Tag Archives: Health

Chiropractic Treatment for Lumbar Disk Herniation

10 Dec

The annulus of the intervertebral disk is comprised of tough, dense, and strong cartilaginous fibers that protect the nucleus within, which facilitates the movement of the spine. If the structure of the annulus is compromised, the nucleus can leak into or beyond the annulus, a condition that may be classified as a disk herniation, protrusion, extrusion, or sequestration. In the event a disk herniation in the lumbar spine places pressure on a lumbar nerve root, an individual may feel pain down into the leg, which is called lumbosacral radiculopathy or sciatica. Absence a red flag—infection, fracture, cancer, and cauda equina syndrome (loss of bowel and/or bladder control)—that may necessitate immediate emergency and/or surgical intervention, what treatment approach may best serve a patient with a newly diagnosed lumbar disk herniation?

In 2022, researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study that looked at outcomes of more than 11,000 patients under age 49 with a newly diagnosed lumbar disk herniation, half of whom received initial treatment from a doctor of chiropractic. While the authors of the study note that additional studies are needed, their analysis revealed that lumbar disk herniation patients whose first choice of treatment is chiropractic care are significantly (up to two-times) less likely to undergo lumbar diskectomy in the following two years than disk patients who initially seek out a different healthcare provider.

It should be noted that treatment guidelines generally advise conservative treatment approaches, which include chiropractic care, before consulting with a surgeon. However, another study published in 2022 found that, among a group of 144 patients who underwent back surgery, 60 (41.7%) did not receive any conservative treatment in the six months before their procedure. A 2021 study that looked at questionnaires completed by 3,724 adults revealed that the majority of respondents believe that surgery is always needed for a disk herniation, which is inaccurate.

For the management of a lumbar disk herniation, doctors of chiropractic will typically employ a multimodal approach that includes spinal manipulative therapy, mobilization therapy, soft tissue therapy, and exercise training. Chiropractors may also offer additional services such as traction or non-surgical decompression that can benefit such patients. If the patient does not experience improvement in their pain and disability or their condition worsens, they may be referred to an allied healthcare provider to explore other treatment options.

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An Important Message From The Most Famous Chiropractor You’ve Probably Never Heard Of.

24 Feb

There is a very famous person you probably do not know was a Chiropractor.  Here is a quote from one of his shows… let’s see if you can guess who it is…

“You know this is a nation of tired people.

“Everyone is tired.

“Everyone is suffering from that disease I like to call pooped-out-itis.  

“People wake up in the morning they are tired.  They go to bed at night they are tired.  They are tired throughout the day.  And life doesn’t hold much is store for anyone when you are tired all the time.  

“Now let’s find out why people are tired.

“#1 LACK OF EXERCISE.

“#2 EMPTY CALORIES.

“#3 NERVOUS TENSION.”

Know who it is?  It was Jack Lalanne (yes, he was a Chiropractor) and this quote was from the 1950s!  Jack was far ahead of his time. It’s no wonder he was able to perform all those incredible feats of strength and lived to be 96 years old.

Here’s the best part (and how this ties into this month’s newsletter)…

On the same video we pulled the above quote from, Jack says (in reference to something he was reading), “The doctor emphasized the importance of physical exercise.  There is evidence to show that hard physical work is good for us, but moderation and consistency is important.  We ought to play 3 holes of golf every day and not 18 of golf all at once.”

Jack went on to say, “Try to get a few minutes of exercise every day rather than to get a whole lot every once in a while.”

In this month’s Health News & Views, there is information from a new study that says strenuous exercising may be bad for your heart.  It seems that Jack Lalanne had one of the keys to health and success back in the 50s:  Consistency and Moderation.

Eat right, get proper rest, reduce stress, exercise moderately… and do it all CONSISTENTLY.  In other words, be the tortoise, not the hare!

There are no quick fixes.  But, there are long-term solutions  So, start right now.

Watching Your Back,

Dr. Brent Binder

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Is Exercise A Drug and Can It Hurt Your Heart?

21 Feb

“Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy.” ~ Isaac Newton

In today’s high-tech, fast paced society, we all tend to over think,  over complicate, and make things more difficult.  This is especially true when it comes to our health.

For example, there is pretty good evidence that exercise is good for you and people who exercise are, in general, healthier than people who do not exercise.

Few people would dispute it,  but that simple statement can be taken to the EXTREME. How? Many people think if a little exercise improves health, then more must really improve health.

Well, some researchers are now saying this thought process may be very, very, very flawed.

Here is why:  Researcher Dr. James O’Keefe, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute of St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, reported in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings that strenuous exercise might actually harm your heart.

According to Daily Mail, “Extreme exercise, such as marathons, may permanently damage the heart and trigger rhythm abnormalities… [Researchers] say the safe ‘upper limit’ for heart health is a maximum of an hour a day, after which there is little benefit to the individual. 

“A review of research evidence by US physicians says intensive training schedules and extreme endurance competitions can cause long-term harm to people’s hearts. Activities such as marathons, iron man distance triathlons, and very long distance bicycle races may cause structural changes to the heart and large arteries, leading to lasting injury.” 

Dr. James O’Keefe said, “Physical exercise, though not a drug, possesses many traits of a powerful pharmacologic agent. A routine of daily physical activity can be highly effective for prevention and treatment of many diseases, including coronary heart disease, hypertension, heart failure, and obesity.

