Sue's Testimonial on Detoxing

Here is my story short and sweet:

I am 44 yrs old woman and two years ago my body started to give me messages that something was wrong—off balance.(rheumatoid arthritis flare up—don’t have it, insomnia, migraines, dry and greasy hair, dry skin, strong food cravings, lethargic, foggy, somewhat depressed because it was hard to get through my day)  My doctor couldn’t help, blood work was ok, etc.  I went to a naturopathic doctor who showed me how to do a saliva test.  The results showed my adrenal gland was fatigued. 

The way back to health was to take care of myself gently.  I took some vitamin supplements to help but the biggest thing was to eat healthy (no gluten and sugar) and rest. It took about 9 months for me to turn the bend but I still wasn’t feeling up to par. During this time researching what my body was doing I read a lot about healthy eating.

It seemed so hard to give up so much of what I was used to eating. 

Dr. Deane told me about the detox program Dr. Terri was going to support and I knew it was for me.  I decided to do it. It was time.

After 21 days of doing the detox I feel great!! I love the way I am eating and I don’t’ miss anything.  Unbelievable.

About the program-  for me the first 5 days were the hardest . I was crabby –probably all the sugar leaving my body!  After that I felt great. I remember looking at the calendar and seeing when I would have 21 days straight to commit to.  I thought I picked the best time ( I did) but once I got into it I was challenged.  I attended 3 cookouts/parties, had company stay at my house for 4 days and a family that didn’t want to eat the way I was eating.  Well, I overcame everything! I cooked healthy meals for my company with lots of veggies.  I packed my own food when I was on the go—so much easier than you think.  What can be easier than grabbing an apple and packing a salad??  My husband now eats with me too.  A lot of good things happened in those 21 days.

After the program, I still eat the same way and drink one shake a day.  I have learned to love the shakes. 

Childhood Sport Injuries

Does your middle or high school aged child play organized sports?  Now that school has officially begun, school sports have begun as well.  If your child plays on a school team, you might have already been to coach's night and /or have signed waivers for your child to participate.  But, how does the school know that your child is fit enough to play a particular sport?  Yes, I know that all sports require a medical exam prior to a child starting, but...

Do you know what is actually being checked in the pre-season exam?

This exam is, in most cases, simply a basic body systems' exam (eyes, ears, nose, throat, etc..) with a minimal scoliosis evaluation called "Adam's Test", which  happens to be very vague and unreliable test.  If a scoliosis is suspected on the exam, it is reported as either positive or negative on the exam form.  From there, you are notified to follow up with your child's doctor and if its not "severe"  then your child is on a "wait and see" status to see if the scoliosis worsens.  There is so much I could write about scoliosis, but I will have to it for another blog.  Realize for today that scoliosis is not the only structural test worthy of being tested.  There are many other structural abnormalities that are left unchecked that can affect your child's injury status.

So basically, this pre-season exam provides almost no biomechanical information on your child's structure.  Most potential sports injuries are biomechanical or structural in nature, and much can be done before the season begins to reduce the likelihood of injury.  When a professional athlete is being considered by a franchise, that franchise puts the athlete through a battery of tests that also include speed, strength, flexibility, endurance, body composition, and structural integrity.   They are not going to invest money for a player if they can't pass their exhaustive physical exam. Now I realize your child is not a professional athlete, but the point is that most of the tests that are performed by a professional franchise are for preventative measures.  They are not going to sign an athlete that is going to be prone to injury.

A structural exam detects imbalances, weakness, and sites of potential injury.  A detailed, customized corrective program is then designed to balance and strengthen these defecits before injury occurs.  This is true preventative care!

I want to point out that I am not referring to serious traumas like broken bones, concussions, severe cuts and lacerations.  Those are obviously traumas that happen no matter what condition your child is in.  Again, most injuries that occur are biomechanical or structural in nature and are not addressed or corrected.    In these cases, when a child is injured he/she is seen by a doctor, trainer, therapist, etc...   A little rest and maybe some therapy is usually prescribed to address the injury, but the weak link in the child's structure was not addressed.

To you give you an example from our office, a high school sophomore came in with knee pain.  The parents had already seen the athletic trainer and their primary medical doctor.  Wraps, rubs, stretches, and medications were not solving this child's problem.  We did a structural exam and found abnormal shifts in the child's spine, hips, knees, and feet.  These are findings that are significant to allowing the child's joints to work normally without excessive wear and tear and undue stress.  Just like if a mechanic found that the front end of your car is out of alignment, then the tires are going to wear down unevenly (arthritis) and the steering performance will be affected (muscles). Your child's structure is just like an automobile (metaphorically speaking), except that replacing your child's "parts" is not an option. 

