Performance Enhancing Drugs

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been treated to the so-called Mitchell report identifying several Major League stars that had used performance enhancing drugs. The report was received with a collective yawn by most Americans. Many were shocked by the seeming apathy at what many consider “cheating” by using steroids or human growth hormone.

But how could we be surprised by the public’s “so what” reaction to the allegations. For years, owners simply turned their back while MLB was enjoying growing fan interest with the home run race between Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa. Better hitters and faster pitchers are good for the game, right? And, what would the player’s union say? After all, more fans and more revenue for MLB mean bigger salaries and prolonged careers for its members. As a fan of Aaron, Mays, Rose, Koufax, Clemente and so many other greats of the past, I’m disgusted and have decided to all but ignore professional sports altogether.

In a society where children from the age of two are given the equivalent of cocaine (Ritalin, Adderol, etc.) supposedly to help them do better in school by suppressing “symptoms” of ADD/ADHD. As adults, we take pills for potency (Viagra, Cialis, etc) or pills to sleep or for depression and anxiety. In fact, our society seems to be based on the premise of “better living through chemistry”. “Whatever it takes” is the mantra of today’s American athlete. Heck, maybe that’s one of the problems facing our entire culture. We’re so bent on winning that we’ve cast aside corny virtues like integrity, hard work and sportsmanship.

There was a time when Americans ridiculed Eastern Bloc countries for using steroids to boost their performance in the Olympics. But then again, that was before the USA decided to use professional basketball, baseball and hockey players to ensure winning Olympic medals. I wonder how many Americans relish the specter of American amateur athletes winning the gold medal in hockey or basketball, any more. I hardly even watch the Olympics these days.

But, unless we’re willing to clean up the rest of society, why the double standard for MLB players? Professional sports in some ways merely reflect social mores. Maybe we’ll eventually get the idea that how we play the game and how we live our own lives are more important than the instant gratification of hollow victory. Real victory is an expression of who you are deep inside and reflects the training, dedication and endurance of one who really loves who they are and what they do. Honor, principle and the game itself are far more important any statistic or season.

The Incredible Shrinking Chiropractor

Those of you that know me, know that I had gained a lot of weight over the last several years. It’s funny in an odd, sad kind of way that while I would be talking to the public about health and a wellness lifestyle, I was doing so while being significantly overweight. It’s obvious that the message that was REALLY getting out to the public was that while I might be a nice guy and that the message SOUNDED good, that I either didn’t believe what I was preaching or at least not living it fully.

Like most folks, one day I reached a point where I had to honestly face the man in the mirror and say “Enough!” We all reach that point at different times and with different circumstances. Sometimes, it might be weight or other health issues, financial matters or even personal or spiritual issues. But, we all have (or will have) those moments.

So one day, I chose one of those infomercials (Michael Thurmond's Six Week Body Makeover) that I KNEW to be more rational and scientific than the others and went to work. I’m glad to tell you that, so far, I’ve lost 55 pounds! Now, I’ve still got a a good bit more to lose, but it’s coming off almost effortlessly. Maybe the difference this time is that my resolve is not as much to lose the weight but to LIVE how I want to be living in my 80s and 90s, active and healthy.

One of the things that I’m enjoying is working out again. There’s something special about the FEELING of muscle under your skin. Maybe it’s a guy thing. But, it gives you a sense of power. And, that feeling of power affects the way you approach every other aspect of your life. The other thing I really enjoy about this program is that it’s neither starvation, faddish nor unrealistic. It’s a reasonable food plan that encourages you to simply eat what you like that is GOOD for you and avoid what is NOT. Oh yeah, the program also encourages you to do a simple routine of resistance exercise that you can do at home or at work. It’s the increased muscle that burns those calories 24 hours every day, even while you sleep.

If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll stop in and check out “The Incredible Shrinking Chiropractor” in action. And, keep me in mind for those folks you know who are interested starting down the path toward wellness without drugs or surgery.

Your Mama Was Right: Posture Matters!

Almost everyone has a memory of their mom (or dad) constantly reminding them to “Stand up straight! You don’t want to grow up with bad posture. Do you?” Or as one of my friends puts it, “Stand up straight and act like somebody!” While most parents dutifully admonish their kids to stand tall, they may not realize just how important that advice really is. There are many reasons why good posture matters, including self-esteem, career performance, even significant health considerations.

