Subscribe to blog Subscribe via RSS

EasyBlog

This is some blog description about this site

  • Home
    Home This is where you can find all the blog posts throughout the site.
  • Categories
    Categories Displays a list of categories from this blog.
  • Tags
    Tags Displays a list of tags that have been used in the blog.
  • Bloggers
    Bloggers Search for your favorite blogger from this site.
  • Team Blogs
    Team Blogs Find your favorite team blogs here.
  • Login
    Login Login form

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,

If you have friends or colleagues interested in applied kinesiology please forward this email to them.  It has a broad selection of articles and studies relating the structural, nutritional and psychological interests of applied kinesiology that are of clinical interest.
This week has a new NET study describing the profile of patients attending an NET office.  This profile is unique considering the model used for the study and the type of symptoms described.  It would be interesting to see if an AK office had a similar profile of patients.  This collection of research and articles covers a broad interest in clinical work. Another study explains why nurses get sick of their medical jobs and turn to CAM.  Enjoy.  Donald

1.  A new NET study surveys the symptoms of 761 presenting patients.
2.  Internet-Based Therapy Shows Promise for Insomnia
3.  Psychiatric symptoms may be the first sign of undetected cancer
4.  Why nurses in Norway turn to CAM
5.  Sublingual oral absorption works better than the same tablets swallowed for weight loss
6. Cow's milk allergy in children
7.  90% of Chinese medical journal studies are statistically flawed
8.  This study shows that long working hours may have a negative effect on cognitive performance in middle age.
9.  Honey helps LDL
10.   How meditation helps the cardiovascular system.
11.  Deaths from "swine flu" are now regarded as natural.
12.  Garlic passes the test for helping speed up the recovery from the common cold
13.  Topical pain relief creams and gels containing Aspirin/salicylate are ineffective compared to NSAIDS rubefacients
14.  Does Manipulation and exercise work better than either alone?
15. Here is a great article by Chiropractic researcher Reed Phillips PhD
16.  Cochrane reviews are now available on podcast
17.  Here is a selection of chiropractic pediatric research
18.  Why do some doctors get better results than others?
19.  Here is a good article about the effect of fascial physiology of muscle testing by Warren Hammer
20.  Using bleach to help dermatitis
21.  This study reveals a pattern of trunk muscle activation following movement in the arm
22.  Comments


1.  A new NET study surveys the symptoms of 761 presenting patients .    This retrospective analysis is the first comprehensive description of the scope of NET patients and their presenting complaints. The patient profile of this NET clinic has a higher degree of non-musculoskeletal patients than that usually reported in non-NET chiropractic offices, and other forms of chiropractic previously described in the literature.   




4.  Why nurses in Norway turn to CAM.  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice

Volume 15, Issue 3, August 2009, Pages 147-151 Why do Norwegian nurses leave the public health service to practice CAM?  Berit Johannessen, a,  aUniversity of Agder, Faculty of Health and Sports, Serviceboks 422, 4604 Kristiansand, Norway

 Available online 17 June 2009.

Abstract  This paper explores a number of issues associated with the recent increase in nurses choosing to leave the Norwegian health care system in order to become independent practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).  The paper suggests that in Norway, nurses perceive medical hegemony continues to persist. Nurses perceive restrictions in their ability to develop their professional roles and status. CAM would appear to offer many nurses, the opportunity to develop their clinical skills in an autonomous, egalitarian and more holistic environment.







9.  Honey helps LDL .  "The GC/MS revealed the presence of 90 compounds, mainly aliphatic acids (37 compounds), which represent 54.73, 8.72, 22.87 and 64.10% and phenolic acids (15 compound) 2.3, 1.02, 2.07 and 11.68% for Acacia, Coriander, Sider and Palm honeys. In HPLC analysis, 19 flavonoids were identified. Coriander and Sider honeys were characterized by the presence of large amounts of flavonoids."   

10.   How meditation helps the cardiovascular system .  "The observation allows us to infer that Zen meditationmay effectively improve relevant characteristics of the cardiovascularsystem."


11.  Deaths from "swine flu" are now regarded as natural .  How many sheeple will continue to believe what they are told about this form of bioterrorism?   .  Amazing.  The Ministry of Justice has announced that there will not be any inquests into the deaths of two people who died after contracting swine flu, as it was not necessary for coroners to hold inquests into deaths linked to the virus.
"There's no requirement to hold an inquest into a natural death," a spokeswoman said.
"Deaths from swine flu would be regarded by coroners as natural."

12.  Garlic passes the test for helping speed up the recovery from the common cold .  Here is the Cochrane study that will bring you up to date with the ancient medicine.   


13.  Topical pain relief creams and gels containing Aspirin/salicylate are ineffective compared to NSAIDS rubefacients .  Here is a Cochrane review that studied these products.    Personally, I have found value in using Comfrey ointment and Emu oil for topical osteoarthritic joint pain relief.  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/150940.php  ,  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/69069.php

14.  Does Manipulation and exercise work better than either alone?   Here is a great discussion by Dr. Malik Slosberg.  There are many good references here that may help you in your case studies.  I wonder what a study of AK manual care would show as an intervention in this model?  I suspect that better muscle balance would improve the speed of recovery and performance even more:  


15. Here is a great article by Chiropractic researcher Reed Phillips PhD .  It includes a discussion about a number of forums that AK case studies and research can be presented.  The Research Agenda and Practice-Based Research Networks  


16.  Cochrane reviews are now available on podcast .  These are literature searches that collect evidence based studies.  Fill up your new iphone with EB studies that you can review while waiting for your partner to finish shopping etc.  Many are free downloads. 



18.  Why do some doctors get better results than others?  These thoughts may help you get better results.  “You may be able to tap into every theory in quantum physics, spirituality, psychology, philosophy, or anything else that can teach you about accessing your power, but if you can’t use that power to create results in your life, it’s pointless, useless, a total waste of time.” ~ James Arthur Ray from Harmonic Wealth

 “Your current level of results, your appearances, are nothing more than the residual outcome of your past thoughts, feelings, and actions.”  Our current results don’t reflect who we ARE, they reflect who we WERE. So, no need to get all up in your stuff. You are where you are and your results simply reveal who you were. Now rock it for five years and then see what you’re results look like.





21.  This study reveals a pattern of trunk muscle activation following movement in the arm  induced by loading of an outstretched hand that is different on the side of the back opposite the dominant arm than on the side of the back opposite the non-dominant arm. These results may have implications in terms of mechanisms contributing to low back pain and further work is warranted to examine these responses in left-handed individuals.


22.  Comments:

Dear Donald,
I would like to thank and congratulate you on all the wonderful and interesting information that you have been sending to me.
Your good work will I am sure be of great benefit to the growing world wide network of therapists who are trained and using AK.
Please keep me on your mailing list.
Many thanks.
Mark O. Mathews BSc Hon DO UK 

My thanks and appreciation again for the information
 
Warm regards
James Madigan



 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 90
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
 
Hi Everyone,
This weeks news and views rages from Red Bull to the origins of muscle testing.  Thank you to everyone submitting their ideas, links and activities to share.  For those who are out of the US time zone, Dr. Schmitt's notes are freely available.  I just couldn't get up at 5am my time in Sydney to tap into the master of AK nutrition.  More webinars are planned for Dr. Schmitt and I hope his notes will be available for all.  The webinars are free for those who register.  I have included a lot of links to interesting papers that are clinically interesting.  Our list is growing.   More folks keep asking to be included on the list and we are moving towards 1000.  Ask your friends if they want to be included also.  Here is a link that just arrived.  Dr. Maffetone's AK advice for Marathon runner Rene Lynch in the LA Times .  
Enjoy the reading and have a fantastic week.
Donald


1. Red Bull doesn't help endurance athletes
2. Influence of Different Breathing Frequencies on the Severity of Inspiratory Muscle Fatigue
3. Do you take care of your body like you take care of your car?
4. Here are the webinar notes for Dr. Schmitt's lecture
5. One of the first discussions of manual muscle testing and where the Kendalls got their inspiration.
6. A great quote from Vince Lombardi, US Coach of the 20th Century
7. Some great speakers are lining up for the Chiropractors Association of Australia annual meeting
8. Osteopenia and osteoporosis may be involved with idiopathic BPPV
9. How to have an easy life.  Dr. Goodheart exemplified the accomplished life
10. Biomed central publishes free online research with Twitter
11. A beginner Golfer's risk of thoracic vertebrae fracture
12. Using a C7 plumbline to evaluate spinal and global balance
13. Using gait treatment to change low back pain and stride length
14. Assessing Trunk muscles and spinal movement may detect the relationship between pain provocation
15. Does your orthopedic surgeon know more about back pain that your general practitioner?
16. A new study of the "flip test" for sciatic pain.
17. GDS for back care, could the ICAK do a study like this?
18. Here is the latest FICS newsletter regarding sports chiropractic services around the world
19. How to keep the radiation of your CT heart scan minimal
20. The top 20 best travel apps for your iphone.  Travel smarter and easier
21. How viruses spread on airplanes.
22. The thymus and lymph function in Myasthenia.
23. Many teenagers think they will die young, so they live fast.
24. Planning well is the key to success on every level.
25. Worry affects memory.  Don't worry, be happy.  In this study
26. Worry is the cause of so much disease.  Here some comments about worry:
27. Phil Maffetone comments about the death of Michael Jackson.
28. Obesity is a risk factor for cancer.
29. The first sign of every disease is fatigue.
30. Is Swine Flu bioterrorism?
31. How to achieve your goals.  This is perennial advice, but soooo true
32. Muscle strength confounders should be examined before MMT your patient.
33. Associate wanted to work near the sunny Sydney beaches
34. Comments:



1. Red Bull doesn't help endurance athletes .  Effect of Sugar-Free Red Bull Energy Drink on High-Intensity Run Time-to-Exhaustion in Young Adults. :  

2. Influence of Different Breathing Frequencies on the Severity of Inspiratory Muscle Fatigue  Induced by High-Intensity Front Crawl Swimming.  Free download:


3. Do you take care of your body like you take care of your car?   You should.  This lady explains how she takes care of her 1964 Comet, she is 89: 

4. Here are the webinar notes for Dr. Schmitt's lecture .  Be sure to drop him an email and thank him for his work.  

5. One of the first discussions of manual muscle testing and where the Kendalls got their inspiration .  Here is a chance to begin your work in MMT.  This book is now a reprint and much cheaper than the 1st edition I purchased for 100's of dollars:  


6. A great quote from Vince Lombardi, US Coach of the 20th Century .  This advice is how we make our work in AK excel.  Pick something you like to do in AK and do it well, then send it to me and I will tell everyone about it.  "It is time for us all to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever - the one who recognizes the challenges and does something about it."  Vince Lombardi  1913-1970, American Football Coach  



9. How to have an easy life.  Dr. Goodheart exemplified the accomplished life.  His mantra for doctors was always to THINK about what they were doing before the did it.  He preferred to spend more time diagnosing than treating what wasn't diagnosed.  How do you practice?:  There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. - ALFRED KORZYBSKI

10. Biomed central publishes free online research with T witter .  Join and find out clinically useful stuff at the same time I do!!:  


11. A beginner Golfer's risk of thoracic vertebrae fracture .  Trying too hard for that 300 yard (meter) drive:  t 




15. Does your orthopedic surgeon know more about back pain that your general practitioner?   The answer is "No" according to this latest study:  


17. GDS for back care, could the ICAK do a study like this?   A similar model would work quite well for us:  





20. The top 20 best travel apps for your iphone.  Travel smarter and easier .  Here is a great list.  I use some of them already but will now add the whole suite:   .  Here is another good collection of travel tips, some are the same, some are not with a different perspective.  The WiFi finder has been updated .  The one to get is the Green one that is exclusive for FREE wifi close to you.  The Blue icon is a  list of ALL wifi's in your area. 
Let me know what you think.


21. How viruses spread on airplanes .  Spread of a Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus via Global Airline Transportation:  


22. The thymus and lymph function in Myasthenia .  The authors postulate that thymic overexpression of CCL21 on specialized lymphatic vessels results in abnormal peripheral lymphocyte recruitment, bringing naive B cells in contact with the 
inflammatory environment characteristic of MG thymuses, where they can be sensitized against AChR.   A new study is a free download: 


23. Many teenagers think they will die young, so they live fast .  A new study shows the details:  

24. Planning well is the key to success on every level.  Here are some great thoughts about planning:  

Planning by Jim Rohn

I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.

If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they may have planned for you? Not much.

The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don't have it well designed.

The guy says, "When you work where I work, by the time you get home, it's late. You've got to have a bite to eat, watch a little TV, relax and get to bed. You can't sit up half the night planning, planning, planning." And he's the same guy who is behind on his car payment!

25. Worry affects memory.  Don't worry, be happy.   In this study , the gradual accumulation of Aβ in the brain induced deficits of learning and short-term memory and impaired LTP. This animal model might accurately reflect illness progression in AD, which might, in part, involve reduced activation of a calcium-dependent protein kinase needed for synaptic function. Stress has similar effects, and the combination of stress and Aβ produces more dysfunction than either one alone. A commentator notes that adrenal steroids, which are overproduced in chronic stress, impair memory, promote apoptosis, and might primarily cause Aβ accumulation. Although a stress-free life (if such a thing were possible) probably would not prevent AD, reducing stress might help AD patients physiologically and psychologically.  This study discusses this issue:  

26. Worry is the cause of so much disease.  Here some comments about worry:  “Seventy per cent of all patients who come to physicians could cure themselves if they got rid of their fears and worries.” ~ Dale Carnegie from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Carnegie quotes a Dr. Montague: “You do not not get stomach ulcers from what you eat. You get ulcers from what is eating you.”

And a Dr. Alexis Carrel: “Those who do not know how to fight worry die young.”

And some philosopher guy named Plato: “The greatest mistake physicians make is that they attempt to cure the body without attempting to cure the mind; yet the mind and the body are one and should not be treated separately!”


27. Phil Maffetone comments about the death of Michael Jackson .   So many celebrities live on massive amounts of so called "legal" prescription drugs.  Here are Phil's comments about Elvis, Johnny Cash and Michael Jackson:  

28. Obesity is a risk factor for cancer .  Here is a comment that will direct you to access the original paper for free download:  

29. The first sign of every disease is fatigue.  Here are some great quotes about the importance of rest:  “So, to prevent fatigue and worry, the first rule is: Rest often. Rest before you get tired.” ~ Dale Carnegie from How to Stop Worrying and Start Living.  
Carnegie says: “Your heart pumps enough blood through your body every day to fill a railway tank car. It exerts enough energy every twenty-four hours to shovel twenty tons of coal onto a platform three feet high. It does this incredible amount of work for fifty, seventy, or maybe ninety years. How can it stand it? Dr. Walter B. Cannon, of the Harvard Medical School, explained it. He said “Most people have the idea that the heart is working all the time. As a matter of fact, there is a definite rest period after each contraction. When beating at a moderate rate of seventy pulses per minute, the heart is actually working only nine hours out of the twenty-four. In the aggregate its rest periods total a full fifteen hours per day.”

30. Is Swine Flu bioterrorism ?  Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder:  

31. How to achieve your goals.  This is perennial advice, but soooo true:   “Think of it this way. If you are clear where you are going (goals) and you take several steps in that direction every day, you eventually have to get there. If I head north out of Santa Barbara and take five steps a day, eventually I have to end up in San Francisco. So decide what you want, write it down, review it constantly, and each day do something that moves you toward those goals.” ~ Jack Canfield from The Success Principles


32. Muscle strength confounders should be examined before MMT your patient .  Here is a list of causes for muscle weakness ranging from mild dehydration to serious disease.  Review the list.  Some you will see every day such as dehydration, hypoglycemia and hyponatremia.  There are only 3686 causes listed here :    .  Now you may ask were to start with your diagnosis of the cause of the patients muscle weakness?  Here is a paper that shows you the procedure for differential diagnosis:


33. Associate wanted to work near the sunny Sydney beaches:  Associate Required
 
Practitioner required for Sydney (Eastern Suburbs) practice.
Must have clinical experience with Applied Kinesiology and Retained Neonatal Reflex corrections.
 
Offer is part-time initially, perhaps permanently if this works well for a suitable practitioner.
Possibility of buying the practice after some years of integration with the patient base.
 
Contact me if you are interested
 
Keith Keen.   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

34. Comments:

Nice, 
Gina

Thank you Donald,
that was a great text about life extension...this is so good for us to be chiropractors using
AK. I like to say that I'm going to play instead of working. We will stay
younger an have a ton of fun.  Great work with thoses e-mails.
Dre. Anne-Eugénie Simard, D.C., DIBAK

Dear Don
 Love the AK news and reviews thanks.  Richard


Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au





 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 78
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
 
Hi Everyone,

I have always believed in learning from others who have travelled the path of life before me.  Many of my mentors have lived full productive lives well into their old age.  Some lived great, but much shorter lives.  We cannot control all our circumstances but our choices will give us a better quality of life.  Here is a collection of evidence based suggestions that one of my mentors, who I will call "Grandpa", sent to me.  Donald

LIFE EXTENSION LIFESTYLE
To know how to grow old is the master work of wisdom,
and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.
-- Henri Frederic Amiel (1821-1881

As far as science is concerned, the methods for extending our life span will be found in genetic engineering and we have not yet discovered the secrets. It helps to be born into a family where people have a long life span. Since people rarely die of old age, it would, of course, pay to keep ourselves free from disease, poisonous substances, and risk of fatal accident.

As far as human wisdom and anecdotal evidence is concerned, there are many suggestions, some of which may have validity:

  • Drink alcohol in moderation. Heavy drinking can cut down a lifespan by years. Do not use street drugs.
  • Stop smoking. Smoking two packs a day cuts seven years from the normal life span.
  • Eat nutritiously. Don't eat too much sugar, fat, and highly processed foods. Eat a low-fat diet consisting of high fiber, fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. The famous Framingham Heart Study concluded "When we eat a diet sparse in meats, fats, and sugar, we do a lot better."
  • Exercise, exercise and exercise. The one word that most life-extending experts agree upon is exercise, and they all recommend walking.

Until the 1930s, exercise was a way of life for most Americans. We had to walk everywhere, maintain large vegetable gardens, chop wood, and keep house without appliances. These activities maintained most older people at an acceptable level of fitness. By the mid-1950s, the American lifestyle had become so sedentary that heart disease was epidemic. Physiologists have found that genuine fitness could be produced only by aerobic-type exercise. Those safe for older people include: walking, swimming, bicycling, and any type of rhythmic exercise performed at a moderate pace, but check with your doctor before starting any exercise program.

  • Maintain your weight at the normal level. Based on the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company's height-weight charts, 33% of American women and 45% of American men are currently overweight. Research confirms that almost every healthy long-lived person has been lean and wiry and few have been overweight. Diets that lose weight only to gain it again are not considered healthy. The way to lose weight is to exercise and gradually cut out fats, sugars, and too much food. In other words, "change your lifestyle."
  • Get a good night's sleep. If you can't sleep, find methods to relax, increase your exercise time, and get involved in interesting activities--not television.
  • Ignore your chronological age. Age is not the number of birthdays that have passed. It is an attitude, an awareness, a feeling. The ability to have the self-image of a younger person is characteristic of most long-livers. Youthfulness is focused on activity. So keep active and maintain a youthful attitude. Remember, "You're only as old as you feel."
  • Learn to relax. Here are some suggestions:
    1. Deliberately slow the pace of your life.
    2. Live fully in the present moment.
    3. Do only one thing at a time.
    4. Don't be too concerned about saying "no"; turn down demands on your time that stress you out.
    5. Learn to accept that if you cannot complete a job today that it's acceptable to finish it later.
    6. Spend some time alone each day.
    7. To enjoy life to the fullest, learn to see, smell, touch, and feel everything around you right now.
  • Develop a powerful will to live, and never give up. What most distinguishes long-livers from the rest of us is their indestructible capacity to rebound from misfortune and adversity.
  • Make important goals. As soon as you achieve any goal, replace it with another immediately. Choose only goals that you can succeed in achieving. Otherwise, you are defining dreams, not goals.
  • Be a success. Success is an essential component in creating a powerful will to live. We can readily experience the exuberance of success by making a list of small successes, each of which can be attained within 15 minutes, like cleaning your bicycle or the interior of your car. Achieving several small successes can fortify your will to live and make it easier to attain more important goals that can leave you flushed with the inspiration of success.
  • Create a newer and stronger self-image. Think about your strengths and let yourself be forgiven for your weaknesses. Walk tall and erect with a quick step. Let yourself feel confident and optimistic about the future. Adopt a positive mental attitude; feel good about yourself and you will feel good about other people and life.
  • Minimize stress in your life. Most stress is due to change, so it pays to subject ourselves to as few changes as possible. Live a systematic life in harmony with the rhythms of nature. People who live long usually rise and retire at the same time and have an orderly, somewhat routine, life. However, whenever physical changes are necessary, greet them with a flexible, accepting attitude.
  • Eliminate harmful mental attitudes; turn to the good thoughts of life and forget the bad:

Fear, anxiety, and worry are deadly killers that make it easier to get all kinds of disease and effectively destroy the quality of life we might have. The opposite of fear and worry is faith and trust. Take time to develop a belief in yourself, in life, and in the fellow travelers that come your way. People with an honest faith are not cheated anywhere near as often as those who are afraid. An ancient homily says: "The things we fear are sure to come to pass."

Anger, bitterness, hostility, and resentment will drive happiness from our life and leave us with a profound depression. The opposite of anger and resentment is love and forgiveness. Start by forgiving, now and forevermore, anyone you believe may have caused you harm of any kind. Refuse to have any part of being unforgiving. People who are hostile have cardiovascular disease five times more often than those who are loving. So treat yourself to happiness and adopt a loving attitude. Don't try to compete with other people. Keeping up with the Joneses is a continual drain on our emotions and energy. Compete only with your own excellence. Learn to excel at something, then attempt to beat your own best perfor-mance. And be willing to share your expertise with others. Nobody can win unless we all win.

  • Lead a fun life; laugh a lot. Investigations by Norman Cousins and others have demonstrated the therapeutic benefits of fun and laughter in promoting health and long life. Few long-livers take themselves too seriously. They laugh often at themselves and their mistakes. They maintain a youthful enthusiasm for anything new and different. And they possess an almost childlike enthusiasm for spontaneous fun and play.
  • Be a loving, generous person. Researchers who have observed groups of longevous people report that virtually every long-liver is generous, kind, loving, and unselfish. Dr. Solomonovich, a Russian gerontologist who spent long periods living in close proximity with the long-lived Abkhasian people in the Caucuses, reported that he had never heard any long-lived person use a harsh word.

To be a loving person means that we accept other people the way they are without criticizing or judging them or trying to manipulate or change them. To achieve this level of unconditional love we must first let go of any artificiality or pretension, which so often separates us from others. This liberates us to tell the exact truth at all times and to reveal our deepest inner feelings. Through revealing our innermost feelings we immediately become closer to others. Loving people are emotionally transparent, with nothing to hide.

  • Avoid living alone. People live healthier and longer lives in the presence of close and loving relationships. Studies from around the world show that loneliness is a major threat to health and long life. Virtually every gerontologist agrees that we can extend life significantly by creating a compatible and stable marriage with accompanying family life, and by cultivating many friends and being active in a number of social organizations.
  • Maintain monogamous sexual activity regularly through life. Regular sexual activity with one permanent partner has been estimated to extend life expectancy by at least two years. Almost all healthy long-lived people stay married and enjoy regular lovemaking until the end of their days. Those who are unable to have sex past 50 usually are not well or are engaging in anti-health habits.
  • Keep growing. Long-lived people are an independent and adventuresome lot who are not afraid to take an occasional prudent risk to succeed. But they see no reason to endanger their lives and health by exposing themselves to unnecessary risks. We become old on the day we stop growing and we stop growing on the day we become unwilling to take a prudent risk. People stop growing by dropping out of the mainstream of life, thoughts, and ideas, and by seeking safety in the status quo. Numerous studies have shown that ceasing to grow is synonymous with physical atrophy and mental withdrawal.
  • Stay mentally active throughout life. A series of studies show that an active mind is man's greatest resource against aging. People live longer when they use their intelligence and education to acquire and practice wisdom. At all socioeconomic levels, intelligent people tend to use their minds actively and constantly all their lives. Although the mind ages more slowly than any other organ, without constant use it can atrophy and our memory can begin to lapse.
  • Believe in and rely on a higher power. Investigations are showing that all forms of spiritual belief and faith exert a powerful benefit on health and long life. In a study of 1,000 long-lived Americans, the Committee for an Extended Life-span found that almost without exception, every single longevous person has strong spiritual beliefs. The same study found that over 50% of all long-livers turn their problems over to a higher power and they rely on this same power to guide them toward the best possible solution. While their faith safeguards them from stress, they are able to relax and enjoy living.
  • Continue to work at a satisfying job for as long as possible. When the National Institute of Health made an 11-year investigation of 600 possible variables that contribute to longevity, they found that the degree to which a person derives satisfaction from his or her job is the greatest single factor affecting longevity. Work makes us who and what we are. Work is life and life is work. To not work can be totally destructive. No one can live healthfully knowing their talents are not needed. Many people who retire at the age of 65, die within a few months unless they are able to pick up some meaningful hobbies, or volunteer work, or change occupations.

Scientists who have studied work response at all levels have concluded that only by working at a job with the following qualities can we expect to enjoy optimum health and long life.

    • We should be free to make all or most of our own decisions. We should be under no one's authority or supervision. The closer we are to being our own boss, the better.
    • The job should make maximum use of our abilities, skills, and talents. An underutilized person is invariably frustrated.
    • The job should allow us to reach a position of eminence in our chosen field. We should be able to rise through promotion to a position of authority and responsibility.
    • We should be able to work at our own pace free of all deadlines and pressures.
    • Successful work leaves no stress scars. Enjoyable and satisfying work cannot be distinguished from play.
    • The job should allow us to do our very best work and to take pride in the work we do. It should encourage us to reach out for high achievement by being ready to tackle challenging new tasks that we have never done before and that, in the process, provide a feeling of success and accomplishment.
We should be able to continue to work without any pressure to retire for as long as we wish.   Happiness and longevity are a choice. If we choose to live well and live happy, we have chosen to live long



Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au





 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 89
0

Posted by on in MyBlog
Hi Everyone,
For those new to this list, you will find a great collection of articles, papers, videos and practice management material to help in your AK practice.  Thank you to the many doctors and readers who send me new cutting edge links to post.  This material will hopefully inspire you to get better results with your patients, help you find their problems quicker and have their results last longer.  Today you will be able to review Dr. Schmitt's new video's, Dr. Maffetone's new postings and how to give expert opinion in the courtroom as an "expert" witness.  Many new papers are listed to help you find answers to your patient's problems.
Enjoy,
Donald


1.  Dr. Wally Schmitt has loaded a group of new videos on to www.youtube.com
2. More sleep equals better blood pressure
3. Anatomy of the mediterranean diet finally dissected.
4. New England Journal of Medicine has a free 21 Day trial running at the moment.
5. Palmer Chiropractic College begins a new research study of back muscles
6. AK in the courtroom
7. Are you interested or fascinated with applied kinesiology? 
8. Failure to inform patients of tests is a common problem in medicine
9. Naturopaths get new powers in Canada.
10. Anti Aging is the latest special interest growth health service
11. Worry can sabotage many useful projects
12. Forced exercise matches Levodopa for benefiting Parkinson's disease
13. Nutritional risk in older adults:
14. Iron helps mood and physical performance
15. Folate is absorbed in the colon
16. How to get things done
17. Walnuts may help lower LDL's
18. Comfrey was banned from use as a herbal remedy because of its nitrite content

19. Multiple Active Myofascial Trigger Points and Pressure Pain Sensitivity Maps in the Temporalis Muscle

20. Quantification of Abdominal Wall Pain Using Pain Pressure Threshold Algometry

21. MicroCurrent therapy helps non specific back pain- A Pilot study
22. It is important to keep assessing your leadership skills in practice
23. Comments




1.  Dr. Wally Schmitt has loaded a group of new videos on to  www.youtube.com . Here is his announcement.  This is a great opportunity to fine tune you AK skills with one of our best teachers.  " Prior to the Boston meeting, my staff had begun the effort to get the video clips from our professionally recorded Quintessential Applications seminar series DVDs up on You Tube.  It has finally occurred and there are now 25 QA video clips up there.  You will find them if you go to www.youtube.com and search walter schmitt, kerry mccord, chiropractic neurology, quintessential applications, and applied kinesiology (they are on page 3 and page 4 if you search applied kinesiology, but I think with a lot of hits, they will move up.)  If you search my name, or Kerry’s name, or the other “tags” they will pop right up on the first page.  
 
Our original intention to put these on You Tube was for doctors to be able to learn more about the QA program.  But many of these clips will serve the dual purpose of promoting AK to whomever watches them as well (although a few of them are rather technical.)
 
We will add two more clips in the near future based on Kathy Conable’s suggestions and Jerry Morantz’s effort. These are clips on the neurological basis for AK and a short recollection of Dr. Goodheart from a November, 2008 seminar that I taught in Chicago."

2. More sleep equals better blood pressure .  :    Dr. Bernard Jensen often said that "fatigue is the first sign of disease and rest is nature's cure".  New studies like these may prove him right.

3. Anatomy of the mediterranean diet finally dissected .   This study investigated the relative importance of the individual components of the Mediterranean diet in generating the inverse association of increased adherence to this diet and overall mortality.   Free download.: 

4. New England Journal of Medicine has a free 21 Day trial running at the moment .  You can have complete access to their information and journals for that period.  This  is a great opportunity to catch up with all those papers that you didn't want to pay for downloads:  


6. AK in the courtroom. These guidelines will help you if you are called as a witness for your patient or as an expert witness.  Thanks to Dr. Walther for writing them and to Dr. Cuthbert for sharing this information.  While it is dated, it still has information that may be useful.  I have also acted in court as a witness a few times and found these guidelines helpful.  They are attached to this email as a .pdf file.

7. Are you interested or fascinated with applied kinesiology?  What is the difference?  Here is the answer:  "Fascination is one step beyond interest. Interested people want to know if it works. Fascinated people want to learn how it works." -- Jim Rohn



10. Anti Aging is the latest special interest growth health service . Here is a great conference to bring you up to date.  This is in Australia, but anti aging conferences are held world wide.
 
11. Worry can sabotage many useful projects.  Here is a great quote to understand and control worry.  “Worrying is usually a sign that we’re Upper-Limiting. It is usually not a sign that we’re thinking about something useful. The crucial sign that we’re worrying unnecessarily is when we’re worrying about something we have no control over. Worrying is useful only if it concerns a topic we can actually do something about, and if it leads to our taking positive action right away. All other worry is just Upper Limit noise, designed by our unconscious to keep us safely within our Zone of Excellence or Zone of Competence.” ~ Gay
Hendricks from The Big Leap





16. How to get things done:  "I do not have superior intelligence or faultless looks. I do not captivate a room or run a mile under six minutes. I only succeeded because I was still working after everyone else went to sleep."

Greg Evans
Novelist






20. Quantification of Abdominal Wall Pain Using Pain Pressure Threshold Algometry  in Patients With Chronic Pelvic Pain





22. It is important to keep assessing your leadership skills in practice.  Here are some guidelines:

Assessing Your Own Leadership Skills by Dr. John C. Maxwell

When I was a kid, every once in a while my parents would back my brother, Larry, and I up to a doorframe, lay a ruler across our heads, and mark a line with a pencil to chart our growth. They would then write the date next to it. It was always exciting to see how much I'd grown since my last measurement.

If only measuring our effectiveness as a leader was so easy. Why is it so hard to get a clear picture of our own strengths and weaknesses?

Self evaluation means:

* Being willing to critique myself.

* Asking for and accepting honest feedback from those who can most accurately assess our leadership-those who follow us.

* Exercising self-discipline.

This last point is perhaps the hardest. I define self-control, in the beginning of life, as the choice of achieving what I really want by doing things I really don't want to do. Once this becomes a habit, discipline becomes the choice of achieving what I really want by doing the very things I now want to do! I really believe that a disciplined life becomes a joy – but only after we have worked hard to practice it.

All great leaders have understood that their number one responsibility is cultivating their own discipline and personal growth. Those who cannot lead themselves cannot lead others.

Here's what I call the START plan for becoming a disciplined leader.

* START ON YOURSELF - We'd all rather focus on changing everyone else to conform to us. The only problem with that is we end up with an organization full of people who reflect our weaknesses!

* START EARLY - I'm grateful for parents who taught me the value of a disciplined lifestyle early on.

* START SMALL - A simple plan will more likely bear fruit than anything elaborate will. Remember the value of small things, consistently practiced over time, in transforming a life.

* START NOW - The will to prepare is more important than the will to succeed. The dream to succeed, apart from the will to prepare, is simply wishful thinking.

* START ORGANIZED - Those who take time to organize have a special power. Organizational skills allow for the possibility of gaining stamina and momentum as your successes build. You gain a reputation as the person who always follows through.

Now that you've started down the road of self-evaluation, receiving constructive criticism, and self-discipline, you're ready to determine where you are as an effective leader.

-- Dr. John C. Maxwell

Watch and listen as Dr. John C. Maxwell discusses his most influential audio teachings on leadership development, success and teamwork.

23. Comments:
Yes, keep us on your email list.  Dr. and Mrs. John Whaley
We are reading the Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean, M.D., N. D. – found it interesting

Hi Don
May this message find you happy and well.
 Would you please keep me on your AK email list.
 Regards
 Rolf Janssen

Hey Doc,
Great info!
Please keep it coming…
BTW are you aware of Alkalized, Ionized water as a form of therapy?
I've had peronal and patient success beyond my expectations…
here is my site:
 I am open to any information you may have, I have correlated it with Wally Schmidts centering the spine concepts.
 Brian T Garrett, DC, DIBAK, DACBN, CCSP


Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au






 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 92
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,
This has been an amazing week of gathering new and interesting information to help patients with.  This newsletter is sent worldwide and I understand this edition of AK News and Views will be going out to all the members of ICAK USA chapter.  I hope you enjoy the articles that come across my computer each week.  I try to search out those with an AK flavor to send to you each week.  I believe that since AK began in 1964 it has had a greater impact on the world of health than we could ever know.  The internet provides a great way to screen the influence of our work and image.  Public awareness of the ICAK and its members is growing.  If you wish to keep getting this email be sure to let me know and I will add you to our list.  For the full list of AK News and Views published this last year go to www.appliedkinesiology.com.au and click on "blog".  If you register you can access the index and comment.

This week there is a new paper published by Dynamic Chiropractic authored by Dr. Cuthbert. It includes more references to the success of manual muscle testing when working with neck problems.  Dr. Wittle, Chairman of the ICAK sends a note for us.   There are many contributions from other AK teachers.  I have also included a number of new published papers that hold potential for further AK research.

1.  Dr. John Wittle, the Chairman of the ICAK, comments
2. Here is a link to how Dr. Maffetone practices using Applied Kinesiology
3. Children are linguistic geniuses
4. Here is an Interesting collection of research teleconferences available from FCER
5.  SOT Cranial teaching seminars are listed here
6. Here is an updated review of Doman Delacato patterning work
7. How breathing turns fear into excitement
8. AK gets a mention in a Denver Newspaper
9. Clinical reasoning for manual therapists
10. What are you doing about muscle weakness, Part 2
11. Australian Chiropractors national conference details
12. Skin diseases from spaghetti and meatballs?
13. Help patients follow your advice.  Pain is a great motivator
14. How memorable are your patients?  Here is a collection of physician experience
15. How the public understand the value of Kinesiology.
16. You never know when you need your CPR skills.  Here is a great story that went around the world:
17. Twitter is used by Doctors to improve patient contact
18. Practice pointers from Dr. John Hinwood, supreme practice manager are available here for free
19. No mention of SMT being a cause of cervical artery dissection in this paper.
20. Migraine can be explained to patients as a disorder of the brain
21. Use a Journal to be happier and healthier.
22. Here is a great Neurology conference in Italy coming up
23. Neurophysiology lectures and papers of interest.
24. Red yeast rice for dyslipidemia in statin-intolerant patients
25. Suboptimal nutrition intake for hypertension control.
26. The difference good teachers can make
27. The truth about chiropractic for infants by Leon Chaitow.
28. Early cranial skills and their benefit to increasing blood flow to the brain, in New Scientist.
29. How our minds work every day:
30. AK Diplomate Simon King interviews Professor Mike Hurley about the origins and treatment of osteoarthritis.
31. Building immunity to flu and other viruses
32. IMO AK can better help musculo skeletal conditions listed in this paper
33. Water-based exercises produced better improvement in disability and quality of life
34. Experts think that soon approximately 2% of cancers in the U.S. will be attributable to radiation exposure from CT
35. Doctors with drinking and smoking habits should be aware of the risks for chronic pancreatitis
36. Meticulous oral cleansing seems to decrease the risk of the development of pneumonia
37. "Eco Atkins" low carb diet lowers cholestrol.
38. Medical bills cause 60% of US Bankruptcies
39. Cooling the frontal cortex may help insomnia
40. Unlike visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)
41. A list of potential drug risks is published by the FDA
42. Harold Gelb was one of the first dentists to discover the value of AK in helping the jaw
43. Psychology club credits AK for their work with mental health.
44. Physical Therapists use Manual muscle testing to diagnose sports efficiency
45. Some sage advice and philosophy helps keep us on the right track in times like these
46. Here are Dr. Maffetone's AK updates for the week
47. Comments:









1.  Dr. John Wittle, the Chairman of the ICAK, comments:  "The ICAK Conference in Boston was amazing.  Tufts University Dental school was the appropriate venue for the papers and presentations given by our members from so many diverse professions for dental related topics.  We look forward to the next ICAK conference in September,  2010 in Berlin.  Our German and Austrian chapters will be hosting this conference and are committed to making this next meeting just as or more successful.  I encourage our members around the world to put  September, 2010 in their calendar.  I look forward to seeing you there,"  Dr. John Wittle, DC.


2. Here is a link to how Dr. Maffetone practices using Applied Kinesiology .  I find it interesting how each doctor apply AK methods in a clinical situation in an unique but organised way.  Dr Maffetone describes his approach and method in this link:  

3. Children are linguistic geniuses .  Here is a video of Dr. Doman's latest comments:   .  Here is the website for the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential :  


5.  SOT Cranial teaching seminars are listed here .    .  Dr. Charles Blum runs a tight ship with SOT.  He keeps on top of the latest research concerning the Sacro Occipital Technique Organisation. You can spend hours inside the website with plenty of interesting downloads.

6. Here is an updated review of Doman Delacato patterning work . It was the original Cross Crawl patterning that Dr. Goodheart's work sourced.  This was one of the first methods AK'ers used to help coordination and muscle over contraction.  It's application to enhancing intelligence has not been validated, but in my experience, it seems to help maintain better muscle coordination.  

7. How breathing turns fear into excitement. “There’s only one way to get through the fog of fear, and that’s to transform it into the clarity of exhilaration. One of the greatest pieces of wisdom I’ve ever heard comes from Fritz Perls, MD, the psychiatrist and founder of Gestalt therapy. He said, “Fear is excitement without the breath.” Here’s what this intriguing statement means: the very same mechanisms that produce excitement also produce fear, and any fear can be transformed into excitement by breathing fully with it. On the other hand, excitement turns into fear quickly if you hold your breath. When scared, most of us have a tendency to try to get rid of the feeling. We think we can get rid of it by denying or ignoring it, and we use holding our breath as a physical tool of denial.” ~ Gay Hendricks from The Big Leap
Gay says this about breathing into it: “The best advice I can give you is to take big, easy breaths when you feel fear. Feel the fear instead of pretending it’s not there. Celebrate it with a big breath, just the way you’d celebrate your birthday by taking a big breath and blowing out all the candles on your cake. Do that, and your fear turns into excitement. Do it more, and your excitement turns into exhilaration. I find it very empowering to know that I’m in charge of the exhilaration I feel as I go through life. I bet you will, too.”



9. Clinical reasoning for manual therapists .  The purpose of this book is to increase the readers' awareness of clinical reasoning, including factors that influence reasoning and how to promote skilled reasoning. This book will provide the reader with opportunities to improve their reasoning through facilitated analysis of case studies and access to the reasoning of experts from around the world for comparison to their own.  

10. What are you doing about muscle weakness, Part 2  - The Cervical Spine.  This is a new paper by Dr. Cuthbert for the Dynamic Chiropractic magazine.  It is part 2 of 4.  An Excellent read:  

11. Australian Chiropractors national conference details :  The CAA has a great collection of papers in its Journal.  Chiropractic history and research are its theme

12. Skin diseases from spaghetti and meatballs ?  This discussion centers on the problem of yeasts:  

13. Help patients follow your advice.  Pain is a great motivator, but once people feel better they often forget to follow the advice to stay well.  Here are some ideas to help fix this problem:  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703674?src=mp&spon=34&uac=10445EN


15. How the public understand the value of Kinesiology .  The more people that use a skill, the more perspective it gets.  Here is an exercise blog that describes the value of kinesiology to  Daniel Taylor:  

16. You never know when you need your CPR skills .  Here is a great story that went around the world:  

17. Twitter is used by Doctors to improve patient contact .  Here is a NY times article with links to more information:   .  Here are the doctor's comments :   Here is the survey about the social life of health information :   .  It is a free download.

18. Practice pointers from Dr. John Hinwood, supreme practice manager are available here for free .  You may find tips to improve your practice here.  Select what you think is of most interest to you.  


19. No mention of SMT being a cause of cervical artery dissection in this paper .  Which is unusual.  The teenage group in this study was at risk:  

20. Migraine can be explained to patients as a disorder of the brain , and that the headache originates in the sensory fibres that convey pain signals from intracranial and extracranial blood vessels.  This paper may provide a vital link for the results that AK'ers get with cranial adjustments:  

21. Use a Journal to be happier and healthier.  Last week I gave you 3 links to Jim Rohn's free books and downloads.  I hope you read and reviewed them.  One of his MP3 programs which I opened in itunes on my macbook air, discusses the benefits of using a journal.  Of course, computers make keeping journals so much easier these days.  My shoulders love my mac book air.  Here is a comment about how journals affect your happiness:  “In an experiment by Dr. Robert Emmons at the University of California-Davis, people who kept a “gratitude journal,” a weekly record of things they felt grateful for, enjoyed better physical health, were more optimistic, exercised more regularly, and described themselves as happier than a control group who didn’t keep journals.” ~ Marci Shimoff from Happy for No Reason

22. Here is a great Neurology conference in Italy coming up . Why not present that interesting paper you have on the shelf?  

23. Neurophysiology lectures and papers of interest .  Thanks to Dr. Boehnke for this information:  Hi Guy's
I think you will find these presentations by my son in law David Andrew interesting and well done from the perspective of neuroscience.  Look under public interest lectures.
 Sincerely Hans


24. Red yeast rice for dyslipidemia in statin-intolerant patients .  This paper provides some other choices for your patients:  

25. Suboptimal nutrition intake for hypertension control .  This paper describes the common deficiencies related to cultural diets :  


26. The difference good teachers can make .  Here is a great stand up skit by Taylor Mali.:  

27. The truth about chiropractic for infants by Leon Chaitow .  Here is a well balanced response to the "scientists" that are criticising chiropactic skill and outcomes at the moment.  In my opinion it is more a "turf" war resurrected from time to time over the years that began during Sir William Osler's time in the 1800's when he criticised bonesetters for putting good doctors out of jobs than the non evidence bias that is being discussed now.  Here are Dr. Chaitow's comments:  

28. Early cranial skills and their benefit to increasing blood flow to the brain, in New Scientist .  Finding ways to help Alzheimer's disease as well as other memory problems seems to be a quest at the moment.  This article includes and discusses therapies used from the Egyptian age to now. :  


29. How our minds work every day:  “ Our minds--made up of our thoughts, beliefs, and self-talk--are always “on.” According to scientists, we have about 60,000 thoughts a day. That’s one thought per second during every waking hour. No wonder we’re so tired at the end of the day!  And what’s even more startling is that of those 60,000 thoughts, 95 percent are the same thoughts you had yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that. Your mind is like a record player playing the same record over and over again... Talk about being stuck in a rut...Still, that wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the next statistic: for the average person, 80 percent of those habitual thoughts arenegative. That means that every day most people have more than 45,000 negative thoughts... Dr. Daniel Amen, a world-renowned psychiatrist and brain imaging specialist, calls them automatic negative thoughts, or ANTs.” ~ Marci Shimoff fromHappy for No Reason


30. AK Diplomate Simon King interviews Professor Mike Hurley about the origins and treatment of osteoarthritis .  Thank you to Simon for this information:  Dear Expert Muscle Testers I just finished a very special interview with Professor Mike Hurley, who is a professor of Physiotherapy at King's College London on the Origins and Treatment of Osteoarthritis.

Listen as I dig deep into the mind of one of the world's foremost researchers of knee pain and osteoarthritis.

Find out what he thinks about

  • muscle weakness
  • pain
  • the effectiveness of exercise
  • the burden of osteoarthritis
  • research trial design
  • the ESCAPE trial
  • why RCT's have no predictive value for individual patients
  • and lots more.

Before listening to the interview: have a copy of the ESCAPE trial protocol handy. You can get it here.

And click here to access the interview.

Best wishes, Simon King

31. Building immunity to flu and other viruses  by strengthening the adrenal glands and natural cortisol levels can help many patients with chronic inflammatory disorders.  This website has an interesting discussion about the use of supplements to help, practical applications and the diagnostics needed to assess the improvements in function:  


32. IMO AK can better help musculo skeletal conditions listed in this paper  that can lead to 8 or more weeks of sickness absence requiring the financial burdon of disability pensions to the community.  Among those aged 50 to 62 and among those with only basic education 46% obtained DP. DP rates were highest for osteoarthrosis (47%), rheumatoid arthritis (46%), and myalgia/fibromyalgia (38%). Fractures/injuries had the lowest rate. Upper limb, back problems, osteoarthrosis, myalgia/fibromyalgia and rheumatiod arthritis were the major components observed.  These conditions are some of those most commonly seen in an AK practice that respond with great outcomes.  This area could also be researched to show our contribution to reducing the costs of such pensions.  


33. Water-based exercises produced better improvement in disability and quality of life  of the patients with CLBP than land-based exercise.  This interesting study assessed spinal mobility, pain, disability and quality of life.  While both groups improved, the resistance that the water based exercise provided showed better outcomes.  AK'ers using MMT are able to assess muscle resistance in our clinical environments.  Our skills enable improvements to muscle resistance.  I wonder what comparative research would show including AK interventions?  


34. Experts think that soon approximately 2% of cancers in the U.S. will be attributable to radiation exposure from CT .  Amazing that this technology is the highest risk source for diagnostic, iatrogenic cancers.  The value of AK MMT enables us to find and fix problems without as much reliance on dangerous imaging techniques.  MRI is usually my imaging reference of choice when needed for validation of disc sequestration or rupture or other more rare pathology investigations.  Radiation is always a last resort.  


36. Meticulous oral cleansing seems to decrease the risk of the development of pneumonia  regardless of the content of the solution used for this purpose.  I am always amazed at the relationships to health that the dental researchers find.  I am sure that our AK research could find just as interesting relationships to health risk factors using similar designs to this study.  