The patient was put on a structural correction program which addressed all of his issues.  This patient is now in college and playing competitive sports without any relapse of knee pain.

Short term fixes are just that, short term.  Long term fixes require a blue print and plan to correct structural problems to allow the body to be resilient to the stress put upon it whether it's from sports or just living life.

Have a great Day,
Dr. Deane

Osteoporosis part II

To continue from where I left off on my last blog entry ,there are several reasons we are seeing such an increase in the rates of osteoporosis in the United States, but the following appear to be the top ones.

            •            Overly processed and acid forming foods

            •            Decreased physical activity

            •            Decreased sun exposure.

Osteoporosis occurs more often in countries where the diet is high in refined carbohydrates (white flour & white sugar). These tend to cause an increase in the loss of vital minerals into the urine. Most people think that when someone is a vegetarian that they have one of the healthiest diets around when in all actuality many western vegetarians have a diet that is loaded with refined wheat, refined soy, refined sugars & many other non-food sources. So, just by virtue of being a vegetarian doesn’t make one’s diet healthy & full of bone building nutrients. 

Lack of physical activity is yet another reason we continue to see osteoporosis rates increasing. A good exercise regimen would include 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, in addition to some weight training exercises. Bone responds to the stress/demands placed on them. Building muscles= building bones.

Vitamin D is also crucial for calcium uptake. Despite synthetic vitamin D being added to milk & other non-foods, biochemically it is not a natural form of vitamin D & thus falls. Natural vitamin D is food in fatty fish & made in the skin. Unless you eat A LOT of fish & eggs, getting enough vitamin d from real food is difficult. Sunshine is a terrific way to boost your vitamin D levels to help ensure good bone health.

More calcium supplements are sold than any other, but most of them are not absorbed in the GI tract. This is because most calcium vitamins are sold as the insoluble form of calcium, calcium carbonate. Chalk is made primarily from calcium carbonate. Check your vitamins & see. If you think this is a good form of calcium, save some money & just buy chalk instead of those vitamins.

Another component that many vitamins are missing is the proper ratio of calcium to magnesium. This should be at a 5:1 ration: calcium to magnesium. Go ahead check that bottle again.

Getting calcium from food works the absolute best. Women who get most of their calcium from real foods have stronger bones when compared to those women whose calcium comes from mainly non-food sources (i.e. calcium carbonate & foods fortified with calcium). We don’t know for sure why calcium from real food is more beneficial, but it is more than likely due these foods containing many other compounds that work synergistically with the calcium that allows it to be the most beneficial & useful. Calcium does not work all on it’s own.

Now, when I mention real foods for the best possible calcium, I am in no way talking about milk (dairy).  Although the dairy association wants us all believing that “milk does a body good,” countries with the highest dairy intake (including the US) have the highest rate of hip fractures and osteoporosis. In fact, in the famous Nurses” Health Study, it was shown that the women who had the highest intake of calcium from milk also had a significant increase in fractures. I guess the milk industries new slogan should say “Got Fractures?” 

The best possible source for readily absorbable calcium is from leafy green & cruciferous vegetables. These include cabbage, kale, broccoli, collards, and spinach. Even beans, carrots & sardines are better sources of calcium than milk.

I love being able to empower you, my patients & friends, into making better health choices through chiropractic & nutrition. The adage we are what we eat is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the most important things you can live by. I am currently available for nutritional consultations on Tuesday & Thursday mornings. If you would like to have a complete health assessment done, you can contact me at the office.

Be Health & Be Well.

Osteoporosis

Did you know that your bones are actual living tissue? Your body automatically knows how to build up brand new bone & get rid of the old bone all on its own.

Osteoporosis is a disease where not enough NEW bone is formed; this is more often than not due to nutritional deficiencies & lack of weight bearing exercise.

I don't watch much T.V. these days, so I was actually quite surprised when I turned it on one day & heard Sally Field, the flying nun, say that she had *cured* her osteoporosis by taking a pill once a month. HUH! I stood there with my mouth agape & thought," what a crock!" I don't care how great medical science can be at times, there is no way that taking a pill once a month is going to cure osteoporosis. This once a month pill is strictly for consumer convenience & compliance.

Osteoporosis drugs are BIG business & manufacturers will do just about anything to get most Americans to take these. As typically happens years after a drug hits the market, we have now learned that these osteoporosis drugs are not only ineffective at strengthening bone, but they can cause more unusual fractures. Yep! There are a number of studies revealing just that. 

