My 2 Bits

Enough, already, with using cheap trinkets to “reward” children for doing what they’re asked to do — from behaving in the doctor’s office to polishing off that last fatty french fry in their Happy Meal, especially when the cheap stuff offered to children to manipulate their behavior is found to have high levels of cadmium. This toxic metal is showing up more and more in trinkets distributed to children, and sadly Federal regulators have discovered that doctors and dentists offices are as guilty as a fast food restaurant in this unhealthy practice. Now, as a chiropractor who is treats both young and old, alike, I’m well aware that the staff in my chiropractic clinic frequently must not only help the injured and infirm to get comfortable prior to their adjustment, they also find themselves “entertaining” children who are either waiting for their own adjustment or waiting for a parent. And, I know my staff is often “inspired” to reward good behavior whether it’s a feisty senior who’s making the effort or a sleepy youngster. So, when it appears that “being good” doesn’t come close enough to being its own reward, my staff offers a healthy treat to children (and to some grownups when needed).

Our treats, however, are not cheap trinkets, though they are not expensive either. We purchase “lollipops” in bulk from the local health food store and small, inexpensive fitness items like stress balls. That’s why when the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yesterday the recall of almost 70,000 charm bracelet and rings (for the fourth time this year!), we didn’t have to rush to our storage cabinet to pull carcinogenic items from our shelves. The items in this particular recall batch were distributed at doctor and dentist offices nationwide between June 2005 and March 2010.

Let’s face it, not everything “natural” is good for humans to ingest. Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal but it’s not harmless. As a chiropractor I find it especially disturbing that cadmium, if ingested, can weaken bones and kidneys. Federal regulators were justifiably concerned that small children could be exposed if they were bite and suck on these cadmium-laced trinkets. Any adult who’s been around children knows that almost everything that is put into a child’s hand ends up in a child’s mouth. Health care providers can’t claim ignorance of this universal fact.

I can remember getting a toy from my dentist when I was a kid, but “back in the day” those trinkets, made of plastic, rubber, and even wax, were relatively benign. Today with cheap imports and little regulation, more care needs to be taken by parents and definitely by healthcare providers!

Technorati Tags: cadmium, children's health, children's toys, chiropractor, doctors and dentists, toxic metal

We’ve all heard the expression, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” right? Well, a new study has found that not only does too much work make a person “dull,” it is also bad for the heart. In fact, the researchers found that people working 10 or 11 hours a day are more likely to suffer serious heart problems, including heart attacks, than those clocking our after only seven hours. Although the study did not prove that long hours necessarily cause coronary heart disease, the researchers felt that they had discovered “a clear link,” one that is likely due to stress. Stress, or course, is not conducive to good health because it interferes with a number of important body functions, including our metabolic processes.

Now, the finding, itself, was based on an 11-year study of 6,000 British civil servants who, on the whole, may not necessarily have “enjoyed” their work. As a chiropractor, I have seen the powerful effects that general happiness has on the health of my patients, including the vitality of their heart function. Though it would be a wonderful world if we could all do what we love and love what we do 24/7, it doesn’t generally happen for most people. But, there is no doubt that a “happy” heart is a healthy heart. The attitude we bring to our activities is an important key to our overall health and well-being. In addition, a balanced lifestyle that includes a good nutritious diet, enjoyable daily exercise and activity, and congenial social engagement can go a long way to keeping stress in check, whether we are “on the clock” or not.

Technorati Tags: heart attack, heart health, stress

As a parent, a chiropractor, and simply as a human being, I don’t know whether to be saddened or outraged by the need for a recall of 40 varieties of Johnson & Johnson children’s cold medicines due to bacteria contamination. I suppose that I am both; saddened by the fact that a U.S. maker of medicine for children, for children for crying out loud, lacked a conscience with regard to the safety and health of children, and outraged because such oversight likely had to do with the financial bottom line.

The FDA report lists more than 20 manufacturing problems found at the McNeil Consumer Healthcare plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, where the formulas were made. FDA inspectors said the company did not have laboratory facilities to test drug ingredients and failed to follow up on 46 customer complaints (of foreign substances “black or dark specks” in the Tylenol products!). Some of the recalled medicines may have a higher concentration of the active ingredient than listed on the bottle, while still others may contain inactive ingredients that do not meet required standards. In addition to what was “inside” the medicines, inspectors also found pieces of equipment that were covered with thick layers of dust, and others that were held together with duct tape.

