A Little Common Sense Beats Too Much Health Care

In today’s Los Angeles Times, there were three articles with a common theme: too many people are being sold medical tests and procedures that do not promote better health. In the first Times article, we learn there are 220,000 bariatric surgeries performed a year. Originally it was hoped that, by undergoing this drastic procedure, people might be spared from obesity-related diseases such as diabetes and arthritis. Alas, the ongoing...

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...

Does Diet Affect Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Does diet affect rheumatoid arthritis? Dr. Michael Greger, who narrates the above video, says “YES.” A plant-based diet is where it’s at whether you’re trying to clear up a chronic disease, or just prevent one. If you’d like to see more of Dr. Greger’s videos, go to nutritionfacts.org, where you’ll find a fantastic array of nutrition information based on the latest research. Honestly, it’s not fun for me to...

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...

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...

Spinal Manipulation vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger

I am not anything like Conan the Barbarian, in spite of having some martial arts training. For years, the medical community has promulgated the idea that chiropractic spinal manipulation causes strokes. I’ve met many people who have “heard stories” about chiropractors causing strokes. When questioned further, the stories sound more like urban legend (or Fox New, take your pick) than fact. It’s not uncommon for prospective patients discuss their...

Fibromyalgia Smells Lemony Fresh

When you have fibromyalgia, you hurt all over. Your purse feels like it weighs a ton. You wake up feeling like you need to get some rest. You go in for lab work to see if anything can explain why you are feeling so badly, but the tests come back normal. Sometimes, even going to the chiropractor can make you feel worse instead of better. Frustrating, isn’t it? I...