Category: Integrative Healthcare

The Multi-billion Dollar Industry That’s up For Grabs in Your Neighborhood

“Hello, welcome to Wellness…this is ____________. I can help you.” From the moment a new person calls our office, the smiling voice of our front desk person radiates and reflects the unique experience that can be had within the facility which houses our practice.

Twenty years of experience in clinical practice and as a practice coach have shown me, beyond a doubt, that a patient’s journey to health and wellness begins the moment they decide to pick up the telephone and make the call asking for help.

Everything they encounter and everyone they encounter will shape not only their clinical outcome, but also how they feel about the practice, how long they will stay active in the practice and even who of their friends, families and co-workers they will ultimately refer to the practice.

Awareness of this truth, and having a staff that has attitudes aligned with it, and systems in place that demonstrate consistency and congruence with a healthy wellness lifestyle, can make all the difference in people’s perception, their sense of comfort with your practice as the place to come, their trust in you with their lives and their valuable health care dollars…or with your competition—whoever that may be.

People vote with their feet and, in 2005, integrity and walking your talk provide the benchmark upon which educated consumers make their decisions. You can’t effectively sell a wellness lifestyle you’re not living yourself and you can’t live it if you don’t know what it is.

What Is Wellness?

Kleenex is synonymous with tissues, Windex equals window cleaner, and wellness—which the American public want to the tune of billions of dollars annually—is up for grabs in your community.

At this moment in America, wellness is whatever you say it is; but that will change. At this writing, no one profession, manufacturer or industry has succeeded in owning and branding wellness. The wellness label is being tied to everything, including health clubs, beauty salons, vitamins, homeopathy and chiropractic care. No one yet owns the wellness brand.

The question is, will they come to your practice looking for it? And if they do come to your practice looking for it—because you took step one of Wellness Marketing, which is referring to it in your Practice Brand—what will you have to offer and how will you get them to buy it from you as compared to the competition?

The following is an introduction to the steps that a practice coach would use to develop, cultivate and deliver a wellness division of your present practice as an additional profit center. This can rejuvenate your enthusiasm and diversify your revenue stream from what it presently is to one step closer to your dream practice.

Three Steps to Wellness from The Inside Out

1. Choose your niche. As a chiropractor, your niche has already been chosen; you are already the spine specialist. Own that niche. Practice with certainty. Keep learning, growing, and honing your skills. Then, pick the next spoke in your wellness wheel and study it. Master it so that you can make a career out of it. See how the addition of it to your own life could change or improve the quality of your life.  Read books, watch DVD’s, attend seminars and symposiums like “Chiropractic ’06” next February in Panama. Become your area expert in your next area of interest.

2. Walk your talk. Today’s health care consumer is savvy. Internet information, Dr. Phil, Oprah and those ever present drug commercials have made today’s patient more knowledgeable. They have more questions, and are more likely to question and search for authenticity. The era of the fat, cigarette-smoking cardiologist advising his patients to “stop smoking, and lose 40 lbs, do what I say, not what I do…” is over. Living the wellness lifestyle and using your own wellness disciplines and discoveries as building blocks in your growing, evolving wellness practice can do more than provide a compass to guide you through the confusing waters of deciding what wellness products, services and ideas you would incorporate into your practice…any will improve your own quality of life.

3. Get a coach. Implementing a wellness strategy into your existing practice, or starting a new wellness practice, is a lot like building a house. To build your dream house could become a nightmare without an architect to turn your vision into a plan and a contractor to turn the plans into reality (unless you’ve already built a house). So it is with building a wellness practice. A coach who has already done it can be vital to turning your wellness vision into the practice of your dreams.

Dr. Goodman can be reached at Wellness PSI, 9370 Sunset Drive, Suite A150, Miami, FL 33173. Phone, 305-663-6681; email, [email protected],  He will also be a presenter at The American Chiropractor Symposium “Chiropractic ‘06” in Panama, February 2006.

Introduction: A Short History of Light Therapy

Three hundred years ago, Russians directed sunlight through red stained glass onto the skin to relieve back pain. It evolved slowly, due to the development of the laser and light emitting diode (LED) in the 1960’s. In 1982, veterinarian acupuncturists began using LED devices to treat soft tissue injuries in race horses. Light from these devices was pulsed on and off at specific “tissue resonance frequencies” discovered by Paul Nogier, father of ear acupuncture. Using a unique pulse test and a frequency generator, Nogier found body tissues are in resonance with specific frequencies, according to their embryologic origins.

In Search of a Device That Emits Chi

 

In 1999, I asked a master energy healer from China (a qigong master) if he could make the veterinary devices more effective, and he came up with a new triangular design that included red, white, and blue LED’s (the X-Light). After testing a prototype, he told us it was emitting energy similar to chi (qi, prana, ki) and could be used the same way a qigong master emits healing chi to a patient. We found most people could feel energy from the device passing through lead roofing material (chi passes through lead and does not diminish with distance, thereby defying the laws of physics). This meant treatment could be applied through casts, and clothing; and that put this product in a class by itself.

