Dr. C's Blog

Protandim® Increases Antioxidant Factor

2009-01-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

01/15/2009

SAN DIEGO—Results of a new peer-reviewed study published online in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine demonstrated the synergistic impact of the active ingredients used in Protandim® dramatically increased the body's production of glutathione, a key antioxidant and anti-aging factor.

Protandim, a patented product developed by LifeVantage Corp., consists of five ingredients, namely, ashwagandha, bacopa extract, green tea extract, silymarin and curcumin. The new study confirmed Protandim's gene induction approach to antioxidant therapy provides much broader and more powerful benefits to the body than those provided by vitamins such as E and C, according to the Company.

The study, conducted at the University of Colorado, Denver and Ochsner Medical Center, showed even low doses of Protandim induced human cells to increase their production of many antioxidant enzymes, and other anti-aging factors.

Learn more...

Attitude!

2009-01-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

Just a little inspiration. It may look bleak out there -- but your ATTITUDE, if it's rooted and unshakeable, can create a great expectation. And that just might allow you to see things you'd never see otherwise. Enjoy!
:-)
P.S. If necessary, rent "Meet the Robinsons." (Yep, it's an animated movie...)

A tribute to a patriot at Thanksgiving...

2008-11-23T14:34:00.000-08:00

His name was Jack. I'm guessing it was over 15 years ago that I first had the privilege to meet him. We got off to a rocky start, but Jack, a former marine and a bit rough around the edges, was a good man. And he had a heart of gold.

I didn't get to know Jack well until the last year or two, when he had recurrent pain due to all the mileage he'd put on his spine over the years. There was the Marine Corps, but before that, there was college basketball. Jack played for the Colorado Buffaloes. And from what I'm told, he was pretty good!

Jack passed away a few weeks ago due to complications from a surgery that had been done to fix something in his spine I couldn't fix. His passing was sudden and unexpected. I'd never been to a Marine's funeral before. Jack's was held on Election Day. It was unforgettable.

It was the way the Marine Corp detail handled our Nation's Flag ... that's when I lost it. They slowly, carefully, as if handling the most precious thing the world, unfolded the flag. While holding it horizontally open as if to present the Stars and Stripes and their fallen soldier to God and God alone -- taps was played. (That's when I ran out of Kleenex.) Then, just as carefully as the flag had been unfolded, it was re-folded. Then holding it at attention, one soldier saluted the flag in absolutely silence, in slow motion. The flag was carefully passed to the other Marine, who repeated this supreme act of honor. Then the flag was presented to the family with these words:

"On behalf of the President of the United States, and the United States Marine Corp, I'd like to thank you for your father's faithful service to his country." I couldn't swallow.

Rarely, if ever, do we get an opportunity to see what makes up the heart of a true patriot. Only in death did I get a chance to catch a glimpse of the sacrifice and service that Jack had made for my freedom, and yours. He never spoke about it. But on Election Day this year I really was proud to be an American. And I was glad to have had the privilege to be friends with Jack Froistad. I'll miss him.

Cookies and milk and 3 'square' meals a day...

2008-09-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

About 65% of all Americans are overweight, and about 3 in 10 are clinically "obese" -- overweight to the point of being hopeless and having nowhere to turn for help.

According to the "potato chip marketing equation" 90% of the junk food is consumed by 10% of the people -- those weighing well over 200 pounds and making less than $30k per year. The ad weasels from Phillip Morris (the world's largest tobacco company) have ruthlessly applied this science to brands like Oreo Cookies and LifeSavers candies. When tobacco came under threat, Phillip Morris bought these and other brands and is now the second largest food company in the world. Phillip Morris found that nurturing sugar-dependence with marketing prowess is just as easy to profit from as nurturing nicotine-dependency from tobacco.

Just as obese people represent a "target" for food companies, physicians represent a "target" for drug companies. "Drug detailing" in physicians offices is declining, but is being replaced by direct marketing to patients in television, magazines, and newspapers. "Ask your Doctor if _____ is right for you" reduces your Doctor to the role of a drug dispenser. I've heard there are only 2 countries where drug advertising is allowed on TV -- and the USA is, of course, one of them.

