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Olson Chiropractic
S.E.N.S.E
Spiritual, Energetic, Nutritional, Structural & Emotional Wellness
Newsletter – July 21, 2004
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Dr.
Olson will be headed for his annual backpacking trip at the end
of this month. The office will close early on Wednesday, July 28
and will reopen for normal hours on Monday, August 8. Make sure
you get your herb order in, so we can be sure to have your supplements
for you to stay on your treatment plan while we are out of the office.
Thoughts to Ponder
We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things
in the soft haze of a spring day or in the fire of a long winter’s
evening. Some of us let these dreams die, but others nourish and
protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to
the sunshine and light which comes always to those who hope that
their dreams will come true.
~ Woodrow Wilson ~
To accuse others for one’s own misfortunes is a sign of want
of education. To accuse oneself shows that one’s education
has begun. To accuse neither oneself nor others shows that one’s
education is complete.
~ Epicetus ~
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and
endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with
a success unexpected in common hours.
~ Henry David Thoreau ~
Mind Body Healing: the Best Alternative
As millions of American seek relief from this ancient ailment of
back pain, doctors are trying less invasive ways to end the agony.
As the invasive surgical procedures continue to fall short of expected
success, more research is being focused on less invasive treatments
for the second most common ailment: back
pain. Find out how pain and the mind are connected, and how this
can contribute to back pain. Click here to read
on.
Top
Health Myths
Continuing onto the third health myth.
Myth 3: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease
Don't eat that butter, use margarine instead. Don't eat red meat,
eat more pasta instead. We've heard so many opposing ideas over
the past couple of decades that it is a confusing web trying to
sort out truth from fiction. Find out the truth about fats, especially
saturated fats that you may have been unaware of before. Click
here for more.
“O” Zone: What is the highest
cost of health care?
Discover the
financial and hidden costs of healthcare that the U.S. is now facing.
As insurance premiums
rise and benefits go down, we need to focus on the real costs of
our spiraling healthcare system. To read on click
here.
Exercise
Plus Cognitive Therapy and Adjustments are Better and Safer at Treating
Low Back Pain than Surgery
Many people submit to recommendations
for spinal surgery from lumbar fusions to cervical surgeries only
to discover the pain and suffering after surgery is as bad or worse
as prior to the surgery. Less invasive procedures are safer and
more effective then surgery. Find out about these techniques and
how they match up against surgery. Click here
for more.
Dr.
A Rand Olson
Mon. 8:00 -12:00 & 2:00 - 6:00 / Tues. 2:00- 7:00 / Wed. 8:00
– 12:00 & 2:00 - 6:00 /
Fri. 7:00 -12:00 & 1:00 - 5:00
Big Bend & 141 – Next to Schnucks Shopping Center –
Phone 636-225-2121
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Mind Body Healing: the Best Alternative
As millions of American seek relief from this ancient ailment of
back pain, doctors are trying less invasive ways to end the agony.
Let’s take a quick tour of Nature’s engineering masterpiece:
The Human Spine. Pretend you are so tiny you can climb among the
muscles, nerves, bones, and ligaments that make up the very core
of your body. Crawl down the 24 vertebrae that encase and protect
the spinal cord. Note the 23 rubbery white discs: the cartilage
inner tubes that cushion the vertebrae. Observe dozens of spinal
nerves threading out from the cord between the bones. Poke the bands
of muscle that wrap and support the bony column. Now focus on the
tugs and thuds of daily life.
Feel, too, the constant emotional stress we all live with: worries
about aging parents, the kids, an IRS audit, changing jobs, unrest
in the world. Finally, imagine (or recall) that knife-in-the-back
moment when something suddenly goes wrong with all that spinal anatomy:
Owwwwwwwww!
80% of American will battle the condition at some point in their
lives, making it the Number 2 reason for doctor visits (after respiratory
infections). Already, back-pain sufferers cost this country more
than $100 billion annually in medical bills, disability and lost
productivity at work. And as long as we continue to lead overweight,
sedentary and stressful lives, that will continue to rise.
Some believe the answer has much to do with the mind as it does
with the body. In the HIZ study, the best predictor of pain was
not how bad the defect looked but the patient’s psychological
distress. A recent Canadian study found that people who suffer from
severe depression are four times more likely to develop intense
or disabling neck or low-back pain.
Treatments like massage, chiropractic manipulation, and acupuncture
are gaining favor for not only their relief, but their healing ability.
Chiropractic treatment, the most popular nonsurgical back therapy,
is booming, with 60,000 chiropractors practicing today, a 50% increase
since 1990.
