Back Pain Overtreated by M.D.’s

If the brakes on your car were squealing, what would you think of your mechanic if he/she did expensive diagnostic testing on your car, then supplied you with and expensive set of earplugs to cover up the squealing sound? Crazy? Yes, but that’s the approach your medical doctor is likely to take when your back or neck sounds the pain alarm on you! According to researchers at Harvard Medical...

Chiropractor or Pain Medication? What’s Best?

Say your back is hurting and you are in a lot of pain. Should you go to the urgent care and get medication, or go see a chiropractor? Well, often times chiropractic care can help, but it’s not going to be as immediate as taking a painkiller. The painkiller isn’t going to get at the root of your problem, but will quickly mask it for a while. Those of...

Shingles Facts and Shenanigans, Part 2 of 2

In part one of my shingles discussion, I describe my concern about drug companies marketing a vaccination for shingles. It’s up to you to decide if you should be super concerned about shingles. I am not. It’s painful, but usually resolves on its own in several weeks. My greater concern is that people who have been vaccinated might be unknowingly spreading shingles to their friends and co-workers. If that...

Movie Night at Chiropractic Advantage: “Doctored”

I am looking forward to seeing “Doctored,” the movie. I have ordered the DVD and we’ll have a free showing here at Chiropractic Advantage on the following dates: Tuesday, November 13, 6:45 p.m., and Wednesday, November 14, at 4:00 p.m. Please RSVP to 909 483-5295 or email us at dcsharonmartinez@aol.com if you would like to attend. Please come! Our health care choices determine, to a great degree, the quality...

Shingles Facts and Shenanigans: Part 1 of 2

I get cranky whenever a barrage of advertising comes out trying to sell us a new illness. Lately you may have seen ads telling you “If you’ve ever had chickenpox, you’re at risk for Shingles.” Were you worried about shingles before Merck started a marketing campaign for shingles vaccinations recently? Probably not. Shingles is not a new illness. The only thing new here is that the FDA approved a...

Chronic Constipation–Medical Breakthroughs and Chiropractic Common Sense

LOL, I recently read an article on Medscape, a well-respected online medical educational site, about chronic constipation. Here’s the synopsis of the article: a lot of people get constipated. They try home remedies such as water and fiber supplements. When that doesn’t help, medical doctors want to know what else they can do besides prescribing polyethylene glycol, which can help temporarily by inducing diarrhea. One new medical breakthrough is...

Statin Stats

Someone with math skills tried to figure out the percentage of people on the planet who have eaten a McDonald’s burger.  The figure was 61%.  I am sure that number is on the rise;  my friend Nikhil tells me he was shocked to see McDonald’s restaurants had popped up everywhere in his home city of Mumbai, India since he last visited.  Also on the rise are the number of...

Medical, Inc. Film Coming out In Favor of Chiropractors!

I was delighted when I found out about Jeff Hayes’ latest film, Medical, Inc., due to be released summer 2012. Once you’ve seen this film, you’re going to have to question the medical model of health care. Many people have been buying into the premise that, if health insurance covers the cost of something, a drug as opposed to a chiropractor, for example, then the drug is the better...

Vertigo: Take Two

The Alfred Hitchcock movie, “Vertigo,” is a classic mystery thriller. Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the description given to symptoms such as dizzy spells, sudden loss of balance, and a sense that the world is spinning or dropping away, is not so much of a thrill. Nor is it as much of a mystery as doctors sometimes make it out to be. Here’s the deal: you’re feeling terrible; your...

Numb Feet, Jittery Hands, and Losing Your Hair?

Back in chiropractic school, we were taught that nutritional deficiencies were something you’d see in poor countries where people didn’t get enough to eat. As a chiropractor who has been practicing over 20 years, I wish there was a way I could have known then, what I know now. Vitamin deficiencies resulting from malnutrition are common in people right here in Rancho Cucamonga. There are several reasons why this...