Let’s talk about how your posture affects several aspects of your life. At the end of the article, we’ll offer some tips on how you can start today to improve your posture and your life.

How you approach the world has a tremendous impact on how you feel about yourself. What’s the first impression you have of someone with slumped shoulders or their head drooping down? Honestly, that person is giving the impression that they’re beaten, sad or hopeless.

Life can be tough. Things happen to everyone that can hurt in so many ways. One way to respond to life’s calamities is to withdraw and become inward. When this happens and a person’s confidence is shaken they look defensive and passive. A slumped posture is almost like curling up in a fetal position while standing, hoping that no one will bother you. Unfortunately, most folks won’t bother with you in that posture.

On the other hand, good posture with your head up and shoulders back is a strong indicator of inner strength and self-confidence. A strong, self-confident person tells the world “Here I come. Give me all you’ve got!” When you stand tall, you tell yourself “I can! I will! I must!” From the standpoint of building and maintaining a strong self-image, one of the most important habits a parent can teach their child is to stand tall, keep your head up and your shoulders back. It will help that child withstand many of life’s challenges throughout his/her life.

There are many ways that an employer, customer or potential client will decide how you fit into their plans. One of the most important, yet subtle, ways others evaluate you is your body language. Let’s say you’re competing for a promotion to a management position with an equally qualified competitor. If the only difference between the two candidates is that one has poor posture and the other looks like a Marine, who wins? The Marine always wins. Every employer wants managers that are confident and show confidence in every way. And in some ways, poor posture communicates the same message as when someone won’t make eye contact. People wonder if you have something to hide. Good posture is like a good handshake. People make judgments about you based on their first impression. Make a good first impression. Stand tall. Head up. Shoulders back. Stomach in. It will pay you great dividends. Posture affects your health in several ways. From a purely mechanical standpoint, if things aren’t lined up the way they were designed, they simply wear out faster. People with arthritis in the joints or spine in their forties and fifties have generally had posture problems their whole life. Any good mechanic will tell you that poor wheel alignment will eventually cause all kinds of structural and mechanical problems with your car. It’s the same with your body. Structure affects function.

As a chiropractor, I see sick and hurting people all the time. One thing they all seem to share is some sort of posture problem. Sometimes, they come to me with pains in the neck and shoulders from driving or sitting at the computer for long hours at a time. Or, maybe a hip, leg or low back problem caused by sitting on a too thick wallet. Probably the most subtle, yet more important, effects of poor posture are neurological problems that can result. Often, people come in with strange problems from migraine headaches to high blood pressure corrected after adjustments to the upper neck. Everyone knows the plight of Christopher Reeves, the former star of the Superman movies. He was thrown from his horse and broke his neck and damaged his spinal cord. The actor was not only paralyzed from the neck down, but also unable to have normal bodily functions without the aid of machines until his eventual death. Postural problems can indicate similar, yet much more subtle spinal misalignments and neurological problems.

Many people have postural problems that may have resulted at birth that only become apparent later in life. Others may have had other trauma caused by injuries from sports, fall or auto accidents. Unless corrected, these problems only get worse with eventual health implications. Because these subtle misalignments and the posture problems they cause don’t involve broken bones, they’re generally not identified with medical diagnoses. For the most part, only chiropractors are trained to identify, locate and correct these misalignments.

So if you find yourself slumping and slouching, do something about it. Practice standing up straight with your head held high and eyes looking forward, not down toward the ground. Pull your shoulders back while tightening your stomach muscles and tucking your butt in. If you find that your posture problem is hard to correct and might also be related to other health problems, find a wellness-oriented chiropractor or e-mail me and I’ll help you find one in your area.

Stand up straight and tall. Let the world know you’re strong, confident and healthy!

Self-medicating

I thought about titling this article “Aleve” because that was the reason I’m writing today. But, I decided the problem of people self-medicating themselves with what they think are harmless over-the-counter drugs is much more dangerous than one specific dangerous drug.

