Thursday, September 10, 2009

Dr. Riggs' October Blog on Health

Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare, Medical, Nutrition News:

COLON CANCER. As one of the leading causes of deaths (# 2) and striking more than a million people every year, it is important to prevent it. I recently underwent this rather personal experience as a preventative, which I should have done some time ago. Although many thing colonoscopy is highly accurate, a recent study fount a 60-70 percent mortality risk decrease. Prevention is the key. Too many people have advanced forms of cancer by the time it is detected which seriously limits their treatment options. Advanced form survival rates have improved from less than 9 months to about 24 months but the progress is not enough. Some low-cost nutritional options may provide prevention benefits. Plant polyphenols such as resveratrol, curcumin (spice), EGCG, quercetin, fish oils,, vitamins and trace elements (E, D, selenium) may significantly reduce or eliminate cancer changes. Chemoprevention, nutritional supplements and health lifestyle adjustments can help reduce the risk. Foods that help colon health include:
• Plant based: polyphenols-berries, tea, grapes/wine, olive oil, chocolate/cocoa, walnuts, peanuts, pomegranates, and most other fruits and vegetables. Powerful members include-curcumin, Resveratrol, quercetin, green tea, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).
• Foods fueling colong health: garlic, cruciferous vegetables and sprouts (broccoli).
• Cancer fighting nutrients: Vitamins E, D, calcium, Folate, B6, B12, selenium, omega 3 fatty acids (DHA, EPA).

SCIATICA, NEURITIS, NUMBNESS, TINGLING, ARM PAIN, LEG PAIN, THORACIC OUTLET, CARPAL TUNNEL, and PLANTAR FASCIITS. For Radiating Neck and Back Pain, are drugs and surgery the only solution? It depends. For cases, where herniated discs or bone spurs are pressing on the nerves or spinal cord surgery may be necessary. Given the risks, however, surgery should always be a last resort once non-surgical conservative methods have been tried. Nerve problems can cause pain, weakness and dysfunction.

What are the options? Traditional medical options include medications for pain and inflammation, physical therapy, and epidural steroid injections. Conservative options include manipulation therapy (chiropractic), traction, nutritional anti-inflammatory methods, rehab, and where possible release or mobilization of entrapped nerves (nerve mobilization or neurodynamics).

How does nerve release or mobilization work? Determining the cause is important. If certain problems are found such as a herniated disc, degenerative disc, or thoracic outlet syndrome for example, appropriate treatment for the condition is in order as well as specific treatment for the nerve. Isolation of whether the nerve is failing to glide, slide or stretch as needed determines the approach. Nerve tension tests and standard orthopedic and neurological tests and maneuvers to determine the cause help the clinician determine the appropriate method of treatment. Combined treatment methods may be necessary such as exercises, clinician intervention, manipulation, strengthening, and structural correction to achieve the best outcome. Normally, such problems develop gradually and may take some time to resolve. Scar tissue and adhesions may need to be resolved and healed. In my practice, centralization of the pain and symptom relief are key indicators as to patient progress. If we can move the pain, or other radiating symptoms such as numbness and tingling, towards the spine, progress is being made. Treatment progress can be slow and frustrating for the patient in the beginning. Nerves do not heal fast when traumatized. However, the risks are much less and the costs are significantly lower with less invasive methods. If you would like more information, give me a call at 432-570-8792 or e-mail me at aikidoc1@yahoo.com and I’ll gladly answer your questions.

Now if the plantar fasciitis/heel spurs threw you as to how that could be nerve pain, here’s an answer. Sometimes it is due to inflammation of the nerves on the inside of the arch and mimics the pain from a spur. Another words, it can be misdiagnosed as due to a spur, even with an x-ray showing a spur. The treatment will fail if the nerve is inflamed.

