From My Local Health, Yoga and how it helps back pain
Yoga: A great way to stay fit and keep stress at bay
by: Kandy Williams
Yoga is a discipline of the body and mind that dates back more than 5,000 years. The word yoga means “to join” or “to yoke,” and it brings the mind and body together. Yoga has three components: exercise, breathing, and meditation.
There are over one hundred different schools of yoga, but Hatha yoga, which combines physical movements and postures with breathing techniques, is what most people associate with practicing yoga. According to MedicineNet, Hatha yoga is the most widely practiced yoga in the U.S. With its slow and smooth movements, it is excellent for beginners. It is also a great introduction to yoga as it incorporates many different poses (asanas), as well as breathing techniques and chanting.
Some of the most popular schools of yoga in the U.S., and the ones that you are most likely to find in yoga and fitness centers, according to MedicineNet, are: Hatha, Iyengar, Astanga (or Ashtanga), Bikram, and Kundalini.
According to the American Yoga Association, there are eight steps of Classical yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. Classes generally focus on asana, physical exercises; pranayama, breathing techniques; and pratyahara, preparation for meditation.
According to WebMD, close to 11 million Americans are practicing yoga and enjoying its numerous health benefits. Yoga poses safely stretch your muscles and increase the range of motion in joints. Yoga also provides strength and endurance benefits. Different poses help you build strength in certain areas. For example, Upward Dog strengthens the lower back and increases upper-body strength. Because of increased flexibility and strength, you also naturally have better posture. The mindful breathing involved with yoga often improves lung capacity as well.
In addition to the physical benefits, there are numerous mental benefits of practicing yoga. By learning how to deepen and lengthen your breath, your relaxation response is stimulated, leaving you feeling more relaxed. Some schools of yoga also teach meditation techniques. Recently, researchers have begun studying the effects of yoga on depression. Because yoga boosts oxygen levels to the brain, it may benefit your mood.
According to AARP Bulletin Today, Dean Ornish, MD, founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute in California, has been studying how lifestyle alterations can halt or even reverse the effects of serious conditions such as heart disease and cancer for decades. Since the 1980s, he has incorporated stress management through yoga and meditation with other lifestyle modifications like eating a diet low in fat and getting regular exercise. He has found in his studies that the more yoga and meditation the participants did, the more they improved their health. But it was the consistency of doing it every day that mattered more than duration.
A study published by the National Academy of Sciences and another published in the Lancet in 2008 used an identical group of 30 men with low-risk prostrate cancer. Both studies found that lifestyle changes, such as getting regular exercise, eating a low fat diet, attending support groups, and practicing yoga and meditation, turn on good or disease-preventing genes and turn off bad genes which can cause conditions such as heart disease and cancer.
Medical researchers are now studying the benefits of therapeutic yoga or integrative yoga therapy (IYT). It’s used as an aid in treating medical conditions such as clinical depression and heart disease. Yoga also helps to relieve the symptoms of asthma, back pain, and arthritis, according to WebMD.
The research evidence is mounting that yoga is good for both your body and your mind. If you want to get started on the road to a healthier you, visit www.yogafinder.com. This online directory will help you find classes, events, and retreats near you.
Sources: AARP Bulletin Today (bulletin.aarp.org), American Yoga Association (http://www.americanyogaassociation.org), Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com), WebMD (http://www.webmd.com)
Different types of yoga
Hatha yoga: Good for beginners, it focuses on holding poses and integrating your breath into the movements. You will learn many different poses, as well as breathing techniques and chanting. It will be beneficial for stretching and working your muscles.
Iyengar yoga: Good for beginners, it uses poses that are similar to those in Hatha. It differs because it focuses more on balance and body alignment. You will also hold poses longer and use props such as straps and blocks.
Kundalini yoga: More advanced type of yoga, it emphasizes rapid movement through the poses while breathing, chanting, and meditating. It focuses on the energy balance in your body.
Bikram yoga: This yoga is designed to make you sweat as it is practiced in a room heated to around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Its objective is to loosen muscles and to cleanse the body, removing symptoms of disease and chronic pain.