37. "Eco Atkins" low carb diet lowers cholestrol .  Dr Goodheart always found value in a good salad and a good steak with avocado to help it digest better.  In his later years he also enjoyed fresh salmon and salads.  This study shows the research behind using other sources of protein to help create the same benefits to weight loss that Atkins originally proposed with his high protein diets.  

38. Medical bills cause 60% of US Bankruptcies .   AK skills provide answers for many health problems.  We need to research our value in this area and let the public know that we can keep them at work longer with less problems.  In my practice, we rarely have to give time of work other than appointment attendance and the occasional acute pain management.  What is our REAL value to the community from this perspective?  The most common problems causing financial burdens were:  Patients with multiple sclerosis paid a mean of $34,167 out of pocket in 2007, diabetics paid $26,971, and those with injuries paid $25,096, the researchers found.   


39. Cooling the frontal cortex may help insomnia .  Years ago, in the 1980's,  Dr. Goodheart used a technic to do this.  He measured the surface temperature on the front of the skull with a thermistor instrument.  He found excellent success for a number of problems.  Here is an article about the latest research, now discovered 30 years later.  I wonder how many AK hypotheses are going to be rediscovered by other researchers? :  

40. Unlike visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)  is not associated with a linear increase in all cardiometabolic risk factors, according to a report in the June issue of Diabetes Care.  


41. A list of potential drug risks is published by the FDA .  Useful to be aware of for your patients:  


42. Harold Gelb was one of the first dentists to discover the value of AK in helping the jaw .  He was a recent speaker at the ICAK meeting in Boston.  His books are available here :  .  Look for Chapter 15, AK and the Stomatognathic System.  Their are other books published about his work also.


43. Psychology club credits AK for their work with mental health .  NET etc, including chiropractors using AK have motivated other professions to use MMT and Energy therapies  when helping clients:  

44. Physical Therapists use Manual muscle testing to diagnose sports efficiency .  This is a new media awareness coming out of the PT group.  Perhaps AK'ers should be offering a similar service for community sports groups?  This would be a new extension service to normal clinical practice:  Physical therapists will perform manual muscle testing on each athlete to place them in classes for competition according to the complexity of their disability. The paralympic academy has scheduled clinics for each event for newcomers looking to compete or to gain knowledge, Coupie said.  

45. Some sage advice and philosophy helps keep us on the right track in times like these.  It is interesting to note that our dilemmas are similar to those of other ages:  Seneca, the Roman philosopher says: “How much better to pursue a straight course and eventually reach that destination where the things that are pleasant and the things that are honorable finally become, for you, the same.”

And, this is a good time to remember Aristotle’s wisdom that:“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

46. Here are Dr. Maffetone's AK updates for the week:   

The music on Dr. Maffetone's website can be controlled at the bottom of the web page.  Just click the pause button.

welcome to a new AK PAGE update. As a reminder, you can click links from this email, or go to: www.philmaffetone.com/akpage/cfm to view these and other items. But you can't get to the PAGE from within my site because it's only for AK practitioners (so bookmark it).

For all those attending the Boston meeting, I heard it was a success. I plan to be in LA next year.

In 2000 I wrote a chapter on AK for the Clinician's Complete Reference to Complementary and Alternative Medicine (edited by Donald W. Novey, M.D. Mosby, 2000). I believe this is the first place it’s appeared in the AK literature. Click to read.
I had a request for my ICAK paper from 2001 on Impaired Glucose Metabolism. I don’t have it on this computer, but found the PowerPoint slides (a good review of the article) and posted it on the AK PAGE.

The Manual Biofeedback DVD & Workbook is now available. It’s for beginners through advanced. That’s because the manual muscle testing part of it is relatively basic, but much of the technique is new to most AK practitioners. I’ve essentially taken the basic components of EMG biofeedback, some of the powerful therapies of neurofeedback (EEG) and created an easy to use manual version – manual biofeedback. If you know muscle testing, you can use manual biofeedback immediately (and without any equipment). This relatively new AK technique has been used by many doctors.

It’s a great pleasure to announce that my ICAK membership is now renewed after a period of absence (thank you Dr. Bob Porzio). 
Dr. Phil
www.philmaffetone.com

47. Comments:  Thanks again Donald.. I always find something interesting that applies to my life..cheers bob schwager

 

Hey Don thanks for putting me on your site.
Am enjoying the articles. Bob Scott

 


AK News and Views is researched, written,  edited and published each week by

Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au





 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 76
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,
This week's edition has some great links and information to help you in your Applied Kinesiology practice.  Breaking news about a new AK pediatrics paper that will be published in the next few months.  The ICAK conference in Boston is still in session this weekend.  I hope to report on some of the papers presented in future issues of AK News and Views.  Some great studies include Sleep and Blood Pressure, the Overuse of anti oxidants in exercise, a manual biofeedback video and 3 free books by Jim Rohn to help you improve your practice.  News just arrived.  Australia is to have National registration and licensing for all health professions.   This means your license to practice will be reciprocal between states.   Here is the link for the draft  of the legislation, frequently asked questions and opportunity for input .  
Enjoy,
Donald


1.  A New AK paper is to be published authored by Dr. Cuthbert and Dr. Barras
2. What does it take to try 1000 times before you get it right?
3. Reduced sleep duration and consolidation predicted higher BP levels
4. Cheap holidays for all in times like these
5. Chiroaccess provides updates on clinical research
6. The Simon Singh libel case in UK may resound around the world.
7. Dr. Michael Lebowitz is an AK teacher with an intense interest in AK procedures
8. Antioxidants can be overused
9. Understanding stress and what it means
10. The Lancet Journal has a free access trial to all its journals at the moment.
11. Here is a video of manual biofeedback with Dr. Maffetone
12. When to act or the law of diminishing intent
13. Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability to take action.
14. 500th issue of Jim Rohn's enews celebration has 3 free books.
15. Australia's leading cardiologist's website.
16. Practice management:
17. Here is the new website for the Benelux region
18. Comments:

1.  A New AK paper is to be published authored by Dr. Cuthbert and Dr. Barras:  "Developmental Delay Syndromes: Psychometric testing before and after chiropractic treatment of 157 children", has received final approval and is scheduled for publication in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics.

2. What does it take to try 1000 times before you get it right?  Edison worked this hard to create a light bulb that glowed for just a few seconds.  Today our lives are better for it.  So it is with many of our patients.  An AK doctor is always refining his/her skills to find the answer to the most difficult problems we are presented with.  Here is a quote from Edison:  "Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try one more time."  Thomas Edison  1847-1931, Inventor and Entrepreneur

3. Reduced sleep duration and consolidation predicted  higher BP levels  and adverse changes in BP, suggesting the need for studies to investigate whether interventions to optimize sleep may reduce BP.:  


4. Cheap holidays for all in times like these .  Here is a link to give you all the information you need.  Rest and relaxation are often overlooked in difficult times, but still just as necessary:  

5. Chiroaccess provides updates on clinical research .  Here is the link for access:  

6. The Simon Singh libel case in UK may resound around the world .  An army of CAM "science" critics is reporting what they see as  false treatment claims by alternative medicine practitioners to government agencies in the UK.   .  Don't get caught up in this war.  Make sure you are very careful about your treatment claims and patient management.  AK has also come under attack by these people for having NO research to validate its work .    Scroll down the page to read the AK comment. 
 It is now more important than ever for AK'ers to publish their success and research their work.  Donate your time, effort or money to the ICAK research programs.  It is your working future at stake.   The results of these UK challenges WILL be felt around the world.  Don't make any comment that you can't reference.  The "anti CAM brigade" are ruthless in their bias. 


7. Dr. Michael Lebowitz is an AK teacher with an intense interest in AK procedures  especially nutrition and the gut.  You may find his newsletters of interest:  

8. Antioxidants can be overused .  AK taste testing helps to better diagnose the need for appropriate nutrition.  This new study may explain why some patients don't show a need for these vitamins.  The study concludes:   Consistent with the concept of mitohormesis, exercise-induced oxidative stress ameliorates insulin resistance and causes an adaptive response promoting endogenous antioxidant defense capacity. Supplementation with antioxidants may preclude these health-promoting effects of exercise in humans.   It is a free download.

9. Understanding stress and what it means.  Thanks to Eric Barnes for this quote:  The first from Dr. Wayne Dyer -

"It makes no sense to worry about things over which you have no 
control; because if you have no control, it makes no sense to worry. 
And it makes no sense to worry about things over which you DO have 
control; because if you DO have control, it makes no sense to worry."

That one, heard in a seminar in 1988, totally changed my outlook on 
life in general.

The second from a nursery rhyme -

"Row, row, row your boat - GENTLY - DOWN - the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily
Life is but a dream."

Such wisdom...and it took me about five decades to "get it". :))

We spend most of our lives, for one reasons or another, paddling 
madly upstream, to achieve....what??? Give a thought to this: 
Nothing you want is UPstream!


10. The Lancet Journal has a free access trial to all its journals at the moment.  Enjoy:  ACCESS YOUR FREE TRIAL NOW  


12. When to act or the law of diminishing intent.  Some great advice from Jim Rohn:  

13. Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop the ability to take action. You don't need to be hasty if it isn't required, but you don't want to lose much time either. Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and the emotion is strong.

Let's say you would like to build your library. If that is a strong desire for you, what you've got to do is get the first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea dims. If you don't, here's what happens . . . .

YOU FALL PREY TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT.

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we don't translate that intention into action fairly soon, the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now the passion is cold. A year from now it can't be found.

So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are high and the idea is strong, clear, and powerful. If somebody talks about good health and you're motivated by it, you need to get a book on nutrition. Get the book before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold. Begin the process. Fall on the floor and do some push-ups. You've got to take action; otherwise the wisdom is wasted. The emotion soon passes unless you apply it to a disciplined activity. Discipline enables you to capture the emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action. The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole new life process.

Here is the greatest value of discipline: self-worth, also known as self-esteem. Many people who are teaching self-esteem these days don't connect it to discipline. But once we sense the least lack of discipline within ourselves, it starts to erode our psyche. One of the greatest temptations is to just ease up a little bit. Instead of doing your best, you allow yourself to do just a little less than your best. Sure enough, you've started in the slightest way to decrease your sense of self-worth.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect. Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of it, it becomes a disease. And one neglect leads to another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Once this has happened, how can you regain your self-respect? All you have to do is act now! Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. Make the commitment: "I will discipline myself to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can celebrate my successes."

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn



14. 500th issue of Jim Rohn's enews celebration has 3 free books .  I met Jim Rohn in Queensland in 1993.  I have used his material and ideas in my business with great success and shared many of his stories in these emails.  Go to his website, sign up for his email newsletters and download the 3 free books:   




15. Australia's leading cardiologist's website .  Dr. Walker provides some great information, books and newsletters on his website.  Thanks to Dr. Ierano for this link:  


16. Practice management:

Keeping perspective and on purpose when working with so many people in a health practice is never easy.  I like this comment and have found it very useful:  "The first step in changing reality is to recognize it as it is now. There is no need to wish it were otherwise. It simply is. Pleasant or not, it is. Then comes the behavior that acts on the present reality. Behavior can change what is. We may have visions of what will be. We cannot (and need not) prevent these dreams. But the visions won't change the future. Action--in the present--changes the future. A trip of ten thousand miles starts out with one step, not with a fantasy about travel." ~ David K. Reynolds from Constructive Living


17. Here is the new website for the Benelux region :  

18. Comments:  
Dear Donald,
 
thank you for the great information you have been sending us during the last months. At the moment we are in the final stages of our new ICAK-Website preparation. Can you change the Benelux as www.icakbenelux.BE  .COM is found on the ICAK sites.
 
I am looking for a good AK practitioner to treat our number one Belgium 
tennis player.
Kim Cleysters is going to be in New York / New Jersey in the coming weeks 
and needs someone to look after her. Do you know of any name(s) to recomment?
Until now, the Americans have not reacted to my question and I need this before the end of the weekend. 


Best wishes,
Geert 

Hi Donald,  thanks for the info.  A friend of mine has a bone spur on her spinal cord.  Any suggestions?
Thanks, alice

THANX  FOR THE INFO  I HAVE TAKEN  SEVERAL  CLASSES  WITH DR SPRIESER  THRU THE YRS  HIS  DENTAL   TMJ  CLASSES  WERE  OF  GREAT VALUE  TO  MYSELF AND  MANY MANY  PATIENTS     THANX  AGAIN FOR THE  UPDATE  .  William

Remember you can access the index of AK News and Views past issues at www.appliedkinesiology.com.au.  Just click the "blog" and register to access the index.


Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au



 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 83
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 


Hi Everyone,

This week is the week of the ICAK meeting in Boston.  www.icak.com.  AK'ers from all over the world will meet to share their clinical observations and research findings.  Here is this weeks collection of clinically interesting articles, AK research and practice improvement information.
Enjoy,
Donald


1. Glucose intolerance can cause major depressive disorder
2. Supplemental Dietary Glutamine Reduces H. Pylori-Related Pathology
3. Omega-3 fatty acids may lower risk for age related macular degeneration
4. Too much sugar causes gastric cancer
5. How total hip replacement can make you blind and deaf after cobalt chromium intoxication
6. Energy chewing gum causes aggression
7. Anti Aging health conference is in Melbourne this year
8. Autism, ADHD and medicated births
9. Role of functional foods in primary prevention
10. Your liability when a partner or colleague acts strangely
11. Dr. Goodheart always applied this philosophy when caring for his patients
12. "Applied Kinesiology" explained by Dr. Cuthbert on Google "Knol" has received over 3000 page views
13. Depression and chronic pain resolved with one chiropractic treatment
14. Trouble decorating your clinic.  Check out this hospital restaurant in Latvia.
15. Some patients take any opportunity to be happy
16. Singing rewires brains of Parkinson's patients
17. How breathing affects your whole body
18. How drinking affects college students
19. Coca Cola excess causes paralysis.
20. Here is a possible reference to the work of neurovascular reflexes:
21. What do we learn from our successes?  Here is another great practice management concept:
22. What influences you to do better?
23. 1000 free medical journals website.
24. Comments:










7. Anti Aging health conference is in Melbourne this year .  It is open for papers from all professional health groups. 



9. Role of functional foods in primary prevention : Cranberry extracts and cholesterol lowering:  


11. Dr. Goodheart always applied this philosophy when caring for his patients.  Here is the same philosophy by another author:  "Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd; a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more."  A. Lou Vickery.  Writer



13. Depression and chronic pain resolved with one chiropractic treatment .  Here is an interesting case report:  


14. Trouble decorating your clinic.  Check out this hospital restaurant in Latvia .  Look at all 13 photo's.  Now, how would an AK office look?

15. Some patients take any opportunity to be happy .  We should do the same.  Thanks to Winston Marsh for this and the previous link:  Here’s the story:
 An elderly couple walked into the lobby of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, and spotted the atrium piano. They've been married for 62 years; he'll be 90 this year. It's all attitude!


17. How breathing affects your whole body .  AK'ers use breathing to assist with their adjustments and cranial treatment.  This paper by Leon Chaitow simplifies the whole process.  Thanks to Dr. Cuthbert for this article: 


19. Coca Cola excess causes paralysis .  When water is hard to come by, it can get mighty thirsty in the outback, and coke isn't the way to slake your thirst.  Here is the editorial of the case study:  

20. Here is a possible reference to the work of neurovascular reflexes:  

Pain  Volume 144, Issues 1-2, July 2009, Pages 147-155

Work-induced pain, trapezius blood flux, and muscle activity in workers with chronic shoulder and neck pain

Vegard Strøma, , , Cecilie Røea, b and Stein Knardahla, c

aNational Institute of Occupational Health, P.O. Box 8149, Dep., N-0033 Oslo, Norway

bFaculty of Medicine, The University of Oslo, Norway

cInstitute of Psychology, The University of Oslo, Norway

Received 5 November 2008;  revised 20 February 2009;  accepted 1 April 2009.  Available online 1 May 2009.

Abstract

Pain, trapezius microcirculation, and electromyography (EMG) were recorded during 90 min of simulated office work with time pressure and hand precision demands in 24 full-time working subjects with chronic shoulder and neck pain. The responses were compared with those of a reference group of 28 healthy subjects without pain. Pain intensity was rated on a visual analogue scale. Intramuscular blood flux was measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF) and muscle activity by surface EMG bilaterally in the upper trapezius. Pain increased during the work task, and the increase was larger in women than in men and in the reference group. Muscle activity was low: <4% of EMG during maximal voluntary contraction. LDF showed elevated intramuscular blood flux above baseline throughout the work task in both groups and during recovery in the pain group. Pain in the active side correlated positively with blood flux in the pain-afflicted subjects and negatively in the reference group. In conclusion, office work induced pain, and trapezius vasodilation that did not return to resting values during recovery. These data show that pain is associated with trapezius vasodilation but not with muscle activity. Interaction between blood vessels and nociceptors may be important in the activation of muscle nociceptors in people with chronic shoulder and neck pain. Pain-afflicted people may benefit from breaks spaced at shorter intervals than those needed by pain-free subjects when working under time pressure.



You can apply these 2 choices for success in your life and with how you care for your patients.  I have always found the best way to build a successful practice is to do all you can for a patient and achieve results.  When you don't have anything more that you can do for them, you start calling your colleagues for ideas.  Remember, you want results.  This is the great advantage of being part of the ICAK.  Dr. Good heart set the trend of always thinking about patient problems and looking for answers.  Here is some great advice on this principle by Jim Rohn:

Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To have less. To read less and think less. To try less and discipline ourselves less. These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.

And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.

To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be less or to be nothing at all.

Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to stretch upward and outward to the full measure of our capabilities. Why not do all that we can, every moment that we can, the best that we can, for as long as we can?

Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of undertakings.

Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results! And if our results are less than our potential suggests that they should be, then we must strive to become more today than we were the day before. The greatest rewards are always reserved for those who bring great value to themselves and the world around them as a result of who and what they have become.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn


21. What do we learn from our successes?  Here is another great practice management concept:  

 "We've all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it's more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Pastor and Author


22. What influences you to do better?   Here is some more advice from Jim Rohn about how to surround yourself with good influence:

Influence/Association

There are two parts to influence: First, influence is powerful; and second, influence is subtle. You wouldn't let someone push you off course, but you might let someone nudge you off course and not even realize it.

We need a variety of input and influence and voices. You cannot get all the answers to life and business from one person or from one source.

Attitude is greatly shaped by influence and association.

Don't spend most of your time on the voices that don't count. Tune out the shallow voices so that you will have more time to tune in the valuable ones.

"No" puts distance between you and the wrong influence.

You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me?  What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay?

Don't join an easy crowd; you won't grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.

Some people you can afford to spend a few minutes with, but not a few hours.

Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect on your life long after they have departed.


23. 1000 free medical journals website .  Thanks to Dr. Schmitt for the link to this website.  He received it from Jim Jiga DC, who got it from Tom Hyde DC, who got it from Warren Jahn DC.   Here you will find many references for useful clinical information.  Google searches have so much clutter in them.  Searching journals often gives more detail.  Manuel Montenegro has put this amazing site together:  


24. Comments:

Hi Donald,

Firstly thank you so much for all your regular emails. The links and articles you send are a great resource and read.

I though I may add some information to your note about the upcoming Carrick Neurology modules, as I myself are currently sitting the board exams. There are 16 modules as part of the 'standard' course work, although only 12 are needed to be 'board eligible' and sit the exams, whilst 14 are required to be able to continue to the masters degree. The exams (written and practicals) are held every year (normally twice), this year in Australia as well.

As of July this year, Australia (Melb) will be the site for the Vestibular Rehabilitation course run by Paul Noone. It is a 165 hr sub specialty, with 75 class hours, and 90 hours online learning. They are likely to hold the exams here therafter. Apart from the vestibular course, there is also the 'electrodiagnostics' and 'childhood disorders' sub-specialities, yet to be taught in Oz

I hope this helps.

Regards
Carlo Rinaudo

Hi Donald,
First of all I have to say WOW!  You really do compile a bunch of great articles and resources for the profession!  Thank you for all that you are doing for the profession and in particular us AK docs.  Secondly, I have a question for you:  one of my patients just recently asked me about the pros and cons of the tetanus shots and if they are necessary.  Her son just recently was “required” to get one for his Boy Scouts camping trips this summer and had a bad reaction with severe upper arm swelling the night of the vaccination.  Do you have any research or info on the tetanus vaccination.  Is it necessary if they “step on a rusty nail” or for prevention?
 
Thanks in advance for your help,
 Carl Amodio

Hi Donald,
Great information, thanks for your opinion.  Also, just an FYI for the profession:  I was able to get an AK class up and running at Life University.  I designed a course with the help of Wally Schmitt and have been teaching for the past 2 years an elective course “Introduction to Applied Kinesiology.”  I think it is one of the few courses being taught that includes a lab where I can expose the students to AK in a practical format.  Anyway, I just thought I would pass along the good news as this is the first time in the university’s existence that it has had anything dealing with AK in the curriculum.
 
Thanks again for all that you do,
Carl

Hey Donald, my name is Ben Purcell, I'm a first year chiropractic graduate working in Sydney as an associate for Susy Labrie. Being a member of ICAK I get your emails regularly which I find fantastic, thankyou!
 
I'm hopeing you can help me with some information regarding Injury Recall Technique (IRT). I'm unfamiliar with the technique and the neurological basis behind why its so effective. If possible can you please forward as much info as possible regarding IRT, its neurological basis and relevant (practical) tips.
 
I'm hopeful this information is available and not asking to much. Thankyou for your time and your continuing effort in providing so much valuable information. 
 
King Regards
 
Ben 




 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 83
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hi Everyone,
This weeks collection of articles has a wide variety of interests.  Some for your self, your practice and your patients.  Pick out what you find useful and make your work better.  Dr. Mark Heller's paper was published this week.  A number of new studies published include topics for better clinical management of your patients.  A new paper about AK meridian techniques.  Some philosophy from Marcus Aurelius seems timely.  Brain balance and better neurological function for children is gaining media interest.  Let's stay ahead of the crowd with AK.  Enjoy this weeks collection.
Donald

Donald McDowall
DC, MAppSc, DNBCE, DIBAK, FACC
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au

1.  Comfrey root topical therapy is 95% effective in removing back pain
2.  Middle ear balance and old age falls
3. New AK paper about EMG and Meridian therapy published
4. Franchises for Dr. Melillo's Disconnected Kids program
5. Something to help understand female incontinence
6.  Treating the brain with AK
7. Using drinking water to prevent overweight in children
8. "Extra ordinary knowing" is a method AK'er Mark Heller
9. Here are the links to the coming SuperNeurology program
10. How to understand how your local AK Chapter is working
11. Applied Kinesiology is a dynamic profession
12. Become a partner or remain an employee?
13. Having trouble attracting new partners?
14. "How to write a lot" is a useful book to get you on top of all your unfinished projects
15. Here is the template for doing a case study suitable for publication
16. Orthopedists do not recommend running for over 45's.
17. Fear boosts vaccine use.
18.  Here is a free download of the "De stress Kit for Changing Times".
19. Molecular markers for mortality of prostate cancer.
20. Einstein said a few great things. Be great in your AK practice.
21. Communication is the great weakness or strength of a professional practice.
22. Knowledge can bring power to your life and success to your practice. 
23. Most teams destroy themselves from within.  We see this often in sports
24. I try not to get political with this news blog.  I Just report the facts.  But this story touched me. 
25. Carrick Neurology course planned for Australia in 2010
26. Dr. Maffetone's new book is released
27. Practice management principles
28. Obturator Internus muscle and sciatica paper
29. Brain balance pioneer Dr. Robert Melillo is interviewed about his book
30. Almond skins can modulate the complex cytokine network during an immunological response
31. Either Sham or real acupuncture is just as effective for back pain
32. Research on Internet addiction is up and running
33. Comments for AK News and Views
  



1.  Comfrey root topical therapy is 95% effective in removing back pain.  http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703387?src=mpnews&spon=34&uac=10445EN 

2.  Middle ear balance and old age falls.  This problem is often easily helped with BPPV maneuvers :   http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/703297?src=mpnews&spon=34&uac=10445EN

3. New AK paper about EMG and Meridian therapy published .  It is a free download.  Evaluation of Applied Kinesiology meridian techniques by means of surface electromyography (sEMG): demonstration of the regulatory influence of antique acupuncture points  

4. Franchises for Dr. Melillo's Disconnected Kids program  "Brain Balance" are now available: 


6.  Treating the brain with AK  discussion paper by Dr. Maffetone.  Thanks to Dr. Phil for this information: Muscle testing and biofeedback by Dr. Maffetone is updated here:  Dr. Phil's AK blog updates happen frequently .  Ask him all your difficult patient management questions.  Check out the new editions of his books.  

7. Using drinking water to prevent overweight in children .   Here is a free download:  

8. "Extra ordinary knowing" is a method AK'er Mark Heller  has used in his 30+ years of using AK to help him resolve difficult patient problems.  He explains his observations with references.  Dr. Goodheart used to say that with difficult problems, you need 90% knowledge and intuition will give you the other 10% to help you find the patient's problem.  Dr. Heller gives an example of this "thinking" principle .  The first reference Dr. Goodheart gave me on this principle was Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Shafica Karagulla's book :  Breakthrough to Creativity .  This book was a survey of doctors all around the world who had experienced "professional intuition".    Here is a link to her books :  

9. Here are the links to the coming SuperNeurology program :    and the poster    .  What a great excuse to visit Life Chiropractic College in beautiful Atlanta.  Our ICAK President, Dr. John Wittle lives and works there also.  It is also the home of Bobby Jones' Masters Golf Course.  Something for everybody.

10. How to understand how your local AK Chapter is working .  Do you have a new volunteer position in your local chapter and struggle to understand how your board is working?  Don't get frustrated.  Here is a book that outlines the efficiency that everyone looks for.  You can make a greater contribution to the work of your Chapter by understanding these principles of governance.  

11. Applied Kinesiology is a dynamic profession.  Our observations are constantly changing.  Here is a great and ancient quote about this phenomenon.  Keeping ahead of changes is a mark of a successful profession.  AK'ers revel in the discoveries they observe with each of their patients.   We see ahead because we stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us.
 One prominent theme in Marcus Aurelius' notes to himself is the idea of change. He says, "Time is a river, the resistless flow of all created things. One thing no sooner comes in sight than it is hurried past and another is borne along, only to be swept away in its turn." ~ Marcus Aurelius fromMeditations

And: "Reflect often upon the rapidity with which all existing things, or things coming into existence, sweep past us and are carried away."

"Even while a thing is in the act of coming into existence, some part of it has already ceased to be."

"The whole universe is change, and life itself is but what you deem it."

Change. The one constant we can rely on. Are you fighting it or flowing with it in your life today?


12. Become a partner or remain an employee?   Many new doctors struggle with this decision.  Here is a medical article about the pros and cons:  

13. Having trouble attracting new partners ?  Consider this medscape discussion.  If you have trouble accessing the page, I have attached the article at the bottom of this email.


15. Here is the template for doing a case study suitable for publication .   The design is easy to follow and will get your foot in the door of research.  The strength of a case study is the detail of care involved.  The more detail of what you do that is documented the more value the case study has.  All journals accept case studies.  They are now considered essential for the discovery and collaboration when sharing patient management skills.  In AK this is our forte.  Let's write up more.

16. Orthopedists do not recommend running for over 45's.  I figured the 14 kilometers I walk in a day around my clinic was a pretty good effort.  All the muscle testing exercises my upper body.  At my age (almost 60) it seems my biggest problem is eating enough protein to keep up with my workload.  When I came across this list of advice for runners, I must admit I did sympathize with some of this advice.  How about you?  

You may know that I've really enjoyed running every day for the last twenty years or so. I thought I might share some observations on exercise that may entice you to get started...

  1. My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 now and we don't know where the heck she is.
  2. The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again.
  3. I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. I haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to show up.
  4. I have to exercise early in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing.
  5. I don't exercise at all. If God meant us to touch our toes, he would have put them 
    further up on our body.
  6. I like long walks, especially when people who annoy me take them.
  7. I have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers them.
  8. The advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier.
  9. If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country.
  10. It is well documented that for every mile that you jog, you add one minute to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $5000 per month.


17. Fear boosts vaccine use .  Fear is an amazing marketing tool and is nearly always used by some companies.  Yet it creates its own disease process that I included in last weeks "AK News and Views", the nocebo effect.  Here you see how mass media can create whole illusionary disease paradigms. 
 
My observation has been that the flu always hits those that are fatigued.  Fix the fatigue and you will stay well.  Selye's work on identifying stressors in life is a key method that AK has used for many years and his book "The Stress of Life " should be read frequently.

18.  Here is a free download of the "De stress Kit for Changing Times" .  It is available in various languages including German:  

19. Molecular markers for mortality of prostate cancer .  Here is the latest.  Almost 65,000 people were studied.  The article is a free download:  

20. Einstein said a few great things. Be great in your AK practice.   Here is one that I like:  "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

21. Communication is the great weakness or strength of a professional practice.  Failure to communicate effectively with a patient can be the downfall of many good doctors and great practices.  It is also a reflection of the professionalism of a doctor.  I see this weakness in many of the complaints that come to the chiropractic doctor's licensing board that I work with.  Here are some simple steps that will help you prevent falling into the trap of failure to communicate.  Save yourself and your practice.  Memorize this method:

Here are six techniques you can use to help you say things simply but persuasively, and even forcefully:

(1) Get your thinking straight. The most common source of confusing messages is muddled thinking. We have an idea we haven't thought through. Or we have so much we want to say that we can't possibly say it. Or we have an opinion that is so strong we can't keep it in. As a result, we are ill prepared when we speak, and we confuse everyone. The first rule of plain talk, then, is to think before you say anything. Organize your thoughts.

(2) Say what you mean. Say exactly what you mean.

(3) Get to the point. Effective communicators don't beat around the bush. If you want someone to buy something, ask for the order. If you want someone to do something, say exactly what you want done.

(4) Be concise. Don't waste words. Confusion grows in direct proportion to the number of words used. Speak plainly and briefly, using the shortest, most familiar words.

(5) Be real. Each of us has a personality -- a blending of traits, thought patterns and mannerisms -- which can aid us in communicating clearly. For maximum clarity, be natural, and let the real you come through. You'll be more convincing and much more comfortable.

(6) Speak in images. The cliché that "a picture is worth a thousand words" isn't exactly true (try explaining the Internal Revenue code using nothing but pictures). But words that help people visualize concepts can be tremendous aids in communicating a message. Once Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative became known as Star Wars, its opponents had a powerful weapon against it. The name gave it the image of a far-out, futuristic dream beyond the reach of current technology. Reagan was never able to come up with a more powerful positive image.

Your one-on-one communication will acquire real power if you learn to send messages that are simple, clear, and assertive; if you learn to monitor the hearer to determine that your message was accurately received; and if you learn to obtain the desired response by approaching people with due regard for their behavioral styles.  

Your finesse as a communicator will grow as you learn to identify and overcome the obstacles to communication. Practice the six techniques I just mentioned, and you'll find your effectiveness as a message-sender growing steadily.

But sending messages is only half the process of communicating. To be a truly accomplished communicator, you must also cultivate the art of listening.

If you're approaching a railroad crossing around a blind curve, you can send a message with your car horn. But that's not the most important part of your communication task. The communication that counts takes place when you stop, look and listen.

We're all familiar with the warning on the signs at railroad crossings: Stop, Look and Listen. It's also a useful admonition for communication.

It's easy to think of communication as a process of sending messages. But sending is only half the process. Receiving is the other half. So at the appropriate time, we have to stop sending and prepare to receive.

A sign on the wall of Lyndon Johnson's Senate office put it in a down-to-earth way: "When you're talking, you ain't learning."

LISTENING PAYS
Listening pays off daily in the world of business. Smart salespeople have learned that you can talk your way out of a sale, but you can listen your way into one. They listen to their customers to find out what their needs are, then concentrate on filling those needs. Skilled negotiators know that no progress can be made until they have heard and understood what the other side wants.

LISTENING REQUIRES THOUGHT AND CARE
Listening, like speaking and writing, requires thought and care. If you don't concentrate on listening, you won't learn much, and you won't remember much of what you learn.

Some experts claim that professionals earn between 40% and 80% of their pay by listening. Yet, most of us retain only 25% of what we hear. If you can increase your retention and your comprehension, you can increase your effectiveness in the 21st century's Age of Information.

LISTEN WITH YOUR EYES
If you listen only with your ears, you're missing out on much of the message. Good listeners keep their eyes open while listening.

Look for feelings. The face is an eloquent communication medium. Learn to read its messages. While the speaker is delivering a verbal message, the face can be saying, "I'm serious," "Just kidding," "It pains me to be telling you this," or "This gives me great pleasure."

Some non-verbal signals to watch for:
- Rubbing one eye. When you hear "I guess you're right," and the speaker is rubbing one eye, guess again. Rubbing one eye often is a signal that the speaker is having trouble inwardly accepting something. 
- Tapping feet. When a statement is accompanied by foot-tapping, it usually indicates a lack of confidence in what is being said.
- Rubbing fingers. When you see the thumb and forefinger rubbing together, it often means that the speaker is holding something back.
- Staring and blinking. If you've made your best offer and the other person stares at the ceiling and blinks rapidly, your offer is under consideration.
- Crooked smiles. Most genuine smiles are symmetrical. And most facial expressions are fleeting. If a smile is noticeably crooked, you're probably looking at a fake smile.
- Eyes that avoid contact. Poor eye contact can be a sign of low self-esteem, but it can also indicate that the speaker is not being truthful.

It would be unwise to make a decision based solely on these visible signals. But they can give you valuable tips on the kind of questions to ask and the kind of answers to be alert for.

GOOD LISTENERS MAKE THINGS EASY
People who are poor listeners will find few who are willing to come to them with useful information.

Good listeners make it easy on those to whom they want to listen. They make it clear that they're interested in what the other person has to say.

-- Nido Qubein


Learn to become a master communicator from Nido Qubein , one of America's foremost speakers on business management, leadership and communication! For complete details, go to go to 



22. Knowledge can bring power to your life and success to your practice.  Here are some amazing directions for self education and motivation thanks to Jim Rohn:

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.

We must learn to apply all that we know so that we can attract all that we want.

Learning is the beginning of wealth. Learning is the beginning of health. Learning is the beginning of spirituality. Searching and learning is where the miracle process all begins.

If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.

Don't see the mind for more than it is, but don't misread it for all that it can be.

Sharpen your interest in two major subjects: life and people. You will only gather information from a source if you are interested in it.

Education must precede motivation.

While you are in school, make sure you get the information. What you think about it, that's up to you. What you are going to do with it that will soon be up to you. But while you are there, make sure you get it. In fact, my advice is – Don't leave school without it!

Never begrudge the money you spend on your own education.

If you step up the self-education curve, you will come up with more answers than you can use.


23. Most teams destroy themselves from within.  We see this often in sports.  Here is a quote that provide the correct focus for team success.  All AK'ers should project this commitment:  "Each of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of all of us. And all of us must be committed to maintaining the reputation of each of us." Jim Rohn

24. I try not to get political with this news blog .   I Just report the facts.  But this story touched me .  Vaccination is a very emotional and political subject where facts often suffer.  My approach with my patients who are considering any type of vaccine is to encourage them to request blood tests for themselves and their children before the vaccines are given.  If there are antigens or evidence of exposure to the proposed vaccine in the test results, then the child or your good self will already have a form of immunity.  All vaccines can be tested for antigens.  If the child already has the antigen then further vaccine exposure may be unnecessary.  A better decision can be made AFTER a diagnosis.  So I encourage our AK philosophy on this sensitive topic as:  Diagnose the need, supply the need and observe the results.  If the diagnoses shows there is no need, then no treatment is necessary.  Right?  Well, here is the story.
For those considering Hep B vaccinations for their baby.  Here pictures of Ian.  He didn't survive the vaccination.  His parents created a memorial website for him.  

25. Carrick Neurology course planned for Australia in 2010.  If you are interested please contact:  Dr. Mira Sola  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  The basic course is made of 12 modules (it may have changed) - 6 in first year and 6 in second year. Each module is taught over 3 days (like a long w/e). There is an exam to follow this for those that wish to sit for the Diplomate in Functional Neurology. Also for those that complete the course and don't wish to do the exam there is an offer to submit for a Masters in Functional Neurology through a thesis.
There are more modules after that but only a few are taught in Australia - I don't think there are any exams for those?. As Carrick and others do more reseach there will be more information in the future as you can see on the Carrick Institute website.

26. Dr. Maffetone's new book is released.  It is the best book that addresses the AK approach to helping athletes.  I have the 1st edition.  I found it extremely useful.  I am looking forward to reading this new update:

the new 5th edition of In Fitness and In Health is now available to order! 

In addition, a special discussion Forum has been created on the website for questions and comments from readers. Want to read a chapter and other parts of the new book? Go to Dr. Phil’s Books.

You can also order the In Fitness and In Health ebook if you want this important material on your computer – and it’s searchable. 
-- Order the book from Amazon here.
-- Order the ebook from Renegade Health here.
Feel free to add a quick comment about the book on Amazon.

The best Chiropractic Neurologists in the world will be speaking at this conference:     Here is the agenda .


27. Practice management principles:  “It is time to stop looking outside yourself for the answers to why you haven’t created the life and results you want, for it is you who creates the quality of the life you lead and the results you produce. You--no one else! To achieve major success in life--to achieve those things that are most important to you--you must assume 100% responsibility for your life. Nothing less will do.” ~ Jack Canfield from The Success Principles

28. Obturator Internus muscle and sciatica paper.  The Spine Journal

Volume 9, Issue 6, June 2009, Pages e16-e1

An unusual cause of sciatic pain as a result of the dynamic motion of the obturator internus muscle

Yasuaki Murata MD, PhDa, , , Satoshi Ogata MD, PhDb, Yoshikazu Ikeda MD, PhDb and Masatsune Yamagata MD, PhDb

aDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawadacho, Shinjuku ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan

bDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chiba Rosai Hospital, 2-14 Tatsumidai-higashi, Ichihara City, Chiba 290-0003, Japan

 Received 5 October 2008;  accepted 10 January 2009.  Available online 12 February 2009.

Abstract

Background context

It has been reported that compression of the sciatic nerve because of any cause, including endometriosis, piriformis syndrome, abscess, tumor, adjoining uterus provoke sciatic pain. Some of these pathophysiologies have been diagnosed clinically and sometimes by exclusion.

Purpose

To discuss the clinical features of sciatic neuropathy under the belief that dynamic motion of the obturator internus muscle and tendon should be included in the differential diagnosis of sciatic neuropathy.

Study design

Sciatic neuropathy, which was because of compression of the sciatic nerve caused by dynamic motion of the tendon and muscle of the obturator internus, was reported.

Methods

We performed surgery to confirm the outlet of the pelvis.

Results

Although no compression was provoked by the piriformis muscle, obvious compression was observed on the sciatic nerve by the stretched obturator internus muscle.

Conclusions

Although it may not be common, compression of the sacral plexus caused by dynamic motion of the obturator internus muscle should be included as a possible diagnosis for sciatic pain.



30. Almond skins can modulate the complex cytokine network during an immunological response  and positively act as novel antiviral agents:     Years ago, I studied with Bernard Jensen DC, ND who taught me how to make almond milk.  I always found this helpful.  Now the research shows up.  With more study to come.  If you would like the recipe for almond milk let me know and I will send it to you.


32. Research on Internet addiction is up and running . Surely this has to apply to everyone else, not to us? right? 

33. Comments for AK News and Views:
Dear Don,
 
Every one of your AK News and Views is dramatic because each one of them is accomplished at the expense of your time and labor, at the expense of your other pleasures in life, of your rest, of your health, perhaps even of other even deeper aspirations which you sacrifice every week to this tremendous work! Your "AK Dispatches" send a thrill throughout the AK world and help the practitioners in so many ways that I marvel at your genius in receiving and transmitting so many diversified gifts and insights for your AK friends and peers.
 
I wish I had a hundredth part of that love for AK that you display! You have lived and moved in the world of AK philosophy and thought for thirty years or more...it has colored your whole being...you have caught the real soul of George Goodheart in the melody of your contributions for the rest of us....The jeweller alone can understand the worth of jewels, and you cast yours out to all of us through your AK News and Views like fistfuls of diamonds!!
 
I plan to make a motion for the ICAK USA Board that we offer you our membership's email list so that every member of the ICAK USA can receive your admirable and inspiring AK News and Views.
 
SCC

From Medscape Business of Medicine

Having Trouble Attracting New Partners? Consider This

Jeffrey J. Denning


Published: 05/15/2009

Introduction

For some medical practices, it's getting harder to attract new associates -- whether to replace exiting physicians or simply to grow the practice. One way to do this more effectively is to offer a more competitive and uniquely structured offer package.

Board-certified family physicians and general internists are in short supply, and probably get offers promising the market rate, good benefits, and a fair amount of security, if not an ownership stake. Even in specialties that may be over-supplied nationally, it's hard to get a qualified candidate to agree to buy into a rural practice. And in attractive but saturated metropolitan centers, it's very difficult to get someone to join without guaranteeing a salary, subsidizing the start-up, and promising partnership at the end of a year.

Exacerbating the situation, new doctors often look at healthcare reform and declining reimbursement, and often decide to take a salaried job or they regard offers involving ownership with a skepticism. They've probably heard a few tales of junior associates who have been burned. Typically a new physician worked for 2 or more years on the promise that "we'll work out something fair when the time comes." She earns for the practice far in excess of her compensation, only to find out that the offer, if it finally comes, involves paying for accounts receivable she has produced and goodwill she feels she's already paid.

Let's End the Double-Dip and the Bonus

Physicians seeking new associates need to deal with the fact that younger doctors find it unfair to earn large sums for the employer and then be asked to pay for the practice. That contains the seed of the compromise. To address this problem, current partners will need to compromise. We increasingly recommend that the practice credit the new doctor with his or her earnings above the compensation package during the first year or 2, to be applied to the calculated buy-in price.

For example, if a new doctor is paid a total of $225,000 in salary and benefits during the first 2 years, but she earns $260,000 (when computed the same way as the other owners), the difference -- $35,000 is credited against her buy-in, if ownership is offered and accepted. When you lay out this plan, we typically see no argument from either side because it's hard to refute the logic. We think this is fair to both sides.

When you offer employment to a potential new associate, the offer usually contains a base salary and benefit package, with the hope of an ownership offer (buy-in or earn-in) in the not-too-distant future. If the base pay package is fair and the excess earnings are applied to the buy-in price as a credit, there is little reason to pay out a productivity bonus to the employed physician during the employment period. In fact, paying a bonus makes it that much harder for the new doctor to pay for her interest when it is offered.

While there are pros and cons, it's worth looking at this approach if you're having trouble recruiting new associates. It candidly acknowledges all the issues up front, early in the hiring process: "We're going to pay you less than you earn. If you quit while you're an employee, we'll keep that difference. But if you are offered partnership and you accept it, we will apply that difference to the fair value of an equal share in the practice. After you buy in, you'll be paid the same way all the owners are."

What could be fairer than that?

Lay Out the Whole Deal Up Front

We recommend that you put a rough outline of the proposed arrangements in the job offer letter, even though there can be no promise that the new physician will become a partner or shareholder.

But, assuming the parties work out, it's reasonable to come to an understanding before everyone invests time and money in the pre-partner phase. Why risk physician turnover if the terms will be impossible later? The offer letter will lay out details about the terms of employment, and should cover these key points if there is any prospect of a future buy-in.

The value of any practice opportunity has several components. List them separately, because they may not all be part of the final negotiated deal. They usually include furniture and equipment, leasehold improvements, supplies and instruments on hand, accounts receivable, cash and other incidental assets, liabilities like loans and accounts payable, and finally, goodwill.

Most items are relatively simple to value fairly, but goodwill and accounts receivable are challenging and often, the deal breakers. The new physician often regards accounts receivable as 'hers' because she did the work. Of course, collecting these receivables will be banked into the employer's account if the employee were to resign before buying an ownership interest. Only if she were an owner of the practice would 'her' receivables go to her if she resigned. So the logical question becomes, what does the new physician do to gain access to this asset? Answer: buy it. But because that imposes a cash flow and tax burden on the new doctor, she is usually allowed to 'earn her way in' by taking a reduced paycheck for a time. That doesn't mean the practice is off the hook valuing the receivables, though. If it isn't done, neither party knows if the correct 'earn in' price has been paid. And you can be sure that at least 1 party will feel victimized.

The Value of Goodwill

Goodwill is generally the other controversial asset. It is the amount that a willing buyer pays a willing seller above the values of all of the other assets (discussed above). The best evidence for goodwill is that someone actually paid it recently. If Dr. Five actually agreed to pay (by salary reduction, lump sum, or other mechanism) $50,000 to join the group 3 years ago, Doctor Six can reasonably expect to do likewise unless the situation has changed markedly. We generally recommend pegging the number at a percentage of 1 year's collections (common industry practice) and allowing the employee to pass if she thinks the price is too high.

She could then continue to work as an employee for a negotiated salary and benefit package, but that would be well below the earnings she would be paid as a partner. (Microsoft engineers are fairly paid but they don't get a share of the profits [dividends] until they buy the stock.) It's even reasonable to hold the offer open, as an option, indefinitely for the employee to exercise when she is comfortable with the price -- or never. There's no requirement that all physicians need to own their practices, even in mainstream practices.

This approach reduces the decision to what industry refers to as a "make or buy" proposition. If it's cheaper for Boeing to buy 747 lavatories from a plastics specialist in Taiwan than to set up their own injection molding operation, they contract out the work.

Similarly, the junior physician is evaluating the offer to buy-in by comparing it to other opportunities and the cost of 'making' her own practice from scratch. This latter option is becoming increasingly unattractive, though, which should argue for higher goodwill values. As practice gets tougher, the value of joining the exclusive club of self-employed physicians, with its attendant perks, should be going up, not down.

And, some practices have far better than average potential. We recently worked with a cardiology practice that was negotiating the entrance price of the second physician, in a competitive area of Southern California. The young doctor will be paying close to a half million dollars to join. Many of her contemporaries will wonder how someone could agree to that amount for a half-interest in a practice in the toughest market in America. However, based on a good understanding of the individuals and the situation, our opinion is that the deal is a good one for both sides.

Would this approach help you? Let us know! If you have any questions that you'd like this column to address, please send them to:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Authors and Disclosures

Author(s)

Jeffrey J. Denning

principal, Practice Performance Group, La Jolla, California

Disclosure: Jeffrey J. Denning has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Medscape Business of Medicine © 2009 Medscape, LLC



 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 84
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hi Everyone,

Well, I hope you enjoyed Dr. Schmitt's thesis.  He certainly integrated the neurology/applied kinesiology perspective better for me.  This week you will find everything from understanding what a nocebo is to a free download of Kendall and Kendall's latest book, the 5th edition.  Some of my favourites articles this week are the video clips of the Domans,  allergy testing comments and to know that I am too old to get "swine/mexican" flu.   Arnica is licensed by the UK Drug agency for "traditional use", a first.  Thank you for letting me teach you about my interests in applied kinesiology.

