Five Steps To Make Sure You Get Back Surgery…What?

Spinal surgery has a very high failure rate.  In fact the problem is so bad, Charles Burton MD, a leading researcher in spinal surgery; wrote an article called “Spinal Surgery, The Alarm Bells Are Ringing”.   In it, he talks about the high rate of spinal surgery failure and states “Ill-advised spine surgery which creates more problems for patients than it solves, can no longer be tolerated.”  -Surgical Neurology 65 (2006) 5-6. A copy of this article is available from my office.

I purposely wrote the following five steps with a little sarcastic bite.  I wrote it that way to get your attention and point out the shocking stupidity of spine treatment in the USA.

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So here goes…If you like taking risks with your spine and really would like to make sure you get surgery at some time in the future, here’s what you do:

Step 1:  Never go to a chiropractor.  Numerous scientific studies show chiropractic is the safest, most effective form of therapy for low back related conditions. If you want to make sure you have back pain that’s bad enough to see a surgeon, take your surgeon’s advice and don’t see a chiropractor.

Step 2:  If you do decide to go to one of these quasi-doctors don’t follow his or her advice concerning mattresses, pillows and exercises.  Chiropractors know proper home care is critical in the treatment of back pain.  If you want to assure that you will have a lifetime of back pain, you must sleep on a soft mattress.

Step 3:  Get lots of cortisone shots in your back.  Cortisone is a good short term anti-inflammatory and may be helpful in some cases.  But, if you want to have surgery on your back, get lots of cortisone shots, so that your discs will deteriorate faster.

Step 4:  Smoke cigarettes and drink a lot of alcohol.  These two dehydrate your discs and cause a lot of inflammation.  Smoking and drinking are a quick way to cause back problems and make sure that your surgery fails.

Step 5:  Whatever you do, don’t eat healthy.  If you want surgery, you are going to have to eat the way most of America does.  Eat lots of fast food, glutamate, aspartame and processed carbohydrates that inflame tissues and lead to chronic pain.

On the serious side…

If you want to avoid surgery, do the opposite of the above. See a chiropractor, get a good firm mattress, exercise, avoid over-use of anti-inflammatory meds, avoid cigarettes and alcohol and eat healthy.

If you would like to find out more about how we treat low back related conditions like degenerative discs, sciatica, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis without drugs or surgery, log on to www.NewBackPainReliefInfo.com.

Or, if you’d like to set up a FREE no obligation consultation with me, you can call Jennifer or Leah at 262-251-8306 and set up a time when we can meet and discuss your situation.

Does Poor Posture Cause Back Pain?

Yes, absolutely.  Poor posture is by far the leading cause of back pain.

The main problem people have is that the spine misaligns in such a way that the shoulders and head droop down and forward.  When this happens, more pressure is placed on your discs and they begin to get swollen and deteriorate.

This leads to arthritis, degenerative discs, sciatica and spinal stenosis.  Many medical treatments are available that treat the damaged discs.  These include medications, steroid injections and even surgery.

However, these treatments do not address the root cause of the problem.  Which is poor posture. This is why medical treatment of back pain has such a high failure rate.

A treatment that simply addresses the damaged disc without addressing what caused the damaged disc, is doomed to failure.

Don’t get me wrong, sometimes a patient may need to have some medication to reduce the swelling in a disc.  But, if the postural problem that caused the swollen disc is not addressed, the disc will continue to deteriorate and get worse.

Doctors of chiropractic concentrate on alignment and posture.  This is why chiropractic treatment of back pain has such a high success rate.  It treats the underlying cause of back pain and disc problems.

Thanks to new advancements in chiropractic technique, posture can be corrected very effectively.  Improvements can be seen on a treatment by treatment basis.

To learn more about what I do to treat back pain, sciatica, degenerative discs and spinal stenosis, log on to www.NewBackPainReliefInfo.com and order our FREE report.

If you would like to set up a FREE no obligation consultation to see if I can help, call Jennifer or Leah at 262-251-8306 and they can set it up for you.

Is Fibromyalgia Real?

Is fibromyalgia real?  I am often asked this and the answer is yes… and no.  Yes, the pain is absolutely real and it can’t be explained away as something that’s “all in your head.” And no, in 99% of the cases it is not the result of some poorly understood disorder, but from a condition medical doctors likely do not find or treat.

In treating fibro. successfully for the last seven years, I have come to the conclusion that fibromyalgia is really a collection of problems that don’t get solved by medical doctors very well.