Astanga (Ashtanga) Yoga: Also known as power yoga, you move quickly from one pose to another in order to build strength and endurance. There is not an emphasis on meditation, so this is more like a strength training workout than any other type of yoga.
Yoga must be a favorite for dealing with back pain, and feeling good generally.
Stay well
Paul
Saturday 12 December 2009
Pregnancy and Back Pain
Pre- and postnatal yoga yields physical, mental benefits
Dorene Internicola, Reuters
Published: Tuesday, December 08, 2009
More On This Story
From the National Post, more about Pregnancy and Back Pain,Laying the foundation for a healthy pregnancy
Nutrition: Before and after conception
Planning is essential for a healthy pregnancy
Related Topics
Culture and Lifestyle
Exercise and Fitness
Family
Elena Brower
Jacques Moritz
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Alexander Drozdov / AFP / Getty Images Practicing yoga during pregnancy — and after birth — is gaining in popularity, due in part to its demonstrated physical and mental effects
Modern mothers-to-be are turning to the 4,000-year-old practice of yoga to put mind over pregnancy matters as they strengthen their bodies for the road ahead.
"There's a level of comport and presence women cultivate when they're practicing regularly through their pregnancies, so the changes that come are not going to shake them," Elena Brower, a New York City-based yoga instructor said in an interview.
The founder of the Virayoga studio in Manhattan, Brower has worked with celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow and Christie Turlington Burns during their pregnancies. She also has developed the DVD Element: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga.
"It's about teaching women how to safely strengthen their abdominals," said Brower, herself the mother of a toddler. "And strengthening is complemented by learning how to stretch, so that you can be as limber as possible when that baby comes."
Yoga can also help women to get to know themselves a little better.
"You have a level of presence that allows you to ride the wave of the contraction/pain into another place. You don't think intellectually about it. You breathe."
A study of 335 pregnant women in Bangalore, India, found that those who practiced yoga experienced shorter labor, less pregnancy-induced hypertension, and higher birth-weight babies than the control group.
More than 11 million Americans are estimated to do some form of yoga. The name derives from the Sanskrit meaning yoke or union, and the practice strives to unite movement and breath.
Brower cautions that some of the pretzel-like contortions that characterize the practice are not suitable for expectant mothers, even if they are experienced yogis.
"Don't lie on your belly, don't twist. You want to keep the house as big as possible for the baby," she advises. "Do inversions if it feels right."
Dr. Jacques Moritz, Director of Gynecology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, says yoga is a fine idea for pregnant women, as long as they inform their instructors of their condition.
"Yoga is a great relaxing exercise. It's good for flexibility, it limbers people up," he said. "Part of the process of having a baby is opening up your pelvis. Yoga is one of the good ways to do that. It strengthens your core muscles and pelvic diaphragm."
Moritz, who is featured in the 2008 documentary film The Business of Being Born, said it also helps the back pain that nearly all women get during pregnancy.
Post-natal yoga can help new mothers re-tone and strengthen the pelvic floor but Moritz warned they should wait six to eight weeks after the birth before resuming yoga.
"You can't do something if you're still fatigued," he explained. "Most women are still breast-feeding on demand every three hours. So the last thing on their mind is exercise."
Then there's the challenge of losing that postpartum weight. The average woman puts on about 30 pounds of it during pregnancy.
Moritz is familiar with those celebrity supermoms who seem to drop their baby weight in the time it takes the rest of us to complete a sun salutation.
"For celebrity clients it's all about getting back in shape immediately," he said. "Most of them are doing yoga and Pilates."
I have second hand experience of this problem, my wife has given birth to 2 children, my daughter to 1. It seems unfair, however there are ways to ease back pain, some of them shown at www.backpainloss.com.