According to economist Paul Zane Pilzer, the maker of the non-drowsy formula Claritin pressured the FDA into keeping Claritin a prescription item so it could keep the U.S. price 4 times higher than the exact same drug in other industrialized countries. Because the price of Claritin was so high, many couldn't afford it and took a sedating antihistamine instead. USA Today reported that 600 automobile fatalities per year resulted directly from the drug-maker's lobby to keep the price of Claritin high.

Money drives the machine. In 1954 J.I. Rodale started publishing a magazine called "Prevention." In it he touted exercise and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables as PROVEN healthy, life-extending habits we should all observe. He warned of the harmful effects of red meat and cow milk. At this time the U.S. Government was spending millions to get Americans to eat MORE red meat and dairy products every meal, 3 meals a day. Doctors were telling patients with heart disease to reduce or eliminate physical activity entirely. And ... heart disease was the LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH in America. The Federal Trade Commission ordered Rodale to "cease and desist" from publishing this stuff.

J.I. Rodale died in 1971 on national television (the Dick Cavett Show) before he got his day in court against the U.S. Government. Since then, the FTC has been neutralized against censure, and Rodale Press is the largest health-oriented publisher in the world (Men's Health; Runner's World). And today, we all know better about red meat, dairy, fruits and vegetables, and exercise ... don't we? Friends don't let friends buy Oreos (from Phillip Morris), and down 'em with cow's milk.

Don't wait for New Year's. Start your resolution to get with the program now!

Info Resources for Health and the Future

2008-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

I googled "Google" last week and got 2.75 BILLION hits. What is the world coming to?! (Being a bit of a computer geek, I love it.) The internet started in 1991, and blogging started in 1998. Wikipedia, while not always reliable, is many times larger than Encylopedia Brittanica, and it is being updated every minute -- somewhere in the world.

Which leads me to Information Resources for Health. As I get better at blogging, my goal is to share what I'm learning, and share the resources I find.

I've posted on pulsating electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) in the past. Albeit a bit dated, here's a good literature resource: http://www.ems-institut.de/index.htm
When you arrive, click the British flag for English language, then click on "scientific, medical and clinical studies." You'll get an index of studies for health conditions and the effect of PEMFs. For current literature and commentary on PEMFs, stay tuned for my upcoming book. It will be published later this year.

Here's a link to a North Carolina physician's answer to skyrocketing health care costs: The Practice Access Card. http://www.physicianspractice.com/index/fuseaction/articles.details&articleID=1200.htm
Interesting...

Current trends tell us that anti-aging medicine is the fastest growing medical specialty with an annual growth rate of nearly 10%. This is due to the aging baby boomers who are suffering from degenerative diseases such as arthritis, heart disease and cancer. You can get familiar with anti-aging and regenerative medicine at the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine's website:
www.worldhealth.net
Here's one of today's headlines from this site: "Population Bomb 'Ticks Louder Than Climate.'" Published July 24, this article quotes a leading scientist who states that global population growth is looming as a bigger threat to the world's food production and water supplies than climate change.

Our health. Our children. Our grandchildren. Times -- they are a-changin'.

Are you hip?

2008-03-23T21:10:00.001-07:00

The hip-spine syndrome is a combined hip and spine pathology that is still perplexing many clinicians. It is defined as the presence of pathologic changes in both the hip and spine where the primary source of pain could be either the hip or spine -- depending on the patient. Oftentimes the pathologies are inter-related. For example, a hip that doesn't move very well can cause the low back to arch too much. The can cause narrowing of the nerve channels between the lumbar vertebrae, leading to buttock and thigh symptoms.

A baseball pitcher was referred by a spine surgeon to The Center for Spine Pain after he failed to improved with standard physical therapy and a spinal injection. All his pain was in the low back. No pain was in the hip, and yet his hip was stiff. This changed his pitching motion and, indeed, he had to arch his back excessively during his pitching motion to compensate for the lack of hip extension. Five treatments with us to normalize the low back joints AND the stiff hip joint eliminated the back pain fully and completely.