Some theorize repressed rage—over past issues—can stress
the body, leading to mild oxygen deprivation, which will eventually
manifest itself as muscle spasm, nerve dysfunction, numbness and
pain. Recovery begins with recognizing the connection between mind
and body.
Some doctors that follow this theory assign patients “homework,”
which starts with listing every source of repressed anger in their
life. Tapping into the fury helps alleviate the pain. Pain is a
way the body keeps the rage inside. It gives you something physical
to think about, pain, instead of focusing on the rage.
Coordinating all elements of your life, as in the Healing SENSE,
helps you maintain balance and move toward a healthy life and an
opportunity to no longer require pain as a distraction or reminder.
Claudia
Kalb. Newsweek. April 26, 2004
Back to E-news
Top Health Myths
Continuing onto the third health myth.
Myth 3: Saturated Fat Causes Heart Disease
Contrary to what you hear on the news, it is not the saturated fat
in the foods we eat causing the rampant heart disease in our country.
It is the excess refined carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-laden
diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic
levels of a host of diseases such as diabetes and later, heart disease.
Trans fats are another major contributing factor.
The trend now is to place less emphasis on total cholesterol and
more on other cardiac risk factors such as:
*Omega-3 fats—getting enough can eliminate inflammation in
blood vessel walls because they increase during inflammation
*Insulin levels- raised by eating refined carbohydrates
*Oxidative stress can lead to oxidative damage in a cell, tissue
or organ-antioxidants fight this stress and damage.
*Homocysteine levels-excess caused by deficiency of folic acid and
Vitamin B6 and B12. Elevated levels are a known risk factor for
heart disease because it encourages plaque buildup and blood clotting.
Omega 3 Basic
This super food supplement provides an excellent source of healthy
Omega-3 fatty acids that occur in flaxseed. It is also a source
of fiber. Spirulina and Kelp—two green super foods that are
great for your health. It also contains glucosamine, known for its
great support of healthy joints.
This easy to take supplement helps put back naturally occurring
vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that our fast paced lifestyle
and fast food diets strip from us. The formula provides a balanced
source of both essential fatty acids (Omega-3 and Omega-6) to help
maintain energy levels and promote joint, brain, heart and vascular
health, plus support healthy skin, hair and nails. Because we tend
to get an abundance of Omega-6 fatty acids most people need to supplement
Omega-3s.
This is a vegetarian formula and a great source for Omega 3 fatty
acids. Cod liver oil is also an excellent source of Omega 3 fatty
acids, but it is not vegetarian.
The Omega 3 Basic also provides abundant dietary fiber, lignans,
and naturally occurring probiotics (friendly bacteria) to promote
a healthy digestive system. Intercellular health and the immune
system are also supported by the formula’s broad spectrum
of natural trace vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
Fiber is essential to good health, and this formula provides natural
whole food sources of both soluble and insoluble fiber for optimal
digestive health. Fiber can also lower blood sugar levels and cholesterol
levels, and has been linked with lowered risk of heart disease.
Back
to E-news
“O” Zone: What is the highest
cost of health care?
What is the highest cost of medical care? Why does our healthcare
cost so much? It is equal to one seventh of our national gross product
in financial terms. That means one in seven dollars spent in this
country we spend on health care. Why does it cost so much? What
is the true cost of medical care in our society?
Cost must be looked at in two ways. There is the financial cost,
and then there is another cost we do not often look at, the cost
in mortality of our system of care.
First, from a financial standpoint our system is the most costly
in the world by far, but we are rated the 18th most effective system.
We spend the most but get among the worst outcomes of any developed
country and worse than many undeveloped countries.
Well I think there are four reasons:
1. We treat symptoms not cause. When you seek to manage the symptoms,
it will always cost more than treating the cause.
2. We over treat patients. Many ObGyn’s have annual malpractice
premiums over one million dollars. That is 200 babies at five thousand
dollars a piece to just cover insurance premiums for malpractice
insurance. How does this fact influence care? Will they tend to
overuse their treatment? It’s hard to believe they wouldn’t.
3. We know that settlements in malpractice cases are the reason
for these extreme rates for premiums. Certainly lawyers need to
shoulder some of the responsibility. They have to eat as do their
little ones, but malpractice reform needs to be higher on our agenda.
There are far too many frivolous suits.
4. If the doctors with high premiums weren’t hurting people,
they would not be getting sued. So how dangerous is medicine? The
statistics are in. Hospitals are much more dangerous than flying
an airplane, or even jumping out of one. They are more dangerous
than scuba diving. It seems medical care may be more risky than
and more dangerous than guns even during wartime.