“However, as with any pharmacologic agent, a safe upper dose limit potentially exists, beyond which the adverse effects of physical exercise, such as musculoskeletal trauma and cardiovascular stress, may outweigh its benefits.”

Dr. O’Keefe thinks the research suggests that extreme endurance training can cause elevated cardiac biomarkers and transient structural cardiovascular changes that normalized in about a week.

The review found:

Approximately 12% of seemingly healthy marathon runners showed evidence for patchy myocardial scarring.

The two-year follow-up showed a significantly higher rate of coronary heart disease in marathon runners versus runners who do not run marathons.

Elite level athletes commonly develop abnormal electrocardiograms. Studies show that too much exercise can lead to abnormal heart rhythms.

Continued excessive exercise may lead to arterial wall stiffening.

It is important to note that Dr. O’Keefe mentioned long-term, vigorous exercisers have a lower death and disability rate than non-exercisers.

If the information in the report is accurate, exercising like crazy is better than not exercising at all… but moderate exercise is better than over-doing it.

Many people (marathon runners, triathletes, etc.) were enraged by this report, and quite frankly, many factors were not accounted for in this research.

For example, does nutrition change the results?  What about high carbohydrates versus low carbohydrates?  The list here could go on and on…

But the really important point is:  EVERYTHING HAS LIMITS.

For example, most people believe that drinking water is good for you.  Not always. If you drink too much water, you can actually DIE. In fact, a 2005 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that close to one-sixth of marathon runners develop some degree of hyponatremia, or dilution of the blood caused by drinking too much water.

Drinking the proper amount of water is good for you.  Too little is bad.  Too much is also bad.

We may need to look at exercise the same way.  Too little exercise is bad and too much is also bad.

Genetically, we are all different. We all have different amounts of stress and strain we can take.

But, we all have a threshold.  Exercising up to that threshold will be beneficial, but crossing it will not be beneficial and probably harmful.

Will some people be “okay” doing marathons or triathlons because they are genetically superior?  Probably. It’s just like some people smoke and live to be 95 years old and seem to be “healthy” their whole lives.

Then again, other people get lung cancer in their 40’s and don’t survive it.

Famous Chiropractor Jack Lalanne frequently said it is all about moderation.  He thought it was better to exercise a little every day than to go crazy every now and then. He was probably on to something.

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Don’t Drop the Ball at Home, be Gentle with Broccoli, & Freeze it Fast.

9 Dec

Dr. Michael F. Roizen

Co-Author of 4 #1 NY Times Bestsellers including: YOU Staying Young.

The Owner’s Manual For Extending Your Warranty (Free Press)

Our basic premise is that your body is amazing.  You get a do over. It doesn’t take that long, and it isn’t that hard if you know what to do.  In these notes, we give you a short course in what to do so it becomes easy for you, and for you to teach others. We want you to know how much control you have over both the  quality and length of your life.

Just because Mother Nature packs nutrients into fruits and vegetables more tightly than commuters on a Japanese subway doesn’t guarantee that the good stuff will last forever. How you treat produce before you eat it has a big impact on how many nutrients are still there when you consume it. Here’s how to handle three favorites:

1. Keep uncut watermelon out of the fridge. That’s a big whew, since there’s never room for one anyway. Whole watermelons stored at room temperature deliver more cell-protecting phytonutrients (specifically lycopene and beta carotene) than melons that are refrigerated or even fresh off the farm. That’s because watermelons continue to ripen and build phytonutrients after they’re picked and a big chill cuts that process short. For a cool treat, chill the sliced fruit right before serving (and of course store any leftovers in the fridge).

2. Slice fresh fruit yourself. Pre-cut fruit saves time but it opens the door for vitamin C to escape. Kiwifruit, pineapple, and cantaloupe seem particularly prone to vitamin C loss, according to one of our favorite physician/chefs, John La Puma, MD.

3. Be gentle with broccoli. Cooking broccoli at too high a temperature decreases levels of sulforaphane, its main cancer-fighting nutrient. Light cooking, however, actually boosts that good-for-you compound. Cooking broccoli to 140 degrees is ideal (158 degrees was the point at which sulforaphane content dropped)—but if you don’t want to make a science project out of your broccoli, know that lightly steaming or sautéing it does the trick.

Don’t drop the ball at home! Maintain your fridge at 40°F or lower, and keep hot foods at 140 degrees or hotter (not broccoli, though). You usually can’t see, smell, or taste disease-causing bacteria in food. But at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F, these dangerous germs multiply faster than rabbits in a pet store. So keep hot foods piping hot and cold foods frosty cold. Refrigerate perishables, prepared foods, and leftovers within two hours of buying, cooking, or serving. Wash all produce multiple times.  Keep your hands, knives, cutting boards, and countertops clean while preparing food and use separate knives and boards for meats and produce.

Freeze it fast. Limit how long you leave raw meats in the fridge: 1-2 days for fish, ground meats, sausage, and poultry and 3-5 days for beef, pork, or veal. If it’s going to be longer, freeze it. This won’t kill existing bacteria but it will prevent more from growing quickly.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to send more questions–you can always send us questions at youdocs@gmail.com , and some of them we may know enough to answer (we’ll try to get answers for you if we do not know).

Young Dr Mike Roizen (aka, The Enforcer)

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