Low back pain can be caused by a number of factors. It could be a simple muscle strain, or it could be coming from the joints, or from the disc itself. The tricky thing is that you usually cannot tell the difference.
In 1969 the American Medical Association was found guilty, in a court of law, of conspiracy for trying to wipe out the Chiropractic profession. The conspiracy continues today.
Chiropractic began as a cash for service type of business. Insurance companies would not recognize chiropractic as a viable health care profession. Chiropractors did very well in this business model however. People got results, and they were willing to pay for it. The number of people seeing chiropractors sky rocketed. This of course cut into the pockets of the medical profession, hence the conspiracy.
In the late 1970’s, and early 1980’s the medically owned and operated insurance companies started to allow chiropractors to panel with their companies. After their admission into the private insurance sector, the chiropractic profession was quickly and easily made into insurance junkies. Claims were paid quickly, and generously. Patients also began to rely on their insurance companies to pay for their chiropractic care. Again, the number of visits to chiropractors grew, and people loved it. They got great care, great results, and at no additional cost.
In the mid 1990’s, things began to change. First, insurance companies began to restrict what codes chiropractors could use, herding them into a tight coral. Then they began reducing reimbursement on those codes and continuing to eliminate codes narrowing the options. They also started to increase deductibles, and co-pay amounts making it more expensive for the consumer.
People were not used to paying for their chiropractic care anymore. They had become acclimated, and it was foreign and uncomfortable to have to start laying out the cash for their chiropractic care. Consequently, people stopped going to the chiropractor, and because the chiropractic profession as a whole had become so dependant on the insurance companies, this reduction in payments caused thousands of chiropractors to go belly up.
Today, it is necessary for chiropractors to return to somewhat of a cash basis for practice in order to survive. Many chiropractors refuse to become panelled with insurance companies, but are willing to bill the insurance for whatever out of network benefits the patient might have. The balance of the care is paid for in cash by the patient.
Medicare has paid for chiropractic for years, however it has not been on even keel with the medical profession. At first, medicare would require X-rays to be taken in order to diagnose a subluxation, which is what chiropractors treat. The problem is that medicare will not pay for a chiropractor to perform an examination or X-rays. Chiropractors practice physical medicine, which means that they typically use modalities such as electrical stimulation, ultrasound, traction, etc. Medicare will not pay a chiropractor for these services. Medicare greatly limits the amount that a chiropractor can charge for the services that they do cover, which is only an adjustment. Because medicare is a federally funded program, it is difficult for chiropractors to treat any patient who is on medicare on even a cash basis and be profitable.
If socialized medicine is introduced into this country, it will most likely follow the medicare model. This will be a mortal blow to the chiropractic profession. The medical profession is still trying to wipe out the chiropractic profession by covertly limiting the chiropractor’s ability to make a living.
Often I find people who have no complaint of symptoms, but have broblems in their spine. It is not uncommon to find moderate to severe degeneration in the spine of someone who has no history of symptoms. It is interesting how these people seem surprised to find out that they are so bad off and yet have no symptoms. How often have we gone to a dentist for a routine check up and found out that we had cavities even though we didn’t have a tooth ache?
Even more surprising to me is how often people will put off taking care of a problem because there are no symptoms. We tend to think that if there are no symptoms, then there is no problem.
The leeding cause of death in the United States is heart disease. 47% of the time, the first sign of heart disease is death. How many of us would put off taking care of a heart problem, which was detected in a routine examination prior to the developement of symptoms?
Some might say, “well, that’s different, that’s the heart we’re talking about.” It really is not any different, and here is why. If you took your car in for it’s routine maintenance, and where told that the transmision had a problem and needed to be fixed before it left you stranded, you would probably get it fixed. But, what if you were told that there was an electrical problem which was causing a short in the communication between the computer and your transmission. If not fixed, then eventually it would also ruin your transmission. Would you get it fixed? Well, when there is misalignment of the spine, which interferes with the nerves carying information from the brain to the body, it will eventually leed to the breakdown of one or more organs.