Treatment Applications

 

Research in light therapy shows it can be helpful in many conditions, including post-op pain, muscle spasms, bruises, burns, sprains, fractures, etc. Accelerated healing of fractures and wounds is well documented. Basic science studies show light therapy stimulates collagen formation, DNA synthesis, ATP synthesis, cell growth, cell motility, phagocytosis, protein synthesis and many other basic functions. An interesting phenomenon is that healing often occurs in a part of the body far from the treatment area.

Many dramatic responses have been reported with LED’s pulsed at Nogier’s frequencies. An 11-month-old chiropractor’s son placed both palms on a 400 degree open oven door. Therapy commenced immediately that relieved his pain and blocked the burn effect as well. A 70-year-old lady with a muscle spasm in her thigh experienced instant relief when she placed a device over the painful area (treating through her slacks). Veterinarian acupuncturists supplied us with photos of horses that had torn off hunks of skin when they ran into barbed wire fencing. With pulsed LED treatment, twice daily, the wounds healed in 20-30 percent of the normal time.

Chiropractic Applications

 

A chiropractor was forced to retire early after living with chronic pain from a T-12 spinal fracture for 11 years and spending $60,000 searching for relief. Sleeping between two LED blankets (propped vertically, one foot away from the body) relieved the pain overnight. A 55-year-old lawyer spent four days in bed with back pain after a fall. When he entered a chiropractor’s office he looked like a little old man, bent over, taking shuffle steps. After 30 minutes of treatment with a LED blanket, he walked normally with good posture and said the pain had been 70 percent relieved. A chiropractor in Shreveport, LA, says that pre-treating patients with a pulsed LED blanket helps his adjustments hold better.

Summary

 

Light therapy has many possible applications, both at home as a “first aid kit” and in the doctor’s office. Expensive coherent (laser) light is not needed to achieve therapeutic effects. Pulsing light on and off improves effectiveness, and pulsing at Nogier’s tissue resonance frequencies seems to produce the best results.

Dr. McGee can be reached at 2385 W. Bolivar Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815. For more information, call 888-369-1396 or e-mail [email protected].

Step back to the turn of the last millennia when chiropractic was the birth of an idea, an experience of the touch of a hand, of the analysis of a network of nerves and backbone. Look now, as we have witnessed the growth and development of this profession that continues to symbolize health, natural healing and wholeness.

Our profession still stands courageous—surviving many battles, much chaos and countless changes to the health industry and that show our ability to adapt, evolve and remain solvent.

Today, society, with its demands, pressures and constraints, brings much suffering to the public who, then, come to chiropractic for our knowledge and skill to help with their healing. We care for patients entering with tension related musculoskeletal problems, repetitive spinal instabilities, autonomic nervous system complaints and hormonal imbalance patterns. We, as doctors, also advise and prescribe to other health care providers for stress, emotional crises and serious mental conditions.

Extra tools to complement your chiropractic treatment

En’ wave is a tool developed to augment chiropractic practices, particularly those which encourage programs for stress reduction, life management, and personal growth. It is an opportunity for both the chiropractor and the patient to take a more responsive role in attaining a greater level of health and quality of living.

It is an integrated, instructional program that focuses on the breath, the direct link to the nervous system. The specific training of conscious breathing allows the diaphragm to bring inspired oxygen and universal energy into the nervous system and into the center of gravity in the pelvis, initiating a cellular cleansing, detoxifying of tissues and igniting the metabolism of the cells. Through this purification process, internal stressors are recognized, aiding in the reduction of repetitive patterns in the physical body. Postural alignment to enhance the energy channels that influence life flow and the positioning of pelvic centering is an integral part of the training to wake up the conscious mind, unblock flows and regulate the mind.

This training enables patients, when confronted by stressors, to self-regulate their own responses physically, mentally, and emotionally, by rectifying the situation with a breath, a stance and conscious awareness. To patients who use these techniques to maintain awareness, clarity, control and inner tranquility, during times of stress and conflict, it can mean the difference between health and dis-ease.

The long-term effects are seen in improved vitality of patients, enhanced immunity and organ functions, and changes to their dispositions and quality of daily life. Patients are more relaxed and engaged in life, and show an increased interest in achieving personal goals and experiencing new beginnings.

Dr. Stephanie Leonard is a 1977 Palmer Chiropractic graduate and has an active practice in San Ramon, California. She is the co-founder and clinical researcher for en’ wave, and can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 925-828-0616

The en’ wave program has been researched through San Ramon Chiropractic in California since 2001 and delivered to chiropractic patients in France, Spain and England. Demonstrations of en’ wave and discussions on training programs for offices and as additional income to your practice will be available during the Symposium, CHIROPRACTIC’06, in the Republic of Panama. For additional information, visit www.en-wave.com.