A bone doesn’t get its strength from its density alone.   Picture your bones like a wall in your house.  Inside that wall there are supports (2x4s) that make the wall strong.  The drywall on the outside is a covering to the wall.  Bones have a matrix of supports (2x4s) that are inside that give support.  Now taking a medication to “thicken the bone” is kind of like throwing extra drywall up on the wall to make it stronger when it would have been better to put more supports in.  This is where the bone density test fails to give an accurate diagnosis.  It strictly measures the thickness of the bone, not the strength. That support system within the bone becomes more developed & adds new calcium when stress that is placed upon that bone (weight bearing exercise). A once a month pill can hardly achieve the same results.  

How is that we have lost so much insight into the intuitive & amazing abilities our bodies have to self heal? It is very dangerous to work against nature: the innate intelligence in your body that knows how to self heal & regulate.  If we are to improve our health, we must stop treating our bodies like garbage pits.

You’ve probably heard about the benefits of taking calcium supplements to prevent osteoporosis, but think about it. If it were really that simple why would we continue to see the rates of osteoporosis increasing? It’s because it isn’t that simple. Just taking a calcium & vitamin D supplement is not the answer. Calcium & vitamin D work together, but they also work with many other nutrients and it’s the combination of all of these factors that protect our bones.

Stay tuned for my next blog entry in a few days.  I will reveal more answers to the osteoporosis riddle and what you can do to avoid osteoporosis.

~Dr. Terri

Herniated Disc and Sciatica? Now What?

Our office sees quite a few patients who suffer with disc problems and sciatica.  They come mainly from referrals from other patients who have had great success in our office.  I would be willing to bet that the reason our success rate is so high is due to the whole process and plan the patient goes through in order to correct their problem.  Typically if you have a disc injury,  it is most likely not the primary cause to your underlying problem.  Yes, the injured disc can be putting pressure on a nerve sending pain or numbness into a leg, but its still not the primary cause.  What is the primary cause you might ask?  Well there are multiple reasons a disc becomes injured and most of these reasons fall under the umbrella of a structural deficit in the spine or frame of the body. Huh?

Let me give you an example.  A patient comes into our office with lower back and leg pain.  They have an MRI demonstrating a herinated disc at L4-5.  Over the past five years, they have tried prescription pain killers and anti-inflammatories, cortisone shots, physical therapy, chiropractic, yoga, acupuncture, massage, and exercise.  Some of the above mentioned strategies may have given a little symptomatic relief, but the pain always returned.

During a consultation I explain what our office focuses on, (structural correction of the spine), why that is important, (its the foundation that dictates the function of the muscles, ligaments, tendons, nerves, and DISCS), and what indicators we are going to look for in the exam to see if their structure is abnormal.  The patient begins to realize that they have not had an exam like this and nobody has really explained in very clear terms how this can be causing their pain.

The patient agrees to have the structural exam and can then see for themselves, the indicators of structural abnormalities.  The first indicator was a short leg due to structural collapse of one of their feet causing their pelvis to be tipped and rotated to one direction putting compression abnormally one side of the disc.  The second indicator was a significant loss of the normal lumbar lordosis (normal side curve) causing increased compression on the discs. Two of the indicators were so obvious for the patient to see in the exam, they were wondering why nobody else made mention of this.

There were more findings in this exam, but to get my point across  I only need to discus those two.  Since there was a structural component to the injury, anything but structural correction will give short term relief at best.  Everything else the patient had tried previously might be successful for simple inflammation and weak muscles, but they didn't address the primary cause.

Even if this patient had spinal surgery, it would not have fixed their structure leaving them with a weakened foundation (the spine) and most likely problems in the future.

You might be thinking at this point, "how do you fix this person's structure?"  Again, every case is different.  Its not a cookie cutter approach.  In this case, we needed to give the patient a treatment plan that corrected, as much as possible, all the abnormalities we found.  The treatment plan included structural corrective adjustments with about 5-6 other corrective procedures performed in the office.  The patient was also fitted for foot correctors and instructed to wear them in their shoes.  Lifestyle and nutritional modifications were reviewed and reinforced to minimize any unnecessary flare-ups.

End result was a very happy patient with a new lease on life!

If you or someone you know has a disc problem, sciatica, or you feel that may have a structural problem give our office a call at 781-825-5555.  Consultations are complementary.  Its a conversation, not a commitment.

Have a great day!

Dr. Deane