Donald

 

Here is this weeks list of goodies:

1.  Free download of Kendall and Kendall's muscle Testing and Function

2. Video clips for the Doman Institutes for the achievement for Human Potential

3. AK Allergy Testing comments by Dr. Phil Maffetone

4. Comments about AK News and Views

5. Swine flu does not affect baby boomers before 1957

6. AK Shock absorber test used in ankle imbalance Italian study and its effects on tensor fascia lata muscle weakness

7.  Evaluation of AK meridian techniques using surface EMG

8. Physical examination of the back does not predict low back pain

9. Physical activity and pain

10. Foods can cause and help migraine.  Here is a new study

11. Young people get tired.  Here is a new study

12. Nerve palpation is being rediscovered.  BJ Palmer published his observations on this phenomenon in 1908

13. Patients with acute severe neck pan, stiff neck, and dysphagia may have retropharyngeal tendinitis

14. Don't project your expectation into your patient.  The effects are measurable

15. Rocker bottom shoes may increase the risk of falls

16. Too much exercise makes you lose your balance and postural control

17. For those who use vibrators.  Here is an interesting study discussing the effects of vibration on posture and movement

18. Immediate Effects of the Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Technique in Subjects With Short Hamstring Syndrome

19. Muscle testing used to diagnose shoulder problems for Physical therapists

20. Staying happy when working hard can be a big struggle

21. Working everyday pays the rent but where do your profits come from?

22. Vit D builds immunity and prevents flu.

23. Building a better AK clinic and business service demands always improving your management skills

24.  John Cleese has fine tuned his business management advice over the years.

25. The placebo effect is well research but now the nocebo effect is gaining attention.

25.  UK Drugs Agency licenses first Homeopathic product, Arnica

 

1.  Free download of Kendall and Kendall's muscle Testing and Function :   .  I reported on a  previous edition of this book in a previous AK News last year.

 

2. Video clips for the Doman Institutes for the achievement for Human Potential .  Discussions about children and how they learn in optimum environments:  

3. AK Allergy Testing comments by Dr. Phil Maffetone  can be found on his blog:  

4. Comments about AK News and Views:  Once again my sincere thanks and appreciation for the papers

Regards Jim

 

This is just wonderful...a GREAT gift to the AK News and Views readership.
 
SCC

 

 

5. Swine flu does not affect baby boomers before 1957.  

 

6. AK Shock absorber test used in ankle imbalance Italian study and its effects on tensor fascia lata muscle weakness:  

 

Here is the abstract and Dr. Cuthbert's comments:  

 Electromyogr Kinesiol. 2008 May 1.

 

Abstract: Risk factors that can determine knee and ankle injuries have been investigated and causes are probably multifactorial. A possible explanation could be related by the temporary inhibition of muscular control following an alteration of proprioceptive regulation due to the ankle imbalance pathology. The purpose of our study was to validate a new experimental set up to quantify two kinesiologic procedures (Shock Absorber Test (SAT) and Kendall and Kendall's Procedure (KKP)) to verify if a subtalus stimulus in an ankle with imbalance can induce a non-appropriate response of controlateral tensor fascia lata muscle (TFL). Fifteen male soccer players with ankle imbalance (AIG) and 14 healthy (CG) were tested after (TEST) before (NO-TEST) a manual percussion in subtalus joint (SAT). A new tailor-made device equipped with a load cell was used to quantify TFL's strength activation in standardized positions. Two trials for each subject were performed, separated by at least one 4-min resting interval. In NO-TEST conditions both AIG and CG showed a progressive adaptation of the subject to the force imposed by operator. No reduction in mean force, mean peak force, and muscle force duration (p>0.5). AIGpresented significant differences (mean difference 0.92+/-0.46s; p=0.000) in muscle force duration in TEST conditions. Our results indicated that "wrong" proprioceptive stimuli coming from the subtalus joint in AIGmight induce inhibition in terms of duration of TFL muscle altering the knee stability. This kinesiological evaluation might be useful to prevent ankle and knee injuries.

Comment: This fascinating study investigates two fundamental procedures developed in AK over 25 years ago. The "shock absorber test" developed in AK is a screening examination for extended foot pronation, subluxations, and other dysfunctions of the foot. When there is foot dysfunction, quite often after striking the foot with many vectors, a previously strong indicator muscle will test weak. This was demonstrated in this controlled clinical trial.

 

Dr. Schmitt's comments about the shock absorption test:  The ipsilateral cuboid - TFL challenge was noted by Dr. Doss (the father - his son was in school with me at National - I get their names mixed up - one was Al and the other Ed, I think) from Stuttgart, Arkansas.

There was another relationship - the adductors and the navicular - that some other DC figured out, I believe. It may have been GJG (his was the talus and the psoas for sure) but it will come to me later.

The "magnet test" is reported in many physiology texts as I recall.  With no weight-bearing, a flat surface (e.g., book or some other flat pressure) placed on the sides (or bottom) of the foot and the foot will move in that direction.  I just found it under "The Magnet Reaction" in the Guyton Textbook of Physiology that I used in school - 4th edition - 1971 - p. 658.  It is under Gait and Locomotion sections in the same area that they talk of Sherrington's experiments on decerebrate animals on treadmills, etc.

The paper cited spoke of the CONTRALATERAL talus changing with subtalar shock absorber test, so it is a bit different.  However, with reciprocal inhibition and crossed reflexes, all of this makes perfect sense.

WHS

 

Dr Maffetone's comment about the shock absorber test:  My comment was regarding the notion that "'our work' is being investigated by scholars who probably don't even know our name." While this may be true, that may be partly our fault. It's up to the AK world to get information published. If it's not published, no one will know where specific ideas come from. In the case of the magnet reaction, as it's called, one of the neurological features preceding the development of the shock absorber test, it did not come from George or a DC in Arkansas. It first appeared in the literature (as far as I recall) in 1958 textbook (The physiology and pathology of the cerebellum by Robert Stone Dow, Giuseppe Moruzzi, 1958). I believe Walther's text mentions it, as does mine. 


My points are that 1) we should publish more so we can be referenced more; 2) we should reference where information and ideas come from (most things in AK came from somewhere else); and 3) if we find something published without accurate reference to something in AK we should write a letter to the journal editor and/or author when the paper appears. I don't know if the appropriate references are listed in the paper on the shock absorber test, but I plan to take a look. 

As a follow up to my previous email, the paper in question references two "kinesiological applications" and references Walther's 1988 text, and Kendall et al. (via Walther). They do mention applied kinesiology. The ICAK should still send a letter of congratulations on the paper, and inform them that this is a commonly used procedure by AK practitioners worldwide. I could almost guarantee that this group (they're in Italy) would love to discuss other research ideas on similar topics. So potentially, it's another great opportunity for AK.
Phil

 

If you would like a copy of this paper to study, please email me.  Donald.   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

 

 

7.  Evaluation of AK meridian techniques using surface EMG by Drs. Moncayo will be published in the journal Chinese Medicine.  I will include the link as soon as publication takes place.  Title: Evaluation of Applied Kinesiology meridian techniques by means of surface electromyography (sEMG): demonstration of the regulatory influence of antique acupuncture points

 

8. Physical examination of the back does not predict low back pain .  Normal orthopedic and neurologic examination does not tell you if a healthy worker is at risk of back pain:  

 

9. Physical activity and pain .  A paper with a good EB summary and overview:  

 

10. Foods can cause and help migraine.  Here is a new study:  

 

11. Young people get tired.  Here is a new study:  Findings demonstrated that fatigue is a significant problem for many youth with chronic pain and may be an important target for clinical intervention.  

 

 

12. Nerve palpation is being rediscovered.  BJ Palmer published his observations on this phenomenon in 1908:

Generalized Mechanical Pain Sensitivity Over Nerve Tissues in Patients With Strictly Unilateral Migraine

13. Patients with acute severe neck pan, stiff neck, and dysphagia may have retropharyngeal tendinitis:  

14. Don't project your expectation into your patient.  The effects are measurable. Here is the link:  .   See the attachment at the end of this page.



15. Rocker bottom shoes may increase the risk of falls.  Over the years I have used Earth Shoes, Birkenstock, Maseur sandals, etc are all popular for a while and then problems start.  Here is the latest study on the latest shoe trend.  It may help some of your patients understand their footwear better:  


16. Too much exercise makes you lose your balance and postural control:  

 

17. For those who use vibrators.  Here is an interesting study discussing the effects of vibration on posture and movement:


18. Immediate Effects of the Suboccipital Muscle Inhibition Technique in Subjects With Short Hamstring Syndrome

 

 

19. Muscle testing used to diagnose shoulder problems for Physical therapists :  

 

20. Staying happy when working hard can be a big struggle .  Here is a video of one way to help others be happy:  

21. Working everyday pays the rent but where do your profits come from?  Here is some sound advice:

My mentor, when I was 25 years old, dropped a phrase on me that changed my life forever when he said, "profits are better than wages. Wages will make you a living, profits can make you a fortune." You know it is a bit difficult to get rich on wages, but anybody can get rich on profits. Profits change your whole attitude, even if you start part-time. Whether it's part time on your entrepreneurial business, network marketing company or service business.

It can be a landscape business in the summer or hanging Christmas lights in the winter. It can be training, consulting or tutoring. It can be your hobby such as painting, writing, crafts, woodworking, computers or cooking. But once you start investing even part time effort into your own business, you will find how much more exciting it is to get up in the morning and go to work on your fortune, even if you're only spending a few hours a week doing it.

How empowering it is to be able to go to work on your fortune every day rather than going to work to pay the rent. Now - it is noble to go to work to pay the rent, but if you could also parcel out part of your time - go to work to make your fortune. Your whole attitude changes; your spirit changes. It is in your voice. It is in your face. It is in your gestures. And then you can say, "I am now working full-time on my job and part-time on my fortune because I found a way to make profits." Wow!

And I will know what you mean.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

 

 

22. Vit D builds immunity and prevents flu .  Thanks to Dr. Cuthbert for this article.  Here is the link to a free download:  

 

23. Building a better AK clinic and business service demands always improving your management skills.  Often we suffer dilemma's like those in the following video clips from the movie, "The Life of Brian".

 

How to run a staff meeting


How about the rights of your team?


What did the AK founders give us?


Are we AK, PAK, T4H, NET etc?  How to resolve it.


Also available in German and other languages  


 

24.  John Cleese has fine tuned his business management advice over the years.  Here is the link to his website:


 

 

 

25. The placebo effect is well research but now the nocebo effect is gaining attention.  This is one confounder that all doctors do their best to avoid but can often fall in the trap of creating a problem in a patients mind.

 

The science of voodoo: When mind attacks body

There are numerous documented instances from many parts of the globe of people dying after being cursed (Image: Image Source/Rex)

Editorial: Breaking the voodoo spell

Late one night in a small Alabama cemetery, Vance Vanders had a run-in with the local witch doctor, who wafted a bottle of unpleasant-smelling liquid in front of his face, and told him he was about to die and that no one could save him.

Back home, Vanders took to his bed and began to deteriorate. Some weeks later, emaciated and near death, he was admitted to the local hospital, where doctors were unable to find a cause for his symptoms or slow his decline. Only then did his wife tell one of the doctors, Drayton Doherty, of the hex.

Doherty thought long and hard. The next morning, he called Vanders's family to his bedside. He told them that the previous night he had lured the witch doctor back to the cemetery, where he had choked him against a tree until he explained how the curse worked. The medicine man had, he said, rubbed lizard eggs into Vanders's stomach, which had hatched inside his body. One reptile remained, which was eating Vanders from the inside out.

Great ceremony

Doherty then summoned a nurse who had, by prior arrangement, filled a large syringe with a powerful emetic. With great ceremony, he inspected the instrument and injected its contents into Vanders' arm. A few minutes later, Vanders began to gag and vomit uncontrollably. In the midst of it all, unnoticed by everyone in the room, Doherty produced his pièce de résistance - a green lizard he had stashed in his black bag. "Look what has come out of you Vance," he cried. "The voodoo curse is lifted."

Vanders did a double take, lurched backwards to the head of the bed, then drifted into a deep sleep. When he woke next day he was alert and ravenous. He quickly regained his strength and was discharged a week later.

The facts of this case from 80 years ago were corroborated by four medical professionals. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is that Vanders survived. There are numerous documented instances from many parts of the globe of people dying after being cursed.

With no medical records and no autopsy results, there's no way to be sure exactly how these people met their end. The common thread in these cases, however, is that a respected figure puts a curse on someone, perhaps by chanting or pointing a bone at them. Soon afterwards, the victim dies, apparently of natural causes.

Voodoo nouveau

You might think this sort of thing is increasingly rare, and limited to remote tribes. But according to Clifton Meador, a doctor at Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee, who has documented cases like Vanders, the curse has taken on a new form.

Take Sam Shoeman, who was diagnosed with end-stage liver cancer in the 1970s and given just months to live. Shoeman duly died in the allotted time frame - yet the autopsy revealed that his doctors had got it wrong. The tumour was tiny and had not spread. "He didn't die from cancer, but from believing he was dying of cancer," says Meador. "If everyone treats you as if you are dying, you buy into it. Everything in your whole being becomes about dying."

He didn't die from cancer but from believing he was dying of cancer

Cases such as Shoeman's may be extreme examples of a far more widespread phenomenon. Many patients who suffer harmful side effects, for instance, may do so only because they have been told to expect them. What's more, people who believe they have a high risk of certain diseases are more likely to get them than people with the same risk factors who believe they have a low risk. It seems modern witch doctors wear white coats and carry stethoscopes.

The nocebo effect

The idea that believing you are ill can make you ill may seem far-fetched, yet rigorous trials have established beyond doubt that the converse is true - that the power of suggestion can improve health. This is the well-known placebo effect. Placebos cannot produce miracles, but they doproduce measurable physical effects.

The placebo effect has an evil twin: the nocebo effect, in which dummy pills and negative expectations can produce harmful effects. The term "nocebo", which means "I will harm", was not coined until the 1960s, and the phenomenon has been far less studied than the placebo effect. It's not easy, after all, to get ethical approval for studies designed to make people feel worse.

What we do know suggests the impact of nocebo is far-reaching. "Voodoo death, if it exists, may represent an extreme form of the nocebo phenomenon," says anthropologist Robert Hahn of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, who has studied the nocebo effect.

Life threatening

In clinical trials, around a quarter of patients in control groups - those given supposedly inert therapies - experience negative side effects. The severity of these side effects sometimes matches those associated with real drugs. A retrospective study of 15 trials involving thousands of patients prescribed either beta blockers or a control showed that both groups reported comparable levels of side effects, including fatigue, depressive symptoms and sexual dysfunction. A similar number had to withdraw from the studies because of them.

Occasionally, the effects can be life-threatening (see "The overdose"). "Beliefs and expectations are not only conscious, logical phenomena, they also have physical consequences," says Hahn.

Nocebo effects are also seen in normal medical practice. Around 60 per cent of patients undergoing chemotherapy start feeling sick before their treatment. "It can happen days before, or on the journey on the way in," says clinical psychologist Guy Montgomery from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Sometimes the mere thought of treatment or the doctor's voice is enough to make patients feel unwell. This "anticipatory nausea" may be partly due to conditioning - when patients subconsciously link some part of their experience with nausea - and partly due to expectation.

Catching

Alarmingly, the nocebo effect can even be catching. Cases where symptoms without an identifiable cause spread through groups of people have been around for centuries, a phenomenon known as mass psychogenic illness. One outbreak (see "It's catching") inspired a recent study by psychologists Irving Kirsch and Giuliana Mazzoni of the University of Hull in the UK.

They asked some of a group of students to inhale a sample of normal air, which all participants were told contained "a suspected environmental toxin" linked to headache, nausea, itchy skin and drowsiness. Half of the participants also watched a woman inhale the sample and apparently develop these symptoms. Students who inhaled were more likely to report these symptoms than those who did not. Symptoms were also more pronounced in women, particularly those who had seen another apparently become ill - a bias also seen in mass psychogenic illness.

The study shows that if you hear of or observe a possible side effect, you are more likely to develop it yourself. That puts doctors in a tricky situation. "On the one hand people have the right to be informed about what to expect, but this makes it more likely they will experience these effects," says Mazzoni.

Catch 22

This means doctors need to choose their words carefully so as to minimise negative expectations, says Montgomery. "It's all about how you say it."

Hypnosis might also help. "Hypnosis changes expectancies, which decreases anxiety and stress, which improves the outcome," Montgomery says. "I think hypnosis could be applied to a wide variety of symptoms where expectancy plays a role."

Is the scale of the nocebo problem serious enough to justify such countermeasures? We just don't know, because so many questions remain unanswered. In what circumstances do nocebo effects occur? And how long do the symptoms last?

It appears that, as with the placebo response, nocebo effects vary widely, and may depend heavily on context. Placebo effects in clinical settings are often much more potent than those induced in the laboratory, says Paul Enck, a psychologist at the University Hospital in Tübingen, Germany, which suggests the nocebo problem may have profound effects in the real world. For obvious reasons, though, lab experiments are designed to induce only mild and temporary nocebo symptoms.

Real consequences

It is also unclear who is susceptible. A person's optimism or pessimism may play a role, but there are no consistent personality predictors. Both sexes can succumb to mass psychogenic illness, though women report more symptoms than men. Enck has shown that in men, expectancy rather than conditioning is more likely to influence nocebo symptoms. For women, the opposite is true. "Women tend to operate more on past experiences, whereas men seem more reluctant to take history into a situation," he says.

What is becoming clear is that these apparently psychological phenomena have very real consequences in the brain. Using PET scans to peer into the brains of people given a placebo or nocebo, Jon-Kar Zubieta of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, showed last year that nocebo effects were linked with a decrease in dopamine and opioid activity. This would explain how nocebos can increase pain. Placebos, unsurprisingly, produced the opposite response.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Benedetti of the University of Turin Medical School in Italy has found that nocebo-induced pain can be suppressed by a drug called proglumide, which blocks receptors for a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK). Normally, expectations of pain induce anxiety, which activates CCK receptors, enhancing pain.

Ultimate cause

The ultimate cause of the nocebo effect, however, is not neurochemistry but belief. According to Hahn, surgeons are often wary of operating on people who think they will die - because such patients often do. And the mere belief that one is susceptible to a heart attack is itself a risk factor.One study found that women who believed they are particularly prone to heart attack are nearly four times as likely to die from coronary conditions than other women with the same risk factors.

Despite the growing evidence that the nocebo effect is all too real, it is hard in this rational age to accept that people's beliefs can kill them. After all, most of us would laugh if a strangely attired man leapt about waving a bone and told us we were going to die. But imagine how you would feel if you were told the same thing by a smartly dressed doctor with a wallful of medical degrees and a computerful of your scans and test results. The social and cultural background is crucial, says Enck.

Meador argues that Shoeman's misdiagnosis and subsequent death shares many of the crucial elements found in hex death. A powerful doctor pronounces a death sentence, which is accepted unquestioningly by the "victim" and his family, who then start to act upon that belief. Shoeman, his family and his doctors all believed he was dying from cancer. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Nothing mystical

"Bad news promotes bad physiology. I think you can persuade people that they're going to die and have it happen," Meador says. "I don't think there's anything mystical about it. We're uncomfortable with the idea that words or symbolic actions can cause death because it challenges our biomolecular model of the world."

Perhaps when the biomedical basis of voodoo death is revealed in detail we will find it easier to accept that it is real - and that it can affect any one of us.

Editorial: Breaking the voodoo spell

The overdose

Depressed after splitting up with his girlfriend, Derek Adams took all his pills... then regretted it. Fearing he might die, he asked a neighbour to take him to hospital, where he collapsed. Shaky, pale and drowsy, his blood pressure dropped and his breaths came quickly.

Yet lab tests and toxicology screening came back clear. Over the next 4 hours Adams received 6 litres of saline, but improved little.

Then a doctor arrived from the clinical trial of an antidepressant in which Adams had been taking part. Adams had enrolled in the study about a month earlier. Initially he had felt his mood buoyed, but an argument with his ex-girlfriend saw him swallow the 29 remaining tablets.

The doctor revealed that Adams was in the control group. The pills he had "overdosed" on were harmless. Hearing this, Adams was surprised and tearfully relieved. Within 15 minutes he was fully alert, and his blood pressure and heart rate had returned to normal.

It's catching

In November 1998, a teacher at a Tennessee high school noticed a "gasoline-like" smell, and began complaining of headache, nausea, shortness of breath and dizziness. The school was evacuated and over the next week more than 100 staff and students were admitted to the local emergency room complaining of similar symptoms.

After extensive tests, no medical explanation for the reported illnesses could be found. A questionnaire a month later revealed that the people who reported symptoms were more likely to be female, and to have known or seen a classmate who was ill. It was the nocebo effect on a grand scale, says psychologist Irving Kirsch at the University of Hull in the UK. "There was, as far as we can tell, no environmental toxin, but people began to feel ill."

Kirsch thinks that seeing a classmate develop symptoms shaped expectancies of illness in other children, triggering mass psychogenic illness. Outbreaks occur all over the world. In Jordan in 1998, 800 children apparently suffered side effects after a vaccination and 122 were admitted to hospital, but no problem was found with the vaccine.

Helen Pilcher is a science writer based in the UK

25.  UK Drugs Agency licenses first Homeopathic product, Arnica:

Published 20 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2055
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2055

News

Drugs agency grants its first licence to homoeopathic product

Deborah Cohen

1 BMJ

The United Kingdom's drugs agency has given a licence to the makers of a homoeopathic product, despite scientists and researchers saying that no evidence shows that it works.

Since September 2006 the Medicines and Healthcare Products RegulatoryAgency (MHRA) has been allowed to grant licences to traditional therapies if their use "is plausible on the basis of long standing use and experience" and no evidence shows that they cause harm.

At the end of last month, Nelsons Arnicare Arnica 30c pillules became the first product in the UK to be given such a licence by the agency, which will enable its manufacturers to make therapeutic claims for it.

Edzard Ernst, the UK's only professor of complementary medicine, said that the agency's national rules scheme was "making a mockery of evidence based medicine."

On the packaging, the makers will be able to describe the product as "a homoeopathic medicinal product used within the homoeopathic tradition for the symptomatic relief of sprains, muscular aches, and bruising or swelling after contusions."

Professor Ernst says that the remedy based on the plant Arnica montana has been subject to more controlled clinical trials than any other homoeopathic treatment.

"There is no good evidence for arnica," he said. "It is so very ironic that arnica should be the first with a licence able to claim therapeutic benefits for things [for] which it doesn't work or there's no evidence for."

Two independent systematic reviews of homoeopathic arnica found no evidence that it was clinically more effective than placebo. A 1998 systematic review published in the Archives of Surgery concluded, "The claim that homoeopathic arnica is efficacious beyond placebo effect is not supported by rigorous clinical trials" (1998;133:1187-90).

The next year Carstens-Stiftung, a German foundation dedicated to the "promotion and support of complementary medicine," conducted a systematic review that found that there was "no clear evidence in favour of homoeopathic arnic a" .

Professor Ernst added that no trial conducted after 1999 has been robust enough to undermine the conclusions of the two previous systematic reviews.

Describing the regulation for homoeopathic products as "balmy," Professor Ernst is concerned about lack of a need to provide rigorous data on the efficacy of homoeopathic products.

However, according to the drugs agency the results of clinical trials are not required to support applications for marketing authorisation under the national rules scheme.

Guidance for the manufacturers of homoeopathic products says, "Because of the philosophy of homoeopathy and the nature of the products, it is difficult to establish efficacy for homoeopathic products by way of clinical trials."

Instead it requires reports to "sufficiently demonstrate that UK homoeopathic practitioners would accept the efficacy of the product for the indications sought."

The guidance also states that indications are limited to the relief or treatment of minor symptoms or minor conditions because "the rules do not require rigorous clinical data."

A spokesperson for the agency said that as "the applicant [Nelsons] was able to meet the above mentioned criteria for their application, the indication was accepted."

The national rules scheme is based on a 2001 European Directive, which said, "The long tradition of the medicinal product makes it possible to reduce the need for clinical trials, in so far as the efficacy of the medicinal product is plausible on the basis of long-standing use and experience. Pre-clinical testsdo not seem necessary, where the medicinal product on the basis of the information on its traditional use proves not to be harmful in specified conditions of use."

When the scheme was first announced in 2006, many academics and societies, including the Royal Society, the Medical Research Council, and the British Pharmacological Society, raised concern about the implications for evidence based medicine and science.

"I suspect there are very powerful lobby groups, who might have argued that homoeopathic treatments cannot be tested for efficacy in the conventional way. I don't believe to be true," Professor Ernst said pointing to the fact that there are over 200 clinical trials of homoeopathic remedies. "Sadly, these trials don't support what homoeopaths believe."

Other academics and organisations have joined Professor Ernst in criticising the scheme. Simon Maxwell, from the British Pharmacological Society, says that the products under the national rules scheme have not been submitted to the same scrutiny and efficacy that other medicinal products have been through.

"The national rules scheme simply doesn't apply the rigorous standards of testing that apply to other conventional medicinal products that are licensed to be prescribed by health professionals or sold by pharmacists," he said.

However, the scheme has got broad support from the homoeopathy industry. Robert Wilson, chairman of Nelsons, said, "The fact that therapeutic indications may now be included on the packaging of licensed homoeopathic medicines not only opens the practice of homoeopathy up to new users but also gives it added credibility as a safe and natural complement to conventional medicine."

A spokesperson for the drugs agency agreed: "We feel that our work benefits both the general public, by strengthening the public health protection of users of homoeopathic medicinal products, and the homoeopathic industry by levelling the playing field and increasing the range of products that can be marketed."

But the willingness of the agency to grant licences for such products concerns David Colquhoun, professor of pharmacology at University College London. "The MHRA is not doing its job. They are supposed to regulate quality, safety, and efficacy," he said. "The MHRA are giving products credibility that don'thave the necessary evidence base to back them up."

In a letter to Professor Colquhoun in 2007, the agency admitted that there was no evidence that many herbal medicines work. "The vast majority of herbal products currently on the UK market without claims are of unproven benefit," it said.

Professor Colquhoun commented, "The products are supposed to say ‘used in the tradition.' But will the average consumer really understand this? They are weasel words that will be taken by the consumer that a product works," he added.

"What's more I don't think it's the job of the MHRA to support any type of industry," he said.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2055

 

 

0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 84
0

Posted by on in MyBlog


Hi Everyone,

There are a lot of interesting articles this week.  A few interesting Seminars.  Some info about better research and its value clinically.  Some good business advice about lowering your overheads.  My favorite is about how swine flu "escaped" from the research lab.  There is a business opportunity for 2 doctors looking for work.  AND it is good to see the "Common Errors of Muscle Testing" paper climbing up the ladder of best papers for the year from 10 last week to no 9 this week.  Here is the list of articles.  Have a great week.  Donald.

27. Dr. Goodheart encouraged doctors to become so good at what they did that they would catch on fire

2. Low folate may be linked to allergies

3. A new study shows data about the Safety of chiropractic care

4. Doctors with a special interest in back pain don't know how to treat it

5. Research can bring patients into your practice

6. Chiropractic manipulations help fibromyalgia

7. 10 effective ways to lower your business overhead

8. A quick summary of the scientific research method

9. A collection of outcomes assessment forms is now on CD and is now available from FCER

10. Applied Kinesiology Seminar includes visceral care by Dr. Portelli

11. FICS, The International Federation of Chiropractic Sports information for the Vancouver Olympics 

12. Swine flu was designed and escaped

13. "French Kissing" increases the risk of oral cancer

14. Here are the awards for international research by the FCER held at the last WFC meeting

15. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients suffering from primary headache disorders

16. Here is a job opportunity in Adelaide and Melbourne for the right persons

17. Dr Schmitt and Cuthbert's paper is now listed in the top 10 papers for the year.

18. Here are some methods to help solve problems:

18. What patients look for in their doctors and how doctors feel about critical reviews

19. Passive Muscle Stretching causes problems for golfers

20. Maximum anaerobic power in various sports research paper

21. My predictions of the future for chiropractic in the USA in 2001

22. Cardiovascular applied kinesiology lecture by Dr. Michael Allen

23. Free online medical physiology journal

24. Free online research tools

25. Vertebral disc management is never easy.  Here is a new tool.

26. Probiotics help women regain their figure after pregnancy

28. Comments about AK News and Views



2. Low folate may be linked to allergies :  

3. A new study shows data about the Safety of chiropractic care  

4. Doctors with a special interest in back pain don't know how to treat it !  

5. Research can bring patients into your practice :  

6. Chiropractic manipulations help fibromyalgia :  

7. 10 effective ways to lower your business overhead :  

8. A quick summary of the scientific research method.  We need more clinicians to publish their observations.   This might help :  

9. A collection of outcomes assessment forms is now on CD and is now available from FCER.   Over 40 authorized questionnaires that are computer scored providing interpretation on every Patient's Outcomes Assessment Summary Report. Valid documentation that demonstrates IMPROVEMENT and FURTHER TREATMENT NECESSARY to normalize your patient.  It covers Our Most Popular Assessments: Quadruple Visual Analogue Scale, Pain Disability Scale, Oswestry, Roland Morris, Bournemouth Neck/Back, Neck Disability, Headache Disability, Roland Sciatica, Functional Rating, Global Well-Being, Red Flat, Risk Factors, Functional Assessments.  It includes one year professional support.  Here is the link :  

10. Applied Kinesiology Seminar includes visceral care by Dr. Portelli.  See the attachment at the end of the newsletter.

11. FICS, The International Federation of Chiropractic Sports information for the Vancouver Olympics and World Games is attached for those interested in working there.

12. Swine flu was designed and escaped .  Here is the Bloomberg report of a new study showing this embarrassing event that has killed so many people.  

13. "French Kissing" increases the risk of oral cance r.  A new study of Ohio college students showed incredible results.  

14. Here are the awards for international research by the FCER held at the last WFC meeting.  There are some fascinating papers here.  Congratulations to Heidi Haavik Taylor, Australia.  Proceedings can be ordered here :   :

Gunther Gehlen, Brazil
Paper Title: Effects of chiropractic adjustments on the
functionality of the locomotion of Wistar Rats after
immobilization of the hind limb

Nicole M. Homb, USA
Paper Title: Spinous Process Hypertrophy Associated with
Implant Devices in the External Link Model

A most outstanding poster was also selected from each of the major geographic regions designated by the WFC. 
Those recipients were: 

Best Overall:

Cesar A. Hincapie, DC, MHSc, Canada
Lifetime History of Work-Related Low Back Injury
as a Risk Factor for Onset of an Episode of
Troublesome Low Back Pain: A Population-Based
Prospective Study

Maja Stupar, DC, Canada
The association between back disorders and osteoarthritis of the hip and knee: A population-based cohort study

Region Bests:
Heidi Haavik Taylor, Australia
Effects of Cervical Adjustments on Elbow Joint Position Sense

Maryam Atkinson, M:Tech: Chiropractic, Africa
A randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of shoulder manipulation versus placebo, in the treatment of shoulder pain
due to rotator cuff tendinopathy

Fábio Dal Bello, Latin America
Alterations on Dyspeptic Signs and Symptoms on
Patients Presenting with Gastroesophageal Reflux
Disease Submitted to Chiropractic Treatment

Yu Hong, MD, Pacific
Treatment of Pelvic Obliquity by Chiropractic Manipulation with Spinal Adjusting Instrument

Dr Graham Heale, Europe
CPD and Practice Change: the Chiropractors' Perspective

John M Ventura, DC, North America
Implementation of National Committee for Quality Assurance Back Pain Recognition Program with Support from an HMO
 
Cash awards were also given to the outstanding platform presentations by NBCE and NCMIC.

The recipients were:

First Prize - Scott Haldeman Award
 
Shawn He, MD MS - Motor Neuronal Degeneration Following Knee Joint Immobilization in the Guinea-Pig: An Animal Model of Vertebral Subluxation Complex
 
Second Prize
 
Maja Stupar, DC MSc - The Association Between Low Back Pain and Osteoarthritis of the Hip and Knee: A Population Based Cohort Study
 
Third Prize
 
Darcy Vavrek, ND MS - Physical Exam and Self-Reported Pain Outcomes from a Randomized Trial on Chronic Cervicogenic Headache
 
Private Practice Award
 
Marcos Antônio Monteiro dos Reis - The Prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders Among Workers of a Metallurgical Company from the Serra Gaúcha

A German/Austrian study shows that Acupuncture and Relaxation (CAM) are commonly used to help headaches:

15. Use of complementary and alternative medicine in patients suffering from primary headache disorders

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasingly common in the treatment of primary headache disorders despite lack of evidence for efficacy in most modalities. A systematic questionnaire-based survey of CAM therapy was conducted in 432 patients who attended seven tertiary headache out-patient clinics in Germany and Austria. Use of CAM was reported by the majority (81.7%) of patients. Most frequently used CAM treatments were acupuncture (58.3%), massage (46.1%) and relaxation techniques (42.4%). Use was motivated by 'to leave nothing undone' (63.7%) and 'to be active against the disease' (55.6%). Compared with non-users, CAM users were of higher age, showed a longer duration of disease, a higher percentage of chronification, less intensity of headache, were more satisfied with conventional prophylaxis and showed greater willingness to gather information about headaches. There were no differences with respect to gender, headache diagnoses, headache-specific disability, education, income, religious attitudes or satisfaction with conventional attack therapy. A higher number of headache days, longer duration of headache treatment, higher personal costs, and use of CAM for other diseases predicted a higher number of used CAM treatments. This study confirms that CAM is widely used among primary headache patients, mostly in combination with standard care.
 
Gaul C, Eismann R, Schmidt T, May A, Leinisch E, Wieser T, Evers S, Henkel K, Franz G, Zierz S. Cephalalgia. 2009 Apr 2. [Epub ahead of print]

 

16. Here is a job opportunity in Adelaide and Melbourne for the right persons:  

Hi there Donald,


We allow the Chiropractor to adjust the way they feel most comfortable. At the moment we do use some muscle tests, however they are more SOT based.  The patients do understand what a muscle test is and if the Chiropractor wanted to practice AK we do not have a problem with that!
I hope that answered your question!

Best of Health 
Camille


On Wed May 13 18:04 , Donald McDowall sent:

Hi Camille,
Thank you for this.
Do you use AK/manual muscle testing in your practice?
If so, I will send your request out to all our members.
Donald


Hi there,

We are looking for a wellness based Chiropractor to take over existing patient basis in Adelaide.  You must be a competent communicator and energetic!

Thanks Donald,  If you would like to add that we also have a position in Melbourne too! It has just come up!  
Have a wonderful day
and thank you again!
Regards
Camille

 

CA’s are very well trained which means all you have to do is come in and adjust the patients.    
You will be provided with practice management coaching and a huge amount of promotion support.  Be quick as this position will not last!

Adelaide is a capital city that is only minutes away from the best vineyards in Australia and only minutes away from the beach.  Adelaide also boasts many festivals, especially during the warmer months. Come and see what Adelaide has to offer you!

If you are interested or have any more questions please just email me!

Regards
Camille

17. Dr Schmitt and Cuthbert's paper is now listed in the top 10 papers for the yea r.  It is moving towards 5000 downloads.  Amazing.  Common Errors in Muscle Testing must have hit a nerve!! 

18. Here are some methods to help solve problems:

To solve any problem, there are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, whom could I ask?

The real problem is usually two or three questions deep. If you want to go after someone's problem, be aware that most people aren't going to reveal what the real problem is after the first question.

Neil Armstrong once said, "You only have to solve two problems when going to the moon: first, how to get there; and second, how to get back. The key is don't leave until you have solved both problems."

Never attack a problem without also presenting a solution.

The best place to solve a problem is on paper.






21. My predictions of the future for chiropractic in the USA in 2001 .  Applied Kinesiology is the specialist future of the chiropractic profession.  Read the last letter to the editor on the page:  


23. Free online medical physiology journal .  Best and Taylor was the Clinical Physiology book of choice that Dr. Goodheart used.  Here is a journal and its archives that you may find some treasures in as I did:  


25. Vertebral disc management is never easy .  Here is an instrument that is building a good evidence base:  

26. Probiotics help women regain their figure after pregnancy .  Many young mothers struggle with their figures after pregnancy.  This information may help them:    Thanks to Ian Niven for this link.

27. Dr. Goodheart encouraged doctors to become so good at what they did that they would catch on fire, and people would come from miles around to watch them burn.  This may be the source of that metaphor:  
"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle' to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations."  George Bernard Shaw

28. Comments about AK News and Views:

Thanks Don, that was so interesting. He was inspiring wasn't he? Antonia Swift

WOW!
 
Thought I'd firstly thank you for putting together the word doc on AK Procedures. must have taken a fair bit of effort.
 
Effort well spent. I let people know you'd done it only yesterday on the ICAK Australasia site on facebook (which I run). 13 responses in under 24hours. That's a big response. In the younger generation of chiropractors just starting out in AK (my target audience) there seems to be a big interest in such information. Keep it up!

Kindest Regards,

Zoe James
B. ChiroSci, M Chiro (Mac Uni)

 

Suite 3, Level 4
261 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000




0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 130
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hi Everyone,
This newsletter has some interesting Dental papers from the SOT collection for our dental readers.  A new web page by Dr. Maffetone for AK'ers.  An amazing new interactive technology published on TED the cutting edge education website.  A few ethics, business and motivation articles.  Many of you use Leon Chaitow's books and soft tissue work, well, here is the link to his blog and website.  Did you ever wonder what countries people live longer in?  Here is a discussion about them called "Blue Zones.  You will have received Dr. Goodheart's Workshop Procedures courtesy of JoAnn Goodheart.  It is always good to check that you are consistent with other AK doctors in what you do so that referrals can be made without patient disappointment.
Have a great week.
Donald

  
1. Dental and Chiropracitc/SOT research studies about related TMJ problems
2. The Australian ICAK Chapter meeting in Samoa, South Pacific is shaping up to be a great even
3. The ABC's of Muscle contraction by Dr. Phil Maffetone
4. Want to understand everything?  Here is the latest technology from TED
5. The chiroweb article by Dr. Cuthbert
6. My business perspective of Susan Boyle was published in Winston Marsh's newsletter
7. A lesson in Honesty by Harvey Mackay
8. World Federation of Chiropractors Conference proceedings are now available
9. Here is soft tissue therapy expert, Leon Chaitow's blog
10. Swine Flu is just in time for the use of old Tamiflu stocks
11. Here is a discussion about and a possible cure for AIDS
12. The Blue Zones are areas where people live longer
13. Fear can totally destroy our ambitions, our work with patients and our practices
14. Understanding coincidences is an essential part of the enigma of solving patient problems.  
15. Comments about AK News and Views.



1. Dental and Chiropracitc/SOT research studies about related TMJ problems:
Blum CL,  SOT and the Treatment of TMJ: Why Dentists and Chiropractors Need to Work Together.  Journal of the California Chiropractic Association. Sum 2007 32(3): 12-3.

Blum CL, Chiropractic and Dentistry in the 21st Century: Guest Editorial  The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice Jan 2004; 22(1): 1-3.


2. The Australian ICAK Chapter meeting in Samoa, South Pacific is shaping up to be a great event.  I have attached a .pdf of the info you need to have fun and learn in the sun.


4. Want to understand everything?  Here is the latest technology from TED.  The sixth sense:  


5. The chiroweb article by Dr. Cuthbert   generated this response from a reader:  

Thank you for your article in the latest dynamic chiropractic. It has been a long while since we've had such an article. A large percent of the MS work I do is doing what I call "mop up" of cases that have been treated by DCs but continue to be chronic. Untreated weak neck flexors and extensors are the most common pattern I see and fix (almost always in one treatment). It would save patients a lot of anguish and money if more DCs learned even the most basic priniciples of treating weak muscles.
Thanks again. Please write more such articles.

Dr.T.Riabokin


7. A lesson in Honesty by Harvey Mackay.  I love this method of examining: 

Let me tell you a true story about Professor Bonk who taught chemistry at Duke University. One year, three students were taking chemistry and all earning a solid "A" going into the final exam. The weekend before finals, they decided to go to another school to party with some friends. They didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning, in no shape to take the final.

They explained to Professor Bonk that they had been away for the weekend and had planned to come back in time to study, but they had a flat tire on the way back and didn't have a spare, so they didn't get back to campus in time.

Professor Bonk agreed to let them make up the final on the following day. What a relief! They studied all night. When they arrived for the exam, Professor Bonk placed them in separate rooms, handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin.

They saw the first question was simple, worth 5 points. Piece of cake! Then they turned to question 2, worth 95 points: "Which tire?"

Unfortunately the business community does not get stellar grades for ethics the past few years. Too many companies have tried to fool the public.

Ethics and integrity must be the cornerstone of your existence. If you want your employees to tell the truth, a company better start by being truthful with their employees.


8. World Federation of Chiropractors Conference proceedings are now available .  If you couldn't get to the conference then these papers are a very inexpensive deal:  

9. Here is soft tissue therapy expert, Leon Chaitow's blog . You may find lots of information from this amazingly published osteopath. 


11. Here is a discussion about and a possible cure for AIDS .  Thanks to Eric Barnes for this link.  

12. The Blue Zones are areas where people live longer .  People who live in these areas have lower rates of disease and better health.  Here is a link thanks to my Grandpa who likes to be known as Lucky:  

13. Fear can totally destroy our ambitions, our work with patients and our practices.  Here are the solutions from Jim Rohn:  

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you've read in the papers. Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won't need to live in fear of it.

Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that you've got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is. "Ho-hum, let it slide. I'll just drift along." Here's one problem with drifting: you can't drift your way to the top of the mountain.

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there's room for healthy skepticism. You can't believe everything. But you also can't let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worse of all, they doubt themselves. I'm telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy. Go after it. Get rid of it.

The fourth enemy within is worry. We've all got to worry some. Just don't let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you've got to worry. But you can't let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here's what you've got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you've got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you've got to push back.

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it's an illness. If you let it go, it'll conquer you. Timid people don't get promoted. They don't advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You've got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn 


14. Understanding coincidences is an essential part of the enigma of solving patient problems.  These comments by Deepak Chopra ring true in this context also:  "When a coincidence arises, don't ignore it. Ask yourself, What is the message here? What is the significance of this?" ~ Deepak Chopra 

The whole idea behind Deepak's great book The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire is the concept that, "In synchrodestiny, we consciously participate in the creation of our lives by understanding the world that is beyond our senses, the world of the soul."

As Deepak advises, one tool we can use to get better at seeing the synchrodestiny in our lives is to ask ourselves, "What is the message here? What is the significance of this?"

As we ask and answer this question, we'll be aligning ourselves with a force much bigger than ourselves.

Wallace Wattles (the author of The Science of Being Great): "You can never become a great man or woman until you have overcome anxiety, worry, and fear. It is impossible for an anxious person, a worried one, or a fearful one to perceive truth; all things are distorted and thrown out of their proper relations by such mental states, and those who are in them cannot read the thoughts of God."


15. Comments:
Thanks don...regards bob schwager

Hi Don,
Many thanks for your\ excellent AK newsletters.  You sure put a lot of time into them.
If it is not too much trouble.  
Thank you kindly, Don.
Best wishes,
Peter Rome

Dear Don, thanks for your emails. Lots of value in them, time is the usual tyrant restricting my full use of them. Thought you would appreciate a copy of this email I have sent to Ken Gunn...
 
...Joseph Schafer's disc seminar my humble attempt to abreviate the material for simple use. I thought the seminar was exellent especially as we probably treat discs more than anything else in our clinic. However I find his treatment to be inadequate compared to my own but a useful adjunct. He also makes some interesting assumptions ie lateral bending of spine illicits disc problems and rotation of same illicits subluxation. The main thing I got from the seminar was the need to include the metabolic/biochemical component when treating discs. Of course I already do this but realise I need to do this more, my biochem protocol includes more than his. One important assumption I have made from his material is biochem indicated on K27 initially but also after the mechanical treatment the disc pump can be used to indicate further adjunctive biochemical treatment with the mechanical. This last point is not in my notes.
Have heard that Rob Peacock is seriously ill, any comments?
You have my website url, I now have a blog too www.drbillblog.com
 
Here are the links to download the LEC audio:

Dear Don,

This workshop procedures of Dr. Goodheart is very nice.  

Just a minor correction: The Board of Standards does not set curriculum or syllabus. It only sets what material can be tested on the Diplomate examination, be called “official” and be taught without the “new and non-official” disclaimer.  The limited curriculum you are talking about was developed by a committee of the BCT Board of Certified Teachers, which is now called the International Education Council. That is the teachers’ group which approves curricula/syllabi.  The list you are talking about is the minimum list that must be included in a BASIC course for it to be approved. It is not the list for Diplomate Status.  It is not the whole BOS approved list. Look at What is ICAK>Boards>Board of Standards> to the approved materials grid.) 

I think that it is really important to make this differentiation correctly because there is already a lot of apathy and confusion out there which gets fostered by misidentifying Boards and their functions and implying  that much of Goodheart’s material has been written out of acceptability. That’s actually not true.

That said, I’m all for getting people to read the original work!

K


 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 88
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hi Everyone,

This workshop procedure is a summary of care a patient can expect to receive from an AK doctor.

I have had a number of requests for information about how Dr. Goodheart practiced.  I will do my best to describe my observations of his work. This is important because his office was the engine room of AK.  

He mostly saw new patients referred by other doctors as well as his regulars.  These were people who came from all over the US, not just Detroit.  Occasionally these patients would stay for more than one session with him, but many only got to see him once.  Many travelled from around the world for his care. 

I remember once going to visit him at his office in the Detroit Building in downtown Detroit.  As I flew from Denver to Detroit I sat next to a woman who asked why I was going all the way around the world to visit Detroit.  I told her I was going to see Dr. Goodheart.  She said that he was her doctor and had been so for many years.  She understood that he was famous and said that she had met other doctors visiting him while she was at his office.  I was amazed at this coincidence and took it as a sign of good fortune.

Dr. Goodheart had a workshop procedure that he used, to find the difficult problems of his patients.  He usually published that procedure in his workshop manuals and updated it regularly until 1989.  With JoAnn Goodheart's permission I have included a copy of this procedure with this email.  

You now have the method that the master used to find, fix and leave alone the corrections he made to so many people.

You may not work with a patient for 1-2 hours as he sometimes did.  But you can use the guide to do a section at a time for a patient.
As you can see, there are many procedures that you may not have heard of.  Many are not included in the basic syllabus the ICAK  Board of Standards or Board of Education (as it now is) has suggested.  Yet, if you have his research manuals you will find all of these explained.  Don't miss out on any of the rational and methods not included in the 3rd party interpretations of his work.