Stay well
Paul
Dorene Internicola, Reuters
Published: Tuesday, December 08, 2009
From the National Post, more about Pregnancy and Back Pain,Laying the foundation for a healthy pregnancy
Nutrition: Before and after conception
Planning is essential for a healthy pregnancy
Related Topics
Culture and Lifestyle
Exercise and Fitness
Family
Elena Brower
Jacques Moritz
Story Tools
Change font size
Print this story
E-Mail this story
Share This Story
Digg
More
Story tools presented by
Alexander Drozdov / AFP / Getty Images Practicing yoga during pregnancy — and after birth — is gaining in popularity, due in part to its demonstrated physical and mental effects
Modern mothers-to-be are turning to the 4,000-year-old practice of yoga to put mind over pregnancy matters as they strengthen their bodies for the road ahead.
"There's a level of comport and presence women cultivate when they're practicing regularly through their pregnancies, so the changes that come are not going to shake them," Elena Brower, a New York City-based yoga instructor said in an interview.
The founder of the Virayoga studio in Manhattan, Brower has worked with celebrities Gwyneth Paltrow and Christie Turlington Burns during their pregnancies. She also has developed the DVD Element: Prenatal & Postnatal Yoga.
"It's about teaching women how to safely strengthen their abdominals," said Brower, herself the mother of a toddler. "And strengthening is complemented by learning how to stretch, so that you can be as limber as possible when that baby comes."
Yoga can also help women to get to know themselves a little better.
"You have a level of presence that allows you to ride the wave of the contraction/pain into another place. You don't think intellectually about it. You breathe."
A study of 335 pregnant women in Bangalore, India, found that those who practiced yoga experienced shorter labor, less pregnancy-induced hypertension, and higher birth-weight babies than the control group.
More than 11 million Americans are estimated to do some form of yoga. The name derives from the Sanskrit meaning yoke or union, and the practice strives to unite movement and breath.
Brower cautions that some of the pretzel-like contortions that characterize the practice are not suitable for expectant mothers, even if they are experienced yogis.
"Don't lie on your belly, don't twist. You want to keep the house as big as possible for the baby," she advises. "Do inversions if it feels right."
Dr. Jacques Moritz, Director of Gynecology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York City, says yoga is a fine idea for pregnant women, as long as they inform their instructors of their condition.
"Yoga is a great relaxing exercise. It's good for flexibility, it limbers people up," he said. "Part of the process of having a baby is opening up your pelvis. Yoga is one of the good ways to do that. It strengthens your core muscles and pelvic diaphragm."
Moritz, who is featured in the 2008 documentary film The Business of Being Born, said it also helps the back pain that nearly all women get during pregnancy.
Post-natal yoga can help new mothers re-tone and strengthen the pelvic floor but Moritz warned they should wait six to eight weeks after the birth before resuming yoga.
"You can't do something if you're still fatigued," he explained. "Most women are still breast-feeding on demand every three hours. So the last thing on their mind is exercise."
Then there's the challenge of losing that postpartum weight. The average woman puts on about 30 pounds of it during pregnancy.
Moritz is familiar with those celebrity supermoms who seem to drop their baby weight in the time it takes the rest of us to complete a sun salutation.
"For celebrity clients it's all about getting back in shape immediately," he said. "Most of them are doing yoga and Pilates."
I have second hand experience of this problem, my wife has given birth to 2 children, my daughter to 1. It seems unfair, however there are ways to ease back pain, some of them shown at www.backpainloss.com.
Stay well
Paul
Overweight and Back Pain
From News Trends Today.
Certainly a hot topic of conversation, not only for Back Pain Loss but also for general health on a national scale.
REASONS TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST
Wed, Dec 9, 2009News Trends Today
An alarming number of people are overweight today, especially in the United States. Despite that fact that we know that obesity puts us at risk for heart problems, diabetes and even some types of cancer, the temptation to pile on the pounds appears to be more than the concept of living a healthy lifestyle.
Weight loss is not something that you should seek just to look good. You should lose weight as a way to maintain your health. Many people today are experiencing health problems due to the fact that they are overweight. This includes problems walking, joint pain, back pain, diabetes, heart disease and breathing difficulties. Many of these conditions and problems can be avoided if people simply lose weight.