The average human life span in the United States has nearly doubled in the last 100 years.  It is no wonder that “anti-aging” is quickly becoming a primary focus among Americans.

Human growth hormone (HGH) is reputed to enhance the ability of the heart and circulatory system as well as increase a patient’s quality of life.  A study at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in North Carolina showed the decline in HGH secretion with age can be reversed.  Multiple studies throughout the United States are showing Homeopathic HGH to increase both HGH and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) levels.

What is HGH?

HGH is a protein produced in the anterior pituitary gland that stimulates growth of bone and muscle. It is the most abundant hormone produced by the pituitary gland. It peaks during adolescence, the rapid phase of our growth process, and steadily declines with age. By the time we approach 65 years of age, our pituitary gland is secreting 75 percent less human growth hormone than it did when we were teenagers.

Homeopathic HGH maximizes the positive effects of HGH through a number of advancements, such as the unique triple potency process that broadens the positive therapeutic potential of HGH upon our bodies. The lower potency (10X) works at the more superficial levels of function of our bodies such as the skin and hair. The middle potency (30X) works more in the intermediate level functions of our bodies, such as our glands and organs. The higher potency (100X) works more within the deeper functions of our bodies, such as the mental and emotional functions.

Formulas with additional homeopathic ingredients (including HGH) maximize the anti-aging potentials homeopathy has to offer many fold!

Using a formula with a pure water base unites the pure function of homeopathic medicine with the purest base. We no longer need to rely on the traditional bases of alcohol, sugar or glycerin to stabilize homeopathic products. With the pure water base we can best apply the benefits of a dual delivery approach. That is, to apply both orally and topically. The topical dosage adds a therapeutic dimension that the oral dosage does not always accomplish. Simply spray over the desired area for a localized effect, such as on the face, neck, belly, etc., to help with aging or weight gain in specific areas of the body.

Homeopathic HGH can safely enhance the growth and development of children. Consider using with a homeopathic growth and development formula.

Homeopathic HGH can be considered to be an adjunct in cancer treatment. While biochemical dosages of HGH can cause increase in cancer growth, homeopathic dilutions and potentizations of HGH can possibly decrease cancer growth applying the homeopathic law of similars.

Homeopathic HGH can also help with various problems associated with over production of HGH. The homeopathic triple potentization process helps bring balance to the body from either extreme. Homeopathic HGH is not a stimulant, but brings balance to a body that is either producing too much or too little HGH.

Homeopathic HGH can help increase lean body mass; increase energy; decrease excess body fat; improve weight loss, vision, physical strength, sexual function, sleep quality and breathing; relieve depression, mood swings, bleeding gums, phlegm build-up, coughing, anger and apathy.

Easy to Use

The new medically metered pump spray delivery allows easy one-handed application whenever and wherever needed.  Just two or three pump sprays in the mouth and over the skin (for topical use, spray pure water based products only) can provide the results listed above.  An on/off cycling of the dosage has been suggested by certain groups. We have found that biofeedback response testing provides more specific dosage information to better fit the individual needs of each patient.

Affordable Price

You can find homeopathic HGH at a wide range of prices ranging from $12 wholesale to $20 or $40 wholesale. It is wise to shop and compare prices to provide your patients with the best products at the best value.

Broader Therapeutic Effects

Homeopathy works on the whole person at all levels of life (physically, mentally and emotionally). It offers the fastest delivery system on the planet. Because of its actions directly on the nervous system, results can occur in as quickly as a few seconds to a few minutes. More degenerative conditions may take longer and improvement can be noticed within a few days to a few weeks. Individuals have commonly reported an increase in energy, better sleeping, a sense of well being, looking younger, weight loss and increased libido.

Homeopathy is a very highly individualized healing art. Results will vary depending on the individual and whether they have the correct formulas addressing the unique underlying causes of their conditions.  If you are not receiving the desired results, consider other formulas to directly address other underlying causes.

There are various biofeedback response tests that help the doctor discover and discern what products a patient needs and does not need. These procedures also empower the doctor to know when to change doses, stop a product and restart a product. Homeopathy is most remarkable in its actions.

The key to homeopathy’s great success is finding the right formulas for each individual patient. Feel free to contact our office for further information to better make homeopathy easy and effective for the high volume broad-spectrum practice. Enjoy the journey!

Frank J. King Jr., ND, DC, is a nationally recognized researcher, author, and lecturer on homeopathy. Dr. King is the founder and director of King Bio®, an FDA registered homeopathic manufacturing company dedicated to completing chiropractic destiny with the marriage of homeopathy. Call King Bio at 800-543-3245 or email [email protected] for further information.

Patient Age: 50
Gender: Female
Occupation: Bookkeeper

Primary subjective patient complaint

Weight gain that the patient cannot lose despite repeated attempts at dieting and exercise.