My friend Jerry, whom I’ve known now for 40 years, called me recently to explain why he had been out of touch for a while. It seems that Jerry had been in the hospital recovering from an apparent reaction to the OTC painkiller Aleve. He did what the average American does and picked up a bottle of the painkiller at his local drugstore. After taking recommended doses for about a week, Jerry began to have a pretty serious nosebleed. When the bleeding didn’t stop, he headed to the Emergency Room. The bleeding stopped ONLY after he lost FOUR units of blood, a significant loss under any circumstance. A little more and he could have died. It’s taken several weeks, but he’s just now starting to regain strength.

Over the last few years, I’ve steered away from talking about symptoms and the risks associated with medicating away symptoms. Mine is a wellness practice and most of my clients come to me because they either want to get and stay healthy or they want to opt out of the “old way” of waiting until something’s broke to try to fix it or mask its symptoms with drugs. But, when you see a friend critically injured or hear of someone killed by what is purported to be a harmless drug, it’s hard NOT to speak out.

Just recently, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended stronger warnings on both prescription and over-the-counter painkillers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen, more commonly referred to as NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. BUT, how many people EVER read the label warnings of over-the-counter drugs? My guess is a precious few.

Obviously, we live in a drug culture in America. We seek relief and comfort from a bottle. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to consider a new way of thinking. One of the things I try to get folks to do is to realize that they were designed to be healthy and that design did not include a shortage of drugs or a surplus of defective or unnecessary parts. Once we realize that health is part of the design and that symptoms are our friend and are NOT to be ignored, we can start to approach health matters a little more rationally. Another, thing that we work on in my office is helping people become responsible for their own health and not relying so much on a doctor or drug manufacturer to make important health decisions for them.

If I could convince you to change one thing as a result of reading this article, it would be to learn more about your own body, how it works and how specific drugs are supposed to work and the risks (side effects) they carry. When you work to build health instead of simply avoiding disease, your health and your life will take on a whole new meaning.

If you know someone that routinely takes NSAIDs (or any pain medication) please forward this article to them. Encourage them to explore other options for dealing with their symptoms.

Corporate Wellness: Bottom Line Strategies for Effective Healthcare Reform

It is clear to virtually every American (especially those of us in business) that healthcare costs are skyrocketing out of control. No one doubts that either the market will solve the problem OR the government will impose one on us. Managed care has failed from either a cost containment or quality of care perspective. Companies have reached the point where the cost of providing health insurance is almost as burdensome as government regulation. It’s time for some new thinking on healthcare and its impact on business and vice versa. “Corporate wellness” as an operational perspective instead of merely window dressing is one way to deal effectively with rising healthcare costs.

The Insurance Problem

The first step in correcting the problem is to realize that an employee’s health is their own responsibility. Expecting employers to provide unlimited health insurance coverage is simply unrealistic and unreasonable. It’s time for employers (on a broad scale) to reconsider their role in providing health insurance coverage. Instead of providing complete coverage for all employees through group plans, companies should begin to shift the burden of health coverage to those covered.

Here’s the approach. Provide catastrophic health insurance as a group benefit to all employees with a large enough deductible (say $5000 per employee) to make the cost affordable for the company. Then, allow employees to buy their own health insurance policies (based on their own needs) and pay for them through payroll deduction with pre-tax earnings. There are numerous insurance companies that sell individual plans on this basis. Everybody wins. Employees can tailor their coverage to their own needs and circumstances using their own doctors. Companies win by stopping the endless cycle of rising costs and ever-changing plans. And when individuals become responsible for the cost of their own insurance, they become more attentive to their own health. Besides, if an employee is interested in working for you ONLY because your company offers great insurance benefits aren’t they telling you they’re going to cost you more money in the future?

Develop a “Wellness Culture”

Our current “sickness culture” perpetuates the healthcare crisis and hastens the demise of market-based solutions. By sickness culture, I mean our focus on health problems instead of on having a healthy workplace and performance culture.

So, what would a “wellness culture” look like? First, instead of paid sick days, employees might be rewarded at year’s end with an attendance bonus. Employees would be reimbursed for successful completion of smoking cessation and weight-loss programs. Companies would invest in corporate memberships at local health clubs so every employee can participate. Employees would be offered in-house wellness programs on a variety of issues ranging from ergonomics to stress management. Finally, companies would commit to hiring and retaining healthy employees. Simply put, healthy employees cost less and are more productive than unhealthy ones. Applicants should be screened for health habits and practices that limit their productivity and increase the likelihood of future expense. While this may seem harsh, it rewards those employees whose personal lifestyle and habits ensure the best Return on Investment by the company committing to hire, train and pay them.