Be sure to order your DVD collection of Dr. Goodheart's manuals or the hard copy manuals from:


JoAnn Goodheart


Fax:
+1 313 6403931




 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 90
0

Posted by on in MyBlog


Hi Everyone,
This weeks news covers a lot of areas.  Of course, the swine/Mexican flu is the big news worldwide, but, then again, so was the Bird Flu and SARS.  I have included some links to cover the reality of these fear/vaccination marketing programs.  In my opinion there is no substitute for a strong immune system and good living habits to quickly adapt to what is the flu of the day.  AK has many methods of assisting patients build their immune system and in the end there is really no substitute for rest.  We are all so busy nowdays that good living habits are being thrown out the window as we think we are more and more indestructible.  Don't fall in that trap.  Dr. Bernard Jensen DC, ND from Escondido, CA used to teach that the human being needs 8 hours work, 8 hours play and 8 hours sleep to function in balance.  He also said that the more sleep you get before midnight the healthier you will be.  I believe that also.  It is a constant quest in our society where there is so much pressure to work 24/7.  Be a good example of a Doctor and keep your health in top shape with plenty of rest.  I always appreciate those AK doctors who treat and balance me when I am at a conference or traveling.
For this week:
1. New Activator Online teaching program
2. Links to Flu remedies
3. Some effective flu remedies are in these references
4. Vertebral Fracture and Myositis Ossificans in the Psoas muscle
5. Dr. Diamond's new Seminar "Your Body doesn't Lie"
6. Vitamin D deficiency in Critically ill patients
7. A discussion of "Strain Counterstrain", its first case and the history
8. Oral and general health study
9. A study about the power of the mind
10. The lived experience of mothers of ADHD children undergoing chiropractic care
11. Relative immediate effect of ischaemic compression and activator trigger point therapy on active upper trapezius trigger points
12. When treatment can be used as a form of diagnosis.
13. Weak trapezius muscles and ALS
14. Travelling?  The truth about Swine Flu by Mercola
15. Some of you may be interested in David Hawkin's work with AK
16. Enthusiasm for Dr. Goodheart's Research Manuals CD roll's in
17. Excellent media article about chiropractor David Cosgrave helping soccer player Roy Carrol
18. Patient of an Irish AK Doctor dies from peanut allergy
19. Advice about practice from a 97 year old physician
20. Here is the correct link to the Leaf/Goodheart interview
21. How medicine sees the new patient consultation process
22. Long-term leucine supplementation does not increase muscle mass or strength in healthy elderly men
23. Motivation for Honesty and integrity is essential in practice



1. For those who use activator methods, here is the link to their new online teaching program :  

2. Here are 2 links to products that may help flu symptoms:


3. Some effective flu remedies are in these references:  Papp R, Schuback G, Beck E, et al. Oscillococcinum in patients with 
influenza-like syndromes: a placebo-controlled, double-blind 
evaluation. Br Homeopath J. 1998;87:69-76.

Ferley JP, Zmirou D, D'Adhemar D, Balducci F. A controlled 
evaluation of a homeopathic preparation in the treatment of 
influenza-like syndromes. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1989;27:329-335.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Sec. 400.400 Conditions Under 
Which Homeopathic Drugs May be Marketed (CPG 7132.15) . 


5. Dr. Diamond's new Seminar "Your Body doesn't Lie".  Here is his new seminar :  




8. Oral and general health study .  Infection or Inflammation: The Link Between Periodontal and Cardiovascular Diseases:  

9. A study about the power of the mind . For all those in the group who meditate, keep working on it.  It adds a new dimension to your work as a healer:  



12. When treatment can be used as a form of diagnosis .  More information about "Test of Treatment" procedures: 

13. Weak trapezius muscles and ALS .  New diagnostic knowledge:  

14. Travelling?  The truth about Swine Flu by Mercola ?  here is the link to his discussion:   

15. Some of you may be interested in David Hawkin's work with AK .  He is a medical doctor/psychiatrist searching for better ways of healing: 

16. Enthusiasm for Dr. Goodheart's Research Manuals CD roll's in.  Here are some comments:

I've got all of GJG's manuals already, but I'm tempted to reward you for this Herculean effort by a purchase...
 
SCC


Donald,

How right you are. While I had most of the research manuals, I decided to just purchased the whole set and I am glad I did. I am amazed what a deeper appreciation I have of how the techniques we use came to fruition. Recently, someone from a vitamin company asked me about electron poising and I went right to the manual and was able to answer the question with a far greater understanding and I was able to pass the origins of this incredible technique on.

Highest regards,

Eugene Charles

amazing stuff!
will order
jI







23. Motivation for Honesty and integrity is essential in practice.  It is a major builder for solid goodwill.  All the advertising and hype will not replace honesty and integrity.  Dr. Goodheart was the consumate gentleman who exhuded these qualities.  Here is a short discussion about them:

For a leader, honesty and integrity are absolutely essential to survival. A lot of business people don't realize how closely they're being watched by their subordinates. Remember when you were a kid in grammar school, how you used to sit there staring at your teacher all day? By the end of the school year, you could do a perfect imitation of all your teacher's mannerisms. You were aware of the slightest nuances in your teacher's voice - all the little clues that distinguished levels of meaning that told you the difference between bluff and "now I mean business".

And you were able to do that after eight or nine months of observation. Suppose you had five or 10 years. Do you think there would have been anything about your teacher you didn't know?

Now fast forward and use that analogy as a manager. Do you think there's anything your people don't know about you right this minute? If you haven't been totally aboveboard and honest with them, do you really think you've gotten away with it? Not too likely. But if you've been led to believe that you've gotten away with it, there might be a good probability that people are afraid of you, and that's a problem in its own right.

But there is another side of this coin. In any organization, people want to believe in their leaders. If you give them reason to trust you, they're not going to go looking for reasons to think otherwise, and they'll be just as perceptive about your positive qualities as they are about the negative ones.

A situation that happened some years ago at a company in the Midwest illustrates this perfectly. The wife of a new employee experienced complications in the delivery of a baby. There was a medical bill of more than $10,000, and the health insurance company didn't want to cover it. The employee hadn't been on the payroll long enough, the pregnancy was a preexisting condition, etc,etc,..

In any case, the employee was desperate. He approached the company CEO and asked him to talk to the insurance people. The CEO agreed, and the next thing the employee knew, the bill was gone and the charges were rescinded.

Then he told some colleagues about the way the CEO had so readily used his influence with the insurance company, they just shook their heads and smiled. The CEO had paid the bill out of his own pocket, and everybody knew it, no matter how quietly it had been done.

Now an act of dishonesty can't be hidden either, and it will instantly undermine the authority of a leader. But an act of integrity and kindness like the example above is just as obvious to all concerned. When you're in a leadership position, you have the choice of how you will be seen, but you will be seen one way or the other, make no mistake about it.

One of the most challenging areas of leadership is your family. Leadership of a family demands even higher standards of honesty and integrity, and the stakes are higher too. You can replace disgruntled employees and start over. You can even get a new job for yourself, if it comes to that. But your family can't be shuffled like a deck of cards. If you haven't noticed, kids are great moral philosophers, especially as they get into adolescence. They're determined to discover and expose any kind of hypocrisy, phoniness, or lack of integrity on the part of authority figures, and if we're parents, that means us. It's frightening how unforgiving kids can be about this, but it really isn't a conscious decision on their part; it's just a necessary phase of growing up.

They're testing everything, especially their parents.

As a person of integrity yourself, you'll find it easy to teach integrity to your kids, and they in turn will find it easy to accept you as a teacher. This is a great opportunity and also a supreme responsibility, because kids simply must be taught to tell the truth: to mean what they say and to say what they mean.

Praise is one of the world's most effective teaching and leadership tools. Criticism and blame, even if deserved, are counterproductive unless all other approaches have failed.

Now for the other side of the equation, we all know people who have gotten ahead as a result of dishonest or unethical behavior. When you're a kid, you might naively think that never happens, but when you get older, you realize that it does. Then you think you've really wised up. But that's not the real end of it. When you get older, you see the long-term consequences of dishonest gain, and you realize that in the end it doesn't pay.

“Hope of dishonest gain is the beginning of loss.’ I don't think that old saying refers to loss of money. I think it actually means loss of self-respect. You can have all the material things in the world, but if you've lost respect for yourself, what do you really have? The only way to ever attain success and enjoy it is to achieve it honestly with pride in what you've done.

This isn't just a sermon, it's very practical advice. Not only can you take it to heart - you can take it to the bank.

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 87
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 


Hi Everyone,
I have some amazing news for you.   Many of you have asked me about the methodology Dr. Goodheart used to develop his work.  He always encouraged AK'ers to think.  He said this was always the hardest thing for a doctor to do when helping his/her patients.  He said that we over treated and under thought about how to help people.

Whenever I need more information to help my patients I go back through my collection of Dr. Goodheart's orginal work.  Yes, I have the 3rd Party interpretations/summaries of his work, but when I need to think more deeply about the methods I am using I review the original observations of Dr. Goodheart to see what I missed, overlooked or misunderstood.  I always find more information when I do this.  It is tough fixing the 10-20% of patients that everyone else struggles with, this is where Dr. Goodheart excelled.  Most likely he went through and worked out what to do for a problem that you have only now discovered.  Now you can have this information on your computer.

The original thinking that went into the design of AK methods was described and discussed by Dr. Goodheart in his yearly AK Research Manuals and publications.  There are about 40 of these including transcripts of his research tapes and published papers.  Josh Anderson  son of Dr. Dale Anderson digitized George's manuals in 2007.  

As you know, much of Dr. Goodheart's work is only available in edited form and interpreted in 3rd party publications by  Stoner, Walther, Leaf, Schmitt, Gertz, Garten etc.

Whenever you are looking for detail about an AK method, the words and work of the master usually remove all misinterpretation.   From the new students of AK I hear the questions:  "how did Dr.Goodheart find that?" or "where did that method come from?"  The original manuals of  Dr. Goodheart have all this information.  They have his discussion, references and rational for his work.  Many have copied, changed and some have even named portions of it as their own.  But now you can have the original material to review for yourself.  

Make your work more accurate and find those "overlooked" comments about many methods we take for granted.  George's books are difficult to find, especially the early ones.  This CD will give you Dr. Goodheart's work at a fraction of the price.  There were about 31 research manuals alone, containing 40 years of George's work.  At about US$100 each that would work out at about US$3000.  The price for the CD is only US$1000!  Think of how easy it will be to search these files on the CD.  You can take them anywhere and hone your knowledge.

I have always been an AK'er that values the way Dr. Goodheart did his work.  This is where it all began and where a lot has been overlooked or missed or misunderstood by both new and older AK'ers that have never read, listened to or seen his work.

All the new AK'ers will be able to read how George designed and developed AK along with his healing philosophy.  This is something that is difficult to get from the 3rd party interpretations of his work.  It will answer all your questions about how AK methods came about and why.

There is nothing like the original for detail.  If you don't have a complete collection of George's original work in his research manuals, now is your chance. 

Here is JoAnn's address for ordering by Mastercard or Visa:

JoAnn Goodheart
273 Beaupre Ave,
Gross Point Farms.
Mi.  48236
USA

Fax:
+1 313 6403931
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 85
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,
Dr. Schmitt and Cuthbert's paper on common errors of MMT has made it into the top 10 downloads for the JC&O journal.  Dr. Schmitt has included video clips of his work on his website and Dr. Maffetone has begun a blog for you to ask him questions about his work.  Dr. King has launched his 3 day muscle testing seminar on DVD.  John Diamond gives an interview about deep soul healing and AK.  Scott Walker gives an interview.  PLUS a David Leaf and George Goodheart Interview about where the chiropractic adjustment fits into AK.   It is good to see so many contributing and adding to the knowledge of AK.  Be sure to visit their sites and links.  Enjoy this weeks info.  
Donald

1.  Some inspiration about success
2. Dr. Maffetone has created a new AK Blog to communicate directly with colleagues.
3.  A superb chiropractic neurology program with ALL the experts has been organised for Atlanta
4. Here is the link to the Life Neurology Club website
5. Free Video clips of Dr. Wally Schmitt's seminars
6. Dr. Simon King launches his 3 Day Expert Muscle Tester seminar on DVD
7. Life is a struggle against negativity, here is some motivation
8. AK'ers are different, maybe we follow this definition
9. 2 AK papers listed in the top 10 for the year in BioMed's CJ&O journal
10. Here is a blog site that discusses Homeopathy
11. Intact myelinated fibres in biopsies of ventral spinal root
12. John Diamond gives an interview about the deep soul healing 
13. Neuro Emotional Technique is well described in this interview with Scott Walker,
14.  George Goodheart discusses where the chiropractic adjustment fits in Applied kinesiology
15.  Finding your true self, your purpose, is never easy.



1.  Some inspiration about success:  Walter Russell (from The Man Who Tapped the Secrets of the Universe): "I never let the thought of failure enter my mind. My knowledge of my unity with the Universal One and the fact that I must do this thing, and the inspired belief I should do it as a demonstration of my belief in man's unlimited power, made me ignore the difficulties that lay in the way."

2. Dr. Maffetone has created a new AK Blog to communicate directly with colleagues .  Ask him all the tough questions you have about training triathletes, biofeedback testing and his experience with difficult problems helping patients.  

3.  A superb chiropractic neurology program with ALL the experts has been organised for Atlanta , Ga, USA.  This is your chance to have all of the best teachers in one program.  Dr. Carrick, Dr. Marc Pick, Dr. Wally Schmitt, Dr. Robert Melillo, Dr. John Donofrio and many more.  Here is the agenda:  



5. Free Video clips of Dr. Wally Schmitt's seminars  discussing the clinical applications of Applied Kinesiology are priceless.  Watch these, Take notes and help your patients even more.  You will not regret this time out.  Wally is the master of AK Nutrition and has published the best papers so far studying the AK management of Allergies.  
I will be reviewing Dr. Schmitt's new manual of Quintessential Applications of Applied Kinesiology as soon as it arrives.  

6. Dr. Simon King launches his 3 Day Expert Muscle Tester seminar on DVD .  Learn Simon's unique ways of helping people with this program.  It is all explained here: 

7. Life is a struggle against negativity, here is some motivation:  "We must all wage an intense, lifelong battle against the constant downward pull. If we relax, the bugs and weeds of negativity will move into the garden and take away everything of value." Jim Rohn 

8. AK'ers are different, maybe we follow this definition:  "Genius was derived from a word used by the ancient Romans, who considered genius a guiding inborn spirit who protects, reassures, and coaches throughout life." p. 73 ~ Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, Psy.D. from The Gifted Adult

"Of course you're different. You're intense, complex, and driven because you're gifted." ~ Mary-Elaine Jacobsen, Psy.D. fromThe Gifted Adult

9. 2 AK papers listed in the top 10 for the year in BioMed's CJ&O journa l .  The new paper by Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Cuthbert has made it into the top 10 for the year with almost 4500 downloads.  Understanding the common errors in muscle testing has created published standards that can now be referred to in future studies:  

10. Here is a blog site that discusses Homeopathy  that may be of interest to those in our group who use these remedies:  

11. Intact myelinated fibres in biopsies of ventral spinal root s after preganglionic traction injury to the brachial plexus. A proof that Sherrington's ‘wrong way afferents’ exist in man?
MICHAEL SCHENKER and ROLFE BIRCH
J Anat. 2000 October; 197(Pt 3): 383–391.
Here's a free version of the article in the Journal of Anatomy:

Thanks to Dr. Phil Maffetone for this link.

12. John Diamond gives an interview about the deep soul healing  from his perspective as a healer:  

13. Neuro Emotional Technique is well described in this interview with Scott Walker , A great AK Teacher and research sponsor.  The them of NET is that Emotions are Physiologically based, a major cause of body dysfunction and best helped by Chiropractic care:  

14.  George Goodheart discusses where the chiropractic adjustment fits in Applied kinesiology .  Critics often describe applied kinesiology as not being chiropractic.  Here are Goodheart's answers: 

15.  Finding your true self, your purpose is never easy.  Here is a great quote to help the discovery process:  "Once the call of the True Self is heard not only with the heart but also with the mind and conscience there will be no way back to the way things have been. Sooner or later we will recognize that we no longer have any choice but to allow ourselves the extraordinary freedom to go all the way in this life. Because, after all, if we have begun to see through the illusory world that the ego creates and have heard the call of the True Self to live our lives for a greater purpose-what else is there to do?" ~ Andrew Cohen from Living Enlightenment 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 90
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,

What are you doing about muscle weakness?  For years treating the muscle spasm or hyperactive muscle was considered the primary problem of pain syndromes until Dr. Goodheart proposed the primary muscle weakness cause in 1964.  According to our prolific AK researcher, Dr. Cuthbert "The evidence now shows with greater clarity than ever that inflammation or injury produces specifically identified inhibited muscles. Controlled clinical studies have shown that dysfunction and pain specifically in the ankle, knee, lumbar spine,temporomandibular joint and cervical spine will produce inhibited muscles.5-16 These data indicate that the body's reaction to injury and pain is not increased muscular tension and stiffness. Instead, muscle inhibition is often more significant."

Dr Cuthbert's new paper has been published to 70,000 subscribers of Chiroweb and now the planet:  It is a must read, free download, referenced and hyperlinked.  It is a wake up call to all chiropractors, osteopaths and bodyworkers.  

Here are the rest of this weeks discoveries:

1.  Chiropractors reported as being the best for treating Back Pain
2. Strong evidence that leisure time sport or exercises, sitting, and prolonged standing/walking are not associated with LBP
3. Caffeine helps sore muscles recover after exercise
4.  Pain can be helped by psychological intervention
5. The healing powers of cocoa
6. How muscle strength is graded, the physiotherapy approach
7. Google struggles with accuracy of its new Health record program
8. Low blood sugar can damage the brain
9. Psychosocial stress disrupts attentional control and may take over a month to reverse
10. Why infants cry
11. Many doctors want to make a name for themselves with a ground breaking discovery.
12. Here is an interesting paper describing Vit D improving muscle strength in adolescent girls
13. Here is a great discussion about the value of self discipline by Jim Rohn






4.  Pain can be helped by psychological intervention :  A new study concludes:  Regarding different pain syndromes such as chronic back pain, headache, fibromyalgia, and temporomandibular disorder, as well as gastrointestinal pain in children, psychological interventions proved their significance for the achievement of favourable treatment outcome.  







11. Many doctors want to make a name for themselves with a ground breaking discovery.  Few will achieve this status.  Most will achieve something even greater, helping a patient get well.  Each person you contact feels your healing.  It is your responsibility to focus on the needs of each patient.  This quotation may help inspire you as it does me:   "I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble."

Helen Keller
1880-1968, Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer



12. Here is an interesting paper describing Vit D improving muscle strength in adolescent girls :  

13. Here is a great discussion about the value of self discipline by Jim Rohn:

For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one of life's great arrangements. In fact, it's an extension of the Biblical law that says that if you sow well, you will reap well.

Here's a unique part of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Not only does it suggest that we'll all reap what we've sown, it also suggests that we'll reap much more. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but this may well be the major law we need to understand: for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.

What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you're fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: the key word here, as you might well imagine, is discipline.

Everything of value requires care, attention, and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.

Remember the law: "For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards." Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.

For each discipline, multiple rewards. For each book, new knowledge. For each success, new ambition. For each challenge, new understanding. For each failure, new determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life's disciplines: everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.

That's what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life's not a practice session.

If you're often inclined to toss your clothes onto the chair rather than hanging them in the closet, be careful. It could suggest a lack of discipline. And remember, a lack of discipline in the small areas of life can cost you heavily in the more important areas of life. You cannot clean up your company until you learn the discipline of cleaning your own garage. You cannot be impatient with your children and be patient with your distributors or your employees. You cannot inspire others to sell more when that goal is inconsistent with your own conduct. You cannot admonish others to read good books when you don't have a library card.

Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you've had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won't allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn't this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you're on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.

The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don't wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn't that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.

Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition... or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 80
0

Posted by on in MyBlog
Hi Everyone,
In a few weeks the Annual ICAK Meeting will be held in Boston.  More information is linked through www.icak.com.  I hope easter was a great time of reflection and energy building for you.  Here are this weeks items of interest that came across the net.  I have loaded all my AK News and Views on my Blog at www.appliedkinesiology.com.au. Simply click the blog menu and sign on to access the blogs in an easy viewed list where you can comment if you wish.  I am still working on improving it, but at least all the news blasts are there if you wish to find anything.

1. Here is the latest research describing 4 behaviours of people to reduce risk for stroke:
2. Here is a link to download free medical E-books
3. Here is a RCT describing the effectiveness of Rehab for Multiple Sclerosis
4. Here is some motivation
5. Check out SOT Newsletters at this site
6. SOT Blocking Helps Neck Strength-a new paper:
7. How well do you know people, even your staff?
8. The best leaders are readers of people
9. How to create a new life for yourself, from a philosophical perspective
10. Comments about AK News and Views:





4. Here is some motivation:  "The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the
intangible, and achieves the impossible" -- unknown



7. How well do you know people, even your staff?  Here are 3 leadership questions that will tell you more about them in 5 minutes than you may never learn for years:  In my years studying leadership and evaluating leaders, I have stumbled across a leadership shortcoming that continually amazes me. Leaders will manage a team, work with the same individuals every day, yet hardly know anything about their people! These leaders have never prioritized acquainting themselves with the dreams, thoughts, hopes, opinions, and values of those they lead.

8. The best leaders are readers of people. They have the intuitive ability to understand others by discerning how they feel and recognizing what they sense.

I have found that leaders overestimate the amount of time and effort needed to get to know someone. In fact, in only one hour with you in private conversation, I could, probably by asking three questions, find the passion of your life:

What do you dream about?

A person's dreams are powerful revealers of passion. When a person starts to talk about their dreams it's as if something bubbles up from within. Their eyes brighten, their face glows, and you can feel the excitement in their words.

What do you cry about?  

Passion can be uncovered by peering into the hurts deep inside a human soul. The experience of pain or loss can be a formidably motivating force. When listening to a story of grief, you hear a voice thick with emotion, you see watery eyes flooded with feeling, and in that moment you glimpse the intense connections between a person's deepest pain and their greatest passion.

What makes you happy?

I have fun hearing what makes people tick and seeing the smile that comes when they talk about where they find joy. Enjoyment is an incredible energizer to the human spirit.  When a person operates in an area of pleasure, they are apt to be brimming with life and exuding passion.

If you can uncover a person's dreams, hurts, and joys, you've discovered the central dimensions of their life.

-- John C. Maxwell


9. How to create a new life for yourself, from a philosophical perspective:  "You must wish to consume yourself in your own flame: how could you wish to become new unless you had first become ashes?" ~ Friedrich Nietzsche from Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Wow.  You want to become new? How do you expect to do that if you aren't willing to light a match and torch your old self?

All this talk about fires and growth reminds me of one of my favorite thoughts from Joseph Campbell: "Sir Ramakrishna said, "Do not seek illumination unless you seek it as a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond." Love that.

"To change your life: start immediately; do it flamboyantly; no exceptions." ~ William James"

I must perfect myself." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche from Thus Spoke Zarathustra


10. Comments about AK News and Views:

Dear Donald,
Every time I get your impressive digests I mean to respond and give you some positive feedback thanking your for your diligence and sharing it with us all and today I really have stop and do so, as  with the magic of modern communications I seem to have hit your radar screen with my course in Antwerp later this summer and find it bouncing back to me via Belgium and Australia!
 Life is getting too short to explore all the wonderful avenues that open up daily of ideas an ways of applying our skills to assist others.
Anyway once again thanks for sharing all your interesting findings.
Best wishes,
Clive
Clive Lindley-Jones B.Ed. (Hons) D.O. 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 77
0

Posted by on in MyBlog
Hi Everyone,
There are a number of attachments in this news blast.  Let me know if you recognize any of the people in the old AK photo I have posted. On one side of the table is Myself (pre grey hair days), Dr. Goodheart and JoAnn.  On the other side of the table is Rob Peacock in the middle and I am not sure about the other 2 doctors.   I am always amazed each week as to how many items come across the net that may be useful for AK'ers.  Here is this weeks:

1. For those not members of ICAK-Australiasia yet
2. Here is some philosophy for success
3.For those of you interested in weight management
4. Paper about cranial sacral therapy and success with Urinary problems
5. FICS, the International Federation of Sports Chiropractic has a series of newsletters
6. Dr. Schmitt's new edition of Quitessential Application of AK is almost ready
7. Nerve Entrapment of the Lower Extremity Seminar will be taught in Antwerp
8. More information of the World Federation of Chiropractic Congress in Montreal is attached
9. AK'er, Dr. Maffetone and Coralee discuss lowering stress with music in this video clip
10. A photo of Dr. Goodheart in Melbourne, Australia 1988, I think it was, is attached
11. New books about Cranial Care
12.  Here is a great understanding about completing projects
13. Sometimes it helps us to appreciate other people- a video tribute.
14. Science Direct is a great source for in depth papers
15. Comments about AK News and Views:




1. For those not members of ICAK-Australiasia yet, here is your member application form attached.

2. Here is some philosophy for success:  Schopenhauer: "There is no vice, of which a man can be guilty, no meanness, no shabbiness, no unkindness, which excited so much indignation among his contemporaries, friends and neighbors, as his success. This is the one unpardonable crime, which reason cannot defend, nor [can] humility mitigate."

3.For those of you interested in weight management , the ALCAT test for Obesity is now described in a new paper: "There is evidence demonstrating the ALCAT test to be effective in improving body mass index (BMI) and/or scale weight. According to a Baylor University study, “As compared to following a plan of their own choosing, participants who followed the ALCAT plan achieved rather dramatic changes in their body composition.”"
   Thank you to Dr. Wittle, ICAK President for this article.


4. Paper about cranial sacral therapy and success with Urinary problems:  Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice

Volume 15, Issue 2, May 2009, Pages 72-75

Effect of craniosacral therapy on lower urinary tract signs and symptoms in multiple sclerosis

 Gil Raviva, b, , , Shai Shefia, Dalia Nizanib and Anat Achironb

aUrology Department, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Affiliated to the Sackler School of medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel

bMultiple Sclerosis Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Affiliated to the Sackler School of medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel

 Available online 30 January 2009.

Abstract

To examine whether craniosacral therapy improves lower urinary tract symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A prospective cohort study. Out-patient clinic of multiple sclerosis center in a referral medical center. Hands on craniosacral therapy (CST). Change in lower urinary tract symptoms, post voiding residual volume and quality of life. Patients from our multiple sclerosis clinic were assessed before and after craniosacral therapy. Evaluation included neurological examination, disability status determination, ultrasonographic post voiding residual volume estimation and questionnaires regarding lower urinary tract symptoms and quality of life. Twenty eight patients met eligibility criteria and were included in this study. Comparison of post voiding residual volume, lower urinary tract symptoms and quality of life before and after craniosacral therapy revealed a significant improvement (0.001 > p > 0.0001). CST was found to be an effective means for treating lower urinary tract symptoms and improving quality of life in MS patients.



6. Dr. Schmitt's new edition of Quitessential Application of AK is almost ready.  Most AK teachers show you how to use the AK methods.  Dr. Schmitt shows you what to do first, next and last during your diagnostic work up of your patients.  If you want the best of efficient AK procedures then this is the program to get:    Dr. Schmitt tells me that this is it.  There will be no other editions.  I have placed my order at the pre publication price.  Don't miss out.

7. Nerve Entrapment of the Lower Extremity Seminar will be taught in Antwerp, Belgium in June 09 for those traveling to Europe this summer.  The program is attached.

8. More information of the World Federation of Chiropractic Congress in Montreal is attached


10. A photo of Dr. Goodheart in Melbourne, Australia 1988, I think it was, is attached.  We were eating japanese food, as I recall.

11. New books about Cranial Care .  Dr. Cuthbert found this link on the net while looking for new material.  Harold Magoun's son has published a book about his selected writings.  Scroll towards the bottom of the page:  

12.  Here is a great understanding about completing projects from Jim Rohn:

If we are involved in a project, how hard should we work at it? How much time should we put in?

Our philosophy about activity and our attitude about hard work will affect the quality of our lives. What we decide about the rightful ratio of labor to rest will establish a certain work ethic. That work ethic - our attitude about the amount of labor we are willing to commit to future fortune - will determine how substantial or how meager that fortune turns out to be.

Enterprise is always better than ease. Every time we choose to do less than we could, this error in judgment has an effect on our self-confidence. Repeated every day, we soon find ourselves not only doing less than we should, but also being less than we could. The accumulative effect of this error in judgment can be devastating.

--- FORTUNATELY, IT IS EASY TO REVERSE THE PROCESS ---

Any day we choose we can develop a new discipline of doing rather than neglecting. Every time we choose action over ease or labor over rest, we develop an increasing level of self-worth, self-respect and self-confidence. In the final analysis, it is how we feel about ourselves that provides the greatest reward from any activity. It is not what we get that makes us valuable, it is what we become in the process of doing that brings value into our lives. It is activity that converts human dreams into human reality, and that conversion from idea into actuality gives us a personal value that can come from no other source.

So feel free to not only engage in enterprise, but also to enjoy it to its fullest along with all the benefits that are soon to come!

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

13. Sometimes it helps us to appreciate other people- a video tribute .   This video clip will motivate you and touch your heart.  I attended Jim's weekend seminar in Australia in 1992-3.  Enjoy and be inspired by how others feel.  Do your friends and patients feel about you this way?



14. Science Direct is a great source for in depth papers .  They have announced new and deeper search updates for their website: 


15. Comments about AK News and Views:

From Dr. Phil Maffetone:
Hi Donald,

Your newsletter/update info you send out is really great. Many thanks.

Phil
 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 82
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,
There are some great new papers and info for AK'ers and those on the list to review.  Information about the International AK Meeting is available on the www.icak.com website with new links to new research collections.

1. Here is a great paper describing shoulder muscle function
2.  Dr. Cuthbert has done it again.  Here is his latest paper
3. Here are the details of the Montreal World Federation Of Chiropractor's congress
4.  Here is a series of interviews with osteopathic manipulators that may be of interest to you
5.The photo's for the ICAK-Australasia Sydney Seminar with Joe Shafer are now available on the net
6. George Goodheart had the ability to focus on his patient and the task at hand
7. Here is a link to the use of sublingual absorption pathways for immunotherapy
8. Comments about News and Views
9. Have you ever wondered how consistent the anatomical location of motor points in the muscles are ? 
10. Changing the disc does not change the muscle tension 
11. Here is the link to a video clip of Leon Chaitow





2.  Dr. Cuthbert has done it again.  Here is his latest pape r about AK and how it should be used, as published in Chiroweb news.  



4.  Here is a series of interviews with osteopathic manipulators that may be of interest to you .  I liked Professor Hartman's discussion of his professional life in technique.  Be sure to watch the extra's at the end to see how he works.    Here is the home page :     Enter the site and then click on the interview menu and choose a name.

5.The photo's for the ICAK-Australasia Sydney Seminar with Joe Shafer are now available on the net .  I haven't labelled them. You will know who you are.  Quality is reasonable given I took them on my iphone without flash.  Enjoy.

6. George Goodheart had the ability to focus on his patient and the task at hand. Using this method, he discovered the many AK skills we use.  Here is a great quote discussing this secret of discovery:  "Focus is the concentration of attention to the exclusion of all else. It means putting everything you have into what you're doing at this very second—whether it's on work, training, nutrition, a friend or loved one. When you're focused, you're not thinking about the past or future. Nothing else enters your mind."~ Shawn Phillips from Strength for Life


8. Comments about News and Views:
love the prank call
the boutique care is incredible too...people want service right?
joe Ierano

hi Don, yet again thanks for another set of 'gems' - esp found the taste bud article and the adrenal fatigue interesting.
 Regards, Antonia 


10. Changing the disc does not change the muscle tension .  You may see this same phenomena with knee replacements.  All the muscles have to be rehabilitated after the surgery to stabilize the joint.  This is the first study I have seen looking at the same action for back movement: 

11. Here is the link to a video clip of Leon Chaitow , Osteopath, who has presented at ICAK meetings.  He has written many books about manual techniques.    Thanks to Dr. Cuthbert for this link.   His journal is also now indexed on Medline.  


 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 62
0

Posted by on in MyBlog


Hi Everyone,

We have a lot of items that came through this week.  For the Aussies on this list, Google maps have been added to your address on the www.icak-australasia.com website "find a member" section.  If we have a PO box instead your street address then google defaults to a US map and no one will find you.  So if you want your address to be mapped for easy visitor viewing then send Gina Martins your street address and we will load it.  Email Gina at :   Gina Martins < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it > .  

Here are the clips I picked for the week.  Enjoy, Donald

1. Do you have trouble with telemarketers?

2. Here is a great collection of Anti Aging articles

3. Here is a new style of practice, "boutique care"

4. Here is a paper summarizing the use of  Pediatrics and complementary and alternative medicine

5. How the PT health profession in Brazil tried to get rid of chiropractic as a profession

6. One of the difficulties that regular physicians have with applied kinesiology

7. Here is an abstract of a literature review of somatovisceral responses

8.Here is a link to a med science blog description of AK

9. Over the years I have met leaders in many industries

10. Here is a great paper explaining how taste buds work

11. Here is a great discussion about Adrenal Fatigue

12. How to avoid failure with practice, patients and personal life.

13. Comments about AK News and Views

14. Here is a  paper describing how to choose a good chiropractor who can work with athletes

15. Here is a great book for motivating yourself.

1. Do you have trouble with telemarketers?    This is one way to deal with them.  Usually our staff are always looking for new ways to respond other than being rude and hanging up on them.  If they get past the front desk and I get to talk to them usually I just tell them yes, I am the doctor and I have a persons life in my hands at the moment and then ask if their call is really important.  Usually they say sorry and its all over.  Then again, you could be more dramatic like this guy:  

2. Here is a great collection of Anti Aging articles  and news that may be of interest to our group.  

3. Here is a new style of practice, "boutique care" .  It may be a niche for some in our group.  

4. Here is a paper summarizing the use of  Pediatrics and complementary and alternative medicin e , it is a free download:   The paper defines terms; describes epidemiology; outlines common types of complementary and alternative medicine therapies; reviews medicolegal, ethical, and research implications; reviews education and training for complementary and alternative medicine providers; provide resources for learning more about complementary and alternative medicine; and suggests communication strategies to use when discussing complementary and alternative medicine with patients and families.

5. How the PT health profession in Brazil tried to get rid of chiropractic as a profession:  May 18, 2009     For Immediate Release 

Contact for more information or high resolution photo: 
Linda Sicoli, Director, Communications & Meetings, WFC 
Tel: 416-484 9978 E-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   

 
Brazil – Federal Judge Rules in Favour of Chiropractic Profession 

 
On March 3, 2009, in the latest step by the Brazilian Chiropractors’ Association (ABQ) to defend the chiropractic profession against efforts by the physiotherapy profession to have chiropractic declared a specialty of physiotherapy (PT), Federal Judge Diana 
Brunstein has ruled strongly in favour of the ABQ.   

 
Chiropractic is a profession not a technique, says Judge Brunstein, and PT authorities should not seek to declare it a specialty of physiotherapy. An appeal by CREFITO, the regulatory body for PT in the State of Sao Paulo, asking to remove an earlier court 
injunction against CREFITO, was denied.   

 
The background to this dispute is that the ABQ, representing under 400 chiropractors in Brazil, is promoting legislation to regulate the practice of chiropractic.  The response of the national regulatory body COFFITO, representing over 90,000 PTs, has been to claim chiropractic is a specialty of PT. 

 
In August 2008, PT agents in Sao Paulo began harassing chiropractors, most of whom are new graduates of Brazil’s two university-based chiropractic programs.  Holding violation orders from their own CREFITO, and often accompanied the federal police, they tried to pressure DCs to sign declarations acknowledging the illegal practice of PT and to cease practise. 

 
The ABQ and its lawyers were successful in getting an interim injunction to stop such harassment.  CREFITO has sought to have the interim injunction removed but, after hearing argument and evidence from the ABQ, Judge Brunstein confirmed the injunction on March 3.  

 
“We still have a long fight ahead”, says ABQ President Dr. Juliana Piva, “but this judgement gives us powerful new momentum as we work with legislators in Brasilia for chiropractic legislation.” 

 
“We could not have achieved this success without vital financial and other support from the World Federation of Chiropractic and its member associations”, says Dr. Sira Borges, ABQ Past-President and leader of the legislative campaign.  “There have been such generous donations from many associations and individuals – but particularly the American, Australian, British, Canadian, Danish and Norwegian associations.” 

 
“It has been a privilege for the WFC to assist the ABQ in the outstanding work it is doing to protect the independence of the chiropractic profession in Brazil”, notes WFC President Dr. Stathis Papadopoulos of Cyprus. “This battle has obvious impact for the profession everywhere – I strongly encourage all associations and individual chiropractors to continue their financial support for the ABQ.” 

6. One of the difficulties that regular physicians have with applied kinesiology is that there are so many tools that can be used.  Most experienced Ak'ers don't use or even know about all the tools they have available.  Some aren't used every day and are easily forgotten.  One of the ways I solved this problem was to carry a note book in my pocket to write down the patient's name, their problem and my comments for further research and information.  I would tell the patient that there may be more I can do for them but I will need to research their problem and get more information.  I would then work on these notes at home and have them ready the next time I saw the patient.  After 35 years of using Ak, I still carry a notebook in my pocket and use this method for difficult problems.  Total AK isn't for everyone.  Some doctors have their own niche of care.  Here is a great quote I love that inspired this method for me:

"Don't let ideas escape. Write them down. Every day lots of good ideas are born only to die quickly because they aren't nailed to paper... Carry a notebook or some small cards with you. When you get an idea, write it down... People with fertile, creative minds know a good idea may sprout any time, any place. Don't let ideas escape; else you destroy the fruits of your thinking." ~ David J. Schwartz from The Magic of Thinking Big

7. Here is an abstract of a literature review of somatovisceral responses  to Chiropractic adjustments.  It is a nice summary of current evidence:  

8.Here is a link to a med science blog description of AK .  It is an interesting summary of the ICAK taken and altered from our websites.  

9. Over the years I have met leaders in many industries.  It is true that the higher you go in leadership and the more ethical the leader the more courteous they are.  I liked this quote by the founder of IBM:  "Really big people are, above everything else, courteous, considerate and generous - not just to some people in some circumstances - but to everyone all the time."

Thomas J. Watson
1874-1956, Founder of IBM

10. Here is a great paper explaining how taste buds work .  For all those nutrition doctors out there this will be enlightening with the potential to describe pathways for AK taste testing.  It is free download.  


11. Here is a great discussion about Adrenal Fatigue  with diagnostic video clips:   Special thanks to Michael Bay for sending this to me.

12. How to avoid failure with practice, patients and personal life.  I like this comment by Jim Rohn.

"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. We do not fail overnight. Failure is the inevitable result of an accumulation of poor thinking and poor choices. To put it more simply, failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.

Now why would someone make an error in judgment and then be so foolish as to repeat it every day? The answer is because he or she does not think that it matters.

On their own, our daily acts do not seem that important. A minor oversight, a poor decision, or a wasted hour generally doesn't result in an instant and measurable impact. More often than not, we escape from any immediate consequences of our deeds.

If we have not bothered to read a single book in the past ninety days, this lack of discipline does not seem to have any immediate impact on our lives. And since nothing drastic happened to us after the first ninety days, we repeat this error in judgment for another ninety days, and on and on it goes. Why? Because it doesn't seem to matter. And herein lies the great danger. Far worse than not reading the books is not even realizing that it matters!

Those who eat too many of the wrong foods are contributing to a future health problem, but the joy of the moment overshadows the consequence of the future. It does not seem to matter. Those who smoke too much or drink too much go on making these poor choices year after year after year... because it doesn't seem to matter. But the pain and regret of these errors in judgment have only been delayed for a future time. Consequences are seldom instant; instead, they accumulate until the inevitable day of reckoning finally arrives and the price must be paid for our poor choices - choices that didn't seem to matter.

Failure's most dangerous attribute is its subtlety. In the short term those little errors don't seem to make any difference. We do not seem to be failing. In fact, sometimes these accumulated errors in judgment occur throughout a period of great joy and prosperity in our lives. Since nothing terrible happens to us, since there are no instant consequences to capture our attention, we simply drift from one day to the next, repeating the errors, thinking the wrong thoughts, listening to the wrong voices and making the wrong choices. The sky did not fall in on us yesterday; therefore the act was probably harmless. Since it seemed to have no measurable consequence, it is probably safe to repeat.

But we must become better educated than that!

If at the end of the day when we made our first error in judgment the sky had fallen in on us, we undoubtedly would have taken immediate steps to ensure that the act would never be repeated again. Like the child who places his hand on a hot burner despite his parents' warnings, we would have had an instantaneous experience accompanying our error in judgment.

Unfortunately, failure does not shout out its warnings as our parents once did. This is why it is imperative to refine our philosophy in order to be able to make better choices. With a powerful, personal philosophy guiding our every step, we become more aware of our errors in judgment and more aware that each error really does matter.

Now here is the great news. Just like the formula for failure, the formula for success is easy to follow: It's a few simple disciplines practiced every day.

Now here is an interesting question worth pondering: How can we change the errors in the formula for failure into the disciplines required in the formula for success? The answer is by making the future an important part of our current philosophy.

Both success and failure involve future consequences, namely the inevitable rewards or unavoidable regrets resulting from past activities. If this is true, why don't more people take time to ponder the future? The answer is simple: They are so caught up in the current moment that it doesn't seem to matter. The problems and the rewards of today are so absorbing to some human beings that they never pause long enough to think about tomorrow.

But what if we did develop a new discipline to take just a few minutes every day to look a little further down the road? We would then be able to foresee the impending consequences of our current conduct. Armed with that valuable information, we would be able to take the necessary action to change our errors into new success-oriented disciplines. In other words, by disciplining ourselves to see the future in advance, we would be able to change our thinking, amend our errors and develop new habits to replace the old.

One of the exciting things about the formula for success - a few simple disciplines practiced every day - is that the results are almost immediate. As we voluntarily change daily errors into daily disciplines, we experience positive results in a very short period of time. When we change our diet, our health improves noticeably in just a few weeks. When we start exercising, we feel a new vitality almost immediately. When we begin reading, we experience a growing awareness and a new level of self-confidence. Whatever new discipline we begin to practice daily will produce exciting results that will drive us to become even better at developing new disciplines.

The real magic of new disciplines is that they will cause us to amend our thinking. If we were to start today to read the books, keep a journal, attend the classes, listen more and observe more, then today would be the first day of a new life leading to a better future. If we were to start today to try harder, and in every way make a conscious and consistent effort to change subtle and deadly errors into constructive and rewarding disciplines, we would never again settle for a life of existence – not once we have tasted the fruits of a life of substance!"

To Your Success,
Jim Rohn

13. Comments about AK News and Views:

Hi Don
 I have been meaning to write and thank you for all your effort to coordinate the very interesting data that you are distributing globally.
Seems like yesterday that we were all in ACT looking at AK in its infancy.
I guess that was 1979!!
Are you still in practice or in the research mode now?
With kind regards
Allan Phillips
Monday, 16 March 2009


14. Here is a  paper describing how to choose a good chiropractor who can work with athletes .  I think most AK'ers fit this profile.  It is an interesting discussion and may provoke some controversy.   It is a free download.

15. Here is a great book for motivating yourself.  This book is a classic I have had in my library and read many times.  Enjoy this extract:

"Deposit only positive thoughts in your memory bank. Let's face it squarely: everyone encounters plenty of unpleasant, embarrassing, and discouraging situations. But unsuccessful and successful people deal with these situations in directly opposite ways. Unsuccessful people take them to heart, so to speak. They dwell on the unpleasant situations, thereby giving them a good start in their memory. At night the unpleasant situation is the last thing they think about... Confident, successful people, on the other hand, "don't give it another thought." Successful people specialize in putting positive thoughts into their memory bank." ~ David J. Schwartz from The Magic of Thinking Big

How about you? What kind of deposits are you making in your memory bank? Do you replay the "Check-me-out,-I-rocked-that!"high points or the "OMG. Did-I-really-just-say-that?!?" low moments? :)

The cumulative effect of our little decisions makes a HUGE difference. In The Magic of Thinking Big, Schwartz tells a great little story to magnify his point. He says, imagine what would happen if, every morning before driving to work you took a scoop of gravel and threw into the car's "crankcase." (For those who aren't mechanics, that's part of your engine! :). What would happen? Well, he says, "That fine engine would soon be a mess, unable to do what you want it to do."

Same with our brains. When we throw negative thoughts in it every morning (and mid-day and night and...) guess what? We fall apart. The alternative? Take every opportunity to make good deposits. We need to think of all the things we've done that we're proud of—from the award we won in college or early in our career or whatever. Think about all those things for which we're grateful—from our health to our past successes to the fact that we're alive. We need to overload our brains with good thoughts.

What kinds of deposits are you making? Become more conscious of what thoughts you're poppin' into your head and deliberately take advantage of the quiet moments by yourself (in your car, in the shower, at the gym, on walks, etc), to overdose on the good stuff.

"In brief, it really is easy to forget the unpleasant if we simply refuse to recall it. Withdraw only positive thoughts from your memory bank. Let the others fade away. And your confidence, that feeling of being on top of the world, will zoom upward. You take a big step forward toward conquering your fear when you refuse to remember negative, self-deprecating thoughts."  
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 91
0

Posted by on in MyBlog


Hi Everyone,
I just finished an amazing weekend with Joe Schafer teaching his approach to low back pain and disc management.  He presented some great methods of assisting difficult cases using an AK differential diagnosis that he designed.  A nice group of about 40 attendees enjoyed the camaraderie and learning environment.  If you missed out, a tape of the conference and the seminar will be available from ICAK-Australiasia through Susan Walker.  You can order your DVD's or rent them through Susan via her email:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
This weeks News and Views are next:

1.  A practice management comment about unrealistic goals and targets from the British Medical Journal.
2.  Nice PR for a local Australian Chiropractor helping a US colleague with her study:
3. Vitamin C may help lower Gout
4.How to design better questionaries for neck-shoulder disorders
5. Here is a new paper authored by 2 applied kinesiologists from Austria
6. Here is a new paper about nutrition for the thyroid authored by 2 applied kinesiologists from Austria
7.  Dr. Maffetone sent the following update with his work and new book that you may find interesting
8. This is one of my favourite quotes by Dr. Goodheart
9. Soto USA has listed the papers authored by their members and now indexed on pubmed
10.  Here is a list of recent papers presented at the WFC/FCER ICCR conference by SOTO members
11.  Comments about AK News and Views.



1.  Be careful enforcing targets and goals in your practice management.  Here are some outcomes that were not so successful and maybe some lessons from the BMJ:  

Published 9 March 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b953
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b953

Letters

NHS targets—good or bad?

Targets destroy morale and do not help patients

All clinicians will agree that targets do more harm than good1; some managers or politicians may not.2

The NHS is like a carpet too small to cover a floor: a target to cover the north east corner of a room can be achieved only by exposing more of the south west corner. In my clinical practice the targets were for elective, non-urgent conditions which could safely wait months for treatment with no detriment to the patient; meeting these targets resulted in dangerously long waits for children with more urgent conditions needing operations within 24-48 hours (no targets for these patients). The 2 week cancer target resulted in children with cancer or suspected cancer waiting longer than they did before the target was introducedbecause of the imposed bureaucracy which implemented it. The 4 hour accident and emergency waiting target resulted in patients being admitted to the wrong department because they were incompletely investigated; I can think of no instance of a patient being helped by this target.