Shame on Johnson & Johnson, who has been a trusted name in caring for children. It’s like finding out the Mother Goose is really a gander.

Technorati Tags: children's cold medicines, childrens safety and health, Johnson & Johnson

Social Media is the “hottest” buzz word on the Internet today. For those of you who would like to feel out Social Media marketing as part of your overall chiropractic internet marketing strategy, but aren’t quite sure what all the buzz is about, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.”
Social media marketing may seem familiar in some aspects to other chiropractic marketing strategies you’ve thought about in the past, but also unfamiliar at the same time. In the “familiar” category, you wouldn’t try any type of marketing plan without making an effort to understand what it’s about and what you want to get from it. What are your goals? Once you know what you want, you’ll be more capable of using social media to your biggest advantage.

When you are ready to begin your social media endeavor, but before you start, you will need to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, which is to say, make sure that your name or your clinic’s name is available so that you can use the identical same name on each and every one of the social channels you want to use. When you’re ready, there’s a service, which is entirely free, that will assist you with your search. That who is knowem.com. This service will check where your name is and/or if it’s available for use or not on a large number of social media sites.

When you have “captured” all of your social media accounts, the next step is to choose where you want to be active. Because you have a clinic to run and patients to see, starting with only a few social media sites is preferable and may well be all you’ll need. That way you won’t get caught up in too many channels. How do decide which sites are best for you? Choose the social media site where the most action is, which are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube

What successful social media activity will do for you is build a real presence in your community. What you should never do “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your chiropractic services, don’t sell products, don’t sell anything! The benefit of social media is for you to have an addition channel through which to network with the community. Sure, let them become aware what you do, but do it by becoming a participant. Social media works the same way as social networking offline. People on social media sites don’t want to be sold to, plain and simply. Social media sites are a lot like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then someone asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) stating, “Hello, I’m Dr. ____. The same dynamics apply with social media. Social media sites should be handled the same way you’d “work” offline networking opportunities to promote yourself, i.e., answer the questions and concerns that let people know who you are and gets them interested in the who that’s you!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic marketing, facebook, linkedin, social media, social media marketing, twitter, Youtube

Did you know that more than 4 million baby boomers are unemployed? Yep, that’s right, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  That’s a whole lot of stress on aging bodies, especially on bodies that are not generally healthy to begin with!  And, the “double whammy” for stressed-out, unemployed baby boomers is that no job, more often than not, means no health insurance. Who would argue that the healthcare crisis is an economic crisis and vice versa?

We used to think that the “good news” was that our generation was living longer, well into our eighties, far exceeding the median longevity of our predecessors. But, doesn’t it always seem that good news comes with a codicil containing “bad news”? In this case, the wording of the bad news is exactly like the languaging of the good, with one exception. It goes on to ask the question: Who will care for a generation of mostly ailing bodies that have many more years to live?

By the time all baby boomers are 65, the senior population will have grown from 40 million now to about 72 million. Who will pay their medical bills? It would appear the answer is “no one.” As a society we have been complacent, like grasshoppers fiddling away, our attention focused on our next bigger, better, and more exclusive purchase or extreme experience, and giving no thought to our ailing health care industry. Now that winter is setting in, the forecast is bleak with the number of retirees about to zoom upwards just the way the number of teenagers did in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s.  Remember the good ole days when everything we touched turned to gold and every time we marched, we made a difference? Who was interested in taking care of our body, or to rally for a health care system that could one day. Instead, we just held onto our cherished belief that the future would inevitably continue to go our way because, what the heck, that’s the way things had always gone for our generation in the past.

What’s the answer? The sated folks on Capital Hill, with their good salaries and excellent health insurance, don’t seem to be able to pull their hyper-focus away from their personal ideologies in order to reach a compromise on healthcare reform, be they ideologically right or left. Affordable health insurance may never material. And, as the fight goes on, fixing the economy and getting people back to work (whatever their age) sits on the back burner.

As they say, the best defense is a good offense. Perhaps the best we can do for ourselves is to get healthy, boomers, and then stay that way. So, if you’ve been waiting for the right moment to begin that healthy lifestyle you’ve been considering for years, that time is now. Because if things keep going in the direction they seem to be headed, no one is going to be able to take care of your medical bills…including you!

