outcome and in surgeries performed for disc problems a large percentage of these surgeries result in permanent disability and requires more surgery.
One group of doctors in San Diego think they just might hold the key to complete relief of back pain with no drugs and no surgery. And their patients seem to agree. Videos and information can be researched at www.BackCareTreatment.com. There is a very good reason why thousands of former neck and back pain sufferers in San Diego are calling advanced non-surgical spinal decompression the “eighth wonder of the world.” This amazing new medical breakthrough is responsible for cracking the neck and back pain code for hundreds of thousands of former pain sufferers world-wide. Many previous sufferers have tried everything and were thought to be hopeless cases.
Thanks to this new technological advance in therapy, thousands of back pain sufferers are now living pain free. Many people learn about this technology from friends and co-workers. Many are also requesting the free Eliminate Back Pain Forever report and video at http://www.SanDiegoBackPainTreatment.com.
Even better, treatment with this amazing FDA Cleared, non-surgical technology is pain-less, drug-less and there are no documented side effects. In fact, many patients report treatments are so relaxing they actually fall asleep!
Through the combination of proven scientific principles, the latest technological developments and the brilliant work of specialized teams of physicians and medical engineers and scientists, this space age advanced spinal decompression technology is available to eliminate back pain once and for all.
Conditions that are successfully treated with spinal decompression are degenerative, herniated and/or bulging discs, back pain, sciatica, facet syndrome, neck pain, headaches, arthritis, neuropathy, and more. Non-surgical spinal decompression has been successful even with the most severe cases, even when nothing else has worked.

To learn more about these advanced procedures, New Century Spine Centers has set up a website where readers can request more information. The website is http://www.BackCareTreatment.com. Readers can also call the clinic directly at 619-630-9153 or visit their San Diego location at 2835 Camino Del Rio South, Ste 110, San Diego, CA 92108. To receive a free Eliminate Your Back Pain Forever video, readers can also call the toll free 24 hour recorded hotline at 1-888-611-2042.

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Posted in Health, Spinal Decompression | 2 Comments »

Thinking About Knee Surgery? You May Want To Think Again…

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Knee pain is common. In fact, an estimated 12% of the population age 65 and older has osteoarthritis of the knee. Many of these knee pain sufferers are advised to undergo surgery, and the operation of choice is arthroscopic.
Arthroscopic surgery is one of the major advancements in modern surgical technology. For this particular knee surgery, it involves making three small incisions in the knee; inserting an arthroscope, a thin instrument that allows surgeons to see the joint; and then flushing debris from the knee or shaving rough areas of cartilage from the joint and then flushing it.
Prior to this technology, much larger incisions had to be made, ending up with more surgical damage, scar tissue and healing time. This arthroscopic knee surgery is performed on 650,000 people in the U.S. every year at a cost of about $5,000 per procedure, for a total cost of $3.3 billion dollars every year in the US.
With such good technology, so many procedures performed and so much money is made – you would think the results would be impressive… wouldn’t you? You would at least think there was some kind of scientific proof this operation worked before it was performed on so many people every year…. Right? Well…

Guess Again!

The sad fact of the matter is placebo studies of surgery are almost never done. Many doctors consider them unethical because patients could undergo risks with no benefits. My question is: What about the risk of performing a surgery over and over without having scientific proof of the benefits versus the risks in the first place? What is so “ethical” about that?
Well, a placebo study was done for this arthroscopic knee surgery… with shocking results. The 180 participants in the study were randomly assigned to have the operation or to have placebo surgery in which surgeons simply made cuts in their knees so the patients would not know if they had the surgery. The day of surgery meant being wheeled into an operating room while neither they nor any of the medical staff knew what their treatment would be.
When they were on the operating table, Dr. Moseley, who did all the operations, opened a sealed envelope telling him whether the patient was to have the surgery or not. Those in the placebo group received a drug that put them to sleep. Unlike those getting the real operation, they did not have general anesthesia. Dr. Moseley made small cuts in their knees to simulate an operation. He bent and straightened the knee and asked for surgical instruments, just in case the patient was partly conscious. An assistant sloshed water in a bucket to make the sound of a knee being flushed clean.
Results: Tests of knee functions revealed that the operation had not helped, and those who got the placebo surgery reported feeling just as good as those who had had the real operation. Dr. Baruch Brody, an ethicist at Baylor who helped design the study, described the surgery as a sham. The paper in The New England Journal is accompanied by two editorials. One, by Sam Horng and Dr. Franklin G. Miller of the National Institute of Health, asks whether placebo surgery is unethical. The controversy, they wrote, comes because doctors assume that patients in clinical research should not be put at risk if they cannot benefit, and placebo surgery involves risk. But, they say, clinical research is different from medical therapy; its aim is not to help those in the study but to help future patients. To be ethical, they say, a study with placebo surgery must meet three criteria: it must not place patients at undue risk; the benefits of learning whether the surgery works must be worth any potential risk to the patients; and the patients must give informed consent.
In the current case, they wrote, all those objectives were met and the study “exemplifies the ethically justified use of placebo surgery.” Ready for the real kicker?” This study was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine OVER TWO YEARS AGO!
Well… have YOU heard about it yet? If I didn’t read medical journals, I wouldn’t have either. And the worst thing is – my patients keep coming in telling me their doctors are recommending this surgery! I’m beginning to wonder if this study had any effect on the 650,000 done every year.
Or better yet… The $3.3 Billion Every Year! For some reason, I bet it didn’t.
Writing this article, it reminds me of a very similar finding around the same time as this study. Premarin a $3 billion a year drug was not providing the benefits once thought and was found to increase the risk of heart disease and breast cancer. Premarin was praised as a wonder drug for over 30 years before it was proven harmful.
So, as so many “trusted” medical procedures are proven not to work or actually harmful… WHAT OTHER OPTIONS DO YOU HAVE?
The biggest lesson in all this is to take care of your health before you lose it and start scrambling for miracle medical cures that may not exist. Too many Americans believe they can neglect or even abuse their health until they start getting symptoms and then some pill or surgery will give them a quick fix.
Research is proving more and more every day – these quick fixes either do not work or come with a pretty hefty price tag… in the form of side effects. The REAL answer is eating right, exercise, reducing stress and regular care. Regular Chiropractic care can help your bones and joints work correctly and minimize many of the effects of aging and arthritis. Like they say – An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. For more articles and information, visit www.BackCareTreatment.com.

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Posted in Health | 1 Comment »

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