Characteristics of symptoms

The patient’s weight is currently 205 pounds. The last time she really felt good was at age 28, at which time she went through kidnapping and sexual abuse. She began putting on weight at that time and has since been through counseling, but unable to lose the weight. In addition, she has been dealing with some dizziness, vertigo problems and digestive problems. The patient’s weight gain was suggestive of switched metabolism, which would tend to implicate the triple heater channel in terms of its relationship to metabolism.

Objective findings

The patient has significant spinal fixations affecting the lumbosacral, mid thoracic, and CT (cervical/thoracic) area with anterior cervical fixations bilaterally. Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) dysfunction present along with active trigger points in the SCM  (sternocleido-mastoideus) and scalene muscles, reproducing her dizziness symptoms. Moderate tenderness in the digestive area present, along with blood profile results demonstrating adrenal exhaustion, toxic acidosis, major blood sugar disregulation problems and insulin resistance. There are elevated cardiovascular risk markers along with anemia.

In addition, the patient has major inflammatory imbalance, and impaired methylation. Her vitality and longevity assessment or bioimpedance study showed a body fat percent of 49%. Her initial EMI (Electro Meridian Imaging) showed significant depression of the small intestine, triple heater, and large intestine channels corresponding with her digestive and metabolic dysfunction. She had a borderline split affecting the lung and pericardium channels. 

Working diagnosis

Obesity, secondary to switched metabolism, triggered by food allergies, biochemical imbalances and bioelectric imbalances in her acupuncture system. Maldigestion, malabsorption, secondary to food allergies and bioelectric imbalance and fatigue, secondary to the same factors above.

Note:  The actual point selection and treatment protocol changes visit-to-visit, with Electro Meridian Imaging^TM  being performed (done) approximately every three to four visits (most of the time).

Treatment

Points treated with each EMI and each visit, but included initially, SP-4, PC-6, along with LU-7, SP-4, SP-6 bilaterally, ST-6 bilaterally, CV-6, CV-12, ST-25, and auriculotherapy points as indicated for the involved organ systems. In addition, SI-3, TH-3, and LI-11 were treated, as well as SP-5 bilaterally. The associated points were treated on each visit with teishein. Spinal manipulative therapy along with extremity joint manipulation, mobilization, and myofascial trigger point release through the TMJ area was used.

The patient was treated over 14 visits with her most recent progress update of Aug. 5, 2004, showing an overall high level of satisfaction and improvement through her program. She had a bit of a downturn on her next progress update of Sept. 20, 2004, secondary to the patient being away on a trip and going off her diet and having a bit of a setback.

The patient has lost approximately 50 pounds through the process with nice improvement in her digestive function and has been free of the dizziness and vertigo through her treatment plan. Overall, she is quite pleased and represents another case study that shows the effectiveness of an integrated care approach utilizing chiropractic, acupuncture, and lifestyle medicine.

A 1969 graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College, John A. Amaro, DC, FIAMA, is the founder and director of the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture.  He can be reached at 1-800-327-1113.

As we mentioned in Part II of this series of articles, we believe that eventually it will be proven that regular exercise, a whole food diet—free of refined foods and trans fats—and mental/emotional health can hold the key to resolving cardiovascular disease (CVD).

Moderate training of an endurance nature, but also other exercise activities, not only has a preventive effect on various illnesses and pre-illness states such as the metabolic syndrome and cancer, it is also effective in treating patients in the rehabilitation phase after illness, e.g., cardiovascular or cancer.¹

The best way to express what really works best in the arena of exercise and CVD is the experience of one of my colleagues of many years, James Kellogg, DC, MD, MED, PT, AP. Dr. Kellogg has an impressive repertoire of experience in the area of exercise physiology and CVD, both professionally and personally.

Here is Dr. Kellogg’s story:

“I was a returning medic from the Vietnam conflict attending Bowling Green State University, and had presented myself to the exercise physiology lab as a test subject. After three stress tests and a visit from a Dr. Wilson from the La Crosse, Wisconsin, stress testing bank, I was given six years to live. Since I was an Olympic style weightlifter, with fewer than 10 percent body fat and felt fine, I refused to check into the hospital or take medication, because I knew that the medication would just cover up my problem.

“The stress test findings were serious: Resting Heart Rate (RHR) 94, Blood Pressure (BP) 148/94, EKG negative P-wave, >13 arrhythmias/min., O2 uptake of 36mlO2/KgBw/min. (below low) at 26 years of age. After I declined the options given to me, Dr. Wilson wrote up a five-page aerobic exercise prescription for me, which I followed for six months.

“Then I was retested at the Human Performance Lab and the results were astounding!  My new stress test findings were: RHR 52, BP 128/84, positive P-wave, no arrhythmias, and O2 uptake of 72mlO2/KgBw/min. (above high). I spoke to my son about it, believing he could benefit from an exercise program, but he felt he got plenty of exercise at work. Later, my son suffered an MI (Myocard Infarct), at age 27. Now, when a patient tells me the same thing, I tell them, by definition, work tears you down and exercise builds you up. Unless you have a special job, you don’t get enough of the correct exercise at work.