Technorati Tags: baby boomers, economy, health, healthcare costs

Physicist Max Born said, “For the belief in a single truth is the root cause for all evil in the world.” Today, the world vibrates with thousands of differing points views, many are warring political or religious factions, but not all of them. In fact, I just heard an interview with a book author who is at war with “positive thinking,” which would seem the penultimate in just looking for a fight! Anyway,  I’m a chiropractor who absolutely believes in the efficacy of chiropractic treatment, but I also know, as do all chiropractors,  that there isn’t “one thing” that works for everyone, not even chiropractic. If a patient doesn’t respond to chiropractic care, I refer them to someone else who may be able to help them.

Certainly there are plenty of people in the world who are tolerant, and even respectful, of other points of view. That’s why it sometimes surprises me when those otherwise open-minded, balanced folks who are convinced that there is no “single truth” are still looking for some discovery in nature, a supplement, or a drug, or gene therapy that will be THE THING that has the power to prevent or reduce every known cause of mortality.

We are dynamic, biological beings, not “machines,” and just as there isn’t one religion or political ideology that is a one-size-fits-all, there isn’t going to be the same health answer for everyone. We are far more than the sum total of our parts. Our central integrative states differ and, therefore, internal incitement factors and external, environmental influences cause us to react in different ways. Case in point, there are a few individuals who can smoke cigarettes and live to be ninety without any obvious ill effects. Yet, as a habit for most, it is definitely detrimental.

We make conscious choices everyday that have to do with the health of our individual body. We personally decide what we’ll put into our body, and how much activity and rest we’ll get. Not all the decisions we make are beneficial for our health and longevity, even though we “know,” by the way our individual body responds, what if “right” for us.

When we choose an unhealthy lifestyle, our naturally homeostatic system becomes “off balance.” Over time, the imbalances we’ve created by not making healthy choices, result in diseases. We can hope, we can even pray, that one day researchers may uncover a “the single truth” in nature that has the power to reverse all of the excessive and unhealthy things we do to our body on a regular basis. But, a better solution would be for each us to follow our own natural, individual path to health. If we do, we’ll be live longer, healthier lives.

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, healthy lifestyle, tolerance

Why are there people who still don’t go to a chiropractor for care? Well, it could be that there is so many misconceptions out there, especially online, about chiropractic that it keeps some people from getting the conservative, effective treatment they need. So, I’m going to give my two bits in the hop of clearing up a few things right now!

Are chiropractors “real” doctors? You bet! Chiropractic education is very similar to medical and dental education that demands three to four years of undergraduate studies and an additional four years of post-graduate education. Chiropractic coursework includes anatomy, physiology, orthopedics, neurology, x-ray, nutrition, and philosophy. In the sector of x-ray study, chiropractors , as a matter of fact, have quite a few more hours of education than medical doctors. Chiropractic studies in x-ray consist of x-ray safety, techniques, factors, positioning, and interpretation. In addition, chiropractors have more hours of study in nutrition than students in medical school receive. Chiropractors are sanctioned in all fifty states as doctors.

Is chiropractic safe? Yes, far more safe than surgery and drugs combined. In fact, chiropractic adjustments are considered to be one of the safest therapies for the neck and back. It is not only safe for adults, but for children and even infants. Spinal manipulation is encouraged by many medical doctors prior to a patient being recommended to undergo surgery. It is a natural, drug-free alternative to strong drugs like steroids and painkillers.

Does chiropractic hurt? Pain is subjective of course, but most patients feel immediate pain relief after an adjustment and increasingly more relaxed and comfortable over time. Adults and children, alike, often look forward to their chiropractic treatments.

Hope that this clears up a few misconceptions. If you are suffering from back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, hip pain, knee pain, foot pain, or headaches and migraines, you don’t need to suffer any longer. Chiropractic can help. Call a chiropractor today!

Technorati Tags: back pain, chiropractic treatment, chiropractor, foot pain, headaches and migraines, hip pain, knee pain, neck pain, shoulder pain

I have to say, as a chiropractor who’s been “preaching” a healthy lifestyle to my patients for years, I was thrilled when I read last year about New York’s becoming the first U.S. city to mandate that fast food restaurants post calorie counts in large type on menu boards. I figured it wouldn’t be long before other cities would follow suit and that eventually I could take down the posters in my chiropractic clinic that remind my patients that “you are what you eat.” In fact, the system has since become a model for similar rules intended to combat obesity and promote good nutrition being implemented in California, other parts of New York state, the cities of Seattle and Portland, and elsewhere.