Admittedly the above case was subtle and difficult to recognize. No abnormal x-ray findings showed up on hip x-rays. In typical cases of hip-spine syndrome (involving older patients) the problem may need a spine injection or a hip injection to differentiate the primary cause of the problem. In some cases surgery is required. However, in every case a qualified spine specialist (such as you'll find right here with the Doctors of Chiropractic at The Center for Spine Pain!) should recognize that the syndrome exists and provide an examination that looks beyond the local area where you're feeling pain. Oftentimes an injection (or a surgery) can be avoided altogether!

Unfortunately, because spinal MRI "abnormalities" are the rule rather than the exception in the general population, a significant number of patients are likely subjected to unnecessary spine procedures. [1] The care of back pain and neck pain is often challenging at best, and we know and work with many fine physicians and surgeons who do their best to minimize procedures. We join with them in helping you to minimize the procedures you'll need by diagnosing your problem quickly and accurately, and providing safe, affordable non-surgical options whenever possible.

~JPC

[1] Truumees, E. Change is in the air. SpineLine Nov-Dec, 2007, p. 9. (Dr. Truumees is a spine surgeon at William Beaumont Hospital and the Beamont Comprehensive Spine Center in Royal Oak, Michigan.)

Chronic osteoarthritis pain, headache, and foot/ankle pain...

2008-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

My colleagues and I have produced a pretty good piece on "chronic pain," the topic of our new HealthCoach Newsletter. You can download all 6 pages HERE.

On CSP's BLOG I've written about one of our patient's who I just saw today. I'm calling him "Todd." He had an upper cervical fusion. He's had chronic neck and shoulder pain. He was told he had to live with the pain. After 4-5 visits he's feeling so good he's back to riding bikes with his son. Cool.

Know somebody in pain? Pass along our newsletter. Tell them about our clinic. Better yet, if they live along the front range, send them for a free Pain Mastery consultation. We'll make sure to make it worth their while.

A big "thank you" to our patients who like the "no-hype," results-oriented approach we take. You've created quite a buzz out there ... and we love seeing people walk out of the clinic feeling better than they ever thought they could feel. We don't have all the answers ... we we've got some good ones.
~JPC

Coming soon!

2008-02-29T13:41:00.000-08:00

Chronic pain is responsible for a huge proportion of medical and alternative care in the United States. If it's not killing us, it's at least putting a pretty big dent in our pocket books.

In the next few days we'll be providing our patients with ways to tackle chronic pain from prevention, to nutritional support, to home exercises, and more. Stay tuned to our HOME PAGE at The Center for Spine Pain website! As always, feel free to share any and all this information with a friend or loved one.

Stay tuned!

~JPC

Aging and Anti-aging

2008-02-17T16:12:00.000-08:00

This just in: the largest benefit from electromagnetic field therapy has been reported for victims of musculoskeletal disorders, wounds, and pain. The greatest interest for patients seen at CSP is, of course, in seeking help for the alleviation of pain. The increased life span of the U.S. population means that aging America has more problems with age-related pain and discomfort. The National Institutes of Helath estimated in 2003 that more than 48 million Americans suffer chronic pain that results in $65 Billion lost in productivity and over $100 Billion spent on pain care. The majority of the money spent in America on this problem is for pain-relief medications with little benefit. And these numbers are higher than they were in 2003.

A patient of mine purchased a electromagnetic field therapy device for home use 2 months ago. I have been providing guidance to him for this. His neck -- mechanically in "vapor-lock" for years due to age-related arthritis -- is fully mobile with daily use of this device. He has full neck rotation to both sides, left and right. This is in contrast to my wife's grandfather, who spent the last 15 years of his life in misery with neck pain from degenerative disc disease in the neck. It was his persistent arthritic neck pain and stiffness that made life almost unbearable.

With more of us expected to live longer, we need to be proactive about taking care of ourselves. That's why this particular post may be important for you!

Electromagnetic field therapy is on the horizon, part of our future, and yet here today. It is a wonderful long term home wellness strategy to help you now and in the years to come!

Exciting times

2008-02-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

Every weekend now my wife tries out a new recipe on me. The reason? We've both been "SCANNED." The Electrointerstitial Body Fluid Scanner, besides being a mouthful, is a wealth of health information. It tells you the exact pH (that is, acidity versus alkalinity) of many organ systems as well as providing data on hormones, minerals, and other body chemistries. How many billions of dollars are spent each year on vitamins among people who DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHETHER THEIR VITAMINS ARE WORKING OR NOT.