“Post MI, my son had an echocardiogram performed and it revealed that a portion of the heart wasn’t beating. He then walked on the treadmill for a short time. They rechecked the echocardiogram, which revealed the whole heart beating. I told him, if he started an exercise program, the portion of his heart which wasn’t beating at first would come back. The cardiologist said no; that portion of the heart could never be viable again. Thankfully, my son did the exercise program and, one year later, with a new cardiologist, he was given a resting echocardiogram and the whole heart was beating. The body is a stimulus response mechanism; all it needs is the correct stimulus to provide the healing response.

“My stimulus was the exercise prescription: A minimum of 20 minutes of aerobic activity at my training heart rate (THR) 4X/week. The five-page exercise prescription included vital information about exercises, warm-ups, cooling-down, stretching, and a plan to gently increase intensity over six months. I developed a broader test to include the respiratory system, muscular balance, posture, body composition, BP, and stress control, and researched an exercise prescription protocol to stimulate the body to respond to each physiological deficit. My testing and exercise prescription became very popular, as I directed a cardiovascular fitness program.

“Remember, the body is a stimulus response mechanism. To receive the proper response, you must give the correct stimulus. Many people will not follow through with their exercise programs because they don’t see the results they expected. This often happens when they get their program ‘off the rack’ rather than a custom designed program for their personal, specific needs. I was so sure of the client results after testing and prescribing that I offered a money-back guarantee if they adhered to the prescription. I’ve never had to refund one dollar.”

Testing for cardiovascular fitness:

• Test Components
• Resting heart rate  (RHR)
• Resting blood pressure  (BP)
• Exercise heart rate  (EHR)
• Exercise blood pressure
• O2 uptake

Test Sequence

1.  Take RHR
2.  Take BP
3.  Perform ergometer test (workload vs. heart rate to determine O2 uptake) and monitor HR & BP during test

Evaluate Test Results

1.  RHR normal is 70-72 bpm. The American College of Sports Medicine has guidelines on exercise testing and is a must read. BP normal is 120/80 mm Hg. If the resting BP is low, the client may be dehydrated and needs simply to drink more water.

2. If the BP is above normal, but not too elevated, considering gender and age, then the appropriate exercise program will tend to normalize an above or below normal BP.

3. O2 uptake is simply measured by comparing workload performed to heart rate during the exercise test.

Exercise Prescription:

1. To lower the RHR, use the formula to improve O2 uptake so the body can provide more energy and the heart won’t have to work so hard to meet the metabolic needs of the body.

2. To normalize BP levels, perform the aerobic activity continuously for a minimum of twenty minutes to fully dilate the blood vessels and keep their flexibility.

3. To increase the body’s ability to better utilize the oxygen it’s breathing in (O2 uptake), follow the exercise formula below.  Remember, the body is a stimulus response mechanism and you must give it the correct stimulus to get the correct response.

Aerobic activity @THR X 20 min.4X/wk.THR= 220-age-RHR   X   70%   +   RHR

Lack of physical activity has been associated with reduced risk of CVD among women.  Inactive women would benefit by even slightly increasing their PA (physical activity) (e.g., walking 1 hour per week or possibly less) and even more from additional PA.²

Homeopathic and nutritional formulas are also key components in a successful exercise program to help improve the results of exercise, including O2 uptake, muscle tone, cardiovascular strength, prevention of lactic acid buildup that causes soreness, and prevention of injury. The added results of these formulas bring about a greater positive experience that make exercise more rewarding and fulfilling, which is what helps keep people into exercise for the long run.

References

1. Jennen, C.; Uhlenbruck, G.; Exercise and Life-satisfactory-fitness: Complementary Strategies in the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Illnesses; Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2004 Vol. 1 (2) Pgs. 157-65.

2. Oguma, Y.; Shinoda-Tagawa, T.; Physical activity decreases cardiovascular disease risk in women; Review and meta-analysis. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2004 JUN Vol. 26 (5) Pgs. 407-18.

Frank J. King, Jr., is a nationally recognized researcher, author and lecturer on homeopathy.  In addition, Dr. King is the founder and director of King Bio, Inc., a registered homeopathic manufacturing company dedicated to completing chiropractic destiny with the marriage of homeopathy.  Dr. King offers, complimentary to all Doctors of Chiropractic, his turnkey procedural system for the high volume practice called, The Chiropractic Enhancer systemÔ (CES).  It is so easy to use that you can successfully apply homeopathy in your practice using any company’s products in one day. Call King Bio, Inc., Asheville, N.C.  1-800-543-3245 or e-mail: [email protected].

