Sharon Martinez, Chiropractor vs. Prilosec for Stomach Pain

$13,900,000,000.00. That’s 13.9 billion dollars spent in the U.S. on prescriptions for proton pump inhibitors, or PPI’s, yearly, according to a 2010 Archives of Internal Medicine report. Drugs like Prilosec give temporary relief from heartburn, indigestion, or, if you like medical terminology, “gastro-esophageal reflux disorder.” People in the U.S. are the top consumers of prescription drugs, using 40.6% of the global market supply of these drugs. In comparison, Canadians...

Yahaira’s 100% Natural Pregnancy

I am so excited! My “nephew” Gerald’s wife Yahaira is expecting soon. I am so proud of Yahaira for the homework she’s doing to make sure she has a natural childbirth and a healthier baby. She’s been getting adjusted while pregnant. (Yes, pregnant women can definitely get adjusted. I use a pregnancy cushion so they can still lie face down until about month 6 or 7. After that I...

Otoscope $24.00, Avoiding Antibiotics, Priceless

Your small child comes down with an earache. He’s hurting, he’s crying! What do you do? I was in this position more than once, as a young mother. “The eardrum will bust, your child will go deaf!” is what the M.D.’s told me. Should I fill the prescription for antibiotics, I wondered? Well, I didn’t. Much to the shock of my friends and relatives, my babies never had prescription...

Back Surgery? No Thanks, Doctor!

Say you hurt your back at work, and they sent you for an x-ray and an MRI, and they told you that you needed surgery? Would you agree to the surgery, just to get back to work sooner? Would you reason that, once you had the surgery, you could get by with less pain medication than before? Unfortunately, a study of 1,450 injured workers in Ohio tells a different...

Children on Prescription Drugs

Some childhood illnesses, such as earache and gastrointestinal distress, respond well to chiropractic care. Claudia Anrig is a Fresno chiropractor who specializes in pediatric chiropractic.  Kudos to her for pulling together the following information about children on prescription drugs.  She cites a Wall Street Journal article from December 2010, which reported about one in four children, and 30 percent of adolescents are taking medication for a chronic condition in...

Chiropractor vs. MD for Lower Back Pain: Let the Evidence Decide

One of the positive things coming out of health care reform is that health care providers are going to have adhere to “evidence-based practice guidelines.” That means, if clinical studies provide evidence that one thing works better than another for a certain condition, doctors should advise patients about the thing that works better. An example would be, if eating cherries cleared up gout just as well as an expensive...

Why We Live

I loved this little video even though it is an advertisement. I live for the day when one of my patients throws his or her pain medication out the window. What are you living for? At Chiropractic Advantage, our motto is “A Healthier Lifestyle.” I help you work on your body because I want you to keep doing what you love to do. I hope you’re inspired to dust...

A Holiday Toast to You

I sincerely enjoyed almost everything about 2010.  If you came to my office in 2010 for chiropractic care, I enjoyed having you there.  If you shared a cup of tea or cocoa, it was good to see you relaxing.  If you brought in your daughters or sons, or moms and dads, I was honored that you trusted me with them.   Every day of 2010, someone like you reminded me...

Why There’s no Magazines in my Waiting Room

God Bless those of you who cheerfully thumb through my copy of Heinerman’s Encyclopedia of Nuts, Seeds and Berries when you come in for chiropractic care.  You may have noticed that I do not allow magazines like Ladies’ Home Journal into my office.  This is true in spite of the fact that magazine companies send me lots of freebies, hoping I will set them out. I have the Ladies’...

Flu Shot or Falafel Sandwich?

The Center for Disease Control (cdc.gov) is our government agency in charge of monitoring/preventing disease outbreaks in the United States. When it comes to the flu, they break down statistics by “season.” It’s not unlike the football season or holiday shopping season to me—a little too much hype when there are many other pressing health care issues we should all be debating. As I was driving to work recently,...