Targets have worked against proper clinical priorities, have demotivated staff, and have created discord between clinicians and managers. It is galling that the politicians who created them will never admit how much harm they have done.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b953

 


Richard D Spicer, retired consultant surgeon1

1 Bristol BS2 8BJ

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Competing interests: RDS is a recently retired consultant paediatric surgeon.

References


  1.  Gubb J. Have targets done more harm than good in the English NHS? Yes. BMJ 2009;338:a3130. (16 January.)[CrossRef][Medline]
  2.  Bevan G. Have targets done more harm than good in the English NHS? No. BMJ 2009;338:a3129. (16 January.)[CrossRef][Medline]

2.  Nice PR for a local Australian Chiropractor helping a US colleague with her study :  US chiropractic paediatric specialist Dr Jeanne Ohm, will look at how chiropractic care can reduce the high rate of Caesarean section deliveries.


3. Vitamin C may help lower Gout .  Here is the link for free download:  


5. Here is a new paper authored by 2 applied kinesiologists from Austria .  "New AK paper shows postural, muscular, endocrinological, meridian, and nutritional aspects of thyroid disorders!"  The Moncayo's have presented an amazing study:  A musculoskeletal model of low grade connective tissue inflammation in patients with thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO): the WOMED concept of lateral tension and its general implications in disease.  .  It is a free download.  Thanks to Dr. Cuthbert for the link.

6. Here is another paper by Dr. Moncayo et al. that may also be of interest :    The role of selenium, vitamin C, and zinc in benign thyroid diseases and of selenium in malignant thyroid diseases: Low selenium levels are found in subacute and silent thyroiditis and in papillary and follicular carcinoma

7.  Dr. Maffetone sent the following update with his work that you may find interesting:
Greetings,
the new edition of In Fitness and In Health appears to be on track for its April release. The Web site now has the new table of contents posted in the book section. This new and revised 5th edition is an exciting upgrade from the previous book. There are new chapters (including the gut, body mechanics and the organic food movement) and a lot of new information and more emphasis on “how-to” so you can easily address your fitness and health needs. The basic philosophy is still the same – you are in charge of your body and brain. The new 5th edition gives you the necessary tools – in the form of solid scientific and practical information – to help prevent and avoid disease and dysfunction, and live a long and happy life. 

In addition, a new book with Coralee Thompson, MD, is finished and due out by summer! Healthy Brains–Healthy Children is for all parents, future parents, grandparents and those in healthcare who work with children. It addresses the needs of all children – from those who are healthy to the full spectrum of those who are brain-injured. The introduction for this book is now posted on the Phil & Coralee page. 

For all those asking about the 3rd article in the serious on manual biofeedback – it’s now posted in the manual biofeedback section(in Doctor's, etc.). As promised, this article includes a section on the TMJ muscles.

Yes, there are more recipes (in Members!). While the dessert recipe requests keep coming in fast, there is suddenly a call for salads. Here are three special ones that are nutritious, delicious and unique. 

The new album – Between Us – continues to be heard around the world. It’s still available as a download from the Web site (click here), from your favorite online stores (iTunes an 40-plus others) and if you want to quickly order a real album, call 800 289 6923 -- or order it online from the homepage.

Thanks again for all your support. 

Phil
www.philmaffetone.com

PS Thanks for all your comments about our new music video (it's on the homepage).

8. This is one of my favourite quotes by Dr. Goodheart.  He often closed his research manuals with this statement:  "Man possesses a potential for recovery through the innate intelligence of the human structure.  This recovery potential with which he is endowed merely waits for your hand, your heart and your mind to bring it into potential being and allow the recovery which is man's natural heritage to take place. This benefits man, it benefits you and it benefits our profession. Do it."





9. Soto USA has listed the papers authored by their members and now indexed on pubmed as:

The Journal of Chiropractic Medicine


  

As chiropractic builds its evidence base the more chiropractic publications that gain PubMed recognition the better for chiropractic and the healthcare of our society. This month the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine has gained recognition and is a referenced journal searchable in PubMed in the near future. See our following articles now located in PubMed: 

Getzoff H, Disc Technique: An Adjusting Procedure for any Lumbar Discogenic Syndrome Journal of Chiropractic Medicine Fall 2003; 2(4): 142-4. 

Klingensmith RD, Blum CL, The Relationship Between Pelvic Block Placement and Radiographic Pelvic Analysis Journal of Chiropractic Medicine Summer 2003; 2(3): 102-6. 

Farmer, JA, Blum, CL, Dural Port Therapy, Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, Spr 2002; 1(2): 1-8. 

Blum, CL, Role of Chiropractic and Sacro Occipital Technique in Asthma, Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, Mar 2002; 1(1): 16-22.: 


10.  Here is a list of recent papers presented at the WFC/FCER ICCR conference by SOTO members:

WFC/FCER ICCR Conference


 Montreal, Canada, April 30 - May 2, 2009 

Five SOT paper submitted to the ICCR conference were accepted for presentation at this conference. Three of the accepted papers were papers presented at last year's SOT research conference. So some doctor's hard work paid off with the next step after this conference being getting the papers published in a peer reviewed journal. 

Congratulations to Drs. O. Nelson DeCamp, Stéphane Provencher. Mary Unger-Boyd, David Rozeboom, Thomas Bloink, Jason Zablotney, and Martin Rosen. 

DeCamp ON, Provencher S, Unger-Boyd M.Investigating Sacroiliac Syndrome: A Pilot Study. WFC's and FCER's International Conference on Chiropractic Research, Montreal, Canada - Apr 30 - May 2, 2009. 

Rozeboom D, Blum CL. Sacral Block Technic: Balancing Sacrospinal Function: A Case Report. WFC's and FCER's International Conference on Chiropractic Research, Montreal, Canada - Apr 30 - May 2, 2009 (CM-14). 

Bloink T, Blum CL. Autism and Language Delay, Integration of SOT Cranial Therapy and Tomatis Auditory Therapy to Stimulate the Auditory Cortex: A Case Report.. WFC's and FCER's International Conference on Chiropractic Research, Montreal, Canada - Apr 30 - May 2, 2009 (CM-17). 

Zablotney J, Blum CL. Chiropractic care and the Situs Inversus patient: Modifying technique to match anatomy. WFC's and FCER's International Conference on Chiropractic Research, Montreal, Canada - Apr 30 - May 2, 2009 (CM-18). 

Rosen M, Blum CL. Chiropractic Care of Pediatric Nonmusculoskeletal Conditions: A Case Series. WFC's and FCER's International Conference on Chiropractic Research, Montreal, Canada - Apr 30 - May 2, 2009 (CM-34). 


11.  Here are this weeks comments:

Loved your news today!  Scott Cuthbert.

Plus thank you for all those at the ICAK-A seminar who commented and appreciated AK News and Views.
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 97
0

Posted by on in MyBlog


Hello everyone, 
This coming week is the ICAK -Australasia meeting with Prof. Joe Schafer.    This news blast has many items of interest .

1.  New articles for the public on icak.com.
2.  The biography of Dr. Janse, one of Dr. Goodheart's teachers is now available.
3.  The JAOA includes a discussion about Autism.
4.  Handle stress better.
5.  A youtube clip about body energy.
6.  New medical pediatric practice includes everything except chiropractic.
7.  More AK papers to be indexed from Journal of Chiropractic Medicine.
8.  The chinese way to rehab you from the internet.
9.  Chinese medicine working holiday invitation from Notre Dame Uni in Sydney.
10.  AK has always been for the "thinking" doctor.
11.  A youtube clip of a lady late for her plane.
12.  Art decorations for your office from Christies- amazing.
13.  The readers speak.
14.  How exercise can kill you
15.  How to increase your self esteem during times like these.
16.  Glen Doman's email about how children learn.  I love this one.  A youtube clip is embedded in the email.

1.  I have begun the visitor's section of the website www.icak.com.  Click the buttton "public health information" and you will be taken to a list of articles published by the ICAK in the past.  We are still in the process of converting them to .htm but they are all available as word files and as complete newsletters in .pdf.  I am looking forward to adding a section on the "mental/emotion" side of the health triangle next.  It has been donated by Dr. John Diamond, who helped pioneer much of this work in AK. 

2.  I met Dr. Janse a few times.  He was a most inspiring Chiropractor .  Dr. Goodheart trained under him during his undergraduate education at the National College of Chiropractic.
This book chronicles the life and story of Dr. Janse and his contribution to the world of Chiropractic.  Dr. Andre Kleynhans was his assistant before coming to Australia to set up the RMIT Chiropractic program.  Enjoy the read:  

3.  There are some interesting papers with free downloads  from the US journal of Osteopathy such as "Does PreNatal ultrasound increase the risk of Autism?"   


4.  Do you get lost in the feelings that stress causes?  Here is a great quote to help understand what is happening:  "It is easy to be swept away by some overwhelming feeling, so it's helpful to remember that any stressful feeling is like a compassionate alarm clock that says, "You're caught in the dream."" ~ Byron Katie from Loving What Is

5.  Does this happen when you make your cranial adjustments ?  Here is a light hearted look at the spiritual cranial connection with amazing graphics.  Thanks to Dr. Cuthbert for this link:  

6.  Here is a great video clip about treating kids .  Many different methods are used in this clip.  I found it interesting that the Pediatrician interviewed uses so many "unproven" methods in her clinic EXCEPT chiropractic because there is not enough evidence to describe its safety.  What do you think.  Watch, you will see a little cranial, a little AK, A little activator etc: 

7.  A new chiropractic journal will be indexed in pubmed shortly .  It contains a number of AK related papers.  I will let you know as soon as they are listed.  This exciting news will lift our profile higher.   Here is the link to the journal:  

8.  Too much internet ?  Here is the chinese answer:

9.  Here is an invitation to attend a great Chinese medicine tour .  For those who need a working holiday.  This is co sponsored by the University that Researcher and Chiropractor  Henry Pollard is now working with.  Notre Dame University, Sydney.

10.  I like this perspective of reality, in many ways it describes the great variety of results we get with patients and the skills that doctors achieve.  AK is a journey for a thinking doctor and it only ends when you no longer think about what you do:  
"Seeing is not believing; believing is seeing! You see things, not as they are, but as you are." ~ Eric Butterworth from Spiritual Economics

11.  When you are traveling to your conferences , always be on time.  Don't let this happen to you:  


13.  comments about AK News and Views that arrived this week:
Hi Donald
Very interesting articles.
Thanks
Hans Boehnke

thanks for another informative message Don, yet again!
Antonia




14.  Exercise can find your weaknesses and kill you , even with young athletes:  



15.  Here is a great article that encourages self esteem by Dennis Waitley.  In times like these we need to stay positive in our practice.

6 Behaviors that Increase Self-Esteem
by Denis Waitley

Learn more about Denis at: www.DenisWaitleySpecials.com

Following are six behaviors that increase self-esteem, enhance your self-confidence, and spur your motivation. You may recognize some of them as things you naturally do in your interactions with other people. But if you don’t, I suggest you motivate yourself to take some of these important steps immediately.

First, greet others with a smile and look them directly in the eye. A smile and direct eye contact convey confidence born of self-respect. In the same way, answer the phone pleasantly whether at work or at home, and when placing a call, give your name before asking to speak to the party you want to reach. Leading with your name underscores that a person with self-respect is making the call.

Second, always show real appreciation for a gift or complement. Don’t downplay or sidestep expressions of affection or honor from others. The ability to accept or receive is a universal mark of an individual with solid self-esteem.

Third, don’t brag. It’s almost a paradox that genuine modesty is actually part of the capacity to gracefully receive compliments. People who brag about their own exploits or demand special attention are simply trying to build themselves up in the eyes of others — and that’s because they don’t perceive themselves as already worthy of respect.

Fourth, don’t make your problems the centerpiece of your conversation. Talk positively about your life and the progress you’re trying to make. Be aware of any negative thinking, and take notice of how often you complain. When you hear yourself criticize someone — and this includes self-criticism — find a way to be helpful instead of critical.

Fifth, respond to difficult times or depressing moments by increasing your level of productive activity. When your self-esteem is being challenged, don’t sit around and fall victim to “paralysis by analysis.” The late Malcolm Forbes said, “Vehicles in motion use their generators to charge their own batteries. Unless you happen to be a golf cart, you can’t recharge your battery when you’re parked in the garage!”

Sixth, choose to see mistakes and rejections as opportunities to learn. View a failure as the conclusion of one performance, not the end of your entire career. Own up to your shortcomings, but refuse to see yourself as a failure. A failure may be something you have done — and it may even be something you’ll have to do again on the way to success — but a failure is definitely not something you are.

Even if you’re at a point where you’re feeling very negatively about yourself, be aware that you’re now ideally positioned to make rapid and dramatic improvement. A negative self-evaluation, if it’s honest and insightful, takes much more courage and character than the self-delusions that underlie arrogance and conceit. I’ve seen the truth of this proven many times in my work with athletes. After an extremely poor performance, a team or an individual athlete often does much better the next time out, especially when the poor performance was so bad that there was simply no way to shirk responsibility for it. Disappointment, defeat, and even apparent failure are in no way permanent conditions unless we choose to make them so. On the contrary, these undeniably painful experiences can be the solid foundation on which to build future success.


16.  Glen Doman has been around AK'ers for many years .  I have met him a number of times and always enjoy what he has to say.
The original work of Cross Crawl and Brain patterning we use in AK came from his and Carl Delacato's work.
Here is a link to his discussion about how children learn. 

Here is his latest newsletter:

 
This Issue

Glenn Doman on a

Child's Love of Learning

Physiological Growth: Clean Air

A Mother Sees Great Results

When Dairy is Removed

What To Do About

Your Brain-Injured
Child Course


Philadelphia, USA
April 20 - 24, 2009
Aguascalientes, Mexico
May 24 - 29, 2009
Singapore
June 29 - July 3  
Pisa, Italy
July 20 - 24, 2009
 

Learn more
Fill out an application
Parents Comments

For more info, contact:
Harriet Pinsker
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For the Mexico course, contact: 
Elisa Rodriguez
 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

How To Multiply Your
Baby's Intelligence Course

Philadelphia, USA
March 22-28, 2009
Fauglia, Italy
April 19-24, 2009
Barcelona, Spain
April 25-29, 2009
Spanish Only 
Philadelphia, USA
May 31-June 6, 2009

For more info, contact:
Gwenne Sulby
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Press Online Bookstore
All Bit of Intelligence sets are on sale now. 


Infant Crawling Track
Announcement
Since our first eNewsletter
was published in July, over
1,500 new subscribers have signed up!

Was this eNewsletter forwarded to you?


Do you have a friend who is not getting it?

Suggestion Box

Join the Facebook group for supporters of The Institutes! We currently have over 200 members, with new people joining every day.
Click here to view
our Facebook group!
Here are some videos
not currently on our YouTube page, but worth watching:

Glenn Doman's
Introduction of The Institutes

Nightline Features The Institutes
Join The Institutes
Alumni Assocation!

"It is so wonderful. It is like entering into an amazing planet full of professional mothers.  I lost myself there. It is the best."
   - Christina, mom from New York 

 
Are you a graduate of theHow To Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence Course?

Do you have questions about your program you would like answered by The Institutes staff?

Would you like to share ideas with other parents who are graduates as well?

Subscribe to The In-Report!

Published twice a year, this journal is one of the best ways to learn about the progress made by children and parents using the programs of The Institutes.
 


Special features, staff biographies, and articles by staff provide invaluable information.

Did you miss some of our eNewsletters? Don't worry! Here are some of their featured articles:

Visit Our YouTube Page!
 
 
The Gentle
Revolutionary

February 2009                                                                         Volume 9
 
 
"Children have five laboratory tests
available to them: to see, to hear,
to feel, to taste and to smell. They use
these lab tests superbly."
                                - Glenn Doman 
 

Glenn Doman
Describes Why
Children
Love to Learn

The Founder explains
that a child desires to learn
more than anything else.

  

      In February's featured video, Glenn Doman teaches about how children use their five sensory pathways to learn about the environment around them. He explains that children would rather learn than eat, and that children view learning as play. He explains why children make the greatest scientists, and why their curiosity must be respected by adults.


February's Featured Video

  
 
 
Physiological Growth 
Clean Air
The health of our children begins with the air they breathe. 
     Certainly every mother and father wants to create a home environment that is healthy in every way.  We are all aware that the chemicals produced by our modern way of life are increasingly compromising our environment. Some countries have had such serious contamination with heavy metals that national standards of normality have been changed to reflect the new reality that the "average" citizen of that nation is significantly contaminated with these dangerous substances. In these nations, what is currently considered "normal" would have been considered unacceptable levels of contamination just a few years ago.         A baby born today in Philadelphia (or your hometown) does not start out with the clean slate that our parents and grandparents had. Instead, that baby has already experienced exposure to these elements from his mother, who is contaminated.       While heavy metals are not the only problem in the air, the problems these substances cause can be considerable. Heavy metals damage or reduce the function of the central nervous system. They can cause damage to the lungs, the kidneys, the liver, and other vital organs. Long-term exposure can cause progressive physical, muscular, and neurological degenerative processes.      What can we do about these things that are so basic, so important, and so very alarming?      One thing we can do is to clean the air that is critical to health and well-being.      Urban and suburban families are exposed to hundreds of pollutants in the air. But even families who live in a more pristine environment in the countryside have agricultural pollutants, pollens, and molds to consider. Some countries have burn off fires or forest fires. Other countries have "yellow sands" that are carried thousands of miles in the atmosphere and pollute the air for months.       What can we do to exercise some control over our own environment? Create an improved home environment through the use of air filters and purifiers.  HEPA air filters provide hospital-level technology to help clean the air at home. These filters have the advantage that they can be kept running 24 hours a day but the disadvantage that the filters must be kept very clean or the filters themselves become a cause of problems.
     Air purifiers can also be very effective. Ozone purifiers, for example, are excellent in eliminating bacteria, mold, and mildew. These contaminants can be critical in climates where humidity may be a problem for half the year or longer. All human beings are highly allergic to molds and mildew, so eliminating these elements from the air can make a huge difference, especially for a hurt child with significantly compromised respiratory system or the very young baby who is equally vulnerable. The danger with the ozone purifiers is that the same thing that makes them effective also poses dangers for us if we do not use them properly. We use our ozone purifiers as an air cleanser several times daily, but never when we are occupying the space. The ozone purifier runs when the house is empty, but when we return it is turned off. In this way, we can have the advantages of this effective technology without the risk of the adverse effects of ozone on the human body. Many families choose to have both a HEPA system and an ozone purifier and thus gain the advantages of both. The HEPA runs around the clock and the ozone purifier perhaps 15 to 30 minutes twice a day. This double system can provide a much cleaner environment for the entire family. This helps to significantly reduce the exposure to those things that we cannot avoid once we leave the house. In many of our children we see greatly reduced colds, bronchitis, asthma, and other respiratory problems. In children with allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances, these conditions may also be significantly reduced. 

Challenge
     Find out more about how you can clean the air in your house. The Internet provides a wealth of data on this subject. Air cleaning technology is improving every day. There are air filters that use only water now so the expense of filters is eliminated. There are super vacuum cleaners that clean the air, and air conditioners and dehumidifiers may also help to create a cleaner home. 
     Find out what the state-of-the-art technologies are available in your country. Find out what contaminants are in your air and the best ways to remove them. Write and tell us what you learn. It may be very helpful to hundreds of other families who read this newsletter.
 
 
A Mother Sees Results After Removing Dairy from Daughter's Diet
After reading the eNewsletter's article on dairy, a mother takes action and sees great results. 

   The Gentle Revolutionary printed an article called "Why Dairy Products are Harmful for Your Child" in its October publication. It described how the health of children often dramatically improves after the removal of dairy from their diets. One mother took action after reading the article, then wrote to us describing the results she saw in her daughter.
Dear Institutes Staff,
     On the 14th of October 2008 you sent us a packet of information regarding nutrition and the use of cow's milk and milk products.
     It is useful to mention that at the beginning we were cautious due to the general knowledge concerning nutrition and the general definitions that come from doctors, who regard milk as a basic food that helps the development of bones, particularly for children.
     Despite all of the above, we decided to follow your instructions.
     From the 14th of October until the present time, all milk products have been excluded from the nutritional program of my daughter, Sophia, who is seven years old and has suffered from cerebral palsy since she was born.
     Eleven weeks later, we can notice clearly the changes in her health status.
     Despite the fact that we are at the middle of winter, Sophia has not suffered from any disease or virus, not even from a common flu!
     At a specific period when all the members of the family where suffering from a virus that caused vomiting, diarrhea, and fever, Sophia was not infected!
     Even when her surroundings are full of children every day and her two older sisters go to school and occasionally fall to bed ill because of an infection, which is common during childhood, Sophia has not fallen ill - not even for one day. Her disposition is very good and her appetite has improved, so I can say that her health status is better than ever before. Additionally, she had a new tooth that took a long time to appear, which made us worry about it.
     I would also like to mention that except for your instruction about the milk products, we also followed carefully each day all the nutrition program as it is described in the book The Pathway to Wellness.
     I could not believe that the abstinence from milk products would benefit my daughter's health in that obvious a way. I was really anxious about whether she could accept not eating cheese or the toasts that she loved so much, as they were part of her daily nutrition for many years.
     When we explained to her why we were doing that and what we wanted to achieve, Sophia cooperated with no argument. I believe that for this development we own you a lot, and that without doubt the instruction you gave us was vital.
     Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
 
                       Yours faithfully,
                               Sophia's parents
 

 
 
 


 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 100
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hello Everyone,

I look forward to seeing all the ICAK-Australian members in Sydney at our AGM 13-15 of march.  Prof. Joe Schafer will be presenting and is amazing.

Here is the list of articles that came through this week:
1.  NET's new study for anxiety and depression came out this week
2.  An article about household solvents causing Leukemia in children
3.  Homeopathy courses in UK Universities begin shutting down.
4.  An interesting spin on "Basic Kinesiology" from the UK academics.
5.  I loved this quote about what we can learn from children
6.  How to play "amazing grace" on your iphone.
7.  India is working on patenting "Yoga".  Should we patent AK?
8.  A compliment for "AK News and Views.
9.  Sports chiropractic website.
10.  AK commentary is indexed.
11.  The brain adapts and grows, new research.
12.  A study on the value of humour with patients.
13.  A study about the success (or not) of orthopedic surgery and joint pain.








1. A new study for NET shows promise for this approach to helping patients with anxiety and depression .  This study shows how one clinic can accumulate data suitable for further more detailed study:  




4.  Here is a link describing the quest for UK academics beginning to bridge towards basic applied kinesiology  with classic kinesiology as their research projects continue to grow:  

5.  I loved this quote about what we can learn from children  by Jim Rohn, business philosopher  :

Remember the master teacher once said 2000 years ago, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances are zero, you haven't got a prayer." A major consideration for adults.

Be like children and remember there are four ways to be more like a child no matter how old you get –

1) Curiosity - Be curious. Childish curiosity. Learn to be curious like a child. What will kids do if they want to know something bad enough? You're right. They will bug you. Kids can ask a million questions. You think they're through. They've got another million. They will keep plaguing you. They can drive you right to the brink.

Also kids use their curiosity to learn. Have you ever noticed that while adults are stepping on ants, children are studying them? A child's curiosity is what helps them to reach, learn and grow.

2) Excitement - Learn to get excited like a child. There is nothing that has more magic than childish excitement. So excited you hate to go to bed at night. Can't wait to get up in the morning. So excited that you're about to explode. How can anyone resist that kind of childish magic? Now, once in awhile I meet someone who says, "Well, I'm a little too mature for all that childish excitement." Isn't that pitiful? You've got to weep for these kinds of people. All I've got to say is, "If you're too old to get excited, you're old." Don't get that old.

3) Faith - Faith like a child. Faith is childish. How else would you describe it? Some people say, "Let's be adult about it." Oh no. No. Adults too often have a tendency to be overly skeptical. Some adults even have a tendency to be cynical. Adults say, "Yeah. I've heard that old positive line before. It will be a long day in June before I fall for that positive line. You've got to prove to me it's any good." See, that's adult, but kids aren't that way. Kids think you can get anything. They are really funny. You tell kids, "We're going to have three swimming pools." And they say, "Yeah. Three. One each. Stay out of my swimming pool." See, they start dividing them up right away, but adults are not like that. Adults say, "Three swimming pools? You're out of your mind. Most people don't even have one swimming pool. You'll be lucky to get a tub in the back yard." You notice the difference? No wonder the master teacher said, "Unless you can become like little children, your chances, they're skinny."

4) Trust - Trust is a childish virtue, but it has great merit. Have you heard the expression "sleep like a baby"? That's it. Childish trust. After you've gotten an A+ for the day, leave it in somebody else's hands.

Curiosity, excitement, faith and trust. Wow, what a powerful combination to bring (back) into our lives.


6.  Many of you have an iphone, some don't .  Here is a little spiritual music you can play on it.amazing grace. Here's the write up .


7.  A few years ago France copyrighted the word "Champagne" and enforced its copyright worldwide .  Sparkling wine worldwide cannot use the word.  Only the French can use it.
Traditional knowledge continues to be claimed around the world.  India is in the process of patenting Yoga.  Many of you may practice or recommend this art for your patients. Maybe this is the time we should claim and patent our knowledge of applied kinesiology?

  
8.  I haven't include the compliments that come in for the AK News and Views.  Every week someone sends me a note of appreciation.  Here is this weeks:
Dear Donald,

I just started receiving your emails. I don't know how long you have been doing this but I love what you send out. 

With much appreciation,

Eugene Charles, Diplomate, USA



10.  Here is the indexed review Dr. Cuthbert and I did for the "kinesiology" paper .  Nice to see that even though it was a commentary, it was still indexed:  
 


12.  Humour is a great asset when communicating with patients .  Of course, it has to be appropriate and pertinent.  Here is a recent study from a Nursing Journal that may interest you.  Just in case the link doesn't work.
Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.

Reconciling the good patient persona with problematic and non-problematic humour: A grounded theory


May McCreaddiea, , ,  and Sally Wigginsb

aNursing Studies, Health in Social Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Row, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom

bDepartment of Psychology, University of Strathclyde, 40 George Street, Glasgow, United Kingdom


Received 12 December 2008;  
accepted 10 January 2009.  
Available online 20 February 2009. 

Abstract

Background

Humour is a complex phenomenon, incorporating cognitive, emotional, behavioural, physiological and social aspects. Research to date has concentrated on reviewing (rehearsed) humour and ‘healthy’ individuals via correlation studies using personality-trait based measurements, principally on psychology students in laboratory conditions. Nurses are key participants in modern healthcare interactions however, little is known about their (spontaneous) humour use.

Aims

Twenty Clinical Nurse Specialist-patient interactions and their respective peer group interactions in a country of the United Kingdom.

Participants and setting

Twenty Clinical Nurse Specialist–patient interactions and their respective peer groups in a country of the United Kingdom.

Method

An evolved constructivist grounded theory approach investigated a complex and dynamic phenomenon in situated contexts. Naturally occurring interactions provided the basis of the data corpus with follow-up interviews, focus groups, observation and field notes. A constant comparative approach to data collection and analysis was applied until theoretical sufficiency incorporating an innovative interpretative and illustrative framework. This paper reports the grounded theory and is principally based upon 20 CNS–patient interactions and follow-up data. The negative case analysis and peer group interactions will be reported in separate publications.

Findings

The theory purports that patients’ use humour to reconcile a good patient persona. The core category of the good patient persona, two of its constituent elements (compliance, sycophancy), conditions under which it emerges and how this relates to the use of humour are outlined and discussed. In seeking to establish and maintain a meaningful and therapeutic interaction with the CNS, patients enact a good patient persona to varying degrees depending upon the situated context. The good patient persona needs to be maintained within the interaction and is therefore reconciled with potentially problematic or non-problematic humour use. Humour is therefore used to deferentially package concerns (potentially problematic humour) or affiliate (potentially non-problematic humour). This paper reviews the good patient persona (compliance, sycophancy), potentially problematic humour (self-disparaging, gallows) and briefly, non-problematic humour (incongruity).

Conclusions

The middle-range theory differentiates potentially problematic humour from non-problematic humour and notes that how humour is identified and addressed is central to whether patients concerns are resolved or not. The study provides a robust review of humour in healthcare interactions with important implications for practice. Further, this study develops and extends humour research and contributes to an evolved application of constructivist grounded theory.



13.  Here is an interesting study comparing the success of orthopedic surgery for joint pain.  Note that while hip surgery is the most successful, back surgery fails miserably!  I have only ever recommended surgery for disc sequestration where it has always been successful, so far.
A Comparison of Common Elective Orthopaedic Surgical Procedures. F1000 Ranking: "Changes Clinical Practice"

Nikolai Bogduk

F1000 Medicine.  2009; ©2009 Medicine Reports Ltd.
Posted 02/18/2009


Hansson T, Hansson E, Malchau H
Spine 2008 Dec 1 33(25):2819-30

Commentary from Nikolai Bogduk

Changes Clinical Practice: Physicians should avoid performing surgery on patients with chronic low back pain unless and until it can be shown that there is a genuine prospect of it improving quality of life, instead of making it deteriorate.

This study showed that total hip replacement is the most effective orthopaedic operation for pain and that surgery for spinal stenosis or disc herniation is about as effective as total knee replacement. Surgery for lower back pain was patently unsuccessful.

By reputation, total hip replacement is the most successful orthopaedic procedure for relieving chronic pain. It provides a benchmark against which the efficacy of other procedures can be compared. This study compared the gains in quality of life achieved by total hip replacement, total knee replacement, surgery for spinal stenosis, disc excision for lumbar disc herniation, and arthrodesis for chronic low back pain. Outcomes were assessed using the SF36 and EuroQoL (EQ-5D) instruments at one year after surgery. Total hip replacement was clearly the most successful intervention. It reduced pain to levels normal for age, reduced physical functioning to within 75% normal levels, and restored quality of life to virtually normal levels. Total knee replacement was the next most successful procedure. It all but eliminated pain, improved physical functioning to 60% normal, and restored quality of life to within 65% of normal. Surgery for spinal stenosis and for disc herniation were not as successful as total hip replacement but were comparable to total knee replacement in their success. Pain was reduced to within 60% of normal levels, function improved to 65% normal, and quality of life was improved by about 50%. For chronic lower back pain, improvements were statistically significant but clinically negligible. Although pain was reduced and function improved slightly, outcomes remained in the moderately affected range, quality of life was not improved and, indeed, was rendered worse, on average. These data show that surgery for spinal stenosis and for disc herniation compare well with archetypical orthopaedic operations. Neither is as effective as total hip replacement, but the gains achieved are nonetheless laudable. Disconcerting are the outcomes of surgery for chronic lower back pain, whose outcomes do not even approach those of other orthopaedic procedures. Indeed, the data show that patients with back pain are rendered worse off by surgery. These data echo the many concerns raised to date about the utility of surgery for back pain. The distinction of this study is that it used assessment instruments that are not condition-specific, and which allow comparison of outcomes between different conditions. The utility spine surgery for back pain is so lacking that it does not deserve to be counted in the armamentarium of successful orthopaedic procedures.

Faculty of 1000 Medicine Evaluations, Dissents and Author responses for: [Hansson T, Hansson E, Malchau H. Utility of spine surgery: a comparison of common elective orthopaedic surgical procedures. Spine 2008 Dec 1 33(25):2819-30]. 2009 Jan 26 


Nikolai Bogduk, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Australia 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 93
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,

Dr. DeJarnette was a friend and teacher for Dr. Goodheart.  His work inspired many of the methods we use today.  Many say that SOT is a sister organisation to the ICAK.  We have much in common.  I have included a great video clip of an interview with Dr. Blum.  You will find it insightful and hopefully motivating from a research perspective.  Many other items of interest came through the net this week.  Enjoy.  Donald.

1.  A new back pain study showing the success of chiropractic care compared to standard medical care.
2.  Amazing video interview with Dr. Blum.
3.  AK research studies listed on our website
4.  Here is a knowledge test for spinal problems.
5.  Here is the latest table of contents from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
6.  Here is a list of 10 great books to help boost your business
7.  Dr. Mafetone has updated his work and his website
8.  Here is the link for the latest ICAK-Australasia newsletter
9.  Here is a great article about building your immune system
10.  Older Europeans have better health than older Americans
11.  Here are the latest collection of practice management CD's


1. Thanks to Researcher,  Dr. Charles Blum from SOTO USA for this article .  It is good support for chiropractors success with low back pain.    

2.  Dr. Blum explains how the teaching for SOT  has been standardized and referenced with current research and language so that all teachers are consistent.   This is an amazing effort and a tribute to Dr. Blum and his team.
Here is a video interview with Dr. Blum explaining how this was accomplished.  

3.  This is a similar model to that which Dr. Walther did for Applied Kinesiology in the 1970-80's and AK teachers are now updating. 
Dr. Cuthbert has spent years gathering the same information that is listed in the research section of www.icak.com.  Here you can find many references ranging from conceptual observations to indexed studies that support the work you do in applied kinesiology.


5.  Here is the latest table of contents from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition .  Some of the papers are free downloads.    some include; assessing physical activity, reducing blood pressure with bread, potato chips increases reactive oxygen radicals, how greens help your heart,  how many times you should chew your almonds etc.

6.  Here is a list of 10 great books to help boost your business .  In times like these you need good business principles as well as excellent skills.  


7.  Dr. Mafetone has updated his work and his website.  The 5th edition of his book is coming out in April.   Here is his email:
Greetings!
There are always new items on the web site, especially in the Forum as questions and answers, and comments, get posted regularly. I also have a new radio interview on health, Johnny Cash and other topics in Interviews.

BOOK UPDATE: "In Fitness and In Health." The new 5th edition is in press! I’m waiting for a release date, but it should be sometime in April. You’ll be the first to know the details.

Thanks for all your comments on our new music video – it’s now posted on the homepage in a smaller window for better quality, but you can still find it on YouTube.

A new recipe is posted in the Member’s recipe page: Waffles! No, not the typical junk food ones, but healthy, wheat- and grain-free, fluffy and delicious treats. 

In Doctor’s, etc., Part 3 of Manual Biofeedback is coming soon.

Thanks for all your questions, comments and support. Keep up the good work!

Phil
www.philmaffetone.com

If you get to the members area and it asks for a password then use: touch4life.



10.  Older Europeans have better health than older Americans:

Published 18 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b675
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b675

News

Older Americans are not as healthy as older Europeans, study says

Janice Hopkins Tanne

1 New York

Among adults aged 50 to 74, Americans are less healthy than western Europeans, including the English, at almost all wealth levels, and only the richest Americans have the same level of health as their English and other European counterparts. These are some of the findings of a study published in the American Journal of Public Health (2009;99:540-8, doi:10.2105/AJPH.2008.139469) by authors from the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts; and University College London. They found no difference by sex.

"Americans face a health disadvantage such that no matter what their wealth, their health lags behind that achieved by comparable Europeans. The disadvantage is remarkably pervasive and affects even the wealthy, but is largest for the poor," the study says.

The study looked at data from three similar surveys from 2004: the US Health and Retirement Survey; the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (covering 10 countries and not including any UK countries); and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). The authors classified wealth as a household’s total net worth. They categorised participants’ education in three ways: lower secondary or US high school; upper secondary (or more than high school but less than a college graduate in the US), and college graduate or higher.

Participants in the study were asked for self reported doctors’ diagnoses of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, or high blood sugar; cancer (except skin cancer); lung disease; and disability (measured in terms of limitations in activities of daily living and in mobility and fine motor control).

More than half of participants reported at least one chronic disease, and the prevalence of each health condition was higher in the US than in either England or Europe. About 18% of US respondents reported heart disease, compared with 12% in England and 11% in Europe. About 11% of US adults reported having cancer, compared with 6% in England and 5% in Europe. Limitations on mobility were reported by 59% of US adults, compared with 50%in England and 43% in Europe.

The US health disadvantage was "most substantial in the lowest tertile," the study says. "After we adjusted for demographics, 22% of adults in the bottom wealth tertile reported heart disease, compared with 17% in the bottom tertile in England and 13% in the bottom tertile in Europe," the authors say.

England and the US were similar in outcomes between the top and bottom tertiles. "Except for cancer, the prevalence of chronic diseases and functional limitations increased with decreasing wealth tertiles in all countries," the study says.

Health differences by wealth in Europe tended to be smaller in southern and Mediterranean countries and larger in Scandinavian countries.

Lower disease prevalence in Europe combined with higher survival rates in the US might partly explain their results, the authors say. They note that the US health system focuses more on treatment and less on prevention, and most European countries have a stronger orientation to primary care than the US.

Obesity in the US is higher than in Europe, but smoking is more common in Europe. European health policies are "more generous and egalitarian when compared with those in the United States, may improve health outcomes and reduce disparities," the study says.

"Tackling risk factors such as obesity and improving the financing and delivery of health services particularly among the poor might partly contribute to eliminating health disparities. Yet changes in broader social policies and determinants may also be required," the authors conclude.



11.  Here are the latest collection of practice management CD's from the American Chiropractic Association.  Great knowledge, great value to help you in your practice.
Past Programs Now Available on CD
 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 98
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hi Everyone,
Our list of people interested in AK News and Views continues to grow.  You may wonder where the items come from.  Before computers I collected clinically useful stuff that I could use to help my practice and my patients in scrap books.  I picked up this habit from working with Dr. Goodheart in the early 1970's.  Whenever I went to a lecture he was giving, he always spoke about the latest book or journal he was reading and the ideas that came from them to help him develop new ways of helping his patients.  I thought this was a great idea and followed his model.  I now have almost 30,000 articles and journal abstracts in my filemaker pro data base that I can reference in an instant.  In the early days we typed everything.  Then scanners made life easier.  Now the internet cut and paste is so much faster.  Sometimes I find articles I think may be interesting for my colleagues and friends so I put them in these emails for you.  I realise not everyone has my passion but I hope you find something of interest that will help you in your life and practice.  To me, I am just passing on a legacy that Dr. Goodheart passed to me.

Best wishes and Happy Valentines Day coming up.

Donald

Here are this weeks items:
1.  Great video clip of a Chiro husband and wife discussing posture.
2.  A new spin on "placebo" studies.
3.  A study about different patient booking systems.
4.  Want to study more skills with Sacro Occipital Technique.  Here are the Australian dates.
5.  Here is the website link for the book about helping "Disconnected Kids".
6.  The Valentines authored the best of the Applied Kinesiology books in 1986.  Here is the link for the e-copy and  for the book order.
7.  Here is a great Magazine story about Dr. John Diamond and his work with AK and music.  His website is also listed with lots of free stuff.
8.  A case of back pain caused by too much fat pressing on the spinal cord.  1st time I have seen this.  



2.  Should "placebo" trials really be called what they are, no treatment trials?  This would get rid of the mystique of "placebo"  as an excuse for results that are unexplained and bring the illusions of results back to some sort of reality where "placebo" is not an entity in itself.  I liked this book review. 
 
The Placebo Response and the Power of Unconscious Healing

 

 


 
 PDF
 PDA Full Text
 


 
 Add to Personal Archive
 Add to Citation Manager
 Notify a Friend
 E-mail When Cited
 E-mail When Letters Appear
 


 
 
By Richard Kradin. 278 pp., illustrated. New York, Routledge, 2008. $40. ISBN 978-0-415-95618-5.

 

Richard Kradin, as he explains in the acknowledgements section of his book, sets out to develop "an explanatory model for the placebo response," with a particular interest in mind–body physiology and the possible mechanisms of the response — meaning beneficial responses to the fact of treatment, rather than to the treatment itself. Kradin does indeed describe in detail various beliefs about and explanations of placebo responses. One difficulty in attempts to explain and analyze placebo effects, as Kradin recognizes at least some of the time, is that the response is not measured in clinical trials. What we measure is the change in the placebo group — whatever its cause. This uncertainty makes it very hard to discover and describe the cause of the response.

Names matter. If placebo-controlled trials were instead called "blinded no-treatment controlled trials," would people think that a change in the group that received no treatment was the result of a placebo effect? In fact, as Kradin recognizes and explains in a chapter called "A Brief History of Medicine and the Changing Implications of Placebos," the placebo group is there to account for all changes in the patients that are not the result of treatment. Patients not receiving treatment may improve for many reasons other than that of having a true placebo response, including the natural history of a disease, other treatment or environmental change, and optimistic assessment of the patient's health by the patient or the physician.

With regard to the natural history of a disease, everyone would know that a placebo group in an upper respiratory infection trial, for example, would show marked improvement by 2 weeks and would consider that to be the result of the natural history of the disease — not a placebo response. People are less aware of how much spontaneous improvement there can be in patients with many other conditions, such as depression, insomnia, low back pain, and chronic fatigue. Apart from spontaneous variability, patients generally enter clinical trials when their symptoms are relatively severe (the entry criteria assure this), so that even for patients with chronic illness, "regression to the mean" will, on average, lead to improvement.

Other treatment or environmental change can also cause patients to improve. The treatment environment itself may lead to improvement. In depression trials, for example, the frequent conversations patients have with nurses and doctors and the assessments they receive from them, which are similar to some recommended therapies, have been thought to contribute to the striking improvements that are often seen in the placebo groups.

Patients may also seem to improve because of optimistic assessments that are given by themselves or their physicians. Symptomatic conditions are measured either by the patient's assessment of severity or by the physician's interpretation of the patient's status. Optimism arising from a hoped-for drug effect can influence these reports, even if there is no real change.

Kradin perceives all this, to some extent, and even notes that a failure to recognize these influences was at the heart of Henry Beecher's article, "The Powerful Placebo," published in 1955 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, in which "placebo effectiveness" was reported about 35% of the time. But Kradin often slips into describing a change in a placebo group as a placebo effect when we do not know that it is truly a placebo effect. Of course, distinguishing an actual placebo effect from a change in the placebo group is not easy. Perhaps surprisingly, however, there have been a great many trials comparing a drug, a placebo, and in a third arm, no treatment. In such trials, the untreated placebo group and the openly untreatedgroup can be compared. Presumably, the placebo group would be the one with the placebo effect.

Asbjorn Hrobjartsson and Peter Gotzsche, in a classic article entitled, "Is the Placebo Powerless? An Analysis of Clinical Trials Comparing Placebo with No Treatment," published in the Journal in 2001, conducted a systematic review of these studies, which involved more than 8000 patients. They found that there was essentially no advantage for the placebo group as compared with the openly untreated group on binary outcomes, and there was only some evidence of a small effect on subjective continuous outcomes; the strongest effect was for pain, which had by far the most studies and the most patients. There is, of course, a potential observational bias against the openly untreated group that could account for the small suggestion of a response to placebo. There was almost no suggestion of any effect on pharmacologic binary end points. The best available data thus suggest at most a small effect of placebo, best shown for pain, where at least the known endogenous endorphins provide some mechanistic explanation. The experience of the Food and Drug Administration in other settings, such as the treatment of blood pressure, where one might think a placebo effect could occur, has shown that with automated blood pressure monitoring, there is essentially no effect in placebo groups.

If the change seen in a placebo group cannot be considered a placebo effect without further evidence, Kradin's attempts to explain that change and characterize it in various settings (which is what most of his book is about), although interesting and in many respects thoughtful, cannot really succeed.


Robert Temple, M.D. 
Food and Drug Administration 
Rockville, MD 20852 
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


3.  Here are some interesting statistics between different patient booking styles.  I have always found that telling people when you want to see them works best and saves a lot of work at the front desk.

Published 2 February 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b396
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b396

Letters

Choose and book update

Patients’ attendance at clinics is worse with choose and book

In 2006 Wood described how the choose and book appointment system had been imposed with detrimental effects.1 It was intended to improve attendance at clinics, patients choosing the hospital and the time and date of appointment.

We have found that attendance in clinics is worse with choose and book than with traditional general practitioner referrals. In a pilot study at our hospital we observed a significant difference of 18% (choose and book) v 12% (general practitioner) for non-attendance in clinics (2=9.6, df=1, P=0.002). According to a recent study, most patients are not experiencing a significant choice in appointment time, date, or hospital.2

Choose and book has failed to achieve its main goal of improving patients’ satisfaction and attendance. Moreover, it creates an unnecessary economic burden on the health system and jeopardises the prioritisation process by removing clinicians from the process.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b396

 


Prince Cheriyan Modayil, specialist registrar1, Rachael Hornigold, specialist registrar1, Raad John Glore, specialist registrar1, David A Bowdler,consultant1

1 Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat Surgery, University Hospital Lewisham, London SE13 6UF

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Competing interests: None declared.

References


  1.  Wood J. Patients get four choices for NHS treatments: Choose and book will hinder development of good outpatient services. BMJ2006;332:180.[Free Full Text]
  2.  Green J, McDowall Z, Potts WWH. Does Choose and Book fail to deliver the expected choice of patients? A survey of patients’ experience of outpatient appointment booking. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 2008;8:36.


4.  Here is the Australian SOT schedule for those who enjoy this work.




5.  Here is the latest information about helping children using Chiropractic Neurology principles .  I linked you to the book last week.  Here is the website.


6.  Here is the original book for patients about applied kinesiology that Dave Walther assisted with .  The 2 journalists created a popular and well read book.  It is now available as a free download on this website.  Click the ipaper button and there will be a print command.  This will activate your ability to print the document.  Read it and if you like it, make the link available to all your patients.  You will have to join to access the book.  It is free to join.


7.  Here is a new article about ICAK Diplomate Dr. John Diamond .  He discusses the importance of music and health.  
You will need to leave your email address to access the magazine.  Go to the Table of Contents and then click the first article.  For those of you who don't know, John designed most of the work used today in the emotional/ mental side of the triangle of health with Dr. Goodheart.  His other material is on this website.  All of which I have found very useful over the years.

Here is John's website with lots of information to help your life energy:  

8.  Here is an interesting case of low back pain that may be helped by weight and fat loss.  Interesting.

Published 28 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.a3183
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a3183

An unusual cause of back pain

I Davagnanam, fellow in neuroradiology1, S Harave, specialist registrar in radiology2

1 Department of Neuroradiology, Kings College Hospital, London SE5 9RS , 2Department of Radiology, Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth PO6 3LY

Correspondence to: I Davagnanam  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

A 26 year old man with no relevant medical history presented to his general practitioner with an 18 month history of progressive chronic back pain. He had difficulty walking long distances, with progressive pain and weakness in his legs, and had experienced erectile dysfunction in recent months. He was referred to a neuroscience centre for further evaluation, which confirmed the clinical findings and documented a clinical loss of perianal sensation.

His body mass index was 29.8 (normal range: 18.50-24.99). He was not on exogenous steroids and had no clinical signs or symptoms of Cushing’s disease.

Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar spine was performed (figs 1 and 2).

 


View larger version (124K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
[PowerPoint Slide for Teaching]
 		Fig 1 Sagittal T1 weighted image of the lumbosacral spine

 


View larger version (141K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
[PowerPoint Slide for Teaching]
 		Fig 2 Sagittal T2 weighted image of the lumbosacral spine

 

Questions


1 In which spinal compartment is the abnormality located? 
2 Describe the abnormality? 
3 What is the most likely diagnosis? 

Competing interests: None declared.

Provenance and peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

Patient consent not required (patient anonymised, dead, or hypothetical).


