Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The first symptom if a heart attack in 50% of first time cases is DEATH.

Many in our country want our attention in health care to move toward  health promotion and disease prevention.

Health promotion is about teaching people to utilize what they have at hand to stay healthy. Avoiding know disease agents, like guns, smoking, over weight and unprotected sex. Education can only go so far though. In the end health promotion becomes an individual choice, many time driven by socioeconomic constraints.

Disease prevention is about early detection; screenings, annual exams and the active search for early markers of disease. Typically many of these medical disease preventions begin at 50 years of age. Family history of disease is enough reason to push your doctor into earlier screenings if you're under 50.

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a public opinion survey that finds that 71 percent of Americans favor an increased investment in disease prevention and that disease prevention is one of the most popular components of health reform.  Forty-four percent of Americans strongly favor investing more in prevention.


http://healthyamericans.org/report/70/prevention-survey-II

For more information on preventive medicine contact us at the link below:
http://www.denverpaincare.com

Health Care Reform: Now What?

As you know Ive been in health care delivery as an acupuncturist and chiropractor for the past 20 years. Monday we discussed the the Health Care Reform bill that was made into law yesterday. There was a lot to say about it,  some negative and some positive. In the end I dont think we can really say until the dust settles.

From Kaiser Health News this article will answer what we know now.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34609984/ns/health-health_care/?GT1=43001

Time for Exercise

The human body was meant to move. The effects of exercise on the body are well know. These include improved cardiovascular health, lowered blood pressure, improved bone density, improved immunity, improved ability for self repair, maintaining optimal weight, development of lean muscle and its as good for mild to moderate depression as medications.

We all need to find time to move our body and exercise. For many, home work outs will increase compliance and likelihood for success. If you are one of these people there are numerous resources already right in your home that you already pay for.

Cable and Dish both provide exercise videos. These videos come from great sources like the Biggest Loser and other well know fitness experts. They change monthly and offer a nice variety of options from walking, abs, yoga, Pilates, and weight training.

Below is a like for a home exercise program that takes about twenty minutes. Get into exercise and see how good it feels to be strong in body and mind.
 
http://www.toyourhealth.com/mpacms/tyh/article.php?id=1277

Health and Healing

Ive been treating people with pain for over twenty years. In that time I have observed some common threads. Health doesn't come from a pill, a needle or a surgery. Health isn't just the lack of disease. Health is not all genetic. Some people are able to heal while others are not. Lifestyle and thought control more of health than we give credit.


I have discovered a simple ways to learn more about how our thoughts and lifestyle influence our health, happiness and life. Please check the contents of a website called Personal Life Media. I am certain you will find something on there you will like. Topics like wight loss, relationships, money and spirituality will provide ideas to help you feel your best. 


http://personallifemedia.com/

Vitamin D and Pain

Ive been out of school 20 plus years and in that time vitamin D research has gone through the roof. Vitamin D has been found to be helpful in back pain, fibromyalgia, depression, balance, cardiovascular health and, bone density.

I recommend it all day long for people who have pain. Studies show that many people who are in pain are low in Vitamin D. Other studies show that pain patients low in Vitamin D typically require twice as many opiates to help manage their pain. Vitamin D has been shown to help low back pain. Physicians at the Mayo Clinic recommend checking Vitamin D levels in people who have pain and treating it appropriately. 

In a study of 1500 people used a loading dose of 10,000 iu/day for three months and a maintenance dose of of 5000 iu/day for the remainder of the year resulted in only 46% of the people reached optimal levels of Vitamin D.



TAKE HOME MESSAGE
People in pain may benefit from Vitamin D supplementation. Safe levels appear to be between 5000-10000 iu/day.

Some References:
http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2009/03/20/mayo-clinic-researchers-link-vitamin-d-and-chronic-pain-relief/

J Am Board Fam Med. 2009 Jan-Feb;22(1):69-74.Improvement of chronic back pain or failed back surgery with vitamin D repletion: a case series.

Schwalfenberg G.Department of Family Medicine, University of Alberta, Canada.

Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2003 Jan 15;28(2):177-9.Vitamin D deficiency and chronic low back pain in Saudi Arabia. Al Faraj S, Al Mutairi K.

Department of Medicine, Riyadh Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Nov;26(11):1895-901. Epub 2007 Mar 22.Hypovitaminosis D in female patients with chronic low back pain.

Lotfi A, Abdel-Nasser AM, Hamdy A, Omran AA, El-Rehany MA. Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Department, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, 13 Botros Ghally Street, 11341, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt.

http://www.denverpaincare.com/

Acupuncture; the Brain and Pain

Acupuncture is well know for affecting pain in the body. Used for centuries medical data continues to support its effectiveness. Several studies have show that acupuncture can deactivate pain sensors in the brain. Functional MRI (fMRI) performed at UC Irvine has shown people with low back pain all had certain parts of the brain that perceive pain deactivated after receiving acupuncture.

Another recent study shows much of the same. Researchers at the University of York and the Hull York Medical School published in Brain Research, indicates that acupuncture has a significant effect on specific neural structures. When a patient receives acupuncture treatment, a sensation called deqi can be obtained; scientific analysis shows that this deactivates areas within the brain that are associated with the processing of pain.

Last summer, following research conducted in York, acupuncture was recommended for the first time by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) as a treatment option for NHS patients with lower back pain. NICE guidelines now state that GPs should 'consider offering a course of acupuncture comprising a maximum of 10 sessions over a period of up to 12 weeks' for patients with this common condition.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE
If your back hurts and you have not tried acupuncture you owe it to yourself to undergo a short trial of acupuncture.

To learn more or try acupuncture go to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100204101736.htm
http://www.denverpaincare.com

How Acupuncture Works

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to help relieve human suffering. The National Institutes of Health recommend acupuncture as safe and effective for many conditions like back pain, arthritis and nausea to name a few. Like much of medicine, new discoveries in acupuncture better explain how it works. 

Biomedical acupuncture works from a western premise of anatomy and physiology. It has less to do with meridians and more to do with nerves and blood flow. Most acupuncture points historically are located near nerve bundles. This could account for the success of acupuncture prior to being able to describe how it works. Once a needle is place in the body, signaling to the brain occurs. Studies show that this signaling can decrease pain perception in several parts of the brain. In addition, the body sees the needle as a foreign object and immediately beings to send blood and anti inflammatories to the area. This increase in circulation and release of anti inflammatories eases tight and painful muscles, making them easier to stretch and loosen up.

Twisting the needle causes the muscle fibers and fascia to wrap around the needle shaft. This tugging on these tissues stimulates those tissues to realign, release chemicals that stimulate healing and break down scar tissue. This type of needle manipulation has been done for centuries with exceptional results even though we are just learning how how it works.

Once the needle is removed there are tiny needle holes left in the tissue. There is no bleeding from these small lesions but the body recognizes this as an injury. Studies show that releases of about 12 different healing chemicals are released into the blood to heal the lesions. These healing chemical circulate to all tissues, lasting up to five days helping many ailments.

Acupuncture doesn’t work in a vacuum. The healthier the person is the greater the effects. There is nothing introduced into the body from the needle. Acupuncture stimulates the body’s healing ability. If a body is depleted from a poor lifestyle, diet or repeated injury there may be little left to stimulate.

Biomedical Acupuncture works well for about 60-70% of people. Biomedical Acupuncture works quickly, is reproducible, and reliable. Biomedical Acupuncture is often painless and works in about 4-6 visits.  

To learn more or try Biomedical Acupuncture:

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/
http://denverpaincare.com