Fish oil

Fish oil increases bone formation by favorably influencing osteoblast function.¹ Additionally, Dr. Dan Murphy points out that fish oil decreases the release of proteoglycan metabolites from articular cartilage and abolishes the aggrecanase and collagenase activity.²

Arginine

As recent as Feb. 04, Endocrinology reports that, “Nitric oxide (NO), in addition to its known atheroprotective effects, appears to also play a role in osteoblast function and bone turnover.”³

Homocysteine Nutrients

Lowering even mildly elevated levels of homocysteine increases the risk of oteoporotic fracture. Homocystinuria may weaken bone by interfering with collagen cross-linking. Increasing the integrity of collagen cross-linking is a completely different mechanism of strengthening bone, compared to increasing bone density!⁴

The Moral of the Story

Lots of nutrients will support heart disease, and lots of nutrients help to build bones; but several nutrients work on DIFFERENT levels for both heart and bone, and utilizing some of these nutrients may allow you  to focus on efficiency and kill 2 goals with the same pill.

Dr. Toohey received her PhD in nutrition from Colorado State University in Ft. Collins, CO. She has lectured to chiropractors and other health professionals across the country and also in Canada and Europe, including: the British Society for Allergy Environmental and Nutritional MEdicine, the MS Society, the International College of Applied Kinesology, the United Chiropractors of New Mexico, and the Florida Chiropractic Association. You may reach Dr. Toohey by email at [email protected].

References

1. Watkins BA, Li Y, Lippman HE, Feng S. Modulatory effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on osteoblast function and bone metabolism. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids. 2003 Jun;68(6):387-98.

2. Curtis, CL Arthritis and Rheumatism 2002;46:1544-1553.

3. McFarlane SI et al. Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease: brittle bones and boned arteries, is there a link? Endocrine. 2004 Feb; 23(1):1-10.

4. Van Meurs JB, et al. Homocysteine levels and the risk of osteoporotic fracture. N Engl J Med. 2004 May 13;350(20):2033-41.

The Problem

Can new tests regarding Cardiovascular Disease help prevent deaths from CVD?

It is a fact that 50% of all heart attack victims do not show abnormalities relating to traditional blood markers of CVD. Cholesterol markers can be within laboratory reference ranges and other markers can be normal. Yet, 50% of your patients are walking heart attacks waiting to happen. CVD claims as many lives as the next eight leading causes of death combined, including cancer, accidents and AIDS. Women, contrary to popular belief, are no exception.

The failure of standard testing markers has had many experts advocating new assessment techniques to stem the tide of this number one killer of Americans by touting new cardiovascular markers – helping to better assess CVD risk.

Motivating the Patient

Most patients know that various lifestyle habits are detrimental to their health. Yet they continue to engage in those habits regardless. It has been said that to “know” and yet not to “do” is really not to “know”. We believe that the key to REALLY anchroing the “knowing” is for that patient to:

1. Be totally educated about the underlying risk factors.

2. Connect these risks factors with some understanding, at an emptional level, of how their choices are affecting their true physiology – incluiding their inborn dispositions.

3. Develop awareness and action to the fact that good lifestyle habits can be even more helpful than the bad ones are detrimental.

The key to changing behavioral choices is really to be a teacher to your patient and a motivator toward more funtional and fulfilling lifestyle choices.

New CVD Risk Markers

A big part of this teaching and mentoring process is to use various factual pieces of information as motivational reinforcement, or what we term “leverage”. One of the best ways to do this has been with the use of laboratory assessments. But, what happens when the standard laboratory assessments fall short of providing a complete picture and, thus, result in a loss of necessary leverage?

In addition to traditional markers for cholesterol and triglycerides, new important markers are now being monitored by health care practitioners, including Apo A and Apo B ratios, fibrinogen, C-Reactive Protein, antioxidant status profiles and various glycemic and hormone profiles.

Many studies today advance the theory that High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) are a beneficial type of cholesterol and Low Density Lipoproteins are the destructive type of cholesterol. New studies are further delineating protein components of these lipoproteins into Apo A-1 found in HDL and Apo B found in LDL. One study on 225 patients with evidence of coronary artery disease concluded that the association between coronary artery disease and blood compounds was found in the Apo B/Apo A -1 ratios. Risk factors wer attributed to hereditary factors.

Screening for Apo B/Apo A-1 ratios, along with many other significant but relatively new markers, may be well indicated in screening for and preventing many premature deaths form CVD in individuals who appear to be at normal risk from traditional screening methods.

One of the most important new markeres is the CRP number, because it identifies inflammation in the body. Inflammation is being considered the culprit in many diseases including CVD. Rather than treating the inflammation or suppressing the inflammation, it seems to be prudent to eliminate the cuase of the agent responsible for the inflammation. Inflammatory agents can come from pathogens including viruses and bacteria, food proteins, metabolic imbalances and excess acidity or alkalinity within different body tissues.