References


  1.  Fassett DR, Schmidt MH. Spinal epidural lipomatosis: a review of its causes and recommendations for treatment. Neurosurg Focus2004;16:E11.[Medline]
  2.  Robertson SC, Traynelis VC, Follett KA, Menezes AH. Idiopathic spinal epidural lipomatosis. Neurosurgery 1997;41:68-74.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]
  3.  Ishikawa Y, Shimada Y, Miyakoshi N, Suzuki T, Hongo M, Kasukawa Y, et al. Decompression of idiopathic lumbar epidural lipomatosis: diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging evaluation and review of the literature. J Neurosurg Spine 2006;4:24-30.[Medline]
  4.  Lisai P, Doria C, Crissantu L, Meloni GB, Conti M, Achene A. Cauda equina syndrome secondary to idiopathic spinal epidural lipomatosis. Spine2001;26:307-9.[Medline]
  5.  Kuhn MJ, Youssef HT, Swan TL, Swenson LC. Lumbar epidural lipomatosis: the "Y" sign of thecal sac compression. Comput Med Imaging Graph 1994;18:367-72.[Medline]
 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 103
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hello everyone,


This week brings a group of articles updating you on current directions in healthcare adjacent to AK.  The new NET study looks very interesting, hopefully with excellent outcomes.  AK research is in action with 2 studies being prepared for publication this year.  If you know of new publications or studies that are in process, please let me know of your progress.

Have a restful weekend.

Donald


1.  An update about Homeopathy in England.
2.  Cortisone works just as well in for shoulders with a systemic application.
3.  A new book about salivary diagnostics with a free paper link.
4.  Another new book about Chiro neurology helping Autism.
5.  NET publishes a new paper to study ADHD using their protocol.
6.  Depression and anxiety can cause neck pain.  Free download.
7.  How to help staff adapt to your new practice style- medical study.





1.  Massage and Naturopathy set minimum standards for registration in the UK but Homeopathy still struggles.  here is a News Item of the dilemma from the BMJ.

Published 26 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b331
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b331

News

MPs criticise UK government’s science adviser for stance on homoeopathy

Jacqui Wise

1 London

MPs have made a scathing attack on John Beddington, the chief scientific adviser, over his defence of government policy on homoeopathy.

The report by the House of Commons’ innovation, universities, science, and skills committee, published this week, states, "We are surprised that rather than champion evidence based science within government he appears to see his role as defending government policy or, in the case of homoeopathy, explaining why there is no clear government policy."

The government currently funds homoeopathic remedies through four specialist NHS hospitals. Phil Willis, the committee chairman, asked Professor Beddington whether he considered the NHS should spend money on homoeopathic treatments. He replied, "I see no evidence beyond the placebo effect that it works." But he went on to say, "The decision on whether you fund homoeopathy as part of the NHS has other factors that are beyond science."

Professor Beddington later gave some examples of qualitative evidence that he said suggested that homoeopathy may be effective in treating certain conditions, such as asthma, rhinitis, hayfever, and influenza.

The committee commented, "We were surprised that Professor Beddingtonchose to offer a selection of papers purporting to provide evidence that homoeopathy may be effective. This included an information pack for primary care groups, rather than the scientific papers on which the pack was based."

The report said, "We found Professor Beddington’s responses . . . on the scientific evidence to support homoeopathy showed a sharp contrast in approach to his job to that of his predecessor, Professor Sir David King, and to be out of step with the view he expressed before he took up his job in December 2007 that government should get ‘the best possible scientific advicethat is available at the time.’"

Edzard Ernst, chair in complementary medicine at Plymouth Peninsula Medical School, said the criticism was justified. He told the BMJ, "Professor Beddington’s remarks are very puzzling; they contradict his own comments from November where he stated there was no evidence for homoeopathy and, more importantly, they contradict the best available trial data."

Professor Ernst added, "His role as scientific adviser is to base everything he says on the evidence, and the totality of the evidence is that homoeopathy does not work."

Professor Beddington has had a much lower media profile than his predecessor. The committee said there were some advantages of his "collegiate" approach and a desire to work within the Whitehall machine. But they warned, "There is a risk that the customary, strong public voice from the government chief scientific adviser advocating policy based on evidence based science will become muted."

The new voluntary register for complementary health care set up by the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council this week has also come in for criticism.

The council was set up by the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, with funding from the Department of Health. It states that complementary practitioners will receive a kitemark if they have met minimum standards of qualification and signed up to a rigorous code of conduct. So far massage therapy and nutritional therapy have the standards in place for registration.

Professor Ernst called the register "a disaster." "What was needed was a comprehensive and mandatory register. It is not mandatory and many complementary professions have opted out. Even worse, it establishes double standards in health care between mainstream and complementary medicine."

Professor Ernst also said that the wrong institution had been charged with the job. "A lobby group should not be regulating the subject," he said.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b308

 

 


The third report of the Commons’ innovation, universities, science and skills committee 

The Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council register is at www.cnhc.org.uk.

 

2.  I can testify to this procedure after tearing my shoulder capsular ligaments lifting my laptop while traveling.  Awful pain with parasthesia and no sleep.  I called the hotel Physician.  A jab of cortisone in the gluteus max and in half an hour the pain was almost gone enough to sleep.  When I woke up it was 80% better and in 3 days my shoulder was back to normal.  First time I had ever used drugs, but I was sold that day.  No needle in the joint is necessary from this new study.  Less damage to the cartilage this way, also.  My bum survived.

 

Published 23 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.a2599
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a2599

Editorials

Corticosteroid injection for rotator cuff disease

Systemic injection of corticosteroid is as effective as local injection


In the linked randomised controlled trial (doi:10.1136/bmj.a3112), Ekeberg and colleagues compare the effectiveness of ultrasound guided corticosteroid injection in the subacromial bursa with systemic corticosteroid injection in people with rotator cuff disease.1 They found no significant difference in pain and disability between the two groups after six weeks. This suggests that theexact location of corticosteroid injections is not important.

The diagnosis of patients with shoulder pain can be difficult.2 This is illustrated by Ekeberg and colleagues’ study, in which general practitioners referred patients with suspected rotator cuff disease to an outpatient clinic, and those with confirmed disease were entered into the study. They referred 312 patients, but 140 were subsequently excluded because they had other diagnoses.1Rotator cuff disease is diagnosed in up to 70% of people with shoulder pain.3

The optimal management of shoulder pain is still debated. One of the available treatments is injection with a corticosteroid. The evidence for the efficacy of steroid injections for shoulder pain is inconclusive. A systematic review found little evidence to guide treatment because of the small sample sizes, variablemethodological quality, and heterogeneity.4 Subsequent systematic reviews have been similarly inconclusive.5 6 Overall, the evidence indicates that subacromial corticosteroid injections are more effective than placebo injections for the short term relief of rotator cuff disease, but are no better than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.4 7 The long term efficacy of steroid injections is not well investigated, but the evidence indicates that they have no clear benefits in the long term. The efficacy of steroid injection compared with active physiotherapy (which is often used) is also not yet established. Direct comparisons of both strategies have produced conflicting results and furtherhigh quality studies are needed.7

Guidelines on managing shoulder pain in primary care recommend a wait and see approach in the first instance that consists of educating patients, awaiting the natural course of the disease, and prescribing analgesics if needed. Steroid injections are reserved for patients with shoulder pain that does not respond to this approach.8

The next question is whether the location of the corticosteroid injection influences the outcome. People who believe in the importance of local infiltration have developed methods (fluoroscopy, ultrasound) to ensure correct placement of the needle and delivery of the drug. Others rely more on the systemic effect of corticosteroids and are less focused on the exact location of the injection.

The study by Ekeberg and colleagues randomised 106 patients with rotator cuff disease lasting for at least three months to receive a local or systemic injection of corticosteroids. People in the local injection group had an ultrasound guidedcorticosteroid and lidocaine injection in the subacromial bursa plus a lidocaine injection in the gluteal region. Those in the systemic injection group had a corticosteroid and lidocaine injection in the gluteal region and an ultrasound guided lidocaine injection in the subacromial bursa. The primary outcome of score on the shoulder pain and disability index after six weeks did not differ significantly between the two groups. The results of two secondary outcomes (score on the western Ontario rotator cuff index and change in main complaint) significantly favoured the local injection, but the size of these differences was relatively small and the statistical difference may have been the result of multiple testing.

Ekeberg and colleagues’ study was not designed to answer the question of whether corticosteroid injections should be used in rotator cuff disease.1 The improvement in both study groups, though modest, could be explained by the natural course of the disease, placebo effects associated with the injectionprocedure, or the effect of the lidocaine injected in the subacromial bursa.

Future studies need to compare the effectiveness of different types of corticosteroid injection with other common interventions. Studies should look at the effects of the localisation of the needle, frequency of injections, drug dosages, and timing of the injections together with the influence of comedication. For the time being, however, the evidence indicates that local(even sonographically guided) and systemic corticosteroid injections have similar outcomes in patients with rotator cuff disease.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:a2599

 

 


Bart W Koes, professor of general practice

1 University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of General Practice, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, Netherlands

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Research, doi:10.1136/bmj.a3112

Competing interests: None declared.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.


References


  1.  Ekeberg OM, Bautz-Holter E, Tveita EK, Juel NG, Kvalheim S, Brox JI. Subacromial ultrasound guided or systemic steroid injection for rotator cuff disease: randomised double blind study. BMJ 2008;337:a3112.
  2.  Schellingerhout JM, Verhagen AP, Thomas S, Koes BW. Lack of uniformity in diagnostic labelling of shoulder pain: time for a different approach. Man Ther 2008;13:478-83.[Medline]
  3.  Speed C. Shoulder pain. Clin Evid 2006.http://clinicalevidence.bmj.com/ceweb/conditions/msd/1107/1107.jsp.
  4.  Buchbinder R, Green S, Youd JM. Corticosteroid injections for shoulder pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2003;(1):CD004016.
  5.  Arroll B, Goodyear-Smith F. Corticosteroid injections for painful shoulder: a meta-analysis. Br J Gen Pract 2005;55:224-8.[Medline]
  6.  Koester MC, Dunn WR, Huhn JE, Spindler KP. The efficacy of subacromial corticosteroid injection in the treatment of rotator cuff disease: a systematic review. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2007;15:3-11.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7.  Van der Windt D, Koes B. Are corticosteroid injections as effective as physiotherapy for the treatment of a painful shoulder? In: MacAuley D, Best T. Evidence-based sports medicine. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007:391-417.
  8.  Winters JC, Van der Windt DAWM, Spinnewijn WEM, De Jongh AC, Van der Heijden GJMG, Buis PAJ, et al. NHG standaard Schouderklachten (clinical guideline shoulder pain of the Dutch College of General Practice).Huisarts Wet 2008;51:555-65.
3. Thank you to Dr. Richard Meldener DIBAK in Paris near the LaFayette Galleria for the information about Salivary Diagnostics.  For those of you wishing to be on the cutting edge of Dentistry and oral diagnostics this book may  be of interest .







7.  How to run your practice better is always an enigma due to the different personalities of staff etc.  Here is a paper from Medscape with a lot of useful information.  Especially when you are changing your style of practice as many do who use AK.


The Key to Implementing Change in Your Practice

Barbara C. Johnson, PhD; Elizabeth E. Stewart, PhD

Fam Pract Manag.  2008;15(8):A5-A8.  ©2008 American Academy of Family Physicians
Posted 01/22/2009

Introduction

When the TransforMED national demonstration project began more than two years ago, the 36 practices involved were charged with exploring how a new model of family medicine worked in the real world. The practices were asked to make enormous changes, including implementing same-day scheduling, group visits and electronic medical records (EMRs).

One of the first lessons we learned, in the words of TransforMED CEO Terry McGeeney, MD, MBA, was that "many family medicine practices are poorly equipped for change, even when they want to change. You can't just 'do it'; you have to create a culture where change is constantly anticipated and actively managed. It's not a one-time deal or push of a button."

Struggling with change is not unique to medical practice; it's a challenge most organizations face when trying to alter entrenched patterns or processes. It's estimated that somewhere between 50 percent to 80 percent of change initiatives in Fortune 1,000 companies fail.[1] Why? In her book Creating Contagious Commitment: Applying the Tipping Point to Organizational Change, author Andrea Shapiro writes about a typical change project gone awry:

"Some years ago, I asked the manager responsible for implementing ISO 9001 [a certification process that indicates whether a company meets quality management standards] at a high-tech company how the change was going. … His response was, 'It's going fine - except for the people.' The image of a disembodied change progressing perfectly, but leaving behind employees, who were supposed to change, was amusing. Yet this is exactly what we often attempt. We work hard at the details of new processes or new technologies, but expect magic metamorphoses of the people expected to use those processes and technologies. We simply forget or ignore that organizations change when the people in them change."[2]

We observed the same thing as we talked with and traveled to the TransforMED practices. Time after time, we saw well-intentioned physician champions making detailed plans for change but being frustrated by their staff's inability to carry out those plans. The key problem was a failure to emotionally engage the people in the practice.

Addressing the Emotional Components of Change

Change often begins with an emotional response. Stripping feeling and emotion from the process and instead focusing on making a detailed plan and following it to the letter can be counterproductive to the change effort. Make no mistake: You do need strategic plans, supportive data and structured time lines to succeed at change. However, those elements risk falling short without some preliminary work:

  • Understand that people are galvanized to change at an emotional level; the motivation for change is visceral rather than cerebral.

  • Distinguish between emotions that undermine change and those that promote it.

  • Develop ways to foster those feelings that facilitate change, and minimize those that prohibit it.

Attention to feelings may seem like a luxury in a hectic medical practice. Nonetheless, it is a necessity because change brings long-standing differences to the surface. Anger, frustration, exhaustion, cynicism and anxiety tend to remain beneath the surface during times of stability, but they can erupt with chaotic consequences during times of change. This can undermine the change process and leave the physician champion, and the practice, back at square one.

Working through the issues is not as scary as it may sound, especially if you use some key tools such as training in conflict resolution, constructive feedback and viewing problems as process issues instead of people issues.[3] It can also be helpful to have an outside person guide your group through the process of conflict resolution. Where plans for change have stalled, the solution often begins with repairing the relationship infrastructure.

Among the demonstration practices, getting buy-in from all of the practice employees was a consistent challenge, from which two promising strategies emerged.

First, think about how best to explain the planned changes, because "choosing the right words [increases] the space… for new possibilities."[4] Presenting the changes as a way to deliver better patient care, for example, can make it easier for staff members to feel good about the changes and become more invested in the initiative.

Second, understand that modern medicine needs to be team-centered (as opposed to the traditional, physician-centered model), and recognize each staff member for his or her contributions. This team-centered message helps staff members feel valued.

The story of one practice in the national demonstration project illustrates the importance of these strategies. The practice unveiled its participation in the TransforMED project with a big splash at an all-staff meeting where the physician champions presented the future changes with impressive amounts of information and data. As reinforcement, the information was later posted prominently throughout the practice, and the leaders developed several diverse teams to carry out the work. But rather than inspiring the practice, this effort demoralized the staff.

Why did the staff members react that way? Most were unable to see the big picture and what it meant for them personally. In fact, many began to see the initiative as a punishment. A few staff members even asked, "What did we do wrong to bring this on ourselves?" Once the champions sensed this negativity, they decided to call another all-staff meeting, this time with a catered lunch. The champions talked about what the initiative meant to them and why they were so committed to the change. In most cases, their stories included a convincing case for why this new medical model would result in better patient care. The act of storytelling engaged staff members in a powerful way because it made the planned changes personally meaningful to them.

At this same meeting, the idea that medicine should be a team effort and not a physician-centered endeavor was emphasized. Viewing the change this way helped many in the practice embrace the change as an honor and privilege, and soon afterward many took an active part in the initiative. Of course, this new enthusiasm would have quickly waned if the physician champions had not followed through with actions that demonstrated the importance of the team.

Another important step was addressing staff members' fear of change. Many clinical staff members have been trained to work in structured environments. As a result, ambiguous projects can be frightening to them. For example, for some TransforMED practices, one fear-inspiring initiative was the suggestion that they begin offering group visits. In these case helpful to acknowledge staff s, it was members' feelings of fear about the unknown and the potential for failure, and reassure them that mistakes would simply be a natural part of the learning process.

Eventually, the fear of group visits was replaced with good feelings about creating a time and place where patients could interact with the health care team and help one another. Positive patient feedback from the group visits served as a powerful motivator for both physicians and staff members, and many began to view the risks and unknowns as a worthwhile exchange for the opportunity to improve patient care.

The positive feelings associated with good patient care were also an important motivator when individual tasks seemed tedious or trivial. For example, two TransforMED practices struggled to get staff to consistently populate the chronic disease registry feature on their EMR system because the process required manual data entry. The solution for both practices was to share actual patient scenarios that demonstrated the importance of catching missed screenings. Although the data-entry work remained unchanged, staff members were more willing to do the tedious work after they connected it to the concrete business of saving lives.

Stepping Outside the Practice

Sometimes feelings can best be managed outside the workplace. As co-workers become more human to one another, the risk of misunderstandings triggered by stress is greatly reduced. Some TransforMED practices started planning social activities outside the workplace (e.g., cookouts, hikes and charity fund-raisers) and found that these activities fostered more respectful communication within the workplace.

Practice-wide retreats are another great way to engage staff and strengthen their commitment to the change initiative. (See "Change management strategies," page A7, for additional ideas.) The idea of closing down for a half-day or longer might sound impossible to a busy practice; several TransforMED practices felt that way. (See "Be creative in finding time for retreats, meetings," page 45, for a helpful tip.) Yet our data suggest that a facilitated retreat was the catalyst for change in those practices. The success of these retreats was due in large part to the role they played in breaking down barriers erected as coping mechanisms to survive the daily pressures of a busy family medicine practice. Within the safety of the retreat environment, both practice leaders and staff members could talk openly about what was and wasn't working, and they could contribute to more productive brainstorming of potential process improvements.

One important tool at the retreats was a personality assessment, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. The assessment tool helped the physicians and staff gain perspective on the different ways in which people process information, renew themselves, make decisions and relate to others. The assessments also helped individuals realize their blind spots in conflicts, their needs during change and the behaviors that irritate them. It also revealed their own behaviors that may irritate others. Stressors were addressed, and as staff members sought to understand one another's perspective and establish common ground, it became easier to engage staff in the overall vision and later implement process improvements and new technologies.

The Art and Science of Change

Don't be afraid of feelings. Like conducting a patient encounter, leading a practice through change is both a science and an art. While the science requires strategic thinking, the art requires paying attention to the emotions involved. That simple step can be a powerful tool in the quest for practice transformation.


Sidebar: Change Management Strategies

Short of organizing a facilitated retreat, what can a practice do to inspire its staff to become personally invested in a potentially overwhelming change process? Data from the TransforMED national demonstration project suggest that the following strategies can be helpful:

  • Use words and stories that will resonate with your staff members' values. Sharing specific examples of how change will lead to better patient care can personalize the process, making staff members feel more invested and more valued. This can also transform the abstract idea of change into a concrete and palatable process.

  • Emphasize that medicine in the 21st century needs to be team-centered rather than physician-centered; ensure that each team member is given a specific role in the change and acknowledge his or her contributions.

  • Introduce conflict resolution tools so differences in feelings can be resolved constructively.

  • Remember that positive words and feelings mean nothing to staff members without concordant action. Model the progress you hope to see.



Barbara C. Johnson, PhD, is a practice enhancement facilitator for the TransforMED national demonstration project, which is headquartered in Leawood Kan.

Elizabeth E. Stewart, PhD, is a qualitative data analyst for TransforMED, and she is assistant research professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Author disclosure: nothing to disclose.

8.  People with higher blood sugar have less musculo skeletal conditions.  I remember years ago when we thought that sugar was bad for muscle strength.  But....here is a study that shows some interesting results.

The Association Between Diabetes Mellitus, Glucose, and Chronic Musculoskeletal Complaints. Results From the Nord-Trondelag Health Study

Ole M Hoff; Kristian Midthjell; John-Anker Zwart; Knut Hagen

BMC Musculoskelet Disord.  2008; ©2008 Hoff et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Posted 01/21/2009

Abstract and Background

Abstract

Background: The relationship between diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between DM, non-fasting glucose and chronic MSCs defined as pain and/or stiffness ≥ 3 months during the past year in the general adult population.
Methods: The results were based on cross-sectional data from 64,785 men and women (aged ≥ 20 years) who participated in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey, which included 1,940 individuals with known DM. Associations were assessed using multiple logistic regression, estimating prevalence odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
Results: High non-fasting glucose was associated with a lower prevalence of chronic MSCs compared to a low glucose level. DM was associated with higher prevalence of chronic MSCs, in particular chronic widespread MSCs. In the multivariate analysis, adjusting for glucose level, BMI, age, gender and physical activity, chronic widespread MSCs was 1.6 times more likely (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2–2.2) among individuals < 60 years of age with DM than among those without DM. The association between chronic widespread MSCs and DM was most evident among the group of individuals aged < 60 years with either type 2 DM or unclassified DM (OR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.3–2.5).
Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study a high non-fasting glucose was associated with lower prevalence of chronic MSCs. Among individuals with known DM chronic widespread MSCs were more likely.

Background

Musculoskeletal complaints (MSCs) are among the major health problems worldwide and the most frequent cause of long-term sickness leave in Norway.[1,2] Increased mortality has been reported among individuals with chronic widespread MSCs,[3] which further emphasizes that this group of patients may constitute an important public health problem.

In Nord-Trøndelag County in Norway 45% of the adult population reported chronic MSCs during the last year.[4] The prevalence of known diabetes mellitus (DM) was 3%.[5] Despite that both disorders are relatively common, few studies have focused on the relationship between chronic MSCs and diabetes mellitus (DM). DM has been associated with increased fracture risk[6] and rotator cuff tendinitis.[7] Some studies have reported reduced pain thresholds in individuals with hyperglycemia,[8,9] but the relationship between DM and chronic MSCs remains unclear.

To clarify the potential association between DM and chronic MSCs a cross-sectional study is a time effective first-step which also may provide clues to the pathophysiology of chronic MSCs. The main purpose of this large population-based cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between DM, non-fasting glucose and chronic MSCs.

Methods

Between 1995 and 1997, all inhabitants aged 20 years and above were invited to participate in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Survey (the HUNT study). Details of this comprehensive health study are described elsewhere.[10] In short, two questionnaires including more than 200 health-related questions were administered to the participants. The first questionnaire (Q1) was sent along with the invitation, and delivered when attending the health examination during which non-fasting blood samples were drawn. All participants received a second questionnaire (Q2) which was returned by postal mail. Out of the 92,936 invited individuals, 65,081 (70.0%) answered the first question about DM, whereas 64,785 (69.7%) responded to the first question about MSCs.

Musculoskeletal Complaints

Both Q1 and Q2 included questions about musculoskeletal symptoms adopted from the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire, which has previously been evaluated and found to give reliable estimates for low back and upper limb and neck discomfort, in particular for symptoms during the past year.[11-13] In Q1 participants were asked whether they had suffered pain or stiffness in muscles and joints lasting for at least 3 months during the last year, whereas in Q2, they were asked to indicate the number of days during the last month of such complaints. In both questionnaires, those participants who responded "yes" were then asked to tick off one or several of the following nine areas of the body; neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist/hands, upper back, low back, hips, knees, and/or ankles/feet.

In the present study, individuals with chronic MSCs (pain and/or stiffness ≥ 3 months during the past year) were subdivided into chronic widespread MSCs and chronic non-widespread MSCs. "Chronic widespread MSCs" were defined as pain and/or stiffness ≥ 3 month during the past year and ≥ 15 days with symptoms during the last month from all of the following regions: axial skeletal pain (pain in the neck, chest/abdomen, upper back, or lower back), pain above the waist (neck, shoulders, elbows, wrist/hands, chest/abdomen, or upper back) and below the waist (lower back, hips, knees, or ankles/feet). Individuals with chronic MSCs not fulfilling the criteria for chronic widespread MSCs were defined as having chronic non-widespread MSCs (mutually exclusive).

Diabetes Mellitus

Non-fasting glucose was drawn from more than 99% of the participants who attended the clinical examination. Fasting glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), C-peptide and anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti-GAD) was drawn from 74% of the participants with a positive answer to the question "Do you have or have you ever had diabetes?" in Q1 (known DM). Known DM was reported in a total of 1,940 (3%) out of the 64,785 participants who responded to the first question about MSCs. A total of 216 persons with no previous known DM had non-fasting glucose ≥ 11.1. Although a considerable proportion of these probably had previously undiscovered DM, these were included as a separate group in our analyses.

Patients starting insulin treatment within 6 months of diagnosis were classified as having type 1 DM (classic type 1), if, in addition, they were anti-GAD positive (≥ 0.08) or had C-peptide levels < 150 pmol/l (n = 122). Type 2 diabetic subjects were anti-GAD negative (< 0.08) and had not received insulin treatment within one year of diagnosis (n = 1120). LADA was defined by anti-GAD positivity and no insulin treatment within 12 months after diagnosis (n = 127). For gestational diabetes mellitus (GMD) the criteria were anti-GAD negative and no insulin treatment, and/or other information about diabetes during pregnancy (n = 12). The criteria for MODY were anti-GAD negative and debut < 25 years and diabetes in relatives and no insulin treatment started within 12 months after debut (n = 8). Only 20 persons fulfilled the criteria for MODY or GDM, and these were therefore merged together with the unclassified group, consisting of patients with incomplete information on insulin treatment and results of C-peptide and anti-GAD.

Statistical Analysis

Differences between continuous variables were tested with analyses of variance (one-way ANOVA) and between proportions by chi-squared test. In the multivariate analyses, using logistic regression, we estimated the prevalence odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between chronic MSCs and DM. We adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI), gender and physical activity as confounders. Other potential confounding factors like education, occupation, smoking, previous myocardial infarction, alcohol consumption, and mean systolic blood pressure were also evaluated, but were excluded from the final analyses because they changed the OR by less than 5%. Serum glucose, HbA1c, and duration of DM were categorized into quartiles based on individual values, but in separate analyses also treated as a continuous variable. When appropriate, serum glucose was also treated as a single ordinal variable (categories 1 to 4 based on quartiles) and was incorporated in a two sided test for trend to evaluate the probability of a linear relationship between glucose categories and prevalence of MSCs. We also investigated potential interaction between age and diabetes status by including the product of the two variables into the logistic regression analyses. The interaction coefficient was tested using Wald χ2 statistics. Data analyses were performed with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 15.0 (SPSS, Chicago, Illinois, USA)

The study was approved by the Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research, and the HUNT Study is also approved by the Norwegian Data Inspectorate.

Results

Among the 64,785 participants, 30,157 (46.5%) reported chronic MSCs, whereof 3,240 (5.0%) had chronic widespread MSCs, and the remaining 26,917 (41.5%) chronic non-widespread MSCs. The prevalence of chronic MSCs increased with age with a peak in the age group 60–64 years (59.7%), and were higher for women than men in all age groups (overall 50.1% versus 42.6%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of chronic MSCs also increased with BMI with a peak among obese with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 (54.6%), and were higher among the physically inactive than active individuals (55.4% versus 44.9, p < 0.001).

Educational level, level of physical activity, and proportion of smokers were lower among individuals with DM compared to those without DM, whereas, age, BMI, mean systolic BP, and prevalence of alcohol abstainers and myocardial infarction were significantly higher (p < 0.001) Table 1 ). The proportion of women did not differ significantly between the groups with or without DM (p = 0.20). Among individuals with DM, those with type 1 DM was youngest and most likely to be men ( Table 1 ).

In the multivariate analyses, adjusting for age, BMI, gender and level of physical activity as confounding factors, prevalence of chronic MSCs was higher among patients with DM than among individuals without (OR = 1.2, 95% CI 1.1–1.3, Table 2 ). This association was most evident among individuals with chronic widespread MSCs (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.6). The difference in unadjusted prevalence of chronic widespread MSCs between individuals with or without DM was most prominent in those below 60 years of age (Figure 1). Although no significant interaction was found between age and diabetes status in the multivariate analyses (p = 0.16), chronic widespread MSCs was 1.5 times more likely (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.1) among subjects with DM than among those without in a separate analysis for individuals < 60 years. Among those 60 years and older, the corresponding OR was 1.1 (0.8–1.5).


Figure 1.

Prevalence (%) of chronic widespread MSCs by age group. * p < 0.05.


Among the group of 216 individuals with non-fasting glucose ≥ 11.1 (but not known DM), chronic MSCs was less likely (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.5–0.9) than among those with no DM ( Table 2 ). Furthermore, there was a linear trend (p < 0.001) of decreasing prevalence of chronic MSCs with increasing non-fasting glucose categories, also evident when glucose was treated as a continuous variable ( Table 2 ). The prevalence OR of chronic widespread MSCs was 0.8 (95% CI 0.7–0.9) for individuals with glucose ≥ 5.9 mmol/l compared to those with glucose ≤ 4.7 mmol/l ( Table 2 ). Thus, when adjusting for non-fasting serum glucose, chronic widespread MSCs was 1.6 times more likely (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.2–2.2) among subjects < 60 years of age with DM than among those without.

Chronic widespread MSCs were more likely among individuals with type 2 DM (OR = 1.3, 95% CI 1.0–1.7) and unclassified DM (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.1–2.3) than among those without DM ( Table 2 ). When adjusting for non-fasting glucose, the corresponding ORs increased to 1.4 (95% CI 1.1–1.8) and 1.7 (95% CI 1.2–2.5) respectively. Among women, the strongest association was found with unclassified DM (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 1.3–3.3), whereas for type 2 DM among men (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.0–2.2). When merging individuals with type 2 DM and unclassified DM, chronic widespread MSCs were 1.5 times more likely (OR = 1.5, 95% CI 1.2–1.9) for this combined group compared to those without DM. The corresponding OR for those < 60 years was 1.8 (1.3–2.5). No significant association was found between chronic MSCs and type 1 DM or latent autoimmune diabetes of the adult (LADA) ( Table 2 ).

Among the group of 1940 individuals with DM, no clear association was found between chronic MSCs and neither non-fasting serum glucose, HbA1c, nor duration of DM when treated as a single ordinal variable ( Table 3 ). However, when HbA1c was treated as a continuous variable, there was a linear trend (p < 0.036, β = -,055) of decreasing prevalence of chronic non-widespread MSCs with increasing HbA1c.

Discussion and Conclusion

In this large-scale population-based cross-sectional study a high non-fasting glucose was associated with a lower prevalence of chronic MSCs, whereas individuals with DM were more likely to report chronic widespread MSCs than those without DM.

The strength of this study was the large and unselected population. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first large-scale population-based study evaluating the influence of chronic MSCs on individuals with DM whose classification is based on results of blood samples with anti-GAD and C-peptide in addition to questionnaire-based data. Although the participation rate of 70% was high, one may question to what degree the results can be generalized. Because questions about musculoskeletal pain were only a few out of more than 200 health-related questions, there is probably no selection bias regarding chronic MSCs. However, the possibility of a recruitment bias regarding DM should not be ignored. Non-responders were more frequent among young persons and among very old.[10] Particular selection by health status was more likely among the elderly.[14] The non-response problems related to the HUNT study have been thoroughly discussed elsewhere.[14]

The participants were not asked to distinguish between pain in the left and right side of the body, and therefore we could not use the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) definition of chronic widespread pain. The group of individuals with chronic widespread MSCs was probably heterogeneous, but it may be of some relevance that a self-reported diagnosis of fibromyalgia was more than 5 times more common among individuals with chronic widespread MSCs than in those without. In the present study DM was associated with an increased prevalence of chronic widespread MSCs. A high prevalence of fibromyalgia has been reported among 100 patients with DM, both in type 1 and type 2, and a positive correlation between higher levels of HbA1c and more tender points.[15] Similarly, fibromyalgia was more likely among women with type 2 DM compared to controls,[16] and the majority of a group of Italian patients with DM reported chronic musculoskeletal pain.[17] In the present study we found the strongest association between chronic widespread MSCs and the combined group of individuals with type 2 DM or unclassified DM. The positive relationship between type 2 DM and chronic widespread MSCs found in the present study raises the question whether type 2 DM may in some ways worsen chronic widespread MSCs, or vice versa. The causality issue cannot be properly addressed in a cross-sectional study. Age, overweight, and physical inactivity are strong risk factors for type DM,[18] but we adjusted for all these factors in the analysis, and potential confounding was also evaluated for other life-style factors such as smoking and alcohol use. However, one can not rule out the possibility that there may be other unmeasured life-style factors or other factors incompletely registered that could influence our findings. For example, among those with known DM, anxiety and other psychological factors may influence their response to the questions about MSCs. One may also speculate that attempts to keep the glucose level low may influence the occurrence of chronic MSCs. DM affects vascular reactivity,[19,20] and induces diabetic neuropathy,[21] but because no association was found between chronic MSCs and type 1 DM or LADA, other causes than vascular changes may probably explain our main findings.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the influence of non-fasting glucose on chronic MSCs in the general population. A subgroup of 216 individuals had non-fasting glucose ≥ 11.1, but they were not aware of DM at the time of the blood sampling. Therefore, anxiety for DM probably did not influence their response to the questions about MSCs. We found that hyperglycemia was associated with lower prevalence of chronic MSCs. Thus, our findings did not indicate that hyperglycemia per se increased the risk of chronic pain, at least in a short time perspective. Previously, several studies have reported reduced pain thresholds in hyperglycemia, but these studies have mainly been restricted to patients with known DM or diabetic animals.[9,22-24]In the present study no consistent association was found between non-fasting glucose, HbA1c, and prevalence of chronic MSCs among those with known DM. Thus, our results did not indicate that poor control of DM increases the prevalence of chronic MSCs as compared to good control defined as low HbA1c or low non-fasting glucose level.

In the present study high non-fasting glucose was associated with a lower prevalence of chronic MSCs, which may provide clues to the pathophysiology of chronic MSCs. High glucose levels or poor control of DM can of course not be recommended in a public health perspective.


Table 1. Background Data on Persons Without and With Known Diabetes Mellitus (DM) (Type 1, Type 2, Type 2, LADA, and Other Types/unclassified)



VariablesNo DMAll DM typesClassical
Type 1 DM		Type 2 DMLADAOther types/
unclassified DM		Not DM, but glucose ≥ 11.1
n62,62619401221120127571216
Gender, female (%)53.251.741.050.546.557.437.5
Mean age48.464.447.567.167.463.161.6
Years of education ≥ 13 (%)19.39.119.76.511.010.312.0
Mean BMI26.329.026.129.628.528.629.5
Current smoking (%)28.917.524.615.49.421.926.9
High physical activity* (%)16.17.813.97.211.06.84.6
Alcohol abstainers (%)12.230.813.732.036.131.017.2
Previous myocardial infarction3.012.75.713.512.012.95.6
Mean systolic blood pressure137154140156154153156

* High physical activity level = ≥ 3 hours/week with hard physical activity


Table 2. Prevalence OR# of Musculoskeletal Complaints (MSCs) Related to DM and Non-fasting Glucose Levels



VariablesTotalChronic MSCsChronic widespread MSCs MSCsChronic non-
widespread MSCs
64,785%OR (CI)%OR (CI)%OR (CI)
DM
No62,62946.21.0 (reference)5.01.0 (reference)41.31.0 (reference)
Yes1,94056.91.2 (1.1–1.3)5.91.3 (1.1–1.6)51.01.1 (1.0–1.3)
No, but glucose ≥ 11.121645.40.7 (0.5–0.9)5.10.8 (0.4–1.5)40.30.7 (0.5–0.9)
DM
No62,62942.21.0 (reference)5.01.0 (reference)41.31.0 (reference)
Type 112245.91.0 (0.7–1.5)3.30.7 (0.2–1.9)42.61.1 (0.7–1.6)
Type 21,12057.71.1 (1.0–1.3)6.11.3 (1.0–1.7)51.61.1 (1.0–1.3)
LADA12756.71.1 (0.8–1.6)5.51.2 (0.5–2.6)51.21.2 (0.8–1.7)
Unclassified57157.81.2 (1.0–1.5)6.31.6 (1.1–2.3)51.51.2 (1.0–1.4)
No, but glucose ≥ 11.121645.40.7 (0.5–0.9)5.10.8 (0.4–1.5)40.30.7 (0.5–0.9)
Serum glucose
≤ 4.7 mmol/l16,19843.21.0 (reference)4.81.0 (reference)38.31.0 (reference)
4.8–5.2 mmol/l19,15146.71.0 (0.9–1.0)5.21.0 (0.9–1.1)41.41.0 (0.9–1.0)
5.3–5.8 mmol/l14,73747.90.9 (0.9–1.0)5.10.9 (0.8–1.0)42.80.9 (0.9–1.0)
≥ 5.9 mmol/l14,31649.10.9 (0.8–0.9)5.00.8 (0.7–0.9)44.20.9 (0.8–0.9)
Missing38336.60.6 (0.5–0.8)0.80.1 (0.0–0.4)35.80.6 (0.5–0.8)
P-trend value$  < 0.001 < 0.001 < 0.001
P trend value$ (β)  < 0.001 (-,022) 0.045 (-,026) < 0.001 (-,021)

# Adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, and level of physical activity
$ Serum glucose treated as a single ordinal variable (categories 1 to 4 based on quartiles)
§ Serum glucose treated as a continuous variable (β value given in brackets)


Table 3. Prevalence OR# of Musculoskeletal Complaints (MSCs) Related to Fasting Serum Glucose, HbA1c and Duration of the Disease in Patients With DM



VariablesTotalChronic MSCsChronic widespread MSCsChronic non-
widespread MSCs
1940%OR (CI)%OR (CI)%OR (CI)
Serum glucose
≤6.3 mmol/l48259.31.0 (reference)6.41.0 (reference)52.91.0 (reference)
6.4–8.7 mmol/l48755.20.8 (0.6–1.1)5.10.7 (0.4–1.2)50.10.8 (0.6–1.1)
8.8–12.1 mmol/l47254.90.8 (0.6–1.1)6.10.8 (0.5–1.4)48.70.8 (0.6–1.1)
≥12.2 mmol/l46957.41.0 (0.7–1.3)6.41.0 (0.6–1.8)51.01.0 (0.7–1.3)
Missing3070.01.2 (0.5–3.0)0.0-70.01.5 (0.6–3.6)
HbA1c
≤6.8 mmol/l50957.21.0 (reference)6.71.0 (reference)50.51.0 (reference)
6.9–7.8 mmol/l42259.21.1 (0.9–1.5)5.00.8 (0.4–1.5)54.31.2 (0.9–1.5)
7.9–9.2 mmol/l48155.71.0 (0.7–1.2)5.20.8 (0.5–1.4)50.51.0 (0.8–1.3)
≥9.3 mmol/l42653.80.9 (0.7–1.2)7.01.0 (0.6–1.7)46.70.9 (0.7–1.2)
Missing10264.71.4 (0.9–2.1)4.90.8 (0.3–2.4)59.81.4 (0.9–2.3)
Duration of DM
≤2 years50256.21.0 (reference)6.41.0 (reference)49.81.0 (reference)
3–6 years36056.41.0 (0.8–1.4)4.70.8 (0.4–1.4)51.71.1 (0.8–1.4)
7–13 years40357.11.1 (0.8–1.4)6.01.1 (0.6–2.1)51.11.1 (0.8–1.5)
≥14 years40659.11.2 (0.9–1.6)6.91.6 (0.9–2.8)52.21.2 (0.9–1.6)
Missing26955.41.0 (0.7–1.3)5.21.0 (0.5–2.1)50.21.0 (0.7–1.3)

# Adjusted for age, gender, body mass index, and level of physical activity
$ Serum glucose treated as a single ordinal variable (categories 1 to 4 based on quartiles)
§Serum glucose treated as a continuous variable (β value given in brackets)




References

  1. WHO Scientific Group on the Burden of musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millenium: The burden of musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millennium. In World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser. Volume 919. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2003:i-x, 1-218, back cover.
  2. Statistics of sick leave in Norway in 2007 [http://www.nav.no/]
  3. Andersson HI: The course of non-malignant chronic pain: a 12-year follow-up of a cohort from the general population. Eur J Pain 2004, 8:47-53.
  4. Svebak S, Hagen K, Zwart J-A: Prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal pain in an adult Norwegian county population. Relation with age and gender. The HUNT study. J Musk Pain 2006, 14:21-28.
  5. Stene LC, Midthjell K, Jenum AK, Skeie S, Birkeland KI, Lund E, Joner G, Tell GS, Schirmer H: Prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Norway. Tidsskr Nor Lægeforen 2004, 124:1511-1514.
  6. Vestergaard P: Discrepancies in bone mineral density and fracture risk in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes – a meta-analysis. Osteoporos Int 2007, 18:427-444.
  7. Miranda H, Viikari-Juntura E, Heistaro S, Heliövaara M, Riihimäki H: A population study on differences in the determinants of a specific shoulder disorder versus nonspecific shoulder pain without clinical findings. Am J Epidemiol 2005, 161:847-855.
  8. Morley GK, Mooradian AD, Levine AS, Morley JE: Mechanism of pain in diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Effect of glucose on pain perception in humans. Am J Med 1984, 77:79-82.
  9. Thye-Rønn P, Sindrup SH, Arendt-Nielsen L, Brennum J, Hother-Nielsen O, Beck-Nielsen H: Effect of short-term hyperglycemia per se on nociceptive and non-nociceptive thresholds. Pain 1994, 56:43-49.
  10. Holmen J, Midthjell K, Krüger Ø, Langhammer A, Holmen TL, Bratberg GH, Vatten L, Lund-Larsen PG: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 1995–1997 (HUNT 2): Objectives, contents methods and participation. Nor J Epidemiol 2003, 13:19-32.
  11. Kuorinka I, Jonsson B, Kilbom A, Vinterberg H, Biering-Sørensen F, Andersson G, Jørgensen K: Standardised Nordic Questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Appl Ergon 1987, 18:233-237.
  12. Franzblau A, Salerno DF, Armstrong TJ, Werner RA: Test-retest reliability of an upper-extremity discomfort questionnaire in an industrial population. Scand J Work Environ Health 1997, 23:299-307.
  13. Palmer K, Smith G, Kellingray S, Cooper C: Repeatability and validity of an upper limb and neck discomfort questionnaire: The utility of the Standardized Nordic Questionnaire. Occup Med 1999, 49:171-175.
  14. Næss S, Eriksen J, Midthjell K, Tambs K: Diabetes mellitus and psychological well-being. Change between 1984–1986 and 1995–1997. Results of the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. J Diabetes Complications 2004, 18(3):141-147.
  15. Tishler M, Smorodin T, Vazina-Amit M, Ramot Y, Koffler M, Fishel B: Fibromyalgia in diabetes mellitus. Rheumatol Int 2003, 23:171-173.
  16. Wolak T, Weitzman S, Harman-Boehm I, Friger M, Sukenik S: Prevalence of fibromyalgia in type 2 diabetes mellitus.Harefuah 2001, 140:1006-1009.
  17. Patucchi E, Fatati G, Puxeddu A, Coaccioli S: Prevalence of fibromyalgia in diabetes mellitus and obesity. Recenti Prog Med 2003, 94:163-165.
  18. Carlsson S, Midthjell K, Tesfamarian MY, Grill V: Age, overweight and physical inactivity increase the risk of latent autoimmune diabetes in adults: results from the Nord-Trøndelag health study. Diabetologia 2007, 50:55-58.
  19. Tantucci C, Bottini P, Fiorani C, Dottorini ML, Santeusanio F, Provinciali L, Sorbini CA, Casucci G: Cerebrovascular reactivity and hypercapnic respiratory drive in diabetic autonomic neuropathy. J Appl Physiol 2001, 90:889-896.
  20. Wijnhoud AD, Koudstaal PJ, Dippel DW: Relationships of transcranial blood flow Doppler parameters with major vascular risk factors: TCD study in patients with a recent TIA or nondisabling ischemic stroke. J Clin Ultrasound 2006, 34:70-76.
  21. Ziegler D: Treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy: update 2006. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2006, 1084:250-266.
  22. Lee JH, McCarty R: Pain threshold in diabetic rats: effects of good versus poor diabetic control. Pain 1992, 50:231-236.
  23. Dyck PJ, Lambert EH, O'Brien PC: Pain in peripheral neuropathy related to rate and kind of fiber degeneration. Neurology1976, 26:466-471.
  24. Sharma AK, Duguid IG, Blanchard DS, Thomas PK: The effect of insulin treatment on myelinated nerve fibre maturation and integrity and on body growth in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. J Neurol Sci 1985, 67:285-97.
Acknowledgements

The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (The HUNT study) is a collaboration between the HUNT Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU); Norwegian Institute of Public Health; and the Nord-Trøndelag County Council.

Reprint Address

Knut Hagen, Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway; Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Ole M Hoff,1 Kristian Midthjell,2 John-Anker Zwart1,3,4 and Knut Hagen1,3

1Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
2HUNT research centre, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
3Norwegian National Headache Centre, Section of Neurology, St. Olav's Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
4Department of Neurology, Ullevål University Hospital, and Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Email: Ole M Hoff -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Kristian Midthjell -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; John-Anker Zwart - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Knut Hagen -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Authors' Contributions: OMH, and KH conceived of the study and performed the statistical analysis. OMH, KM, JAZ and KH all participated in the design and drafted the manuscript. KM planned and was responsible for collection of data on diabetes. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.


 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 73
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 
Hi Everyone,
We are preparing for the ICAK-Australasia AGM in a few weeks.  This is a good time to register.  I have attached the registration form for this meeting.  I look forward to seeing everyone there.  Let's make it a great meeting.  I have included information for the Sydney and NZ Seminars later in the year, as well.

In this email you will find:

1. Link for the European Chiropractors Union meeting.
2. Paper regarding including manual muscle testing to diagnose upper limb problems.  Free download.
3. Another Paper studying extra care for back pain.  Free download.
4. Another Paper studying why we want to live longer, maybe? Abstract only
5.  Low carb diet helps Diabetes Type 2.  Here are some useful observations.
6.  Why you have to look for causes of LBP with the patient in different positions.


1.  Link for the European Chiropractors Union for those visiting Europe :  



3.  How Swedish Chiropractors consider patient management  for managing low back pain.
This is a free download.

4.  Not everyone wants to live longer?  Here is an abstract for a new study done in Australia about how we view living longer.  You may find it interesting and can order it from the journal.

Social Science & Medicine

Volume 68, Issue 3, February 2009, Pages 496-503

Community perceptions on the significant extension of life: An exploratory study among urban adults in Brisbane, Australia

Mair Underwooda, , , Helen P. Bartletta, , Brad Partridgea, , Jayne Luckea,  and Wayne D. Hall, a,

aThe University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia

Abstract

Some researchers in the field of ageing claim that significant extension of the human lifespan will be possible in the near future. While many of these researchers have assumed that the community will welcome this technology, there has been very little research on community attitudes to life extension. This paper presents the results of an in-depth qualitative study of community attitudes to life extension across age groups and religious boundaries. There were 57 individual interviews, and 8 focus groups (totalling 72 focus group participants) conducted with community members in Brisbane, Australia. Community attitudes to life extension were more varied and complex than have been assumed by some biogerontologists and bioethicists. While some participants would welcome the opportunity to extend their lives others would not even entertain the possibility. This paper details these differences of opinion and reveals contrasting positions that reflect individualism or social concern among community members. The findings also highlight the relationship between Christianity, in particular belief in an afterlife, and attitudes to life extension technology. Overall, the study raises questions about the relationship between interests in life extension, the medicalisation of ageing and the increasing acceptability of enhancement technologies that need to be addressed in more representative samples of the community.