This week we rescanned a gentlemen who made some dietary adjustments to see if it would change his current "atherogenic index" (that is, his real-time formation of sticky, plaquey coronary arteries.) The results? His diet is working for him, and he has VISUAL FEEDBACK that it is working!

My wife's cooking is working too. Last night we had a robust Lentil stew. Mmmmmmmmm! And for dessert? Perfect cookies ... made without butter. I now weight just less than I did in high school. Energy is way up. Positive outlook -- even better than before (though singing has always helped -- I love to sing.) And my EIS SCAN results are looking Gooooooooooood!

Team...

2008-01-29T08:19:00.001-08:00

I just wrote an email to the team of people with whom I have the privilege of serving at our clinics in Denver. I thought I'd share it here because this is, in a sense, a way to praise my team publicly for what they have done and continue to do. While the comments below are directed toward our provider team, our patient support staff is equally praiseworthy -- they are the hearts and voices that greet you when you call and when you arrive for your appointment. They are the ones who work very hard to help your insurance company "see the light" and reimburse the care you receive here. Together, our providers and staff constitute who we are. They define our collective mission that makes miracles happen on a daily basis in the lives of people who are in pain or suffering illness. And I am grateful!

So here is what my team does, behind the scenes, at The Center for Spine Pain:

"Once in awhile I come up for air, look around, and see what an incredible job we’re doing and who we are in the process of becoming, and I’m amazed. This is not something I created. You can’t create this. It happens when good people decide to pull in the same direction because the destination is worthy, and the journey is endurable."

"So, thanks for being on board. Thanks for taking on projects like writing case reports and moving furniture and treating our staff with love and respect, and for putting agendas together, and creating x-ray storage space, and printing out articles, and helping me to learn how to delegate better by wrestling things out of my bony grip and assuring me that you’re taking good care of it."

While I fail every day as a leader in some areas, I fail forward in the direction of achieving a worthy ideal. I'm learning. The people on my team, just by being there, are bearing me up, sharing the load, helping us move along the path to becoming the best spine pain and wellness center we can be!

New site for our Patients!

2008-01-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

We've got a new site just for our patients! Check out the link (upper right corner of your screen) for CSP Patient Info Central. You'll find reliable scientific articles and abstracts here, as well as our monthly newsletter and in-depth information about health solutions we offer. Let me know what you think!

The pleasures of practicing many years...

2008-01-12T11:04:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw Sam (not his real name). I hadn't seen him since 1999. I remembered helping his daughter get past a long-term back problem related to sports and a condition called "spondylolysis." That was years ago -- she's long-since through college and has entered the real world. Same for me ... my oldest daughter was married last July. Time blows by.

Sam reminded me that I recommended he see a neurologist based on my exam findings. I did not treat him. He brought me up to speed on all that had happened since I saw him in 1999 ... and thanked me for referring him -- M.S. was confirmed -- and for helping him quickly get to the root of the symptoms. He said he was back because he knew he could trust what I would do for his new problem: mid-back pain. Sam had a heart attack 2 years ago, and because we have some new technology called Electro-Interstitial Scanning (EIS) I told we were in a great position to help evaluate his overall level of wellness and examine very precisely how his current diet was helping (or hurting) his heart and other organ systems.

I love to see patients I haven't seen in a while. It reminds me how long I've been doing this, and why I love serving others so much. I was glad to see Sam again. I'm sure I can help him live a healthier life style and add significant quality to his life. Fixing his mid-back pain is almost automatic, but the most satisfying thing is to catch up, get reacquainted, and get involved in Sam's life again in a caring way. What lasts -- what satisfies most -- are people and relationships. I'll have more information about EIS in the links section soon!

Free webinar on Pulsed MRS 2000 Therapy!

2008-01-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Many of our patients are asking for more information about the MRS 2000, and asking how friends and loved ones can learn more too. This powerful tool has substantial scientific backing with over 6,500 articles in print. (See my New Year's Eve post.) My upcoming webinar will give you and a loved one or friend from afar the chance to learn more about this amazing technology, and as questions. You need a phone, a computer, and an internet connection. Block out 1 hour of time. The number of phone lines is limited ~ so it's first come, first serve!