An email that went around some time ago showed how doctors are more
dangerous than guns. I wondered if the threat of guns in the Iraq
war is still less dangerous than hospital care. During the present
Gulf war we have about 130,000 soldiers in active duty in Iraq at
any given time. There have been 894 U.S. casualties of our best
and brightest. Of those, the number from gun injuries is 240. This
is just over a year and a half. That means the odds of getting killed
by a gun in battle are less than 2/10ths of one percent. Statistics
show that medical care in a hospital rates in some emergency rooms
as high as twenty percent. For normal hospital admissions death
rate is estimated at 7/10ths of one percent, over 3 times the rate
of deaths from enemy gunfire in Iraq. We have a crisis on our own
soil. We are harboring a health care system that has dropped the
ball.
Does that mean we should never use medical care? No, but we must
stay informed, be in control of our care, and use wisdom and inspiration
in choosing our care. Refuse to let fear be your motive in choosing
care, it will always taint any potential outcome. Always care for
your health first, then if needed, consider care for any disease
you may have, unless it is an acute life threatening situation.
In those scenarios, medicine excels. Improve your health and you
will lessen the negative potential of our risky health care system.
Is the highest cost of our health care system really financial?
Back
to E-news
Exercise Plus Cognitive Therapy and Adjustments
are Better and Safer at Treating Low Back Pain than Surgery
The number of lumbar fusion surgeries to treat chronic low back
pain (LBP) has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. This
is despite the fact that research shows better outcomes with a treatment
regime of exercise plus cognitive therapy and chiropractic adjustments
produce better results. So why are there so many surgeries performed?
Today a back surgeon in Pennsylvania must perform 400 spinal surgeries
just to cover his insurance costs. Those practitioners performing
surgery on the spine carry liability insurance now costing up to
$660,000. So, would it be impossible to deduce that some spinal
surgeries are performed unnecessarily to foot malpractice insurance
costs? It’s not that much of a long shot considering the dilemma
the rising cost have placed on most M.D.s.
Liability insurance for chiropractors ranges from $900-1200 per
year. While medical technology has advanced, renewed interest in
therapies once known as alternative or complementary has led to
increasing research establishing their safety and effectiveness.
It is useful to arrange various medical modalities according to
their degree of invasiveness since this characteristic is strongly
associated with both risks and costs. Proven alternatives for treatment
of back pain are available, however, at lower cost with lower risk.
Spinal manual therapy provided by chiropractors (licensed in all
50 states are effective at reducing pain and restoring function
in most people with acute LBP. In many cases, massage and acupuncture
may also be helpful.
Alternative therapies are available to help in a wide range of medical
conditions increasingly established by medical research. These therapies
require continued critical evaluation by medical scientists and
practitioners. When such alternative therapies pass medical muster
and are accepted into the continuum of care, they are known as integrative
medicine. Health care that works at lower risk with lower cost is
not complementary or alternative, but good medicine.
In a study comparing exercise plus cognitive therapy versus surgery
the results were definitive. After one year there was a “significant
difference” in the improvement of muscle strength between
the two groups, in favor of patients who followed the cognitive
intervention/exercise program.
Though not for low back pain, a good comparison of the safety of
adjustments versus the safety of spinal surgery are reports for
head and neck pain.
A report by the RAND corporation about the appropriateness of various
medical treatments for head and neck pain showed the following statistics
about the serious risk/complication rates for manipulation and medical
treatments.
* Cervical manipulation—
1.5 per 1 million treatments (e.g. stroke from damage to a vertebral
artery)
* Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)—
1000 per 1 million patients, and 3200 per 1 million for patients
age 65 and above (eg.g. serious gastrointestinal perforation or
bleeding causing hospitalization and, for 10-20% of these patients,
death)
* Cervical spine surgery—
15,600 per 1 million surgeries (e.g. paralysis or stroke)
Mortality rates are estimate at 0.27 per million for cervical manipulation
(i.e. 1 in ever 3-4 million treatments) but 6,900 per million for
cervical spine surgery.
“Exercise Plus Cognitive Therapy Better than
Surgery for Chronic LBP” Chiropractic Research Review.
Summer 2004, pg.2.
“Medical Safety and Medical Costs” by Marc S. Micozzi,
MD, PhD. From Seminars in Integrative Medicine Vol. 1, Issue 2 (June
2003), pages 1-2
Rand Corporation’s 1996n report “The Appropriateness
of Manipulation and Mobilization of the Cervical Spine.
Back
to E-news
Dr.
A Rand Olson
Mon. 8:00 -12:00 & 2:00 - 6:00 / Tues. 2:00- 7:00 / Wed. 8:00
– 12:00 & 2:00 - 6:00 /
Fri. 7:00 -12:00 & 1:00 - 5:00
Big Bend & 141 – Next to Schnucks Shopping Center –
Phone 636-225-2121
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