Fibromyalgia patients feel pain all over their body.  Lots of tests are usually done and nothing definitive comes up.  The diagnosis is often made by applying pressure to 18 different points on the body.  If 11 of the 18 are sore, you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

From there it is usually treated with a lot of drugs, some physical therapy and instructions on how to better cope with the pain. Patients usually go from doctor to doctor looking for answers.  By the time the average fibromyalgia patient gets to my office, they have seen six other doctors.

More than half of the fibromyalgia patients I treat, are really suffering from chronic whiplash.  They’ve been in a car accident at some point and they’ve gone downhill ever since.  Once the neck injury is treated properly, the symptoms quickly subside.

Some fibromyalgia patients have undiagnosed thyroid conditions.  When the thyroid is not functioning properly, wide-spread aches and pains develop.  The current blood testing methods are not sensitive enough to pick up many thyroid problems.  And, many physicians will not diagnose a thyroid problem if the tests come back normal.

Nutritional disorders are present in most fibromyalgia patients.  The typical American diet is loaded with foods that cause inflammation in the body.  Inflammation causes pain.    Medical doctors are notorious for not giving dietary advice, and/or giving the wrong dietary advice.  There is no way a bad diet can be corrected with a pill.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not slamming the medical profession…OK, maybe a little.  But, you must realize that their training does not allow them to explore the types of treatments that fibromyalgia patients need.  For example, they wouldn’t know if you have a cavity in your mouth, but a dentist would.

If you have fibromyalgia, seeing a chiropractor could be the best decision you ever make.  We have training that allows us to detect and treat most of the problems fibromyalgia patients have.  Make sure the chiropractor you choose has experience treating fibromyalgia and uses techniques that you can tolerate.  I know from experience, you can’t adjust a sensitive fibromyalgia patient the same way you adjust a construction worker.

For more information on fibromyalgia, log on to www.stopyourfibronow.com and my office can send you a free copy of my report “Why Your Doctor May Be The Biggest Obstacle You Face In Getting Rid Of Your Fibromyalgia Pain”.

If you are interested in getting some help right away, call Jennifer or Leah at 262-251-8306 and they can set up a FREE no obligation consultation so we can talk about your situation and see if I can help.

Should I have Carpal Tunnel Surgery ?

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a painful condition that causes symptoms of pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, and loss of strength and coordination in the thumb, index, middle and sometimes one-half of the ring finger. Not all of the symptoms or fingers have to be involved at the same time, because symptoms often vary and can move around. (Symptoms occuring in the ring and little finger are not carpal tunnel syndrome and are related to a completely different problem.)

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is caused by swelling in the tendons of the wrist.  Tendons swell from over use and the swelling compresses a nerve (called the Median nerve) as it passes through a space in your wrist called the Carpal Tunnel.

Surgery is one option for treating this disabling condition; however, it remains a controversial choice and it is important to fully understand the risks and benefits involved.  Too often patients are rushed into surgery before other conservative options have been tried.  The reason for this misdirection is often due to the fact that a surgeon will make between $4-5,000 for each 30-minute surgical procedure.

Here are some things to consider before you go for surgery:

• 77% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients could not return to their previous professions following surgery, according to the Bureau of Labor & Statistics and the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health (1997-2000 Statistics).
• Carpal Tunnel Surgery has about a 57% failure rate following patients from 1-day to 6-years. At least one of the following symptoms re-occurred during this time: Pain, Numbness, Tingling sensations. Source: Nancollas, et al, 1995. J. Hand Surgery.
• Up to 36% of all Carpal Tunnel Syndrome patients require unlimited ongoing medical treatment.
• It has been shown in multiple studies that carpal tunnel syndrome patients are often mis-diagnosed and are told to have the surgery, when they don’t even have it.

Surgery is by far the most invasive procedure and you need to think about it carefully because the majority of those undergoing the knife do not get long-term relief.  Also, scar tissue can develop from the surgery that can make the problem even worse.

In contrast, the vast majority of patients do better with conservative treatment. It is estimated that less than 1/3 of all carpal tunnel syndrome sufferers actually require surgical intervention. Surgery is only recommended when there is persistent, debilitating pain, badly deteriorated grip, muscle wasting and all other conservative methods have been tried.

One thing you need to know is, you don’t need to be in a hurry to get surgery.  As much as it is bothering you, you do have time to explore your options.

Chiropractic care and cold laser therapy have been found to be very effective in eliminating carpal tunnel syndrome without drugs or surgery.  To find out more about these options log on to www.ReliefFromCarpalTunnel.com and order a copy of my free report “What many doctors don’t know about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.”

Or, you can call my office at 262-251-8306 and talk to Jennifer or Leah about scheduling a FREE no obligation consultation.  It will give both of us a chance to meet, talk about your problem and see if I can help.