Don’t rely on symptoms to determine your health, get checked by a chiropractor, and if there is a problem, get it fixed. The problem with waiting until there are symptoms, is that while you are waiting the degeneration continues to get worse. When you do go to get it fixed, it will take longer, cost more, and may not be able to be completely corrected.
No doubt that we can put ourselves in some very awkward positions in our sleep, and can wake up feeling stiff and sore from it. However, this should be the exception, and not the rule. Often I have people tell me that they wake up every morning with stiffness in their lowback, or neck, and that they think it is because they are sleeping wrong. Well, if that’s the case then they need to go back to sleeping school. We don’t sleep wrong every night. To say that is just a way of brushing aside the obvious, and trying to ignore the fact that there is a serious problem. If you are waking up with pain and stiffness on any regular basis, then you need to get checked. Please address any questions that you may have to drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com.
Allergies are reactions, by the body, to substances which are typically harmless. These reactions can range in severity from full on watery eyes, runny nose, and sneazing to mild reactions which do not produce any “noticable” symptoms. Usually known as a sensativity these milder reactions are very dangerous because they can cause degenerative processes which are unnoticed until marked damage has occured. Leaky gut syndrome, a condition in which the lining of the intestine allows the passage of large molecules into the blood stream is believed to be one of the causes of allergies. These larger molecules can become attached to “self” tissue, and fool the body into recognizing that “self” tissue as a pathogen. The body then builds an immunity to that tissue, and begins an assault on it. This tissue could be the joint linings, causing an arthritic condition. This is why many arthritic conditions are known as “auto-immune” diseases. People with conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis, and intestinal disorders should be checked for allergies. If you have any questions, please address them to drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com.
What is the difference between food based supplements and synthetic supplements? Most supplements that you can buy in the grocery store are synthetic vitamins. What that means is that they have been made in a laboratory. They have been able to look at the chemical structure of a nutrient like vitamin C, and then they mix those chemicals together in a lab and call it “Vitamin C”. In fact, it is not a complete vitamin C, but is only ascorbic acid.
The complete vitamin C complex has many more factors to it such as bioflavinoids, quercitin, rutin, K and J factors as well as other substances, which we are unable to replicate in a laboratory. So what is wrong with taking supplements which are made in a laboratory?
The problem is that our bodies are the ultimate laboratories. If we take into our body a “partial” supplement, then the body will recognize the deficiency, and it will add the missing substances to make the vitamin whole and usable. This will lead to a deficiency in the body. Whole food based supplements are not made in a laboratory, but are concentrated from whole foods known to have a high concentration of the needed nutrient.
For instance, Optimal 2 vitamin mineral antioxidant formula from Optimal Health Systems contains acerola cherry, which is a rich source of vitamin C. Remember that these are concentrated, so for you to get the same amount of vitamin C by eating the cherries, you would be eating constantly. Because whole food based supplements are complete, they require a lower dose to be even more effective than the higher doses of synthetic vitamins.
Now a word about enzymes. Enzymes are the body’s chemists. They re the guys that make all of the essential chemical reactions in the body happen. Our bodies have a store of enzymes. Most of our diets are deficient in enzymes, and therefore the body’s store of enzymes is many times drained, and we are unable to utilize the nutrients that we take into our bodies. Whole food based supplements are complete with enzymes that not only help to utilize the supplement, but also other nutrients that we take in in the way of food. The more processed our foods are the more that we need to supplement our enzymes.
