October addendum

My office, Alternative Chiropractic Solutions, is a sponsor of Gabriel Tavarez's Midland Fitness 12-week your best body challenge. We have fliers in the office. It begins October 3rd and gives a 12 week nutrition and exercise program to help lose weight. You get a free Best Body Orientation, 10 group fitness training sessions, and a complete 12 week Transformation System including exercise and nutition programs to follow on your own with their help.  They do require a $55 charitable donation to St. Jude's Children's Hospital at Orientation to participate. Go to http://www.yourbestbodychallenge.com/ for more information.

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.

September Health Blog

Natural Health News:
Optimists live longer. Speaking of living longer-a recent study shows both men and women in the US are now living longer.

• Foods that help lower cholesterol: fatty fish, walnuts, oatmeal, and oat bran, and foods fortified with plant sterols or stanols. Green tea may also lower your bad cholesterol.
• Gentle and regular exercise can help fibromyalgia and arthritis patients get their lives back
• Fibromyalgia symptoms: Muscle aching all over or at specific points (neck, back, knee, shoulder); multiple tender/trigger pints (11/18 locations). Risk factors include other inflammatory diseases (lupus, Sjogren's, rheumatoid arthritis). female (80% women), ages 20-50. No known cause.
• Vibration may help with muscle stiffness, shaking and sleep in Parkinson's patients. Charcot and later Tourette found that vibration helped many Parkinson's patients but this fact was lost as a possible treatment later. A recent study in Germany found significant positive benefits. Tremor and rigidity scores improved by 25 and 24% with whole body vibration (WBV)
• Thunder God Vine (Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F) may help with rheumatoid arthritis.
• Mediterraean Diet plus exercise-may help keep Alzheimer's at bay.
• Psoriasis may be treated at home with Ultraviolet lamps.

10 Things Not to Do with Swine Flu

1. Don't expect a season flu shot to protect against swine flu.
2. Don't expect a face mask to protect you.
3. Don't hold or attend a swine flu party
4. Don't forget planning
5. Don't forget to clean with household disinfectants
6. Don't get complacent
7. Don't panic
8. Don't leave home if you have flu like symptoms
9. Don't rush to the ER. The CDC recommends a trip for any of the following- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, Sudden dizziness, Confusion, Severe or persistent vomiting, Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough. Having a high fever for more than three days is another danger sign, according to the WHO.
10. If you are a parent, don't forget to teach your kids swine flu protection

Risk Factors For Osteoporosis:

1. Lactose intolerance
2. Asthma
3. Rheumatoid Arthritis
4. Beast cancer
5. Anorexia
6. Diabetes

5 common causes of pelvic pain

1. Uterine Fibroids
2. Menorrhagia (vaginal bleeding)
3. Uterine prolapse
4. Endometriosis
5. Chronic Pelvic pain.

August 2009 Blog

Natural Health News:

• A recent pilot study with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa found chiropractic care helps reduce health care costs and the need for surgery.
• Obese patients spend 42% more a year on healthcare costs than normal weight counterparts. Obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, some cancers and cardiovascular disease. Obesity is higher in hispanics and blacks and women have a higher obesity rate. It is more prevalent in the South and Midwest.
• Biology News Net, July 30, 2009. Resveratrol {found in red wine and supplements} may be harnessable as a treatment for inflammatory diseases, such as appendicitis, peritonitis, and systemic sepsis, and may also lead to new resveratrol-based drugs that are even more effective, experiments by Scientists from Scotland and Singapore with mice suggest. They also found that resveratrol used a one-two punch to stop inflammation in the mice by preventing the body from creating two different molecules known to trigger inflammation, sphingosine kinase and phospholipase D.