Because obesity has become such an epidemic, especially in the United States, there is a lot of attention focused on the problem. Solutions for obesity range from lap band surgery that actually shrinks the stomach and prevents someone from eating to excess to simply dieting and exercising. There are literally hundreds of diet programs, thousands of diet centers and tens of thousands of books on the market to tell people how to lose weight.
In addition to that, there are hundreds of thousands of gyms, health clubs and exercise groups that are designed to help people with weight loss. The resources for weight loss are certainly there, but the epidemic remains.
As the article says, a lot of tools available for weight loss. My favorite two are NLP and Hypnosos, of the two a good course of Hypnosis combining suggestions for healthy eating with a gradually increasing exercise regime.
Stay well
Paul
Certainly a hot topic of conversation, not only for Back Pain Loss but also for general health on a national scale.
REASONS TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST
Wed, Dec 9, 2009News Trends Today
An alarming number of people are overweight today, especially in the United States. Despite that fact that we know that obesity puts us at risk for heart problems, diabetes and even some types of cancer, the temptation to pile on the pounds appears to be more than the concept of living a healthy lifestyle.
Weight loss is not something that you should seek just to look good. You should lose weight as a way to maintain your health. Many people today are experiencing health problems due to the fact that they are overweight. This includes problems walking, joint pain, back pain, diabetes, heart disease and breathing difficulties. Many of these conditions and problems can be avoided if people simply lose weight.
Because obesity has become such an epidemic, especially in the United States, there is a lot of attention focused on the problem. Solutions for obesity range from lap band surgery that actually shrinks the stomach and prevents someone from eating to excess to simply dieting and exercising. There are literally hundreds of diet programs, thousands of diet centers and tens of thousands of books on the market to tell people how to lose weight.
In addition to that, there are hundreds of thousands of gyms, health clubs and exercise groups that are designed to help people with weight loss. The resources for weight loss are certainly there, but the epidemic remains.
As the article says, a lot of tools available for weight loss. My favorite two are NLP and Hypnosos, of the two a good course of Hypnosis combining suggestions for healthy eating with a gradually increasing exercise regime.
Stay well
Paul
Reflexology and Back Pain
Fro Natural News.
(NaturalNews) Reflexology is the exerting of pressure on targeted areas of the feet (or hands) using the acupressure points found on a reflexology foot chart. The art is said to have originated in the lands of China, Egypt and India and has its basis in the belief that reflex points on the soles of the feet correspond to the various organs and parts of the body. For example, the inner edge of the foot has points relating to the spine and back, while the eyes, ears and sinuses are represented on the pads of the toes. Reflexologists believe that it is possible to restore health to the body by massaging these points.
Reflexology and Back Pain
Many people complain of back pain that ranges from niggling discomfort to chronic conditions. Mostly, this is not the result of injury or trauma. Less exercise, hard physical work and a generally sedentary lifestyle for many have contributed to the segments of the population who are virtually crippled with back problems. According to the World Health Organization, lower back pain is a leading cause of disability in the world.
The first step in addressing back problems through reflexology is to find a qualified reflexologist who will use specific techniques to exert deep pressure on the foot area corresponding with the specific back problem. This may be painful and several sessions may be required before the condition improves. Sore points are often the most important ones to work on, since they represent places where energy is blocked. A gentle spa type massage is probably not going to help much, pleasant as it may be.
Reflexology and Stress
Stress is sometimes referred to as a "silent killer". Stress is virtually considered as a normal condition in today's society. Road rage, family violence and outbursts can often be put down to stress at work or because of the fast pace of life these days. Reflexologists believe that a balance of mind-body-spirit is fundamental to well-being. Modern lifestyles tend to be more insular; the support once offered by a large, extended family is no longer available to many. The positive effect of therapeutic touch is recognized as being fundamental to a feeling of well-being.