5.  Low carb diet helps Diabetes Type 2.  Here are some useful observations.

January 16, 2009 — A Duke researcher says that despite the lack of a "gold-standard" clinical trial proving the benefits of a low-carb approach, he has seen enough in his own patients to know that, at least for some, a very low-carb approach can essentially reverse diabetes, without adversely affecting lipid profiles [1]. In his latest published research, Dr Eric C Westman (Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC) and colleagues report that obese patients with type 2 diabetes randomized to a low-carbohydrate diet rather than a low-glycemic, reduced-calorie diet were more likely to experience improvements in glycemic control and, in some cases, patients were actually able to eliminate their diabetes medications and "reverse" their diabetes, at least as it is defined by hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level.

According to Westman, one of the novel aspects of this study was that patients in the low-carb group were maintained on what is typically considered the "induction phase" or "intensive" carbohydrate restriction of common low-carb diets. In the Atkins diet — and the Atkins Foundation funded this study — that induction phase means reducing carbs to <20 g per day for the first two weeks; in Westman et al's study, carbohydrate content was kept at <20 g for the entire six months of the study.

"Scientifically it's a no-brainer that the lower-carb diet affects the blood sugar better, because that's what physiology tells us," he told heartwire. "It's taught in Physiology 101 that what raises blood sugar is carbohydrates in the diet. There's no controversy about that. The question in the study is the degree to which changing the carbs in the diet affects type 2 diabetes."

Improvements in Weight and Glucose Level

In all, investigators randomized 84 volunteers — mostly women — to either a ketogenic diet with <20 g of carbohydrates per day but no restriction on calories or to a calorie-reduced, low-glycemic-index diet (recommended calorie reduction of 500 kcal/day). Both groups attended regular clinic counseling sessions and were given nutritional supplements and recommendations for exercise: 30 minutes, at least three times per week.

At six months, more than 42% of patients had dropped out of the study, although both interventions had led to improvements in glycemic control as measured by HbA1c — the main outcome of the study. Strikingly, however, improvements in HbA1c, reductions in body weight, and improvements in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were significantly greater among participants randomized to the low-carb diet. Need for diabetes drugs, including insulin and/or oral drugs, was reduced or eliminated in more than 95% of people in the low-carb group as opposed to 62% in the low-glycemic-diet group, a statistically significant difference.

Changes in Metabolic and Lipid Parameters

OutcomeLow-glycemicLow-carbAdjusted p, between groups
HbA1c (%)–0.5–1.5*0.06
Fasting glucose (mg/dL)–16.0*–19.9*NS
Waist circumference (in)–4.6*–5.3*NS
BMI (kg/m2)–2.7–3.9NS
Body weight, kg–6.9–11.10.01
LDL (mg/dL)–2.8+1.3NS
VLDL (mg/dL)-3.3*-10.0*NS
HDL (mg/dL)No change+5.6*<0.05
Triglycerides (mg/dL)–19.3–67.5*NS
*p<0.05 for within group changes from baseline.

For lipid parameters, only HDL changes were significantly different between the two groups after adjustment for baseline differences, with improvements in HDL among the low-carb group being statistically greater — HDL levels were unchanged in the glycemic-index group. Both groups experienced significant improvements from baseline in very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and triglycerides.

To heartwire, Westman emphasized that there was a lot of variation in responses by lipid parameters to a diet that typically included more meat, cheese, and saturated fats. "I would say that we can allow a little increase in cholesterol if we're fixing diabetes," Westman said. "Diabetes is not a risk factor, it's a risk equivalent. I just don't understand the push-back, because we're not talking about raising or lowering LDL [low-density lipoprotein] by 20 points, we're talking about fixing diabetes."

Mechanism of Benefit

The authors point out that both weight loss and the reduced glycemic index contributed to the beneficial effects in the low-carb-diet group (since this diet also has a low glycemic index). But the higher impact of the low-carb diet in this study was likely driven by the lower carbohydrate intake, since the statistical significance of the different effect was maintained even after the researchers adjusted for weight loss.

"It is possible that the beneficial effect of 'low-glycemic' diets could be augmented by further reduction of the absolute amount of carbohydrate or by a reduction in caloric content," they write.

Asked to comment on the study for heartwire, Dr Robert Eckel (University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver), who served on the nutrition committee of the American Heart Association (AHA) (which has long advocated fat restriction in the diet), pointed to information missing in the study, including details about the types of fat consumed and the reasons behind the high dropout rate.

Also commenting, diabetes researcher Dr Darren McGuire (UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX) called Westman et al's strategy "an intriguing concept."

"It's an interesting effect of HbA1c, but as we've all been so recently reminded, intervening on HbA1c is not the objective of diabetes management — the objective is to prevent micro- and macrovascular complications of the disease," McGuire told heartwire. "While some interventions that favorably affect HbA1c appear to reduce clinical risks, others do not and may cause harm. So, this diet intervention, fairly extreme in its nutritional composition and net metabolic effects above and beyond glucose metrics, just like any pharmaceutical intervention, requires evaluation over longer term and ideally in clinical-outcomes studies before one could endorse it on any scale. Most important, assessment of its clinical-outcomes effects, intermediate- and longer-term safety, and longer-term tolerability are all key questions remaining."

Westman agreed, telling heartwire that he has a $50-million study written up and ready to go at Duke Clinical Research Institute but doubts it will ever be funded due to the entrenched attitudes about fat and the politics around food and agriculture.

"We're in the gray zone where the ultimate study that needs to be done is a randomized clinical trial, which I'm all for," he said. But in the meantime, he plans to continue using a low-carb strategy in his practice. "Should I increase the fat in the diet, which science has shown to not raise cholesterol, even though a lot of people believe that to be true? Yes, if it means I can take people off medicine and improve their glycemic control," he insists.

But he also emphasizes that the low-carb approach is just one of several approaches to helping obese patients with diabetes, and it's not for everyone. "I have some college professors who were in the study who said, this is like I was eating in Italy. . . . I love it. So for some it's a cinch. But for the average person who gets into our studies, it's not a cinch, and it does require behavioral changes. What we learned from this study and others is that this is intensive, and in our clinic we won't let anyone go longer than a month without coming in, and if they have any sort of trouble with this, we prefer seeing people every two weeks. Some people we see once a week."

The key point, Westman continues, is that diabetes is "fixable." That notion has already been demonstrated in the bariatric-surgery literature, he points out. "This is a noninvasive approach, it's not quite as fast, not as drastic, and not as risky as surgery, but it still really reconfirms that with diet and weight change, diabetes is reversible."

It's also cheap for patients, he points out. "I would think that today, in this economic climate, that we would want nonpharmacological alternatives," Westman said. "I made one man happy today because I reduced his insulin in half in one day, and he was spending a couple hundred dollars per month on insulin. Patients like the doctor who does this."

The Robert C. Atkins Foundation funded the study. Dr. Westman has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Coauthor Dr. William S. Yancy Jr was supported by a Veterans Administration Health Services Research Career Development Award. The other study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Source

  1. Westman EC, Yancy WS Jr, Mavropoulos JC, Marquart M, McDuffie JR. The effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-glycemic index diet on glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nutr Metab. 2008; DOI:10.1186/1743-7075-5-36. Available at:http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/36.

The complete contents of Heartwire, a professional news service of WebMD, can be found at www.theheart.org, a Web site for cardiovascular healthcare professionals.

Clinical Context

A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet can reverse diabetes without adversely affecting lipid profiles, and use of a low-carbohydrate diet has been shown to improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.

This is a randomized, open, controlled study comparing the effect of a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet vs a low-glycemic, reduced-energy diet in obese patients with type 2 diabetes for outcomes of glycemic control, weight, and lipid profile.

Study Highlights

  • Patients aged 18 to 65 years with type 2 diabetes onset after 15 years and diagnosed for at least 1 year with HbA1c levels more than 6.0% were recruited from the community using advertisements.
  • Excluded were those with serious medical conditions, liver or kidney disease, pregnancy, or lactation.
  • Patients were stratified by body mass index below or above 32 kg/m2 to either a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet (n = 38) or a low-glycemic, reduced-energy diet (n = 46) for 24 weeks.
  • Both groups had similar group sessions with diet instruction, nutritional supplements, and exercise recommendation of 30 minutes at least 3 times a week.
  • Group meetings took place every week for 3 months and every other week for the remaining 3 months.
  • Their clinician reviewed treatment based on algorithms for monitored blood glucose levels and blood pressure.
  • The low-carbohydrate group was instructed by a registered dietician to restrict intake of carbohydrates to fewer than 20 g/day.
  • Permitted foods were unlimited animal foods and eggs, and limited hard cheese, fresh cheese, salad vegetables, and nonstarchy vegetables.
  • The low-glycemic-diet group had 55% of daily energy intake from carbohydrates and 500 kcal less daily vs the calculated energy intake for weight maintenance.
  • Primary outcome was change in HbA1c level from baseline to week 24.
  • Also monitored were weight change, lipid panel, vital signs, other metabolic effects, medication changes, and adherence.
  • All participants completed food records at baseline and at weeks 4, 12, and 24; food records were analyzed with a software program.
  • Mean age was 51.8 years, 80% were women, 46% were white and 50% were black, 59% had a college degree, and mean body mass index was 38 kg/m2.
  • In the low-carbohydrate group, 55.3% completed the study; in the low-glycemic-diet group, 63% completed the study for an overall completion rate of 58.3%.
  • The mean change in HbA1c level was –1.5% for the low-carbohydrate group and –0.5% for the low-glycemic-diet group (P = .03).
  • Fasting blood glucose and insulin levels improved similarly for both groups at 24 weeks.
  • 5 participants in the low-carbohydrate group and 1 in the low-glycemic-diet group taking more than 20 units of insulin daily were no longer taking insulin by 24 weeks.
  • Before the study, participants' intake was 46% carbohydrates, 18% proteins, and 36% fat.
  • During the study, the low-carbohydrate group had an intake of 13% carbohydrate, 28% protein, and 59% fat.
  • The low-glycemic-diet group had an intake of 44% carbohydrate, 20% protein, and 36% fat.
  • There was significantly greater weight loss in the low-carbohydrate group (–11.1 kg) vs the low-glycemic-diet group (–6.9 kg; P = .008).
  • Diabetes medications were reduced or eliminated in 95.2% of the low-carbohydrate group and 62.1% of the low-glycemic-diet group.
  • In the low-carbohydrate group, HDL cholesterol levels increased by 5.6 mg/dL, whereas there was no change in the low-glycemic-diet group (P < .001).
  • There were no significant differences in other lipid parameters.
  • There were no significant differences in symptomatic adverse effects, and the most common effects in both groups were headache, constipation, and diarrhea.
  • The authors concluded that the low-carbohydrate diet was more effective vs a low-glycemic diet to improve glycemic control, weight loss, and lipid profile in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Pearls for Practice

  • A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet is more effective vs a low-glycemic, reduced-energy diet to improve HbA1c levels and glucose control in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
  • A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet is more effective vs a low-glycemic, reduced-energy diet to improve weight loss, reduce medications, and increase HDL cholesterol levels at 24 weeks in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes.
6.  This paper describes why it is so important to look for patient problems in different vertebral positions.  This study researched the lumbar spine, but I find the same is true for the other areas of the spine.  Simply, this means put the patient in their position of pain or dysfunction and then look for the subluxation that causes it using Ak procedures of therapy localisation and challenge.

Regional Differences in Lumbar Spinal Posture and the Influence of Low Back Pain

Tim Mitchell; Peter B O'Sullivan; Angus F Burnett; Leon Straker; Anne Smith

BMC Musculoskelet Disord.  2008; ©2008 Mitchell et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Posted 01/13/2009

 

Abstract and Background

Abstract

Background: Spinal posture is commonly a focus in the assessment and clinical management of low back pain (LBP) patients. However, the link between spinal posture and LBP is not fully understood. Recent evidence suggests that considering regional, rather than total lumbar spine posture is important. The purpose of this study was to determine; if there are regional differences in habitual lumbar spine posture and movement, and if these findings are influenced by LBP.
Methods: One hundred and seventy female undergraduate nursing students, with and without LBP, participated in this cross-sectional study. Lower lumbar (LLx), Upper lumbar (ULx) and total lumbar (TLx) spine angles were measured using an electromagnetic tracking system in static postures and across a range of functional tasks.
Results: Regional differences in lumbar posture and movement were found. Mean LLx posture did not correlate with ULx posture in sitting (r = 0.036, p = 0.638), but showed a moderate inverse correlation with ULx posture in usual standing (r = -0.505, p < 0.001). Regional differences in range of motion from reference postures in sitting and standing were evident. BMI accounted for regional differences found in all sitting and some standing measures. LBP was not associated with differences in regional lumbar spine angles or range of motion, with the exception of maximal backward bending range of motion (F = 5.18, p = 0.007).
Conclusion: This study supports the concept of regional differences within the lumbar spine during common postures and movements. Global lumbar spine kinematics do not reflect regional lumbar spine kinematics, which has implications for interpretation of measures of spinal posture, motion and loading. BMI influenced regional lumbar posture and movement, possibly representing adaptation due to load.

Background

Low back pain (LBP) remains one of the most expensive medical conditions in manual workers including nurses.[1] Opinion remains divided regarding optimal LBP management.[2] Although retraining "ideal" spinal posture is a common component of the clinical management of non-specific LBP patients,[3,4] the direct relationship between spinal posture and LBP still remains unclear.

Evidence of both a relationship,[5,6] or no relationship[7,8] between posture and LBP has been reported in previous in-vivo posture studies. These conflicting findings may be due to posture being relevant to LBP in some populations but not others, or alternatively may be explained by methodological differences. When investigating posture, measures need to possess sufficient discriminative validity.[9] Clinically, LBP patients report more pain in the lower lumbar (LLx) spinal segments than upper lumbar (ULx) segments.[10,11] This is consistent with a greater degree of degeneration being evident in the LLx spinal segments,[12,13] which is thought to be due to the greater mechanical stress through these segments.[14] Given some individual lumbar spinal segments show greater degenerative changes than other lumbar segments, the notion of the lumbar spine as a homogenous region may not provide a true reflection of pain and function in this region.

To date, the concept of considering the motion and function of the lumbar spine in terms of LLx and ULx regions has been proposed,[15] but not widely investigated.[9] The majority of studies examining LBP have not considered lumbar spinal posture in separate regions, which may help explain the consensus of no direct link between spinal posture and LBP.[16,17] Other factors including gender[8] and BMI,[18] which are known to influence posture, may also confound this issue. However, there is emerging in-vivo evidence of links between posture and LBP. Dankaerts and colleagues showed differences in usual sitting posture between LBP patients and healthy controls.[6] Importantly, these differences were only evident when the lumbar spine was considered as separate regions (LLx and ULx), and when LBP subjects were sub-classified according to directional pain provocation patterns.[6]

The concept of considering regional motion and function of the lumbar spine during functional tasks has only recently been investigated. Gill and associates identified the importance of considering the lumbar spine as having separate regions, rather than viewing it as a rigid section, when measuring spinal lifting patterns.[19] Their recent study examining healthy subjects has shown a lack of variation of LLx spine posture when commencing lifting, irrespective of both the lifting technique used, or the distance the load is away from subject's feet.[19] In this study, movement variation when lifting was found to occur in the ULx and mid thoracic spine, rather than the LLx spine. These findings in healthy controls are yet to be examined in a LBP population.

Further investigation of regional differences in ULx and LLx spine function across different functional tasks relevant to specific work populations is required, as many LBP patients report symptom aggravation across a number of activities or postures other than just lifting.[20] The primary hypothesis of this study was that regional lumbar spine differences would be evident in standing and sitting postures, as well as for spinal angles and range of motion during functional tasks.

The aims of this study were to determine:

  1. whether regional (LLx/ULx) differences exist in spinal sagittal; static posture angles, range of motion and dynamic spinal angles during functional tasks.

  2. if the nature of these differences are similar in subjects with and without a history of LBP.

Methods

Design

This cross-sectional study was part of a larger prospective study into patterns of LBP in nursing students. This current study examined the LBP characteristics and spinal kinematics across a range of static postures and functional tasks of female undergraduate nursing students.

Sample

Data were collected on 170 female undergraduate nursing students recruited via personal invitation from two undergraduate university nursing programs. Subjects were aged between 18 and 35 years and were in their second or third year of their programs at the time of the study. Ethical approval to conduct the study was granted from Curtin University of Technology and Edith Cowan University ethics committees, and written informed consent from subjects was obtained.

Protocol

Subjects were excluded if they had; an inability to understand written or spoken English, presence of other conditions affecting the spine or lower limbs including inflammatory disorders, neurological diseases or metastatic disease, pregnancy or less than 6 months post-partum, or inability to assume the test postures. Subjects both with and without a history of LBP were included in the study. As acute LBP has been shown to influence spinal posture[21] and motor control,[22]subjects who had LBP which limited their performance of the test procedures (pain greater than 3 out of 10 on a VAS at the time of testing) were excluded (1 subject).

LBP Characteristics

Based on a previous survey of LBP in a similar nursing student sample,[23] a range of LBP severity was expected. To investigate the influence of LBP, subjects were divided into three LBP categories; No LBP, Minor LBP and Significant LBP. Considering the multifactorial influences of LBP,[24] and variance in prevalence based on LBP definition,[25] Significant LBP group allocation was defined by a combination of indicators across a range of domains based on previous LBP research. These indicators were:

  1. Lifetime LBP Severity. Subjects were asked to rate their worst ever LBP on a visual analogue pain scale (> 4/10. Based on mean episodic LBP severity data).[26]

  2. Duration of LBP in previous 12 months. Taken from Nordic LBP Questionnaire[27] (>1 week. To differentiate subjects with a single very short LBP episode of high severity).

  3. LBP requiring treatment or medication or a reduction in activity in the past 12 months.[28]

  4. LBP disability levels at the time of testing measured by the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI),[29] (>20% based on mean ODI score for primary LBP of 26%).[30]

Subjects who scored above the designated cut off score in at least three of the four categories were deemed to have Significant LBP. The remaining LBP subjects who reported some pain in the previous 12 months, but did not satisfy the criteria for Significant LBP were considered as having Minor LBP ( Table 1 ).

Subjects attended a single testing session at their university. A modified version of the Nordic Low Back Pain Questionnaire[27] was used to determine LBP history, frequency and severity. LBP disability levels were measured using the ODI. BMI was calculated from height and weight measures to control for its known influence on spinal posture and motion.[18] The static spinal postures measured were usual sitting and usual standing. Sagittal spinal range of motion were measured as the difference between usual sitting and maximal slumped sitting and usual standing and; sway standing, maximal forward bending and maximal backward bending in standing. Peak sagittal angles were measured during a range of functional tasks chosen with consideration of likely repetitive movements and sustained postures associated with university study and nursing duties. Test postures are shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1.

Test postures.


     

Static Sitting and Standing Posture

It is acknowledged that measuring true "usual" posture is difficult in the laboratory setting. However, subjects were covertly observed when completing questionnaires prior to physical testing to gain an idea of their "usual" sitting posture, and to ensure a similar posture was adopted during testing. Further, subjects were not aware when the "usual" standing and sitting measures were being recoded, as they performed a number of tasks that involved sitting or standing as the starting position. Usual sitting and standing postures were measured as follows using a previously described protocol:[6]

  1. Subjects were asked to sit on a stool, which was selected to allow their thighs to be parallel with the floor and knees flexed at 90°. No direction of how to sit or an indication of what was being measured was provided. This position was recorded for five seconds as their usual sitting posture (defined as the sitting posture they would usually adopt during unsupported sitting).

  2. Subjects were asked to stand comfortably at a predetermined position. Whilst no specific instruction of how to stand was given, all subjects stood with their feet parallel. This position was recorded for five seconds as their usual standing posture (defined as the standing posture they would usually adopt during habitual unsupported standing).

Range of Motion in Sitting and Standing

  1. From the usual sitting position subjects were then assisted into their end of range lumbar flexion sitting posture for five seconds by an experienced therapist using standardised cues of asking the subject to "slouch" and using hand cues on the lateral shoulder and pelvis to guide posterior pelvic tilting.

  2. Sway standing posture was defined as subject's relaxed standing posture with the pelvis translated anteriorly relative to the trunk. All subjects were guided into this position from their usual standing position for five seconds by the same experienced therapist. Excellent reliability of positioning subjects in sway posture has been shown previously.[31]

  3. Subjects were then asked to bend forwards as far as possible from standing, with their knees straight, and a five second recording in this position was defined as maximal forward bending.

  4. Similarly, maximal backward bending was measured by asking subjects to then bend backwards as far as possible for five seconds, keeping their feet stationary.

All posture and range of motion measures were repeated three times.

Functional Tasks

  1. While in the standing position, a pen was placed in front of subjects and they were asked to pick it up. Subjects were directed to pick up the pen as if they had just dropped their own pen on the floor and needed to retrieve it. This test was performed once.

  2. Subjects were then directed to pick up a moderate (5 kg) load in a box with handles 20 cm above floor height. No cues were given regarding how to pick up the box. This and subsequent tasks were repeated three times.

  3. An adjustable bed was then set at a height 10 cm above each subject's superior patella margin as a standardised height. The task involved transferring a pillow from left to right a distance of 75 cm, then back to the starting position. Subjects initially stood at the mid point between the pillow and target position marked on the bed, then were asked to transfer the load, with no specific directions regarding how to lift.

  4. The task involving transferring a pillow was then repeated using a 5 kg box.

Squatting

Subjects were seated on a stool, with thighs parallel and knees flexed at 90°, and their arms folded across their chest. Subjects were then asked to adopt a squat position with their buttocks just clear of the stool, by an experienced therapist using standardised cues. This test was also used for a measure of leg muscle endurance, so only one trial was conducted. Subject's lumbar spine posture was recorded throughout the squat test, with a five second Fastrak™ data sample taken as their squat position once their position was stable after rising from the stool.

LLx, ULx and TLx Angle Measurement

Lumbar spine sagittal plane (flexion/extension) angles (measured in degrees) were derived from sensors placed over T12, L3 and S2 using 3-Space® Fastrak™ (Polhemus, Kaiser Aerospace, Vermont) and custom software written in LabVIEW V8 (National Instruments, Texas, USA). LLx (L3-S2), ULx (T12-L3), and total lumbar (TLx) angles (T12-S2) were calculated, as previously defined (see Figure 2) and shown to possess excellent inter-trial reliability in sitting.[6] Reliability and validity of the Fastrak™ system for measuring spinal range of motion has been demonstrated.[32,33] The Fastrak™ system is widely used in clinical research, however there are limitations of externally fixated measurement devices which have been discussed is detail elsewhere.[34] Extension in the sagittal plane was assigned a positive value, and flexion a negative value.


Figure 2.

Spinal model used for the calculation of lumbar angles.
LLx = lower lumbar; ULx = upper lumbar. Total lumbar angle is the angle formed between the tangents from the sensors at T12 and S2.


For usual sitting and standing the mean angle of three trials (averaged over 5 seconds of data collection) was calculated and used for subsequent analysis. For range of motion, the mean peak angle of three trials (averaged over 5 seconds subject held position) was calculated for each of; maximal slumped sitting, sway standing and maximal forward and backward bending in standing was subtracted from the usual sitting or standing angle. The mean peak sagittal angles were calculated for the functional tasks. As there was no sustained hold during these tasks (except for the squat), the customised analysis software determined the peak sagittal flexion (or least sagittal extension) angle reached between the manually tagged start and finish of the task. Range of motion from the reference position of usual standing to the peak angle in each functional task also calculated to compare relative motion between LLx and ULx regions during these tasks.

Inter-trial reliability (from three trials for each subject) for all LLx, ULx and TLx repeated measures in this study were excellent. For the LLx spine, the mean ICC(3,1) was 0.97 (range: 0.93 – 0.99) and mean SEM was 2.0° (range: 0.5° – 2.5°). For the ULx spine, the mean ICC(3,1) was 0.94 (range: 0.87 – 0.99) and mean SEM was 2.1° (range: 0.5° – 3.1°). For the TLx spine, the mean ICC(3,1) was 0.95 (range: 0.87 – 0.99) and mean SEM was 2.8° (range: 0.6° – 4.7°).

Statistical Analysis

As this study was part of a larger prospective study, sample size calculations were not specific to this study. However, calculations using Intercooled Stata 9.2 for Windows (Statacorp LP, College Station: USA) indicated over 99% power to detect half of one standard deviation difference in range of motion between ULx and LLx angles within the 170 subjects (even when assuming a strong correlation of 0.9 between ULx and LLx angles). All other statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Student Version 13.0 (SPSS, Chicago: USA). A series of repeated measures ANCOVA for each posture or task, with the within-subject contrast being lumbar region, and the between-subject contrast being pain group, adjusting for BMI were used. For each task, the partial correlation between lumbar, regions adjusted for BMI, were calculated. The criteria for statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results

In usual sitting posture, the LLx spine was on average in an extended position, while the ULx spine was on average held in a slightly flexed (kyphotic) position. These mean LLx and ULx angles were significantly different (F = 28.23, p < 0.001). However, BMI was positively and significantly correlated with both LLx (r = 0.238, p = 0.002) and ULx (r = 0.203, p = 0.008) position. After adjusting for BMI, LLx and ULx angles were not significantly different (F = 0.46, p = 0.497). As shown in Table 2 , the same pattern was seen with slump sitting, where ULx and LLx differences were no different after adjusting for BMI. Correlations between LLx and ULx angles are reported adjusted for BMI, however BMI had minimal effect on these correlations In usual and slump sitting, subjects' LLx angle showed no correlation with ULx angle.

In usual standing, both the LLx and ULx angles were on average in an extended (lordotic) position. BMI was not correlated with LLx position (r = -0.023, p = 0.767) but was positively and significantly correlated with ULx position (r = 0.194, p = 0.011). Even after adjusting for BMI, there was significantly more extension in the LLx spine than the ULx (see Table 2 ). The same pattern of more LLx extension was seen with sway standing and maximal extension in standing, but these differences were not significant after adjusting for BMI. In usual and sway standing and maximal extension, subjects' LLx angle showed a moderate inverse correlation with ULx angle.

The TLx sagittal range of motion (difference between maximal forward and backward bending angles) in standing was on average approximately 96° for all subjects, with a significantly greater proportion (58% v 42%) of this in the LLx spine compared with the ULx spine (F = 4.203, p = 0.042). BMI was positively correlated with LLx motion (r = 0.172, p = 0.025) but negatively correlated with ULx motion (r = -0.508, p < 0.001).

When changing postures from both sitting and standing positions, the LLx and ULx spine displayed different patterns of movement across all subjects. With usual sitting posture as the reference angles, when moving from usual sitting to slump sitting, the majority of movement occurred at the ULx spine, with significant differences between LLx and ULx movement [(F = 85.34, p < 0.001). However, BMI was negatively correlated with LLx motion (r = -0.313, p < 0.001) but not correlated with ULx motion (r = 0.056, p = 466) and after adjustment for BMI the differences between LLx and ULx movement were not significant at the critical alpha level [(F = 3.28 p = 0.072) see Table 3 ]. Conversely, with usual standing posture as the reference angles and adjusting for BMI, there was significantly more LLx movement compared to ULx movement when moving from; 1. Usual standing to maximal forward bending, 2. Usual standing to maximal backward bending, and 3. Usual standing to a sway standing posture. For the 2nd and 3rd task, BMI was positively correlated with LLx motion (r = 0.257, p = 0.001 and r = 0.327, p < 0.001 respectively) but negatively correlated with ULx motion (r = -0.343, p <0.001 and r = -0.477, p < 0.001).

For the functional tasks, statistically significant differences were found between LLx and ULx peak angles for picking up a pen, picking up a box, transferring a pillow, and transferring a box, but not for squatting. However, after BMI adjustment, differences were only significant for picking up a pen and transferring a pillow and a box ( Table 2 ). BMI was not correlated with these measures.

When comparing the differences in how far the LLx and ULx spine moved from the reference usual standing position to the peak angle position during functional tasks, picking up a pen, lifting a box from the floor, and squatting tasks all involved significantly more movement in the LLx spine. Only the difference in squatting remained significant after adjusting for BMI however ( Table 3 ).

Effect of LBP

TLx maximal backward bending range of motion was the only measure that was significantly different between pain groups (F = 5.18, p = 0.007). Significant LBP was associated with decreased movement compared to No Pain (-3.7°, 95%CI: -6.3° to -1.0°) or Mild Pain (-3.1°, 95%CI: -5.3° to -1.0°), and these estimates were unaffected by BMI. However, low back pain did not modify regional differences in any lumbar spine angle or range of motion before or after adjustment for BMI. Correlations between LLx and ULx were similar between pain groups across all tasks.

Discussion

This study supports and extends previous literature that found global lumbar spine kinematics do not accurately reflect kinematics of the ULx or LLx spinal regions.[6,19,35] Rather the ULx and LLx spine display some functional independence and for the purposes of investigation of spinal posture, motion and loading, these regions should be considered separately.

Sitting

The lack of correlation between LLx and ULx angles in usual sitting is consistent with a previous investigation of sitting posture[6] and supports the concept of regional differences. On average, the LLx spine in usual sitting was slightly extended, while the ULx spine was slightly flexed. When moving from a usual sitting to slump sitting position, the majority of motion occurred in the ULx spine, which also confirms the findings of Dankaerts et al using similar sitting protocol.[6] This movement from usual to slump sitting showed a moderate positive correlation, which is consistent with both lumbar regions moving towards their end of range flexion position.

These differences in LLx and ULx spine posture and motion in sitting were accounted for by subject's BMI, as BMI was positively correlated with LLx and ULx angles and this may be an indication that the body adapts its position in response to load. There is some evidence of BMI modifying posture and movement of the lumbar spine,[18] and different movement strategies from sitting to standing have been reported between obese and normal individuals.[36] Other possible examples of the body adapting its position in response to load are the reduction in sitting and standing sagittal thoraco-lumbar motion with pregnancy[37] and self reported improvements spinal pain and posture following breast reduction surgery.[38,39]

Standing

In usual standing posture, there was more extension in the LLx than ULx segments. These angles showed a moderate inverse correlation, supporting their functional difference. Across all subjects, total sagittal range of motion in standing was similar to results reported in other studies[40,41] and the finding of a greater proportion of this motion occurring in the LLx spine is also consistent with previous findings.[42,43]

Regional differences were also evident in lumbar movements from usual standing to positions of forward and backward bending as well as sway standing, with the majority of motion occurring at the LLx spine. Although previously clinically hypothesized,[4,44] this study provides quantitative data that supports the idea that movement into the sway standing position is primarily a function of extension motion through the LLx segments, with very little motion occurring in the ULx spine. If adopted habitually, this sway standing position may result in increased load on passive spinal structures in the LLx spine due to inhibition of supporting spinal muscles,[31] and may be a possible mechanism for LLx spine pain in some individuals.

Similar to sitting measures, BMI could account for some of the regional differences in static standing angles, particularly sway and maximal extension in standing. This finding is consistent with a recent study showing higher BMI was related to hyper-lordotic standing posture in adolescents.[45] BMI was moderately negatively correlated with ULx measures and positively correlated with LLx measures, particularly in a number of the range of motion measures. This suggests as BMI increases, ULx motion decreases and LLx motion increases, which supports and extends the findings of Gilleard and co-workers in a study comparing obese and normal individuals.[18]

Functional Tasks

Regional lumbar spine differences are supported by Gill et al's findings of LLx angle in healthy controls remaining consistent across different lifting techniques.[19]In their study, dynamic spinal position changes occurred at the ULx and thoracic spine. The current study adds to these findings, as there was a lack of correlation between LLx and ULx peak angles in the lifting tasks at bed height. Further, LLx and ULx range of motion from the reference position of usual standing to the peak angle in each functional task was either negatively correlated or showed no correlation. There were also significant differences between LLx and ULx peak sagittal angles across all tasks except squatting. Again BMI influenced these findings. Although the role of BMI in spinal posture and function requires further investigation, the results of this study clearly support that regional lumbar posture is influenced by BMI.

The Influence of LBP

There was a considerable prevalence of LBP reported in this relatively young sample of female undergraduate nursing students. Although not necessarily disabling, over 30% of the students had LBP that would be regarded as clinically significant. Given the supposed risk for LBP in nurses in relation to bending and lifting duties,[46] this group of nursing students provided an interesting cohort for investigation of the influence of LBP on regional lumbar posture.

Whilst there were clear regional differences in both posture and motion observed in this study, there were no differences in these variables between subjects with and without LBP. This data suggests regional spinal angles do not differ in female nursing students with LBP when they are sub-grouped according to LBP severity. This finding conflicts with other gender controlled evidence that individuals with LBP stand with less LLx lordosis,[47] or greater lower lumbar lordosis than healthy controls.[48] These conflicting results may be due to methodological differences, or alternatively may indicate that the manner by which LBP subjects are sub-grouped greatly influences whether postural differences are detected.[4,6]

There is evidence for both a loss of segmental lordosis and excessive lower lumbar lordosis in different sub-groups of chronic LBP patients when classified on the basis of directional pain provocation.[6,49] Determining appropriate sub-classification of non-specific LBP populations appears to be a consensus in LBP research findings.[50] In the current study, sub-classification by LBP severity may have failed to adequately distinguish between LBP postural sub-groups, creating a wash-out effect.[51] Based on previous research,[41,47,52] it is unclear whether the influence of gender on spinal posture or mobility also needs to be considered when interpreting these results.

Only total lumbar sagittal extension motion differed between LBP and control subjects, possibly suggesting spinal range of motion may not be important in LBP in this population. This may relate that subjects did not have high levels of current pain at the time of testing. Previous studies have reported reduced sagittal range of motion in LBP subjects compared with healthy controls.[35,53,54] However other studies suggest segmental hypermobility is present in LBP populations,[55] or that both segmental hypermobility and segmental rigidity are evident in different sub-groups of LBP patients.[56] Clearly, variable definitions of LBP and different methods of measuring spinal angles (MRI, X-ray, external motion analysis systems) may account for some of these conflicting findings. Alternatively, other factors such as spinal motor control,[4,57] habitual posturing of the spine,[5,6] patterns of spinal loading,[58] neurophysiological,[59] psycho-social,[60,61] and genetics[62] may be more important mediating factors of LBP experience than spinal range of motion, depending on the study population.

Interestingly, BMI did not influence the findings in relation to LBP in this study. This may be related to the lack of group differences in mean BMI scores and that the majority of subjects were within normal BMI range. In contrast, BMI has been associated with LBP in some studies,[63,64] and evidence of BMI differences between standing postural alignment groups[45] may relate to compensatory patterns of loading due to body mass distribution. Given trends of increasing population obesity,[65] the influence of BMI on LBP may become a greater issue in the future.

Limitations

The results of this study of a moderate size cohort of young female nursing students cannot be generalised across other populations without further research. Particularly, the possibility of different findings between males and females across some of the measures warrants further investigation. The 3-dimensional motion analysis system is not a direct measure of spinal posture, however in a large clinical sample it is a widely accepted tool for the measurement of dynamic functional spinal angles.[34] It also has some clinical validity as a measure of spinal posture, as Dankaerts et al[6] were able to use 3-dimensional motion analysis measures to discriminate between both sub-groups of LBP as well as healthy controls.

Measurement of "usual" spinal posture in the laboratory setting is difficult. While efforts were made to blind the subjects as to when measurements of their sitting and standing posture were being recorded, this is an acknowledged weakness of the study. However, a recent study of lumbo-pelvic kinematics showed that after being asked to assume a "usual" sitting posture, subjects did not significantly alter this posture over five minutes of data collection,[52] which adds some validity for this being a measure of "usual" sitting posture.

Conclusion

This study supports the concept of separate regions of posture and movement within the lumbar spine. LLx posture is not directly related to ULx posture, and knowledge about movement in one region does not inform about movement in the other. Some regional differences in spinal angles are influenced by BMI, supporting that weight distribution has an influence over spinal posture and movement. Static posture angles, range of motion and dynamic spinal angles during functional tasks were not influenced by LBP. Regional lumbar posture and its relationship with recurrent or future LBP episodes is the subject of ongoing prospective research.


Table 1. Subject Demographics and LBP Characteristics



 No LBP (n = 36)Minor LBP (n = 81)Significant LBP (n = 53)
Age (mean + SD, years)21.7 ± 3.522.0 ± 4.223.9 ± 5.1
BMI (mean + SD, kg/m2)21.9 ± 2.823.3 ± 4.323.1 ± 3.4
Lifetime highest VAS (mean + SD,/10)03.9 ± 2.36.6 ± 1.6
Annual LBP Duration (range, days)01–78–30
Requiring treatment, medication or activity reduction past 12-months (%)044.496.2
Oswestry Disability Index (mean + SD)010.4 ± 6.621.2 ± 9.2

BMI = body mass index. VAS = visual analogue scale.


Table 2. Comparisons Between Upper Lumbar and Lower Lumbar Spine Static and Peak Angles Across Postures and Tasks



Posture/
Activity		ULx angle (°)LLx angle (°)p-valuep-value adjusted for BMIULx/LLx correlation (p-value)
Usual sitting4.1 ± 8.8-1.3 ± 8.8< 0.0010.4970.036 (0.638)
Usual standing23.4 ± 11.215.5 ± 9.6< 0.0010.016- 0.505 (< 0.001)
Slump sitting1.6 ± 9.1-8.6 ± 6.1< 0.0010.770- 0.111 (0.151)
Sway standing31.2 ± 13.617.4 ± 11.9< 0.0010.576- 0.58 (< 0.001)
Maximal flexion11.8 ± 6.815.4 ± 5.9< 0.0010.026- 0.062 (0.426)
Maximal extension44.1 ± 19.925.8 ± 16.0< 0.0010.183- 0.509 (< 0.001)
Pick up pen-8.1 ± 7.2-12.5 ± 6.3< 0.0010.0150.197 (0.012)
Pick up box-5.3 ± 8.3-8.5 ± 8.5< 0.0010.1080.274 (< 0.001)
Transfer pillow3.5 ± 8.5-4.7 ± 8.3< 0.0010.013- 0.017 (0.825)
Transfer box8.4 ± 8.91.7 ± 8.4< 0.0010.031- 0.147 (0.062)
Squat-3.2 ± 9.0-2.9 ± 9.60.8660.9680.346 (< 0.001)

Repeated measures ANCOVA and correlations adjusted for BMI.
LLx = Lower Lumbar, ULx = Upper Lumbar, BMI = Body Mass Index, Negative value = relative flexion (kyphosis) of lumbar spine.


Table 3. Comparisons Between Upper Lumbar and Lower Lumbar Spine Range of Motion Across Postures and Tasks



Posture/
Activity		LLx angle (°)ULx angle (°)p-valuep-value adjusted for BMIULx/LLx correlation (p-value)
Usual to slump sitting2.5 ± 4.07.3 ± 7.0< 0.0010.0720.525 (< 0.001)
Usual to sway standing8.2 ± 5.40.8 ± 5.4< 0.001< 0.001- 0.469 (< 0.001)
Usual stand to maximal flexion35.0 ± 10.030.8 ± 9.90.0030.033- 0.442 (< 0.001)
Usual stand to maximal extension20.6 ± 13.38.9 ± 11.1< 0.0010.001- 0.426 (< 0.001)
Total standing ROM55.7 ± 18.639.8 ± 17.0< 0.0010.042- 0.460 (< 0.001)
Usual stand to pick up pen31.4 ± 9.928.0 ± 9.10.0040.140- 0.332 (< 0.001)
Usual stand to pick up box28.7 ± 10.224.0 ± 10.1< 0.0010.069- 0.142 (0.071)
Usual stand to transfer pillow19.9 ± 8.220.3 ± 9.30.7750.290- 0.186 (0.018)
Usual stand to transfer box15.0 ± 7.313.9 ± 8.20.1700.160- 0.041 (0.601)
Usual stand to squat26.5 ± 10.218.4 ± 11.8< 0.0010.009- 0.008 (0.918)

Repeated measure ANCOVA and correlations adjusted for BMI.
LLx = Lower Lumbar, ULx = Upper Lumbar, BMI = Body Mass Index, ROM = Range of Motion.




References

  1. Stansbury C, Lim T: Worker's Compensation in Western Australia. Statistical Report 99/00 – 02/03. Perth, Australia; 2004.
  2. Waddell G: The Problem. In The Back Pain Revolution. 2nd edition. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingston; 2004:1-7.
  3. Scannell J, McGill S: Lumbar posture – should it, and can it, be modified? A study of passive tissue stiffness and lumbar position during activities of daily living. Physical Therapy 2003, 83:907-917.
  4. O'Sullivan P: Diagnosis and classification of chronic low back pain disorders: maladaptive movement and motor control impairments as underlying mechanism. Man Ther 2005, 10:242-255.
  5. O'Sullivan P, Mitchell T, Bulich P, Waller R, Holte J: The relationship between posture and back muscle endurance in industrial workers with flexion-related low back pain. Man Ther 2006, 11:264-271.
  6. Dankaerts W, O'Sullivan P, Burnett A, Straker L: Differences in sitting postures are associated with nonspecific chronic low back pain disorders when patients are subclassified. Spine 2006, 31:698-704.
  7. Tuzun C, Yorulmaz I, Cindas A, Vatan S: Low back pain and posture. Clin Rheumatol 1999, 18:308-312.
  8. Widhe T: Spine: posture, mobility and pain. A longitudinal study from childhood to adolescence. Eur Spine J 2001, 10:118-123.
  9. van Dieen JH, Toussaint HM, Maurice C, Mientjes M: Fatigue-related changes in the coordination of lifting and their effect on low back load. J Mot Behav1996, 28:304-314.
  10. Biering-Sorensen F: A prospective study of low back pain in a general population. II. Location, character, aggravating and relieving factors. Scand J Rehabil Med 1983, 15(2):81-88.
  11. Beattie P, Meyers S, Stratford P, Millard R, Hollenberg G: Associations between patient report of symptoms and anatomic impairment visible on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging. Spine 2000, 25:819-828.
  12. Quack C, Schenk P, Laeubli T, Spillmann S, Hodler J, Michel BA, Klipstein A: Do MRI findings correlate with mobility tests? An explorative analysis of the test validity with regard to structure. Eur Spine J 2007, 16:803-812.
  13. Twomey L, Taylor J: Age changes in lumbar vertebrae and intervertebral discs. Clin Orthop Relat Res 1987, 224:97-104.
  14. Adams M, Bogduk N, Burton K, Dolan P: Mechanical function of the lumbosacral spine. In The Biomechanics of Back Pain. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingston; 2002.
  15. Burton K: The ratio of upper lumbar to lower lumbar sagittal mobility related to age, sex and low back trouble. Engineering in Medicine 1987, 16:233-236.
  16. Lis AM, Black KM, Korn H, Nordin M: Association between sitting and occupational LBP. Eur Spine J 2007, 16:283-298.
  17. Raine S, Twomey L: Attributes and qualities of human posture and their relationship to dysfunction or musculoskeletal pain. Crit Rev Phys Rehabil Med1994, 6:409-437.
  18. Gilleard W, Smith T: Effect of obesity on posture and hip joint moments during a standing task, and trunk forward flexion motion. Int J Obes 2007, 31:267-271.
  19. Gill KP, Bennett SJ, Savelsbergh GJ, van Dieen JH: Regional changes in spine posture at lift onset with changes in lift distance and lift style. Spine 2007, 32:1599-1604.
  20. Mohseni-Bandpei MA, Fakhri M, Bagheri-Nesami M, Ahmad-Shirvani M, Khalilian AR, Shayesteh-Azar M: Occupational back pain in Iranian nurses: an epidemiological study. Br J Nurs 2006, 15:914-917.
  21. Harrison DD, Cailliet R, Janik TJ, Troyanovich SJ, Harrison DE, Holland B: Elliptical modelling of the sagittal lumbar lordosis and segmental rotation angles as a method to discriminate between normal and low back pain subjects. J Spinal Disord 1998, 11:430-439.
  22. Hodges PW, Moseley GL, Gabrielsson A, Gandevia SC: Experimental muscle pain changes feedforward postural responses of the trunk muscles. Exp Brain Res 2003, 151:262-271.
  23. Mitchell T, O'Sullivan PB, Burnett AF, Straker L, Rudd C: Low back pain characteristics from undergraduate student to working nurse in Australia: A cross-sectional survey. Int J Nurs Stud 2008.
  24. Waddell G: The Back Pain Revolution. Second edition. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2004.
  25. Marras WS, Ferguson SA, Burr D, Schabo P, Maronitis A: Low back pain recurrence in occupational environments. Spine 2007, 32:2387-2397.
  26. Bolton JE: Accuracy of recall of usual pain intensity in back pain patients. Pain 1999, 83:533-539.
  27. Kuornika I, Jonsson B, Kilbom A, Vinterberg H, Biering-Sorensen F, Andersson G, Jorgensen K: Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of musculoskeletal symptoms. Appl Ergon 1987, 18:233-237.
  28. Adams MA, Mannion AF, Dolan P: Personal risk factors for first time low back pain. Spine 1999, 24:2497-2505.
  29. Fairbank JC, Couper J, Davies J, O'Brien J: The Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire. Physiotherapy 1980, 66:271-273.
  30. Fairbank JC, Pynsent PB: The Oswestry Disability Index. Spine 2000, 25:2940-2952.
  31. O'Sullivan P, Grahamslaw K, Kendell M, Lapenskie S, Moller N, Richards K: The effect of different standing and sitting postures on trunk muscle activity in a pain free population. Spine 2002, 27:1238-1244.
  32. Pearcy M, Hindle R: A new method for the non-invasive three-dimensional measurement of human back movement. Clin Biomech 1989, 4:73-79.
  33. Jordan K, Haywood KL, Dziedzic K, Garratt AM, Jones PW, Ong BN, Dawes PT: Assessment of the 3-dimensional Fastrak measurement system in measuring range of motion in ankylosing spondylitis. J Rheumatol 2004, 31:2207-2215.
  34. Mannion A, Troke M: A comparison of two motion analysis devices used in the measurement of lumbar spinal mobility. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 1999, 14:612-619.
  35. Burton AK: The ratio of upper lumbar to lower lumbar sagittal mobility related to age, sex, and low back trouble. Eng Med 1987, 16:233-236.
  36. Sibella F, Galli M, Romei M, Montesano A, Crivellini M: Biomechanical analysis of sit-to-stand movement in normal and obese subjects. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon) 2003, 18:745-750.
  37. Gilleard W, Crosbie J, Smith R: Effect of pregnancy on trunk range of motion when sitting and standing. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 2002, 81:1011-1020.
  38. Mizgala CL, MacKenzie KM: Breast reduction outcome study. Ann Plast Surg 2000, 44:125-133.
  39. Glatt BS, Sarwer DB, O'Hara DE, Hamori C, Bucky LP, LaRossa D: A retrospective study of changes in physical symptoms and body image after reduction mammaplasty. Plast Reconstr Surg 1999, 103:76-82. |discussion 83-75
  40. Troke M, Moore A, Maillardet F, Hough A, Cheek E: A new, comprehensive normative database of lumbar spine ranges of motion. Clin Rehab 2001, 15:371-379.
  41. Dvorak J, Vajda EG, Grob D, Panjabi MM: Normal motion of the lumbar spine as related to age and gender. Eur Spine J 1995, 4:18-23.
  42. Pearcy M, Portek I, Shepherd J: Three-dimensional x-ray analysis of normal movement in the lumbar spine. Spine 1984, 9:294-297.
  43. Tallroth K, Alaranta H, Soukka A: Lumbar mobility in asymptomatic individuals. J Spinal Disord 1992, 5:481-484.
  44. O'Sullivan P: Lumbar segmental 'instability': Clinical presentation and specific stabilising exercise management. Manual Therapy 2000, 5:2-12.
  45. Smith A, O'Sullivan PB, Straker L: Classification of sagittal thoraco-lumbo-pelvic alignment of the adolescent spine in standing and its relationship to low back pain. Spine 2008, 33(19):2101-2107.
  46. Eriksen W, Bruusgaard D, Knardahl S: Work factors as predictors of intense or disabling low back pain; a prospective study of nurses' aides. Occup Environ Med 2004, 61:398-404.
  47. Jackson R, McManus A: Radiographic analysis of sagittal plane alignment and balance in standing volunteers and patients with low back pain matched for age, sex and size. A prospective controlled clinical study. Spine 1994, 19:1611-1618.
  48. Korovessis P, Stamatakis M, Baikousis A: Segmental roentgenographic analysis of vertebral inclination on sagittal plane in asymptomatic versus chronic low back pain patients. J Spinal Disord 1999, 12:131-137.
  49. O'Sullivan P, Twomey L, Allison G: Evaluation of specific stabilising exercise in the treatment of chronic low back pain with radiologic diagnosis of spondyolysis or spondylolisthesis. Spine 1997, 22:2959-2967.
  50. Borkan J, Koes B, Reis S, Cherkin D: A report from the Second International Forum for Primary Care Research on Low Back Pain. Reexamining priorities.Spine 1998, 23:1992-1996.
  51. Rose S: Physical therapy diagnosis: role and function. Phys Ther 1989, 69:535-537.
  52. O'Sullivan PB, Dankaerts W, Burnett AF, Straker L, Bargon G, Moloney N, Perry M, Tsang S: Lumbopelvic kinematics and trunk muscle activity during sitting on stable and unstable surfaces. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2006, 36:19-25.
  53. Wong TK, Lee RY: Effects of low back pain on the relationship between the movements of the lumbar spine and hip. Hum Mov Sci 2004, 23:21-34.
  54. Shum GL, Crosbie J, Lee RY: Symptomatic and asymptomatic movement coordination of the lumbar spine and hip during an everyday activity. Spine2005, 30:E697-702.
  55. Kulig K, Powers CM, Landel RF, Chen H, Fredericson M, Guillet M, Butts K: Segmental lumbar mobility in individuals with low back pain: in vivo assessment during manual and self-imposed motion using dynamic MRI. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2007, 8:8.
  56. Abbott J, Fritz J, McCane B, Schultz B, Herbison P, Lyons B, Stefanko G, Walsh R: Lumbar segmental mobility disorders: comparison of two methods of defining abnormal displacement kinematics in a cohort of patients with non-specific mechanical low back pain. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 2006, 7:45.
  57. Van Dillen LR, Gombatto SP, Collins DR, Engsberg JR, Sahrmann SA: Symmetry of timing of hip and lumbopelvic rotation motion in 2 different subgroups of people with low back pain. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2007, 88:351-360.
  58. Adams M, Dolan P: A technique for quantifying the bending moment acting on the lumbar spine in vivo. J Biomech 1991, 24:117-126.
  59. Moseley GL, Hodges PW: Reduced variability of postural strategy prevents normalization of motor changes induced by back pain: a risk factor for chronic trouble? Behav Neurosci 2006, 120:474-476.
  60. Boersma K, Linton SJ: Screening to identify patients at risk: profiles of psychological risk factors for early intervention. Clin J Pain 2005, 21:38-43.
  61. Papageorgiou AC, Macfarlane GJ, Thomas E, Croft PR, Jayson MIV, Silman AJ: Psychosocial factors in the workplace- do they predict new episodes of low back pain? Spine 1997, 22:1137-1142.
  62. Battie MC, Videman T, Levalahti E, Gill K, Kaprio J: Heritability of low back pain and the role of disc degeneration. Pain 1997, 131:272-280.
  63. Naidoo R, Coopoo Y: The health and fitness profiles of nurses in KwaZulu-Natal. Curationis 2007, 30:66-73.
  64. Leino-Arjas P, Solovieva S, Kirjonen J, Reunanen A, Riihimaki H: Cardiovascular risk factors and low-back pain in a long-term follow-up of industrial employees. Scand J Work Environ Health 2006, 32:12-19.
  65. Dal Grande E, Gill T, Taylor AW, Chittleborough C, Carter P: Obesity in South Australian adults–prevalence, projections and generational assessment over 13 years. Aust N Z J Public Health 2005, 29:343-348.
Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants and Curtin University School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University School of Nursing, Midwifery and Post-graduate Medicine for their support. We also thank Paul Davey for software programming and technical assistance.