News of Medicine:

• Stopping smoking after surgery greatly reduces complications and lowers mortality risk in postoperative patients.
• Antidepressants are effective for various types of chronic pain, such as physical pain associated with depression, neuropathy, and fibromyalgia.
• Now this one is depressing. They actually found an explanation why smokers are lower in body mass index. There is a fat regulating gene that is up regulated in the body. Now that doesn't mean smoking is a valid weight loss approach. Good news. From the University of Wisconsisn: The recent move by the Obama administration to put tobacco regulation under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration was hailed by leading tobacco experts as another step forward in the 100-year march toward eradicating tobacco consumption in the United States. Tobacco use has declined from 42% of the U.S. adult population in 1965 to 20% in 2007, thanks to taxation, restrictions on advertising, and warning labels, according to researchers Michael Fiore and Timothy Baker of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. To accelerate this trend, the researchers urge regulators to increase excise taxes on tobacco, eliminate nicotine in all tobacco products, ban all cigarette advertising (including sponsorships and other promotional activities), and provide counseling and medication for every smoker who wants to quit. "The progress made in reducing tobacco use over the last 50 years should in no way temper our commitment to further reductions," says Fiore. "If appropriate steps are taken, a tobacco-free nation can be achieved within a few decades."
• Tick season: seveal serious diseases like rocky mountain spotted fever and Lyme's disease can result from tick bites-especially if frequenting wooded areas or rustic areas with deer. West Texas is not too bad but other areas may be risk factors.

Some Future Thoughts:

• In addition to nanotechnology assisting in health care there are other possibilities for the future. Vitual physicians (holographs), internet connected lab results: your home blood sugar results fed to the internet, your bathroom scale giving your doctor weight information, blue-tooth/WIFI connections providing heart monitoring in real time. The technology is there in many cases and rapidly developing in others-the main obstacle will be people. Now, I'm not sure you'll ever be able to get an adjustment on line. A major social-technological question for me, is what happens to the role of human contact in the health model? As technology has evolved, doctors are interacting and talking with their patients less and less in many cases and my experience. I often get asked by patients to interpret their test results for them or explain them. Over reliance on technology takes the judgment and thinking out of the interaction-seeing the patient has a lot of important information. One patient, I had for example, had an ear infection and dizziness. She told the doctor she thought she had an ear infection, but because of the dizziness the doctor refused to look in the ear-even when asked-and ordered a MRI. I told her to find another doctor-she did. She had to have drains put in her ears and I gave her some exercises to reposition the little inner ear granules and she was fine. Testing should not replace judgment and examination-another case: $40,000 in testing for dizziness and no results. Patient had to stop driving truck. My treatment $90- treated for that same benign vertigo with exercises due to prior ear issues and some upper neck manipulation-3 treatments and he went back to driving truck. And we wonder why medical care is high.

July Blog

July Blog Update
by Dr. John H. Riggs
Alternative Chiropractic Solutions, 570-8792

HEALTH AND NUTRITION NEWS

Cervicogenic Headaches (the migraine mimicker)

• Migraines are generally considered vascular headaches.
• A headache that can mimic the migraine is a "cervicogenic headache". Cervicogenic headaches are caused by dysfunction (generally locking) of the spinal joints in the upper neck (generally C1-2 but also the occiput C1 and C2-3 joints as well). This headache can be severe, unilateral and cause auras, dizziness, nausea and light sensitivity. It is characterized by pain starting in the base of the skull and sometimes going up the back of the head to the eyes. There is considerble tenderness under the base of the skull. Other conditions need to be ruled out initially. Treatment consists of manipulation (traditional or low force, soft tissue massage, traction, and therapy modalities of electrical stimulation and ice. Several treatments may be necessary to resolve the headache and home therapy and home traction may also be helpful. Although medications may be helpful with the pain and inflammation (see risks last blog), the headache will return until normal joint motion is restored and the muscle spasms resolved.

Rib Pain (costovertebral pain)

The ribs insert at the junction of the costovertebral joint- vertebra and rib junction-and can cause considerable pain. Motor vehicle accidents, improper sleeping, sports, repetitive stress, among others can result in locking of the ribs. The most common problem areas are between the shoulder blades and can cause a stiff neck and also pain on breathing. It can also cause chest pain as well. If a recent cold or flu was present, pleurisy or pleuritis may need to be ruled out. Patients with scoliosis often have a lot of rib pain due to the stress put on the rib cage from the twisting of the spine.

Treatment: the most effective treatment in my experience is to simply restore the rib motion and treat with ice.

Miscellaneous health news

• craving sweets can be a sign of depression
• skipping breakfast can cause you to get fat by tricking your brain into craving higher calorie food.
• Alternatives to flexeril: Skullcap and valarian root are anti-spasmodic herbs. Bromelain taken between meals and eicosapentaenoic acid (fish oil) are good natural anti-inflammatories. Ice and massage are also beneficial in reducing muscle spasm and inflammation.
• Tai Chi has been found to help ease pain in many arthritis patients.
• Vinegar appears to turn on the fat burning gene.
• FDA is concerned about the overuse of acetaminophen (Tylenol) causing liver damage.
• Artificial sweeteners are linked to a 2 fold increase in diabetes.