The CRP marker, when elevated, pints the physician and the patient in the direction of finding the underlying cause of the inflammation. Inflammation can lead to arterial lesion s and liver dysfunction (not necessarily pathology) that can result in abnormal lipid metabolism. So, it becomes apparent that the underlying causes of inflammation may actually be at the source of atherogenesis and CVD.

Modifying Lifestyle Factors is Still the Key

Assessing CVD risk factors is really valuable only to the extent that we, as physicians, can use this information to guide the patient to modify lifestyle factors that will truly affect the underlying CAUSE of the aberrant markers.

We beieve that, eventually, it will be proven that regular exercise, a whole food diet free of refined foods and trans fats, and mental/emotinal health can hold the key to resolving CVD. Homeopathy also provides a powerful adjunctive natural therapy, because of its proven track record in helping to correct mental/emotional issues, immune modulation, biochemical balance and hereditary miasms.

Frank J. King, Jr. is a nationally recognized researcher, author and lecturer on homeopathy. In addition, Dr. King is the founder and director of King Bio, Inc., a registered homeopathic manufacturing company dedicated to completing chiropractic destiny with the marriage of homeopathy. Dr. King offers, complimentary to all Doctors of Chiropractic, his turnkey procedural system for the high volume practice called The Chiropractic Enhancer System^TM (CES). It is so easy to use that you can successfully apply homepathy in your practice using any company’s products in one day. Call King Bio, Inc., Asheville, NC 1-800-543-3245 or email: [email protected]

Frank A. Charles is a Naturopathic Physician with over 14 years esxperience as a clinician, researcher, writer, health educator and physician consultant. Dr. Charles’ background includes experience in functional medicine, BTA, nutrition, herbal and many energetic medicine disciplines. He is currently VP of National Physician Services for King Bio Inc.

Heat as a Cure

Heat has been known for its healing properties throughout history. Heat increases circulation of the blood, white cell counts, oxygen availability and the immune response. The body, itself, uses an elevation of temperature to fight infections.

The Elliot Treatment

In 1930, Dr. Charles Robert Elliot developed the “Elliot Treatment Regulator” as a novel way to treat pelvic infections (before antibiotics). A rubber bag was inserted into the vagina through which warm water was pumped filling the bag to the size of a baby’s head. A series of one-hour daily treatments were given in which the water was heated to 130° F. This level of heat was tolerated without mucosal injury. Insulated tubes prevented injury to the skin.

Several studies using the device were published in major medical journals in the 1930’s. The most dramatic responses were in women with severe pelvic infections who had abscesses that filled the pelvis and lower abdomen. In almost all cases, the abscesses shrank and surgery was avoided. Pain generally was relieved as soon as warm water began to flow through the device.

In 1936, the Journal of Urology published a study using the device to treat prostatitis. Eighty percent of cases of chronic prostatitis were improved using the Elliot device rectally, a far better success rate than with today’s antibiotics. Regardless of these successes, the device fell into disuse in the mid 1940’s, when antibiotics appeared on the scene.

Pelvic Heat Treatment Rediscovered

In 1977, an inventor named Rodger Estes had a bad case of hemorrhoids and backed into a hot radiator. Being tipsy, he stayed on the radiator long enough to experience relief. This led to the development of a heated anal probe device for hemorrhoids that gained FDA approval. In clinical trials, symptoms of hemorrhoids improved in 98% of users, an unusually high success rate.

However, during the clinicals and afterward, improvements in several other conditions were reported, some far removed from the anus. For example, symptoms of BPH (benign prostatic hypertrophy) and prostatitis improved in about 80% of cases. Then, the Chinese reported the device significantly helped two people with rectal cancer.

Suspecting an immune stimulation mechanism, Estes tried the device in anything warm blooded that would hold still long enough. Users reported relief of head colds (if used in the anus very early in the cold), relieving post herpetic pain, and reducing blood loss during surgery (when used a few hours before an operation). Three horses with chronic giant hives were treated just one time and hives disappeared permanently in all three. Estes’ 18-year-old dog went into a coma with terminal kidney failure (BUN 304), but came back to normal function following one anal heater treatment. The dog was alert and active the next day with an improving BUN.

Mechanism of Action

How anal/rectal heat can produce distant effects in the body is not clear. Estes showed the device to several energy healers from China (qigong masters) and asked what they thought it might be good for. Each qigong master, independently, produced the complete list of conditions it took 17 years to build through observation. They were using theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine stating that the treatment stimulates nearby Conception Vessel and Governing Vessel meridians, and all the tissues through which they run. This appears to be the best theory to date. Along the same line, I showed the device to a “Medicine Man” from Ghana, who predicted the device would have great potential for healing, because we are “sticking a hot poker into Chakra number one.”

The currently available Swiss-made device comes with 2″ and 3″ probes for the anus and prostate respectively. The device is powered by a rechargeable battery that generally provides three to four 20-minute treatments. Users can adjust probe temperature from 98º to a safe maximum of 113º F.

