Dr. Mark Snow

The American Medical Association will do almost anything to prevent people from utilizing alternative and complementary medicine.  The medical profession does not want any competition for dollars in the health care arena.  For years, the medical profession targeted the chiropractic profession, an alternative to conventional medicine.  The “party line” used by all medical practitioners was “they are quacks”.   They told patients that chiropractic was non-scientific.  Even today, many medical practitioners will try to scare patients away from seeing a chiropractor.  They will say that it is unsafe, and may cause a stroke.  What they fail to tell the patient is that the incident of stroke from a chiropractic manipulation is 1 in 4 million.  They do not tell the patient that over 400 thousand people die each year from complications of conventional medical care.  Or they may try to act as though they are knowledgeable about chiropractic, and tell the patient what the chiropractor may and may not adjust.  Only a chiropractor is qualified to determin what is or is not safe to adjust.  In 1987, the AMA was found guilty of illegally trying to destroy the chiropractic profession.  A judge ruled that the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Radiology violated the Sherman Anti-trust laws of the United States by organizing a national boycott of doctors of chiropractic by medical doctors.  (Chiro.org) Alternative medicine is rapidly growing with consumers willing to pay out of pocket and much to the chagrin of pharmaceutical companies and the AMA.

Chiropractic is mainstream medicine, but it is natural health care, why?  Because it focuses on restoring the body’s own recuperative ability and then allowing the body to heel.  Where does health come from?  Health is not in a bottle or a syringe.  Health does not come from the removal of an organ.  Health is the optimal function and well being of the individual.  Life choices that lead to a feeling of well being, and the optimal function of the organs will lead to health.  Regular chiropractic care is one of those life choices.  It releases the flow of nerve energy allowing the organs to function optimally.

We are all concerned about the outbreak of the swine flu.  Now there is concern about “Tamiflu”, the antiviral drug used to treat the swine flu.  Researchers are telling us that the use of this drug will lead to a drug resistant strain of the virus.  The active ingredient in the Tamiflu drug is excreted in urine and feces, and does not break down in the water treatment process.  This leads to a concentration of this drug in our water ways.  As birds drink this water, it will kill the non-resistant strain of the virus, and allow the restant strain to proliferate uninhibited.

Interesting news comes out of Korea, where there have been no human cases of bird flu reported.  Scientists there have cured the bird flu in chickens by giving them Kimchi, a Korean cabbage dish.

Scientists at Seoul National University reported that the same protective power is present in sauerkraut and kosher garlic dill pickles.  The Korean scientists say that it is the lactobacilli that gives these foods their antiviral effect.

A study done during the 1999/2000 flu season in Norway showed that Elderberry (available in health food stores) reduced the duration of the flu by 4 days. 

Retroscreen Virology, a leading British medical research group associated with Queen Mary College, University of London, found that Sambucol (a syrup containing the active ingredient in Elderberry) was 99% effective against the avian flu.

(Maryann Napoli 2006 Centers For Medical Consumers. medicalconsumers@earthlink.net)

As I stated in my last blog, a local auto accident attorney claimed that in his opinion the LDS faith had a lot to do with the low settlements awarded by juries here in Utah.

According to him, it has to do with the pioneer history and the great difficulties and hardships endured by the early pioneers.  The jurors are less likely to have empathy for the victim of an auto accident.  “They just need to tuffin up” they might think.

Consequently, in cases where there is little damage to the vehicle, the jurors may have difficulty seeing how the victim could have been injured.  Often they will compare their own life experiences or those of an ancestor to the victim’s and think they are just being weak and whiny.  This has lead to low settlements in cases where the victim truly is injured, and is seeking only to take care of the expenses incurred as a result of the accident.

It is important to note that the amount of property damage occurring in an automobile accident does not and cannot be used to determine the personal injury suffered by the occupants of the vehicle.  It is just as true that one occupant’s injury cannot be used to determine how injured a second occupant in the same vehicle should have.

In a future blog, I will discuss more, the seriousness of the “soft tissue” injuries that occur in an automobile accident.

I had a lunch meeting with an Auto Accident Attorney last week.  He serves people all along the Wasatch front.  In our conversation, he informed me that the customary fee for representation in an automobile accident case is 30% of whatever is recovered.  This means that the victim does not have any out of pocket expense up front, and really none at the end.  The attorney just keeps 30% of what they recovered for the victim. 

What is even greater is that this particular attorney told me that for cases that he is able to settle without litigation, he would give the client/patient a 20% discount on his/her services.  This is great for the client. 

It was also interesting to hear his take on why litigating a case in Utah is so dangerous, and why he thinks that the LDS church has something to do with the low judgments given by Utah Juries.  I will save that information for my next blog.

A Magna, Utah woman has suffered from dysmenorrhea for years.  This is a condition in which she was unable to have a regular menstrual cycle.  In fact she had to take medications each month for her cycle to start.  So what does this have to do with chiropractic?

This woman came to me for back pain.  In examining her, we found several postural distortions, and subluxations.  As we worked to correct these conditions, the proper nerve supply to her reproductive organs was restored, and she now has regular cycles monthly without the use of drugs.

She and her husband have not been able to have any children, but now they have hope of being able to.

The shoulder joint is enclosed with a capsule of connective tissue.  This capsule helps to support the joint, and keep it lubricated.  Sometimes adhesions can form in the capsule, which causes a very painful condition known as adhesive capsulitis.  You probably know it as “frozen shoulder syndrome”. 

With this condition, the patient will have greatly reduced range of motion in the shoulder, and tremendous pain upon movement.  This condition can lead to the complete loss of the use of the affected limb.

A West Valley Woman came to our clinic with this condition.  She also had severe neck pain, upper back pain, and headaches.  After her examination, X-rays, and a few weeks of conservative chiropractic care, she was free from headaches, had reduced neck pain, and a little more movement in her shoulder.  It was determined that she was a candidate for a procedure known as Manipulation under Anesthesia.

In this procedure, the patient is put into twilight sedation, and then manipulated.  The patient sleeps through the procedure, and so there is no apprehension, or muscle guarding.  With this patient we were able to mobilize her neck and shoulder much better, then when she was awake.  This altered the adhesions in her shoulder joint and neck.

On the Monday following this procedure, the patient informed us that it had been a complete success.  She had regained the strength and almost all of her range of motion in her shoulder.  She is also now out of pain.

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.

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.

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.