News From Medicine

• Lower blood pressure without medication. These strategies are not new -- they include weight reduction, increase in physical activity, restriction of sodium, following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet, tobacco cessation, and reduction of alcohol intake. Stress management, device-guided therapeutic breathing, patient education.

June Blog

SCIATICA:

What is Sciatica? Sciatica is pain radiating down the back of the leg. It is frequently described as a deep tooth ache like pain and sometimes burns. It may be accompanied by numbness and tingling and leg weakness.

What Causes Sciatica? Sciatica is the result of irritation and inflammation of the sciatic nerve. There are a lot of potential problems that can cause sciatic pain: herniated disc, narrowing of the spine, osteoarthritic spurs and joint narrowing, entrapment syndromes (piriformis muscle for example), trauma, lack of proper nerve movement or stretch, cysts/tumors and mechanical joint pain.

How is it Treated? Diagnostic and examination techniques are used to isolate the problem such as x-rays, MRI. If nerve root tension signs are absent, the cause is likely outside the spine.

a. Medical Treatment: surgical intervention, physical therapy, medication, epidural steroids.

b. Chiropractic/Alternative Treatment: manipulation, flexion/distraction, McKenzie exercises, nerve mobilization, physical therapy modalities (electrical pain control, stretching, exercises. deep tissue therapy). Surgical referral for non-responsive cases may be necessary.

Prognosis: guarded. Many people progress to totally pain free in a short time and others may end up with intermittent or permanent residuals.

Caution is always necessary in the case of sciatic pain if progression results in loss of bowel or bladder control, saddle anesthesia, or worsening symptoms.

Restless Leg Syndrome:

What is it? Restless leg syndrome is the sensation of needing to move the legs and may be accompanied by abnormal sensations such as prickling, tingling, crawling sensations.
What causes it? Many conditions can mimic the sensations such as arthritis, varicose veins, interittent claudication, side effects of medications, maintaining uncomfortable positions, and leg cramps. Causes may be linked to kidney failure, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, nerve damage, anemia, and Parkinson's disease.
How is it treated? Medically, treatment consists of medications that are dopamine agonists, anti-convulsives, sedative-hypnotics, opiods. Look for other underlying disease conditions that may mimic RLS (diabetes, anemia).
Are alternative treatments available?

• Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and caffeine.
• Keep your bedroom cool, quiet, and comfortable, and use it only for sleeping, not for watching TV.
• Get regular exercise.
• Massage the leg or the arm, or use heat or ice packs.

PAIN MEDS

NSAIDs. I'm vindicated. Having had previous experience with minor use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) in the form of aspirin and ibuprofen and my wife getting acute gastritis (with at $3,000+ bill for an ER trip) I have been harping on the risks of these medications on the stomach/GI track. The World Health Organization estimated somewhere in the neighborhood of 50% of chronic users have problems. It is my opinion that this may even be low as a lot of people don't end up going to the doctor's office and reporting stomach issues that they self medicate with antiacids or OTC medications like prilosec. The guidelines are as follows: "A recent document by the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has come out with recommendations that anyone over 75 should not take NSAIDs. They recommended use of NSAIDs and COX-2s only "rarely" and "with extreme caution" in highly selected individuals, such as those for whom safer therapies have failed.
For most seniors, acetaminophen (Tylenol, Excedrin) should be considered as "initial and ongoing pharmacotherapy in the treatment of persistent pain, particularly musculoskeletal pain," they said. They noted that the presence of hepatic insufficiency and/or chronic alcohol use are relative contraindications.
Opioids may be safer than long-term NSAID therapy and should be considered for all patients with moderate-severe or quality-of-life-impacting pain, they added. Breakthrough pain with opioids should be anticipated and treated with short-acting, immediate-release opioids. "


In other words, its safer to take opiods than NSAIDs. Tylenol is a safer way to go if no liver or prior alcholic problems. A recent study even questioned the advisability of regular ingestion of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) to keep the blood thin for heart patients. The possible side effects may be worse than the symptoms aspirin is trying to control.