The top 10 diseases that affect men
• Heart attack and cardiac arrest
• Hypertension
• High cholesterol
• Strokes
• Diabetes
• Lung cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Prostate disease
• Testicular disease/cancer
• Depression

Other Health and Nutrition News:
  • National cancer institute reports that CoQ10 may slow tumor growth and help in cancer treatment. Animal studies have found it boosts the immune system and helps fight certain infections and cancers; it protects the hearts of animals given anticancer drugs that damage the heart; it may stop cancer cells from growing. It may also help cardiac endurance.
  • Miscellaneous: DHEA helps improve bone density; vitamin D improves brain function; vitamin E lowers prostate cancer risk; magnesium decreases blood pressure.; stroke risk is lower among tea drinkers. green tea extract helps fight leukemia; B vitamins may help autism; high triglycerides are tied to diabetic nerve damage; ginger reduces nausea in cancer patients.
  • Inflammation plays a central role in cardiovascular disease, obesity and metabolic syndrome (LEF).
  • Micronized diosmin may help with lower leg circulatory problems such as chronic venous disease, lymphedema, venous leg ulcers, and improve varicose and spider veins. They also help hemorrhoids.
  • The Mediterranean diet helps control diabetes.
  • A new brain trauma sign appears to be an early indication of brain trauma. It has been noticed in athletes and is a fencer like position. After the person has been knocked out and they hit the ground their hands assume a position as if they are in a fencing stance with one hand forward to the other. This may be more reliable than some of the other neurological examinations.
  • The European Journal of Cardiology recently recommend that low dose aspirin as a primary preventative was not recommended for prevention of cardiovascular events due to potential complications.
  • The CDC is urging vaccination for H1N1 (formerly know as swine flu) due to its continuation throughout the summer and the large number of cases in the southeast. Here’s the website: http://www.flu.gov/.
To prevent the flu the CDC recommends:
• Cover your cough
• Wash your hands frequently
• If you have a fever, stay home for at least 24 hrs after that fever has ended
• Get a vaccine when it becomes available

From the FUTURIST
10 Forces Driving Business Futures:
  • China emergence as world's largest economic power
  • Global Demographic and migration shifts
  • Energy and water shortages
  • Managing waste, reusing products
  • Falling Education standards, less-skilled thought leaders
  • Brand relationships intensify
  • Instant gratification shopping
  • On-demand media
  • Customization, personalization, and community experiences
  • Youth rules
Disclaimer:  The above blog is produced purely for information purposes and its not intended for recommendations for treatment.  Please see your health care provider on any health issues.

3 comments:

  1. I do like your emphasis that surgery isn't the first or second or whatever choice -- there are other avenues to be explored first! (And yes, I speak from personal experience, through the experience of family members.) Sufferers need to do their homework -- don't just accept a doctor's word you need to have surgery. Look at spinal decompression, for example. There's a book out there, "Surgery Not Included" that talks about that procedure for low back and neck pain, or herniated or degenerative disc, that says that procedure costs about 1-tenth the cost of surgery and looks to be more than 50 percent more successful (long-term) than surgery. Definitely worth looking into!

    Oops -- book is by Dr. Richard Busch.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chiropractic saves patients money by reducing their need for pain medication. Many drugs merely mask pain without addressing its underlying cause. Chiropractic goes to the root of the problem, helping patients live pain-free without the use of medication.

    Have you ever estimated how much money your family spends on pain medication per year? If not, calculate it now. (Take care to include over-the-counter drug costs, which alone can reach monumental sums.) Chances are you’re spending more on covering up your pain with drugs than it would cost to treat your family to a year’s worth of preventative chiropractic care!

    Americans like to pride ourselves as having the best healthcare system the world but unfortunately that is not the case. We have a medical care system, not a healthcare system.
    The current system of care focuses on disease treatment . We need a change to a system that is focused on disease prevention and health promotion.

    http://www.downtownseattlechiropractic.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Prescription drugs, surgery, pain killers, etc, just numb your pain and don’t do anything to fix the problem, yet they are responsible for 106,000 deaths per year.

    Eat less food. Eat healthier food. Exercise. Don’t smoke. Get adjusted by your chiropractor. These simple lifestyle choices all have a positive long-term impact on your health.

    ReplyDelete