The application of anal heat may sound comical, at first; but people who have been helped by the device hold it in high regard.

Dr. McGee can be reached at 2385 W. Bolivar Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83815. For purchase information on the anal heater, go to http://www.theamericanchiropractor.com/analheater

Cardiovascular Disease

Our value as practitioners and as a profession is directly proportional to our ability to help sick people become well. The “Serious about Wellness” series will provide you, the chiropractor, with the cutting edge tools to be a leader in the next trillion-dollar, mega industry of wellness care.

There’s a lot of talk today about wellness care. However, talk is cheap, if it’s not backed up with real substance.  Nothing speaks louder and increases your value as a doctor more than helping people overcome the most serious health problems on the planet.  Number one on our list is cardiovascular disease (CVD).

50 percent of all heart attack victims do not show abnormalities relating to traditional blood markers for CVD. There is still much confusion and controversy surrounding the current management, care and cause of CVD.
Safe, natural, and effective products and procedures are readily available to significantly help people, both proactively and preventively, with this #1 killer on the planet. Although tackling cardiovascular conditions is not for the faint-hearted or casual practitioner that only occasionally dabbles, it is not as difficult or risky as it may, at first, seem.

The key to safely and successfully helping people with the cardiovascular conditions of today is offering more functional approaches that are complementary adjuncts to standard medical protocols, rather than alternatives.  The practicality and efficacy of natural homeopathic approaches offer better results that safely cooperate well with standard medical procedures, benefiting both patient and practitioner including:

• No side effects
• No known negative drug interactions
• Non-addictive
• Hypo-allergenic
• No contraindications

With the speed and detail of today’s information networks, the problems of allopathic drugs and certain surgeries are being exposed at an accelerating rate. This continuum of exposure will drive both patients and practitioners toward safer, more functional solutions. The combined synergistic benefits of natural solutions, such as chiropractic, homeopathy, nutrition, diet, herbs and lifestyles, are getting their opportunity to rightfully shine and take their significant role in our new health care system development.

The research that is coming out in natural approaches continues to be progressively more impressive. Natural approaches will soon be an accepted part of mainstream protocols. If we, as chiropractors, do not step up to the plate now, we could easily be left behind on the global transition to natural care.

Homeopathy in heart disease

Homeopathy is the first natural medicine modality to have ascended to recognition by the FDA as a registered natural drug product.  Homeopathy offers both credibility and curability for many of the more difficult health problems, including cardiovascular conditions. Best of all, homeopathy has passed the test of time and adversity that allopathic medicine is just beginning to face.  In direct harmony and concert with chiropractic principles and philosophy, homeopathy clearly provides the safest approach to restorative healthcare on the planet!

Homeopathy offers specific solutions to help most of the common CVD’s including:

• Apoplexy or stroke (prevention and recovery)
• Arterial weaknesses
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Cholesterolemia
• Hypertension
• Vein weaknesses

Homeopathy offers a powerful added therapeutic potential to address the underlying causes of these perplexing conditions. In addition, homeopathy is the only approach that can work as deeply as helping correct the genetic predispositions to CVD. Homeopathy can address the genetic issues to CVD in a two-prong approach.

Constitutional restoration to the weaknesses or susceptibility we have acquired through living in a sedentary world, eating the standard American diet (SAD), and stress.

Miasm formulas in homeopathy are certain remedies or combinations designed to correct the genetic weaknesses we have inherited as long ago as a thousand years into our family tree. Some of these miasms can be associated with CVD’s and have a direct effect on the correction. Miasm remedies can be key to the correction of the genetic predispositions as well as proactively and preventively nipping these devastating issues in the bud.

Perhaps the greatest service of all is the powerful preventive procedures we can offer. Only 11.2% of the US population has a diagnosed CVD; approximately 90% of the population has a CVD in a blood relative. Facing the frightening reality of CVD in themselves, their siblings, children and grandchildren becomes a solemn truth. Once a CVD is corrected homeopathically in a future parent, any offspring born after that correction has a great chance of not manifesting an inherited CVD. Stopping CVD from showing up transgenerationally in our children, grand children, etc., is a priceless service!

In future issues, we will cover more new and exciting approaches you can take to help overcome CVD, including new laboratory tests, whole food nutrition, exercise, stress correction, herbs, dietary evaluations, and lifestyle enhancement.

Frank J. King, Jr., is a nationally recognized researcher, author and lecturer on homeopathy.  In addition, Dr. King is the founder and director of King Bio, Inc., a registered homeopathic manufacturing company dedicated to completing chiropractic destiny with the marriage of homeopathy.  Dr. King offers, complimentary to all Doctors of Chiropractic, his turnkey procedural system for the high volume practice called, The Chiropractic Enhancer system^TM (CES).  It is so easy to use that you can successfully apply homeopathy in your practice using any company’s products in one day. Call King Bio, Inc., Asheville, N.C.  1-800-543-3245 or e-mail: [email protected].