But, a new study by researchers at New York University and Yale University that analyzed fast-food purchases by 1,156 adults at Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s and Wendy’s immediately before and after the rule went into effect has shown that perhaps simply shedding light on the high calorie content of fast food may not be enough to dissuade the majority of fast food consumers, especially in low-income neighborhoods.  The percentage of people aware of the calorie information increased from 16 percent to 54 percent, but the number of calories purchased was slightly higher than before the rule was implemented, researchers found.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the study may have been done too soon after the rule went into effect and before all fast food restaurants were in compliance. But, I think that much more education is necessary to let people know exactly how those particular calories will affect their health and longevity. And, there needs to be more healthy options for lower income families,

Technorati Tags: calories, fast food, health, longevity

In addition to “Chiropractic News” in my e-mail “news alerts” I receive “Science” news alerts. As a chiropractor I am often more interested in breaking scientific discovery when it comes to health issues than in medical news. The Science article I found most interesting was indeed about health, human and otherwise, because it was about a serious new finding relating to environmental health.  Scientists are saying (and I believe it’s what they’ve been saying all along) that climate change is turning Antarctica’s ice into one of the biggest risks for coming centuries because even a tiny melt could drive up sea levels, affecting cities from New York to Beijing, or nations from Bangladesh to the Cook Islands.

The scientists are trying to design ever more high tech experiments, using satellite radars, lasers, robot submarines, or even deep drilling through perhaps 3 kilometers of ice in order to “fill in the gaps” in understanding the risks. “If you’re going to have even a few metres it will change the geography of the planet,” Rajendra Pachauri, head of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said of the more extreme scenarios of fast ocean rise.

I’m just wondering if it wouldn’t be more beneficial to design “ever more high tech experiments” that would actually do something to reduce global warming? At this point, we know that we have a limited amount of time to solve critical environmental issues like global warming. It just seems to me that getting into the small minutia and filling in “the gaps” in understanding the risks is a lot like spending a whole bunch of time and money on a really cool, high tech barn door after the horse has escaped.

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Did you know that there is database of the National Board of Certification in Headache Management that you can use to find members of the NBCHM in your area? Did you know that you can also find members of the American Headache Society using their “Find a Healthcare Professional” feature on their website? If not, that’s okay, because did you know that you don’t actually need a “headache specialist” to treat your migraines? As a chiropractor, I know from experience (which, in theory, is worth more than “two bits”) that chiropractic care can go along way in relieving and eliminating both tension headaches and migraines. Here’s why:

We’d all agree that life can be a pain, on occasion, and turn into a tension headache. Most of us have experienced more than one. If you’ve had a tension headache, then you probably experience it as a dull, aching head pain that is commonly accompanied by a feeling of tightness or pressure across your forehead or on the sides and back of your head. Occasionally, you might feel a tenderness of your scalp, neck and shoulder muscles, and periodically you may experience a loss of appetite.

Tension headaches are usually defined as mild to moderately intense. The severity of the pain varies from one headache to another in the same person, as well as from one individual to another Tension headaches can occur infrequently or you may have them regularly. Your headaches are considered chronic if they occur fifteen or more days a month for at least three months. If tension headaches are interrupting your life, chiropractic treatment may be the remedy. Give your chiropractor a call.

Migraine headaches are different from the common tension-related headache. For instance, migraines more often than not take place on one side of the head only, according to the National Headache Foundation. The throbbing or pulsating pain is accompanied by nausea or vomiting. Auras, visual manifestions an hour before a migraine attack, and features such as pulsating light, lines or dots, are experienced by one-fifth of migraine sufferers.

Do you experience the painful symptoms of migraines? If you do, you know the upsetting, incapacitating effects that this kind of affliction can have on your life. The pain of a migraine headache can sideline you for hours, for days, for a lifetime, and conventional over-the-counter medications are not only ineffective but, like prescription drugs, they generally have alarming side effects. It’s time to really do something about the pain and get your life back! Chiropractic care has proved to be highly effective in relieving and eliminating migraine headaches. Get in touch with your chiropractor today!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, headaches, migraines, tension