My recommendation: boswellic acids, fish oils. When combined with glucosamine for arthritic joints I have found this helps patients.

Internet Anonymity:

Take care on what you write and post on various internet forums. The anonymity of the internet allows people to write what they want without consequences and without burden of proof. You never know what kind of crackpot you'll run into out there.

May Blog Nutrition and Health Updates

DEGENERATIVE DISC DISEASE: Conservative Treatment Methods

Non-surgical treatment methods are available for degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis changes and resulting problems in the neck and back and joints. These treatment protocols are lower cost, non-invasive and therefore of lower risk. Many complications exist out of osteoarthritic/degenerative changes: sciatica, radiating arm pain, numbness/tingling, spinal stenosis, spinal deformity, loss of mobility, chronic pain.

Treatment Goals for patients depends on the nature and severity of the symptoms. Patients with spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spinal openins) or radiating pain (radiculopathy, sciatica, radiculitis) may require a multi-treatment approach. The following are some of the methods used by doctors of chiropractic to help minimize the need for patient surgery.

• Manipulation-low force or traditional manual techniques to retore normal spinal joint motion. Flexion-distraction and other traction oriented methods may also be used.
  
• Nerve mobilization techniques to release nerves entrapped by adhesions, etc.
  
• Physiotherapy modalities (physical medicine) such as interferential current, ultrasound, deep tissue therapy, postural restoration, and temperature therapy, etc. to treat pain and disability complaints.
  
• Exercise/rehabilitation protocols to restore strength and function and stabilize core muscles.
  
• Nutritional supplementation to reduce inflammation and support disc and cartilage structures.
  
• Medical referral for epidurals, surgical consultations in non-responsive cases or cases of severe pain/deterioration.
  

Medical News:

• H1N1 virus (swine flu) from Medscape. Persons infected with swine flu may appear similar to those with seasonal influenza, presenting with symptoms of acute respiratory illness. Symptoms include at least 2 of the following: Rhinorrhea or nasal congestion; Sore throat; Cough; and Fever. Most at risk include- those who live in areas in the United States with confirmed human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. (To find the most up-to-date information on areas with confirmed swine influenza cases, go to http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/index.htm) . Also those who have traveled recently to Mexico or were in contact with persons who had febrile respiratory illness and were in areas of the United States with confirmed swine influenza cases or Mexico in the 7 days preceding illness onset. Treatment is anti-viral medications depending on age.
• Aspirin and other platelet medications may increase micro-bleeds in the brain.
• The first quarter of 2008 saw a large increase in serious injuries and deaths linked to prescription medication. Top drugs causing death/injury: Chantix-a stop smoking drug; warfarin-increased with tainted drugs from China; ibuprofen and acetaminophen-OTC pain killers; and other pain mediations/narcotics. Remember: all medications have the potential for serious side effects.
  

Guidelines on Female Exams from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology

• <21> No routine exams unless problems.
  
• 21-29 routine pelvic examination and cytology. Sexually active less that age 25 should be screened for chlamydia and adolescents for gonorrhea.


• 30-64 annual pelvic and cytology reduced to every 2-3 years after 3 normal exams.


• All adolescents and 19-64 sexually active females should be screened for HIV.


• 64+ annual pelvic. No cytology if 3 negative exams and no relevant history.
  

Nutrition News:

Nine foods that help keep weight off: green tea, soups, low-cal green salads, yogurt, water, lite die shakes, beans, whole grain/high fiber cereals, grapefruit.

Alternative Health/Chiropractic News:

Consumer Reports says in its May issue that 80% of adults in the U.S. report having been bothered by back pain at some point in their lives. The Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center surveyed 14,000 subscribers who reported experiencing back pain in the past year but who had never undergone back surgery. More than half said the pain severely limited their daily routines for at least a week, and many said it interfered with sex, sleep, and weight control.
It found that:
88% of respondents said back pain recurred through the year.
35% said they’d never consulted a professional to help with lower back pain.
Of those who’d sought help:
58% said chiropractic manipulation had helped a lot.
48% said massage had eased their pain.
46% said physical therapy had benefited them.
The respondents were also asked about their satisfaction with various treatments. Of those reporting they were highly satisfied:
59% had seen chiropractors
55% had seen physical therapists
53% had seen acupuncturists
44% had seen physician specialists
34% had seen primary care doctors