Several studies have linked abnormal curvature of the neck to chronic headache pain. As I have discussed in the passed, the neck should have a forward curve to it. This curve actually forms in the womb, at about 9.5 weeks. Therefore, it should be present throughout life, and the only thing that can cause it to not be present is trauma. This trauma can occur at birth. Studies done on computerized mannequins showed that the average amount of pressure applied to the baby’s neck during delivery was 120Lbs. This can cause trauma to the spine. Abnormal curvature of the neck, can leed to degenerative changes in the spine. People with chronic headaches, should have their spine checked by a chiropractor who uses X-ray, as this is the only way to properly diagnose an abnormal curvature of the neck, and a chiropractor is the only doctor properly trained to treat this condition. If you have any questions, feel free to write to me @ drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com.
One of my “Ask The Doctor” clients wrote to me yesterday asking about a natural analgesic known as Arnica Montana. He is an avid runner, and was looking for something to deal with the aches and pains associated with a long run.
Arnica is a wild flower that grows in high elevations. It is in the sunflower family. In the United States, it is found in the mountains of the Northwest. This plant works well as a natural anti-inflammatory. It is best used topically. In the field, one can poor boiling water over the flowering head, remove the excess water, and then apply the flowering head hot to the injured area. Leave it in place until it cools, and then repeat 2 to 3 times.
This herb can also be taken orally, however there are some risks. overdosing with this herb can lead to vomitting, diarrhea, and mucos membrane hemorrhage.
It also acts as a cardiac muscle stimulant, and therefore can be an effective treatment for cardiac insufficiency. Again, it is necessary to be careful with this as overdosing can lead to cardiac muscle palsy following overstimulation.
Other names of this herb are, Mountain Tobacco, Leopard’s Bane, Wolfsbane, Arnica Flowers, and Arnica Root.
If you have any questions, you can write them to me at drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com.
Insulin grabs glucose(sugar) in the blood, and carries it to the cells. The surfaces of the cells have receptor sites on them to allow the insulin to attach, and unload it’s glucose into the cells to be used. In our society, we eat foods that are high in fats and simple sugars, and most of us do not get enough exercise. This lack of exercise causes a reduction in the amount of recepter sites for insulin. This reduces the amount of glucose (sugar) that can be removed from the blood. We wind up with elevated sugar levels in the blood, and starving cells. A regular exercise program is essential to the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. We also need to supplement our diet with products that cause our body to better metabolize the sugars that we eat. If you have any questions, feel free to email them to me at drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com.
It is amazing how many people come in to my office in terrible pain, and when asked what started it they say something like, “I just bent over to pick up a piece of paper.” Nothing ever happens all of a sudden in the body. This is characteristic of a classic case of subluxation degeneration. A problem has existed for months or even years without symptoms, and finally when they bent over that was just enough to put the weakened system over the limit.
Thinking that something like this happens all of a sudden is like waking with a tooth ache, and going to the dentist. The dentist finds a cavity, and you think it developed over night while you slept.
The problem has been there for a while without pain, and once care begins it will still be there even though the pain subsides. This is another reason that proper examination and x-rays are critical. These are objective ways to monitor progress. Follow up x-rays should be taken between 30 and 90 days after beginning care.
Once the problem is properly taken care of, then maintenance care is critical to prevent further problems from developing. If you would like to ask me any questions, feel free to email me at drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com. To listen to my recorded messages, go to http://www.westvalleyfamilyclinic.com/media.
Here we are in the cold and flu season, and we are hearing all the hype about the late coming flu vaccine. Well, we would all be a lot better off if it never got here in the first place. What they do not tell you about the flu shot, is that they started making it last year. The flu virus mutates every year and they do not know what the flu virus is or how it looks until it gets here from asia. So the vaccine this year that they sarted making last year is most likely not effective against the strain that we will see. More over, getting a flu shot is allowing all kinds of toxic chemicals to be injected directly into your body causing the body to react in various ways. The side effects of which can include autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Take your chance with the flu. Take good vitamin supplements to build your immune system, and wash your hands frequently. If you get it, you will be sick for a while and then you will be truly immune to that strain. You can email me at drmarksnow@westvalleyfamilyclinic.com to ask any questions that you may have.
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