A session with a reflexologist to alleviate stress is a drug-free, non-invasive way of reducing tension. To help the patient to relax, a practitioner may use some kind of aromatherapy massage oil or essential oil as part of the treatment. It is believed to encourage the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good hormones, well documented in their ability to relieve stress.
What to Expect from a Foot Reflexology Session
Reflexology is not a cure-all and may not help when there are serious underlying medical conditions. But it can reduce symptoms and aid in healing by improving lymphatic drainage and circulation, stimulation to the nerve pathways and muscle relaxation. Exercise, such as swimming or walking regularly, can aid in reducing back problems by strengthening back muscles and can also help to alleviate or reduce stress.
One of my first Therapies learnt, it is still a fascinating system to treat most ailments.
Stay well
Paul
(NaturalNews) Reflexology is the exerting of pressure on targeted areas of the feet (or hands) using the acupressure points found on a reflexology foot chart. The art is said to have originated in the lands of China, Egypt and India and has its basis in the belief that reflex points on the soles of the feet correspond to the various organs and parts of the body. For example, the inner edge of the foot has points relating to the spine and back, while the eyes, ears and sinuses are represented on the pads of the toes. Reflexologists believe that it is possible to restore health to the body by massaging these points.
Reflexology and Back Pain
Many people complain of back pain that ranges from niggling discomfort to chronic conditions. Mostly, this is not the result of injury or trauma. Less exercise, hard physical work and a generally sedentary lifestyle for many have contributed to the segments of the population who are virtually crippled with back problems. According to the World Health Organization, lower back pain is a leading cause of disability in the world.
The first step in addressing back problems through reflexology is to find a qualified reflexologist who will use specific techniques to exert deep pressure on the foot area corresponding with the specific back problem. This may be painful and several sessions may be required before the condition improves. Sore points are often the most important ones to work on, since they represent places where energy is blocked. A gentle spa type massage is probably not going to help much, pleasant as it may be.
Reflexology and Stress
Stress is sometimes referred to as a "silent killer". Stress is virtually considered as a normal condition in today's society. Road rage, family violence and outbursts can often be put down to stress at work or because of the fast pace of life these days. Reflexologists believe that a balance of mind-body-spirit is fundamental to well-being. Modern lifestyles tend to be more insular; the support once offered by a large, extended family is no longer available to many. The positive effect of therapeutic touch is recognized as being fundamental to a feeling of well-being.
A session with a reflexologist to alleviate stress is a drug-free, non-invasive way of reducing tension. To help the patient to relax, a practitioner may use some kind of aromatherapy massage oil or essential oil as part of the treatment. It is believed to encourage the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good hormones, well documented in their ability to relieve stress.
What to Expect from a Foot Reflexology Session
Reflexology is not a cure-all and may not help when there are serious underlying medical conditions. But it can reduce symptoms and aid in healing by improving lymphatic drainage and circulation, stimulation to the nerve pathways and muscle relaxation. Exercise, such as swimming or walking regularly, can aid in reducing back problems by strengthening back muscles and can also help to alleviate or reduce stress.
One of my first Therapies learnt, it is still a fascinating system to treat most ailments.
Stay well
Paul
Chiropractor and Back Pain Loss
This one from Dynamic ChiropractorHealth Care Is Being Dissected Under a National Microscope - But Where Is Chiropractic?
By Guy Riekeman, DC
As the debate over health care reform rages on in Washington, D.C., and in contentious town meetings across the country, there is perhaps one thing we can all agree on: The chiropractic profession is not so much as a tiny voice in the back row.
A panel of medical experts is advising the Obama administration on everything from single-payer systems to obesity management and end-of-life care. But no one from our profession has been invited in to explain chiropractic's vitalistic approach to health and human performance, even though it perhaps best reflects the president's ideal of a health care system with greater emphasis on wellness, prevention and personal empowerment that won't break the national bank.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. We have so successfully carved out a niche as back pain experts, it's no wonder our national leaders aren't asking what we think is the best approach to helping people realize more of their inborn potential for health.
How will chiropractic ever get its chance to influence the direction of health care in our nation? Only through the exercise of powerful thought leadership that clearly captures and articulates chiropractic's unique understanding of and contribution to health and human performance.