Funding Information

TM was supported by an Australian Post-graduate Award PhD Scholarship.

Disclaimer

Written consent for publication of subject photographs was obtained from the subject.

Abbreviation Notes

LBP = low back pain; LLx = lower lumbar; ULx = upper lumbar; TLx = total lumbar; ODI = Oswestry Disability Index; VAS = visual analogue scale

Reprint Address

Tim Mitchell, School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Kent St, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia; Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


Tim Mitchell,1 Peter B O'Sullivan,1 Angus F Burnett,1,2 Leon Straker1 and Anne Smith1

1School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Kent St, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
2School of Exercise, Biomedical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia

Email: Tim Mitchell -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Peter B O'Sullivan -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Angus F Burnett -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Leon Straker - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  ; Anne Smith -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Authors' Contributions: TM and PBO conceived the study. TM recruited participants and carried out data collection and analysis. TM retains copyright on all contents. PBO, AB and LS assisted with study design and manuscript preparation. AS provided statistical support and assisted with manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 81
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

 

Hello everyone,
The paper about clinical guidelines for muscle testing recently published has now been formatted in a complete published form rather than its submitted "provisional publication".  In other words, the pictures and descriptions are sequenced through the text.  It can now be downloaded at: http://www.chiroandosteo.com/content/16/1/16 in either html or .pdf form.  You may like this more complete presentation for your files.

News and Views this week include:
1.  SOTO research conference in Las Vegas.  Their email is full of great research links.
2.  Defining "Health".  A medical doctor describes his understanding of optimum patient care.
3.  Good Sleep is essential to avoid colds says this new study.
4.  A new manual test to check for elbow fractures in children.
5.  A new patient centered book to help children with ADD, Autism and ADHD and other "disconnection" disorders is now available describing the chiropractic neurology approach.  Here is the press release.
6.  A link to the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association and papers published about cranial research.  These are free downloads.


1.  Here is the latest research seminar announcement from the Sacro Occipital organisation in the US.  For those travelling to the US this may be a great addition to your study tour.

 
 
 
 
December 2008 
 SOT Quarterly Research Update 
 
 
December 2008 SOT Research Update
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOTO-USA's Multidisciplinary Annual Event
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOT Related Research Information
 
 
 
 
 
 
Research Conferences
 
 
 
 
 
 
Research Search Engines
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOT Research Literature
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOT and Chiropractic Research Lists
 
 
 
 
 
 
International SOT Events
 
 
 
 
 
 
Chiropractic Peer Review Journals
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 
 
 
 





Join our mailing list!
 
 
 
 

Dear Colleague:

The SOT Quarterly Research Update is a service offered by SOTO-USA to keep doctors who are familiar with sacro occipital technique (SOT) aware of the latest research related events, papers, and concepts affecting our practices. Please contact me directly at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are aware of others who might be interested in receiving this quarterly newsletter.

Please don't miss SOTO-USA's 10th Annual CLINICAL SYMPOSIUM, October 22-25th, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

SOT and SOT cranial seminar series are now taking place in Southern California (January 17-18, 2009). See this newsletter for more information. Also there are SOT and SOT cranial pediatric classes being held throughout the United States held through the ICPA.

Don't forget your can always have SOTO-USA come to you by: Designing Your Own SOT Seminar - Click Here for Information

This update features information on a "Call for Papers" for a SOT Research Conference, Twin Study and Disc Degeneration, SOT and AHSN, SOT Practice Based Studies, Intrareliability of Cranial Strain Patterns, and SOT Papers for RAC/ACC and WFC/FCER conferences.

Some states require that doctors practicing specific chiropractic techniques be certified in that technique. So now you will have two opportuinites: one on the west (SCUHS) and the other on the east (NYCC) coast to get certified in SOT.

 
 
 

Call for SOT Papers


  

 
Doctors of chiropractic and others are invited to submit original research for presentation at the 2009 Sacro Occipital Technique Research Conference, part of the SOTO-USA's Clinical Symposium to be held October 22-25, 2009 at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Deadline for abstracts: May 31, 2009 

The Sacro Occipital Technique Research Conference will be a prestigious forum within the world chiropractic technique community for presentation of original thought and research in 2009. For more information about paper submissions, click here 

Papers accepted will be part of the Proceedings of the Conference and will be published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, a peer reviewed chiropractic journal. 

For more information contact  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

SOT Research Conference 

 

 
 
 

The Twin Spine Study


 Contributions to a changing view of disc degeneration. 

Disc degeneration was commonly viewed over much of the last century as a result of aging and "wear and tear" from mechanical insults and injuries. Instead, disc degeneration appears to be determined in great part by genetic influences. Although environmental factors also play a role, it is not primarily through routine physical loading exposures (eg, heavy vs. light physical demands) as once suspected. 

COMMENT: With these new findings it becomes important for SOT doctors to consider a patient's family history of back pain and include preventative/wellness care for those with genetically precarious spinal conditions. 

Abstract of the Article · click here 

 

 
 
 

SOT and ASHN


 What has SOTO-USA done for you lately? 

Sometimes we wonder, "Why bother with research?" But when we have to deal with challenges by insurance companies limiting our ability to practice SOT, we have to make ourselves heard and have a solid stance. 

As of January 2009 American Specialty Health Networks (ASHN) is now allowing sacro occipital technique practicing doctors to participate in ASH networks. 

SOT Allowed in ASH Network - See Letter · click here 

 

 
 
 

SOT Practice Based Studies


 How practitioners can create a strong research influence. 

Practice-Based Research (PBR) is a relationship between researchers and practitioners to investigate topics relevant to everyday clinical practice. 

If you would like to contribute to research, but feel that you don't have the time or experience to do it by yourself, then PBR is perfect for you! 

PBR is a method to gather information on "real-life" practice. Practitioners collect data from their patients and an academic institution supplies infrastructure and technical assistance. 

For more information · click here 

 

 
 
 

Intraobserver reliability of cranial strain patterns as evaluated by osteopathic physicians: a pilot study.


  

SOTO-USA is dedicated towards bringing SOT and SOT Cranial into the 21st century evidence based arena. For that reason we have included the diagnosis and treatment of cranial strain patterns in all of our level one cranial classes. 

Cranial strain patterns were discussed extensively by William Garner Sutherland, DO who had a profound influence on Dr. DeJarnette. Since much of the osteopathic research incorporates the use of cranial strain patterns, SOTO-USA therefore included it in its cranial teaching program. 

In this study it was determined that, "Osteopathic physicians can obtain substantial intraobserver reliability when diagnosing cranial strain patterns in healthy subjects as well as those with asthma or headache." 

For article abstract · click here 

 

 
 
 
 

RAC/ACC and WFC/FCER Research Conferences


  

The Research Agenda Conference/Association of Chiropractic College Conferences will take place this March 2009 in Las Vegas. SOTO-USA has two papers accepted for this conference, one on TMD chiropractic dental cotreatment and another relating to CMRT and Situs Inversus. There also appears to be a few other papers relating to SOT at this conference so look to the next research update for information from that conference 

The World Federation Congress/Foundation of Chiropractic Education and Research Conference will take place late April 2009 in Montreal. SOTO-USA has submitted nine papers to this conference, which include a few case reports on dental chiropractic cotreatment of TMD, SOT pediatric case series, CMRT case reports, the use of pelvic blocks for various conditions. We are also anticipating other SOT related papers submitted to this conference so look to the June 2009 research update for information from that conference. 

RAC/ACC Conferences · click here 

 

 
 
 
 SOT Cranial Series 
 SCUHS (LACC) Sponsored Certification Series 

Starting in March 2009 SOTO-USA will begin its four part cranial series. With books for each seminar, powerpoints that follow the books, and instructors certified to teach this material, you can safely know you are getting the best up to date information. 

Level One Cranial - Introduction - March 21/22, 2009 

Level Two Cranial - TMJ/Sutural - May 30-31, 2009 

Level Three Cranial - Clinical Applications - July 18/19, 2009 

Level Four Cranial - Category One Intraorals - September 26, 2009 (One day) 

Contact Southern California University, School of Professional Studies for seminar information:
562- 902-3379
Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text78115 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //--> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information · click here 

 

 
 
 
 

SOT Certification Series in New York 
  

In the very near future we will be unvealing our 2009 east coast SOT and SOT Cranial certification series sponsored by New York College of Chiropractic (NYCC). We will keep you notified as soon as the dates are finalized. 

 
 

Sacro Occipital Technique Organization - USA is a non-profit, professional organization formed to promote the awareness, understanding and utilization of the Sacro Occipital Technique method of chiropractic as founded and developed by Dr. Major Bertrand DeJarnette.

The SOTO-USA family all looks forward to seeing you October 22-25th, for the 2009 National Clinical Symposium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be a great opportunity to learn the essence of SOT or advance your SOT training with integrative classes in SOT, CMRT, and Cranial. For those interested in working with the dental profession treating TMD then this symposium are light years ahead of anything else available.

We respect your privacy, and if you believe that you have received this email in error, or would like to be removed from our mailing list for any reason, to protect yourself, please click on the link below that says, "Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe."

Thank you for your dedication and interest


Charles Blum, DC
Sacro Occipital Technique Organization - USA

email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
phone: 336-793-6524
fax: 336-372-1541


2.  A medical doctor struggles with a definition of "wellness" and good health.

Published 9 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b28
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b28

Letters

How should health be defined?

Why the definition of health matters

The definition of health is important.1 There is a biomedical component to health, but it exists in a setting that includes biological, personal, relational, social, and political factors.2 3

For too long, we as doctors have been timid about defining health, and mostly operated at the level of "absence of disease." For too long, we as a society have allowed politicians to get away with shunting health off to a "medical domain," thus avoiding focus on the large scale social and political forces that create health and illness.4 We need to rediscover the force of Virchow’sstatement: "Medicine is a social science and politics is nothing but medicine on a grand scale."

In my essay I propose: "Health is best seen as an ongoing outcome from the continuing processes of living life well. Living life well would be defined in terms of wealth, relationships, coherence, fitness, and adaptability. Disease avoidance would be a minor part of this view of health."2

Such a definition is a political statement, informed by my knowledge of medicine and its social context. I believe that achievement of health should be a goal of public policy and that we should want to achieve healthy individuals in a healthy society. I see health as being a moral and practical good in itself, as well as a means towards other ends. If health is to mean anything it has to include ideas of human flourishing and abundance.

As a doctor I need an aim, and a context, for my practice of medicine that goes beyond treatment of illness, important though that is.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b28

 


Peter G Davies, GP principal1

1 Keighley Road Surgery, Halifax HX2 9LL

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Competing interests: None declared.

References


  1.  Jadad AR, O’Grady L. How should health be defined? BMJ2008;337:a2900. (10 December.)[Free Full Text]
  2.  Davies P. Between health and illness. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 2007;50:444-52.[CrossRef][Medline]
  3.  Misselbrook D. Thinking about patients. Oxford: Petroc, 2001.
  4.  Davies P, Jenkinson S. End stage social pathology. Br J Gen Pract2003;53:168-9.

Published 9 January 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b83
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b83

Letters

How should health be defined?

Health is quality of process

The works arising from the Pioneer Health Centre in Peckham strongly illuminate how health should be defined.1 2 Health is visible in the process of life, not in status at any time. It is the quality of the movement from this moment to the next that counts, and it is independent of present circumstance. Most people of fairly lowly but self reliant means are healthier than those who are very wealthy and cannot boil an egg, or fear to walk the streets without a bodyguard.

Peckham defined health as the faculty for mutual synthesis with one’s environment. I would suggest a simpler version—health is the ability to participate in creation (or constructive activity).

By this definition, most of us are healthy most of the time. Doctors study how empty the glass may be: health practice would wish to know how full. Having made a modest career of health practice these past 30 years, I know that it is quite different from medicine, but can rapidly reduce demand for medicine—byup to a half, in my experience. It reduced my personal prescribing to under half the national average (prescribing analysis and cost (PACT) figures).

Whether we are yet ready to expand our vision this much remains to be seen. I doubt if the initiative will come from within medicine. Examples of good health practice crop up everywhere in education projects and social enterprises, nevertheless. Economic and climatic constraints will force healthy living on us eventually, or we shall perish.

Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b83

 


Peter Mansfield, retired medical practitioner1

1 Newark NG24 1ET

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Competing interests: None declared.

References


  1.  Jadad AR, O’Grady L. How should health be defined? BMJ2008;337:a2900. (10 December.)[Free Full Text]
  2.  Pioneer Health Foundation. The Peckham experiment. www.thephf.org


3.  Good sleep = less colds.  


4.  Elbow extension test for ruling out fractures in children.

Elbow-Extension Test Is Useful for Ruling Out Elbow Fracture

Adults and children with negative test results could avoid radiography.

 

Among patients with elbow injuries who undergo radiography, most do not have elbow fractures. In this multicenter prospective U.K. study that involved more than 1700 adults and children with acute elbow injuries, investigators determined whether the elbow-extension test (normal: ability to extend elbows fully and equally while the arms are supinated and the shoulders are flexed at 90 degrees) can be used to rule out elbow fracture.
Overall, about one third of patients with acute elbow injuries had fractures. Among adults, only 5 of 311 (1.6%) who could fully extend their injured elbows had fractures (negative predictive value [NPV], 98.4%), and only 2 required operative repair (both had olecranon fractures). In contrast, 48% of adults who could notfully extend their elbows had fractures. Among children, only 12 of 289 (4.2%) who could fully extend their elbows had fractures (NPV, 95.8%). In contrast, 43% of children who could not fully extend their elbows had fractures.
Comment: In this study, the elbow-extension test had high sensitivity and high negative predictive value for elbow fracture. Patients with acute elbow injuries who cannot fully extend their elbows have high risk for fracture and should undergo radiography. For patients who can fully extend their elbows, radiography can be deferred if clinical suspicion for fracture is low. The authors recommend that patients who do not undergo radiography should return for reassessment if symptoms do not resolve in 7 to 10 days.
Published in Journal Watch General Medicine January 13, 2009

CITATION(S):

Appelboam A et al. Elbow extension test to rule out elbow fracture: Multicentre, prospective validation and observational study of diagnostic accuracy in adults and children. BMJ 2008 Dec 9; 337:a2428. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2428)
5.  New ways to help kids with functional disconnection disorders like Autism,  ADD and ADHD.  This new book may add a lot of information to your current interest in helping these young people.
 
 New book offers cure for symptoms of Autism, ADHD
  
 
 Dear Learner: I am pleased to share with you this exciting press release by Debora Yost, of the NY Nutrition Examiner about Dr. Robert Melillo's new text, titled Disconnected Kids.
 
 
- It sounds too good to be true, but it's not. A Long Island doctor has developed a non-drug, non-medical therapy that can reverse the behavior and academic problems associated with autism and ADHD.
 
 
- The groundbreaking therapy is called Brain Balance and is the brainchild of Dr. Robert Melillo, who has used it successfully to date on more than 1,000 children. The program and how it works is detailed in the new book, Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders, that hit bookstores this week. The book is a self-help program designed so parents can achieve similar results at home.
 
 
- The program consists of a series of easy-to-follow physical and academic exercises plus a somewhat rigid diet and nutrition regimen aimed at correcting an imbalance created by a glitch in the developing brain. "Neurological conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, compulsive disorder and the like are all the result of the same thing - the two sides of the brain are not developing at the same rate," Dr. Melillo said in an interview. "One side of the brain is growing too fast or too slow. As a result, the brain gets out of sync - it's a disconnect -- and it manifests itself as the behavior and academic problems we are seeing today. The symptoms vary according to which side of the brain and what area of the brain are affected." The symptoms of autism and ADHD, for example, are the sign of a right-brain deficiency. The symptoms of dyslexia signal a left-brain deficiency. Different symptoms, one cause. There is even a name for it - Functional Disconnection Syndrome.
 
 
- Functional Disconnection Syndrome is nothing new; it has been part of the medical literature for more than 50 years. What is new is the way Dr. Melillo treats it. "The common approach that everyone uses is to work on the strong side of the brain," says Dr. Melillo, "but that only makes the problem worse. My program works on the weak side of the brain without stimulating the strong side. It allows the weak side to strengthen, grow and catch up to the other side. When this happens the two sides of the brain communicate normally and symptoms go away."
 
 
- According to the book, there is no other program like it in the world. In the book, Dr. Melillo offers a number of questionnaires that lead parents to identify their child's brain deficiency and the exercises that will correct it. Movement, of course, is essential because it is important to healthy brain development, explains Dr. Melillo. However, most of the exercises are designed to correct sensitivities to such things as light and sound. He also helps parents identify food sensitivities that exacerbate the symptoms and a nutritional program to correct it. Dr. Melillo says that parents who follow the program properly, including identifying and correcting dietary issues, will see results within 12 weeks.
 
 
- Dr. Melillo's book is filled with stories of children he has treated. There's Allan, once a friendless, wildly erratic and disruptive 8-year-old who now socializes normally and has plenty of buddies. There's Lori, diagnosed as profoundly autistic, whose symptoms completely disappeared. And there's Laura, an Asperger's child who today is a typical teen-ager. The book also contains testimonials from parents who have had a child successfully complete the program.
 
 
- With more than 30 million parents dealing with the challenges of having a child with autism, ADHD or other neurological disorder, Dr. Melillo's book is bound to attract a lot of attention and perhaps even some controversy. But he's armed with the proof and says he's ready to take on any skeptics.
 
 
- Dr. Melillo spent more than 20 years studying childhood neurological diseases and working on Brain Balance. He has published many of his findings in scientific journals and has written a medical textbook on his findings and theories. The majority of his success stories come from his Brain Balance Centers in Rockville Centre and Ronkonkoma, N.Y. www.bbcenters.org During the past few years he has opened up centers in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago area and Louisianna. He plans to open more in the future. "My goal is to make Brain Balance accessible to every parent with a child who can benefit from the program," says Dr. Melillo.
 
 
- Dr. Melillo's book is available at all major book stores and www.Amazon.com
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Perigee Trade (January 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 039953475X
ISBN-13: 978-0399534751
Dr. Melillo's text on Neurobehavioral Disorders of Childhood is also available through www.amazon.com
ISBN-10: 0306478145
ISBN-13: 978-0306478147
 
 
Childhood Developmental Certification 2009, Atlanta, GA The 2009 Childhood Developmental Certification with Dr. Robert Melillo will begin on March 20-22, 2009 at Life University in Marietta, GA. Dr. Melillo has over two decades of clinical experience in the treatment of Childhood Disorders. He is a talented educator who empowers the learner to embrace a higher level of clinical service to humankind.
Please note that spaces are limited for this specialty series.
Lecture Site:
Life University
1269 Barclay Circle
Marietta, GA 30060
Hotel of Choice:
Doubletree Hotel Atlanta NW/Marietta
2055 South Park Place
Atlanta, GA 30339
770-272-9441
Registration is available online at www.carrickinstitute.org and by phone at (321) 868-6464.
 
 
(982) Physical Exam for the Newborn and Infant March 20-22, 2009
 
 
(930) Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD, Learning Disabilities and Behavioral Disorders Part I April 17-19, 2009
 
 
(931) Diagnosis and Treatment of ADHD, Learning Disablities and Behavioral Disorders: Part II June 26-28, 2009
 
 
(981) Dyslexia July 24-26, 2009
 
 
(980) Autism August 28-30, 2009
 
 
(991) Clinical Nutrition for Children October 2 - 4, 2009
 
 Sincerely,

Carrick Institute
email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it


6.  Here is a link to a collection of studies by the JAOA regarding cranial osteopathic observations.  Papers in this journal are free downloads.
 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 86
0

Posted by on in MyBlog



Hi Everyone,
The latest AK indexed paper is now classified as "highly accessed" in less than 3 weeks of publication .  The finished .pdf isn't even listed yet and there have been nearly 1700 downloads.  Interest in accurate muscle testing is building.

1.  Leading AK triathlete trainer's website.
2.  Motivation teacher Jim Rhon's website (he trained Anthony Robbins)
3.  How your patients interpret what you do as an AK doctor.  Here is a blog website commentary.
4.  Alcohol makes your heart fibrilate abstract. link to free paper download.
5.  Touch for Health research update newsletter with comments from professionals et al.
6.  Video clip of AK doctor Simon King demonstrating back pain from a piercing on you tube.
7.  FICS sports conference info for all those sports AK doctors out there.

Enjoy,
Donald

Donald McDowall
www.appliedkinesiology.com.au



1.  Here is a link to Dr. Phil Maffetone's web page .  Phil was one of the leading triathlon trainers in the world.  He has a wide variety of information on his website including the music he has created. 

2.  I met Jim Rhon and attended his program. He was the teacher of Anthony Robbins.Get his email letter.  He is the best .

I have always believed and used this principle.

"Get around people who have something of value to share with
you. Their impact will continue to have a significant effect
on your life long after they have departed."" -- Jim Rohn

Of course, you must be able to see the value in people.  Not all people have everything you want in a friend.
Some only have one or two things but as long as you understand that then you can still value their friendship.
It goes both ways, so make sure you are of value to other people also.  Don't be a taker.  --Donald

3.  How patients think about what you do for them .  This blog includes quite an informed approach to understanding how he was treated by his doctor.  While I don't use "vial testing"  I think this patients approach to understanding his experience is informative.  

4.  Too much drink can make your heart fib.  I didn't realize that "too much" was only 2 glasses.  Still, the US Olympic Swimming team won't take any athletes for training that drink alcohol, on or off season.  They found that a whole weeks conditioning was lost with only 2 drinks.  Striated muscle is allergic to alcohol.  Alcohol is also a diuretic causing global muscle weakness during muscle testing.  Here is the review of the paper.  At the end of the review is a link to the actual paper.  It is a free download.

Too Much Drink Might Make Your Heart Fib

Consumption of ≥2 alcoholic drinks daily was associated with excess risk for atrial fibrillation.

 

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac dysrhythmia, affecting approximately 1.5 to 2.2 million Americans. Previous studies aimed at assessing the effects of alcohol consumption on AF in women have yielded inconsistent results. Investigators asked participants in the Women’s Health Study — at study entry beginning in 1993, at 48 months, and annually thereafter through 2006 — to estimate their average daily intake of beer, wine, or liquor during the preceding 12 months. Number of alcoholic drinks consumed daily was categorized into the following: 0, >0 but <1, ≥1 but <2, ≥2 but <3, and >3. Self-reported episodes of AF were confirmed with medical record reviews; median follow-up was 12 years.
Women who consumed at least 2 drinks daily (4% of participants) were about 60% more likely to experience AF than were women who consumed fewer than 2 drinks daily (hazard ratio, 1.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–2.20). For women who imbibed fewer than 2 drinks daily, AF risk was no different from that of nondrinkers; risk in women who consumed 2 drinks daily was similar to that in the small group of women who ingested >3 drinks daily. Adjusting for age; systolic blood pressure; history of hypertension, diabetes, or hypercholesterolemia; BMI; smoking; exercise; race or ethnicity; and educational level did not change the findings. The absolute excess risk for women who consumed ≥2 drinks daily was 0.66 events per 1000 person-years.
Comment: Acute alcohol intake has always been considered a factor in cases of AF that do not involve underlying heart problems (i.e., lone or paroxysmal AF). These results point to a possible threshold effect of chronic alcohol intake (approximately 2 drinks daily) on risk for AF in healthy, middle-aged women. The authors estimate that 2% of AF cases might be attributable to consumption of at least 2 drinks daily. Clinicians should add excess risk for AF to the other health risks associated with chronic excessive alcohol intake and should counsel their patients accordingly.
Published in Journal Watch Women's Health January 8, 2009

CITATION(S):

Conen D et al. Alcohol consumption and risk of incident atrial fibrillation in women. JAMA 2008 Dec 3; 300:2489.
5.  Here is a newsletter from the  T4H organisation showing how muscle testing is used around the world.  It is interesting to see the occupations of the people writing the comments and the professionalism of their newsletters and products.  Over 12 million people use this AK "first aid" program.  Amazing.  To think it all began as an AK "first Aid" program for our patients 36 years ago.  The validation of T4H work has begun with support papers for larger, future studies now being published.



Begin forwarded message:
From: Earl & Gail Cook < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >
Date: 9 January 2009 7:31:48 AM
To:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Subject: What People are Saying
Reply-To:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
 
eTouch for Health & TFH Energy Kinesiology
Vol. 5, Issue 1
January 2009
 
In This Issue...
What People are Saying about...
+ Touch for Health
+ eTouch for Health
+ Our TFH Training
TFH Interactive Tree
Touch for Health & eTouch Classes - Atlanta
What People are Saying...

As the new year of 2009 begins, we wish to share with you comments that we have received over the years. Thank you! We are very grateful for being able to share with you. 

Here's what people are saying about...

Touch for Health - eTouch for Health - Our TFH Training
Touch for Health

Touch for HealthWhat People are Saying about...
Touch for Health

The outcome has been amazing! Areas that I have worked on my clients with massage week after week, month after month, which keep reoccurring, were improved or completely eliminated. Clients are reporting being more focused, balanced and free of tight or sore muscles. The TFH courses were easy to understand and apply to practice.

Pam Bryson, LMT
Licensed Massage Therapist

Amazing, I saw you do real simple things with pressure, mostly created by me, and in 30 seconds with your hands on, I have my arm use back. I decided to try and stretch my left arm to extend it and to my great amazement and with very minor pain, I had my arm straightened.  That's the first time I've had that range of motion back for over 6 months.  I raised it several more times, each with decreasing pain. Now there is just a twinge when I try it. I need to see what else you can do.  Still amazed!
Hugh Hays
Construction Project Manager, Lima, Ohio

It's really strange the way it works. A muscle is weak, you rub a spot for a few seconds and then the muscle is strong!  I used to have to rub my knees in the mornings when I woke up due to pain and now I don't have to do that. The pain that was in my neck and shoulders from the crash a week ago are gone. Amazing! 

Ben Devlin
Professional Racecar Driver

After you worked on me the pain in my shoulders went away and I felt great. I danced all weekend without pain and felt the best I have in a long time! Thanks!
Neil Krull
Computer Programmer & Dancer

 I am in the Army and my boots really make my feet hurt. Over the past couple of years I have spent thousands of dollars on doctor bills, special shoes and pediatric inserts and nothing helped relieve the pain. You worked on me for half an hour and all the pain is now gone. I recently travelled overseas without pain and bought new stylish shoes for the first time in a long time!
Julie Anspach
U.S. Army

I had a headache and you tested a couple of muscles, then rubbed a couple of spots for a few seconds and my headache was gone!

Jane Merkle
Dancer

Whole thing is remarkable. It was amazing because I could hardly feel the pressure later on. I feel lighter and more energized. And later, Lillian reported...I sang the whole way home!
Lillian Bryan
International Montessori Teaching Consultant

I am surprised that some of the muscles that I thought would be strong were weak and was very surprised to see how easy it was to balance them out to make them strong again.
Clyde Ranney, LMT
Massage Therapist

My back had been bothering me for over six months. You tested a couple of muscles, rubbed a spot and all the pain went away!
Kerry
Yoga Instructor and Dancer

This is really interesting. Totally fascinating and very believable because the evidence is right there. Something is weak and then it becomes obviously strong.
Shanon Cook
Television Reporter, Actress
NYC

This is the most relief from pain that I have had in the two years since my hip surgery.
Jack Smith
Asheville, NC
eTouch for Health software
eTouch for HealthAbout eTouch for Health...

I believe that the eTouch for Health and Touch for Health eCharts created by you and your wife, Gail, with Dr. John Thie, DC and Matthew Thie, MEd, are some of the most important contributions to Touch for Health, along with Dr. Thie's Manual. True Classic tools which have undoubtedly helped people throughout the world keep, improve, or restore their health and feeling of well being on every level.

Ltjg Abbie Forney, NC, USNR, Ret
Retired Navy Nurse / Licensed Massage Therapist

You should be given a Nobel Prize for your eTouch for Health software!
Rhonda Clements, PhD
Psychologist

You gave the genius of John Thie a tangible form that will become an immortal legacy for future generations.
Amado
Community Health Activist, Phillipines

WOW! What a fantastic aid to my new career! Looks great and easy to use.
Peter Duffy
TFH Student/Practitioner, UK

I am a physicist and programmer, and think eTouch is an amazing piece of work. You have done an incredible job putting this together.
Marious Antoniou
Physicist

Yes, it is a good product. I was amazed when I saw the depth that it went.
Dellis Hunt
New Zealand

I do really love eTouch for Health. It is great fun, simply great! Keep up the good work!
Rick "Yoga Rick" DeMaesschalck

With your great software, you have expanded the capability of everyone to help and heal themselves and others. As for the functionality of the software, it has worked perfectly in every respect. I applaud your hard work and vision in creating this wonderful program.
Harvey Martin
Author, Alternative Healing Specialist

I have only been back in England a short time and everyone I have shown the CD to is very impressed!!
Hazel Miller
Kinesiologist, UK

I just wanted to mention that I have been using the eTouch program with clients and I think it's a wonderful program.  It has an amazing layout and very user friendly.  I find it works well with my Osteopathy work so that I can strengthen weak muscles.
Thank you. eTouch Rocks!
Jeff Caldwell

It is now about 1 and a half years that I use your software which I find as great support.
Dr. Neja Zupan
BISERNICA,
Institute for Creativity Development and Personal Growth
Kranj, Slovenia
Touch for Health Training 
Touch for Health Training
About our Touch for Health Training...

Excellent teaching methods. Very positive and receptive. Great instructors. This is the best seminar I have ever been to!

Af. Shirinzadeh, DC
Chiropractor




No improvement needed. Earl was a great instructor - easy to understand and helpful. Earl and Gail are gifted teachers. The CD will be a valuable tool and teaching aide.
Becky Moon
Massage Therapist

Everything was great. Very organized and well taught. Earl was great, helping me in every step.
Natalia Fernandez
Housewife

Loving, caring person, very professional. Earl is living TFH.

Gabriele Wolf
Holistic Health Practitioner

Surpassed expectations 1,000 per cent!
Dottie Williams
Massage Therapist

I really liked the relaxed, unstressed feeling and quality of the course...
Jan Taniguchi
Teacher, Tokyo, Japan

Mr. Cook is well-organized and presents the information in a way that makes it interesting and fun to learn.
Micki Ellis
Flight Attendant

Instructor was awesome!
Susan Blanchett
Retired Teacher - former Nurse

Loved it - Fun, Fun, Fun
Monica Lawson
Energetic Body Worker

Earl and Gail have been awesome and have taken the time to interact with me! They are great!
Julie Mills
Massage Therapist

I did TFH I & II ten years ago. The speed that Earl & Gail brought that back was amazing.
Carolyn Richards
Complementary Healthcare Therapist & Consultant, Australia

I finally understand muscle testing! I think I can help my patients overall much better using these techniques than just using my medical skills.
Linda Rayner, MD
Family Practice Physician and Integrative Medicine Specialist
 
Share the excitement!

Learn Touch for Health, attend a class or purchase eTouch for Health to be your personal TFH learning and practitioner toolkit.

Interactive Tree of Touch for Health
TFH Tree
Please visit the interactive Touch for Health Tree to find advanced courses around the world. The tree contains links to people and groups around the world that have been a part of helping energy kinesiology and Touch for Health grow over its 30+ year history. 


eTouch and Touch for Health Classes in Atlanta, Georgia

with Earl Cook, Atlanta, Georgia
TFH I - January 24 - 25, 2009
TFH II - February 14 - 15
TFH III - February 28 - March 1
TFH IV - March 14 - 15

eTouch for Health I-III Workshops 
with Earl Cook, Atlanta, Georgia
4 Hour Workshops: April 4-5

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
-

eTouch for Health · 770 992 3914

 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
 
 


6.  Here is a video clip on you tube done by Dr. Simon King, an AK doctor.  Just to show what simple irritants can do to cause back pain.  He received a comment on it and answered it well, also.  Practical demonstrations like this greatly add to the use of muscle test changes.


7.  For those interested in sports health, here is the latest FICS conference information.  It is held in Canada this year.

The FICS Symposium in Montreal April 29, 2009, hosted by the College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences (Canada) and co-sponsored by Life University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, will feature:

§                Six 20 minute lectures on sports chiropractic clinical subjects, selected from a Call for Papers.

§                Six 10 minute original research presentations on subjects relevant to sports chiropractic practice selected from a Call for Papers.

§                Keynote Presentation: The World Games and Chiropractic Services

Ron Froelich, President, International World Games Association

Alex Steinbrenner, DC, FICS Secretary-General

§              Keynote Presentation:  2010 Vancouver Olympics and Chiropractic Services

Jack Taunton, MD , Chief Medical Officer, Vancouver Olympics

Robert Armitage, DC, Head, Chiropractic Services, Vancouver Olympics

It is to be followed by the Tom Hyde Toast and Roast Dinner.

Some excellent abstracts have been received lectures and research – but we want more.  Click here www.FICS-sport.org/portal/montreal_form.htm to see the call for papers and submit your abstract online.  The deadline is January 31 so please do this now.  Thank you.

Serena Smith
Executive Secretary, FICS
1246 Yonge Street, Suite 203
Toronto ON M4T 1W5 Canada
Tel: 416 484 9091 Fax: 416 484 9665
E:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it





0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 107
0

Posted by on in MyBlog

Good Morning everyone,
I hope a New Year was had by all.
I have found a few interesting articles to send to you this weekend.

1.  A new clinical review of back pain
2.  A study describing muscle fatigue as a source of pain.
3.  New directions in chiropractic education
4.  Here is a great resource for Dr. Goodheart's lectures over the last 20+ years on DVD.
5.  How to work with doctors interested in Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) from Harvard.
6.  Inaccurate muscle testing is rife in both the professional and public communities.  Here is the new ICAK publication designed to fix this problem.  It is currently the most popular download in this medically indexed Journal and a free download.
7.  Dr. Goodheart loved coffee.  Here is a paper describing its positive benefits.
8.  Here is an indexed, peer reviewed AK pilot study that validates nutrition taste testing.  There is none that validate magnet or hand held or body surface testing that I can find, yet.

Don't forget your new year resolutions to write up case studies or donate your money for more research projects.

Donald

Donald McDowall, DC, MAppSC, DIBAK, FACC.






1.  A new clinical review of back pain management brings everything up to date with a good profile of what to do. The more I read these clinical reviews that seem to come out every 6 months, the more I think that the people we treat as AK doctors, chiropractors and osteopaths, the more I feel we must have a specific subgroup that seeks our services.  Some say we treat more who self manage their health and more independent thinkers (risk takers) and therefore our patients don't really fit some of these back pain groupings.
Attachment as a "web file".  It should open in your browser.


2.  Muscle fatigue is a major problem with reoccurring pain.  Here is an interesting study that describes
the amount of fatigue in different tasks.

The Spine Journal

Volume 9, Issue 1, January 2009, Pages 87-95

Toward the development of predictive equations of back muscle capacity based on frequency- and temporal-domain electromyographic indices computed from intermittent static contractions

 

Christian Larivière PhDa, , , Denis Gravel PhDb, Denis Gagnon PhDc and A. Bertrand Arsenault PhDb

aSafety Ergonomics Program, Occupational Health and Safety Research Institute Robert-Sauvé, Montreal, Quebec H3A 3C2, Canada

bSchool of Rehabilitation, University of Montreal, C.P. 6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montreal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada

cDepartment of Kinanthropology, University of Sherbrooke, 2500 Boulevard Université, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1K 2R1, Canada

 

Received 24 May 2007;  accepted 28 September 2007.  Available online 20 December 2007.

Abstract

Background context

Back muscles capacity is impaired in chronic low back pain patients but no motivation-free test exists to measure it. A functional endurance test (FET) was used to assess capacity of back muscles using surface electromyographic (EMG) indices as outcome measures.

Purpose

The main objective of the present study was to explore the possibility of combining different types of EMG indices to predict absolute endurance and strength.

Study design/setting

A cross-sectional study using a repeated measures design in laboratory setting.

Methods

Healthy subjects (44 men and 29 women) performed maximal voluntary contractions (Strength criterion: extension moment at L5/S1) and a fatigue test involving intermittent static extension contractions to exhaustion (Tend endurance criterion: time to reach exhaustion). Surface EMG signals were collected from four pairs of back muscles. From the first 5 minutes (women) or 10 minutes (men) of EMG data, frequency– and temporal-domain analyses were applied to compute various EMG indices.

Results

Strength values ranged from 153 to 508 Nm, whereas Tend values ranged from 3 to 57 minutes across the subjects. Gender-specific multiple regression equations were developed, using the retained EMG indices from the four electrode sites, to predict Tend (men: R2=0.76, error=9%; women: R2=0.70, error=17%) and Strength (men: R2=0.72, error=9%; women: R2=0.25, error=13%).

Conclusions

It appears to be possible to predict the capacity of back muscles using an intermittent and time-limited (submaximal) fatigue task. Frequency– and temporal-domain EMG indices were shown to provide complementary information in this respect. This FET has potential to better infer back muscle capacity for realistic occupational tasks because more specific muscle fatigue mechanisms are involved.


3.  Chiropractic education is growing all the time.  Here is a paper forecasting the new directions that are taking place.  Thinking is always the hardest part of a health care practice.  Helping students develop these skills will add to the expertise of the profession.  This link is to an indexed paper, a free download.

4.  Many of you are asking me for more detailed information about Dr. Goodheart's lectures.  Dr. Paul Sprieser in New Jersey sponsored Dr. Goodheart to lecture for his Group for almost 30 years.  He has digitised many of the lectures and made them available on DVD.  Studying this work will give you a great in depth understanding of AK by the Master himself.  Here is the link to order them from.  You can review their content from the summaries he has made.

5.  Complementary and Alternative Medicine is coming into its own.  These articles from Harvard University Medical School discuss how the medical profession is addressing the demand for these services.  You may find these discussions interesting considering your potential to work with such doctors.  Just click on the titles and scroll down the web page to activate the print button for material you want to save.

Complementary And Alternative Medicine
It’s highly popular but controversial -- complementary and alternative medicine. Ethan Basch, M.D., chief editor of the Natural Standard Research Collaboration, and Kate Ulbricht, Pharm.D., pharmacist and co-founder of Natural Standard Research Collaboration, discuss what you should know about these therapies.
 
Are You Considering Using CAM?
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has developed this fact sheet to assist you in your decisionmaking about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
 
Finding A Doctor Who Understands Complementary And Alternative Medicine
How to find a doctor to guide you through the maze of complementary and alternative therapies.


6.  The new AK paper:  Common Errors in Muscle Testing is now indexed on PubMed.  so far it is the top paper download for JC&O in the last 30 days.  Well done to the shakers and movers Schmitt and Cuthbert.  This listing will lift the profile of AK even more.  Thank you to all who are downloading the paper.

7.  George Goodheart loved coffee and considered it one of the pleasures of life.  When he travelled he took his grinder, percolator and jamaica blue beens with him.  Here is a recent study showing potential benefit for a better life in a large group of people.

The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality.

Ann Intern Med.  2008; 148(12):904-14 (ISSN: 1539-3704)

Lopez-Garcia E ; van Dam RM ; Li TY ; Rodriguez-Artalejo F ; Hu FB
Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachussetts, USA.  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BACKGROUND: Coffee consumption has been linked to various beneficial and detrimental health effects, but data on its relation with mortality are sparse. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between coffee consumption and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, and all causes during 18 years of follow-up in men and 24 years of follow-up in women. DESIGN: Sex-specific Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association between coffee consumption and incidence of all-cause and disease-specific mortality in a prospective cohort study. SETTING: Health Professionals Follow-up Study and Nurses' Health Study. PARTICIPANTS: 41,736 men and 86,214 women with no history of CVD or cancer at baseline. MEASUREMENTS: Coffee consumption was assessed first in 1986 for men and in 1980 for women and then every 2 to 4 years through 2004. Investigators documented 6888 deaths (2049 due to CVD and 2491 due to cancer) among men and 11,095 deaths (2368 due to CVD and 5011 due to cancer) among women. RESULTS: After adjustment for age, smoking, and other CVD and cancer risk factors, the relative risks for all-cause mortality in men across categories of coffee consumption (<1 cup per month, 1 cup per month to 4 cups per week, 5 to 7 cups per week, 2 to 3 cups per day, 4 to 5 cups per day, and >or=6 cups per day) were 1.0, 1.07 (95% CI, 0.99 to 1.16),  1.02 (CI, 0.95 to 1.11),  0.97 (CI, 0.89 to 1.05), 0.93 (CI, 0.81 to 1.07), and 0.80 (CI, 0.62 to 1.04), respectively (P for trend = 0.008). For women, the relative risks were 1.0,  0.98 (CI, 0.91 to 1.05),  0.93 (CI, 0.87 to 0.98), 0.82 (CI, 0.77 to 0.87), 0.74 (CI, 0.68 to 0.81), and 0.83 (CI, 0.73 to 0.95), respectively (P for trend < 0.001). This inverse association was mainly due to a moderately reduced risk for CVD mortality and was independent of caffeine intake. By contrast, coffee consumption was not statistically significantly associated with risk for cancer death after adjustment for potential confounders. Decaffeinated coffee consumption was associated with a small reduction in all-cause and CVD mortality. LIMITATION: Coffee consumption was estimated from self-report; thus, some measurement error is inevitable. CONCLUSION: Regular coffee consumption was not associated with an increased mortality rate in either men or women. The possibility of a modest benefit of coffee consumption on all-cause and CVD mortality needs to be further investigated.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/584944_print

 

8.  AK nutrition testing is often controversial when used without the taste test.  Here is an indexed pilot study done by Schmitt and Leisman  that validated taste testing.  There are no studies validating other nutrition procedures at this time.  Larger studies need to be done to confirm these findings.

 

 
0 Comments Continue reading
Hits: 103
0