Be open to “alternative and complementary” approaches

Studies published in major medical journals reveal that individuals who use “alternative and complementary” health modalities (including chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga and massage) are generally healthier, better educated, take fewer medications and miss fewer days from work than the average American. Since these individuals look for ways to stay healthy without drugs and surgery, they end up being a net benefit in terms of attendance and productivity. Old prejudices in this area should be discarded in order for companies to improve productivity and increase profitability

Conclusion

Healthcare costs are increasing at a staggering pace. Managed care is an abysmal failure. Companies are buckling under the pressure of providing health coverage to their employees. American competitiveness in the market is sagging. These times call for extraordinary solutions. It’s time for American companies to consider some out-of-the-box solutions to the healthcare crisis. Corporate wellness is an approach that is timely, achievable and reasonable given the alternatives. All options should be considered while we still have a chance.

MRSA Panic - How and WHY NOT to

We’ve been deluged lately with news stories on MRSA or methicillin resistant staph infection. It seems that what we in the alternative healing community have been saying all these years about the overuse and abuse of antibiotics has come true. Sadly, we’re actually BREEDING bacterial superbugs in the very place where most people think is the safest healing environment possible, the hospital.

MRSA is expected to kill more Americans every year than AIDS. And while it’s being reported that the infection can be acquired through sports activities and other physical contact, the vast majority of cases are found in hospitals and nursing homes. The ONE thing that hospitals and nursing homes have in common is that almost everyone there is already sick and their immune systems weakened. In other words they’re not able to resist even minor infections, much less one that actually feeds on the strongest antibiotics available.

So, how does one protect themselves from the superbug MRSA? First and foremost, the best thing you can do is practice good hygiene. Simply washing your hands goes a long way. One news report I heard over the weekend gave this advice to HOSPITAL staff. Good grief! If you’re kid is plays a contact sport, make sure they shower well after practice and games. Don’t share towels, toothbrushes or razors. Sounds obvious. But one reported outbreak was among a football team that shared a razor to shave their legs before wrapping their ankles.

Another way to avoid MRSA (also called a nosocomial, or hospital-acquired, infection) is to avoid the hospital, if at all possible. I know it’s not always possible. But when hospitals are warned to have their staff wash their hands and take off their white coats, you KNOW something is REALLY wrong. If you can’t avoid the hospital, at least make sure you remind your caretakers to practice good hygiene.

Probably the best thing you can do to protect yourself is to build your immune system as much as possible. How? Do those things that make you as healthy as possible: exercise, eat right, drink lots of water, get plenty restful sleep, reduce stress by developing and maintaining a positive mental attitude and keep stress on your nerve system to a minimum. While you can take care of the first four, only a chiropractor is trained to locate and reduce sources of stress created by spinal misalignment.

MRSA was created by overuse and abuse of antibiotics. Less reliance on drugs and greater reliance on your body’s ability to fight infection and disease is a great first step in protecting you from hospital-acquired infections.

Shingles and Chiropractic

So, can chiropractic cure shingles? Of course not. But, neither can Medicine. There is no cure for shingles, a condition that causes extreme pain to those afflicted.

Shingles is a condition where the Chicken Pox (herpes zoster) virus settles into a person’s nerve root and causes no problems until activated, usually by stress. Once activated, the entire nerve is affected causing extreme discomfort and pain. Unfortunately, there’s little that can be done to alleviate the problem other than try to lessen the symptoms.

However, many sufferers of shingles have found that finding ways of reducing and dealing with stress keeps the virus from becoming active. One of those ways is getting adjusted by their chiropractor on a regular basis. Chiropractic adjustments help balance stress on the nervous system. Reducing that stress helps prevent shingles outbreaks and helps your body recover quicker when there is an outbreak.

If you suffer from shingles, I encourage you to find a wellness chiropractor whose focus is on the upper cervical spine.