WEBINAR!
When: January 29, 2008
6:30 pm, Mountain Standard Time
Where: Your home!
Who: Dr. Joel Carmichael, D.C., teaches about MRS 2000
and its affects on your cells, and answers questions.
How long? One hour

HOW TO REGISTER: Click on the WEBINAR link in the upper right hand corner of this screen. Or copy this and paste it into your web browser:

http://www.center4spine.com/mycsp/appointment/index.php

We'll send you the phone number and website you need to participate in the Webinar!

~Dr. C

Feelin' great in 2008...

2007-12-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

I spent much of this weekend at the UCHSC (Fitzsimmons) medical library. If you're looking to probe a medical topic to the depths, you can't spend the day in a nicer place. The new Health Sciences Center (owned by the State of Colorado) has given Coloradans a valuable resource. It's comfortable and state-of-the-art. While at the library I obtained over 150 articles on pulsed magnetic field therapy. In future posts I'll share the highlights from many of these studies. Stay tuned! There's good news (in the scientific literature) for those with fibromyalgia, insomnia, arthritis pain (from the neck to the knees), osteoporosis, non-healing ulcers and wounds, delayed fracture healing, back pain, and other common problems. If you're a patient at The Center for Spine Pain, perhaps you're already quite familiar with the health-enhancing effects of pulsed magnetic field therapy. Whether you're a patient or not, you're invited to post a question, submit an anecdote, and contribute to the discussion of pulsed magnetic fields.

One thing's for sure: 10 years from now energy medicine will have a central role in the way people take care of themselves, get healthy, stay healthy, and live longer.

Merry Christmas to all!

2007-12-24T00:07:00.000-08:00

...and to all a good night! It's after 1:00 am on Christmas Eve Day. I've just answered an email from "Tom" who's having back and neck pain with some radiating numbness down his leg. Tom was interested in non-surgical spinal decompression, so I invited him to check out the spinal decompression link at our clinic website. If you're interested, it's listed in the links at the top of this screen on the right-hand side.

I hope I'll get a chance to meet Tom face to face. There's a lot of docs out there "selling" non-surgical spinal decompression to people who really don't need it. My advice: find a trusted spine specialist and try everything else first (with the exception of injections or surgery -- these should be the very last resort!) Non-surgical spinal decompression should be reserved for those who are heading down the path to surgery and who probably would not recover any other way. By raising the bar for patient's to qualify for decompression my colleagues and I are striving -- honestly, ethically and affordably -- to provide this effective form of therapy to those who truly need it. I can't count the number of times people have come to the clinic asking for spinal decompression and, after a good physical examination, were recommended for simpler, less expensive care instead -- and it worked!

The ironic thing is that spinal decompression REALLY DOES WORK WELL. It has fallen out of favor in some circles is because it was overmarketed, oversold, and overpriced by some of the doctors using it. I estimate that by providing this effective treatment for disc herniations The Center for Spine Pain has saved the health care system at least $1m in just this last year alone (and probably twice that). How? By helping patients who were headed for spine surgery to NOT need spine surgery. If you take 20 patients at an average cost of $65k per surgery, that's $1.3m right there. We helped many more than 20 patients this year. It's no wonder that our spine surgeon friends who used to love us for referring 3-4 surgeries per month are no longer as friendly. And this is why you'll generally get a stern frown from your medical doctor if you ask about spinal decompression. Many of my medical colleagues have been cautioned to positively THWART any patient who mentions that they are considering a non-surgical form of disc care once a spinal injection has failed (as they do 7 or 8 times out of 10). The bottom line issue: these are turf wars. Unfortunately money drives the machine. How many millions might be saved nationwide if spinal decompression was covered by insurance -- on equal footing with surgery? What back or neck pain sufferer, in their right mind, wouldn't try spinal decompression first?

If it were a level playing field I'm quite sure I wouldn't be able to build clinics fast enough. That's because the people who try us -- like us! And we are grateful! Merry Christmas! Time for some eggnog!