Finding Chiropractic's Voice: Becoming Thought Leaders
Anyone who has been involved with chiropractic for more than five minutes knows our advancement has been hampered by a muddy identity and professional infighting that have made it difficult for the public to know who we are and what we do. What we may not have realized, perhaps even until now, is just how much our "internal" problems are actually affecting the health of our neighbors, communities and nation.
On a scale never before experienced in our country, our nation's leaders are talking about health. They actually want to know how to get the population healthier, how to better care for those who are sick, and how to pay for the best care without sending us deeper into debt. What if, when they thought of chiropractic, they said, "Oh, those are the professionals who help people's bodies work better so its natural powers of health, adaptation and healing can be more fully realized"? Now that's a group that's getting a first-class invitation to the White House for a roundtable on health care reform.
Understanding Thought Leadership
The term thought leader was first coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, author of Global Edge, senior fellow and publisher of The Milken Institute Review, and former editor of the Harvard Business Review and business editor of The New York Times. He used it to describe people who were contributing new knowledge to their fields. Today, it's widely understood to refer to people who understand emerging trends in their discipline and have the expertise and independent research to back up their point of view in meaningful and actionable ways.
Thought leadership is about competence. First and foremost, it stems from having a depth of understanding of your field that is nearly unrivaled and that is highly substantiated with facts. It also evolves around and inspires trust. People (patients, students, national leaders) want to be involved with organizations they believe in.
What Thought Leaders Do
Stake out a clear position. Thought leaders do not try to be all things to all people. They have unique expertise that is well-tested and are comfortable saying clearly what they know to be so without apology. One marketing leader refers to this concept as "concentrated fame" or being "king of the mole hill." It's far more effective to have the greatest depth of knowledge and expertise within your field than to dabble in many.
Add new knowledge. Thought leaders tell us something we don't already know. They are constantly learning and developing and testing new theories and approaches in their field. They don't shoot from the hip and hope they're right.
Become masters. Thought leaders specialize. They know who they are and what unique role they fill, and work tirelessly to fulfill it at the absolute highest levels of competency and professionalism. They have a passion for their field that goes beyond financial reward and can't be faked.
Speak clearly with one voice. The first thing a communications expert will tell you in a crisis is to get one clear message and have the same person deliver it again and again. The same approach works for communication over the long haul. You help people understand your message when you make it clear and consistent and deliver it repeatedly over time.
Ask lots of questions. Thought leaders are not afraid that asking someone else's opinion or considering another viewpoint will weaken their position. On the contrary; they understand that the more they test their knowledge, the stronger it will be. They pour many diverse viewpoints into their funnel and tease them out to see what makes sense and what doesn't. They also ask a lot of questions through formal research that applies the most rigorous standards to the concepts they hold near and dear. They don't want unquestioned confidence in themselves and their ideas; they want to be accurate.
Where Is Chiropractic?
Do those traits broadly describe the chiropractic profession to you? I think your answer is probably no, and I agree with you. We have excelled at halfheartedly delivering a confusing and changing message that we defend with a near-religious zeal, but are largely unwilling to expose to scientific discovery and research.
We are trying hard to change that approach at Life University. Six months ago we brought together some of the world's most renowned philosophers, clinicians and scholars inside and outside of chiropractic for the inaugural event of the Lifesource Octagon, a Center for Infinite Thinking. A key result of the conference was published proceedings that document how members of varied professions are gathering around the concept of vitalism. But we have to continue to expand the conversation and, most importantly, hold these concepts up to external and objective evaluation. We must embrace objective critique if our vitalistic approach to health and peak performance is to capture the respect of key decision-makers.
Likewise, we have recently commissioned an independent research study of millenials (those born in the late '70s to mid '90s) so we can develop a much clearer understanding of how this generation approaches health and health-oriented decisions. Armed with this objective data, we'll be far better positioned to communicate the unique role of chiropractic in helping them reach optimum performance.
That's where chiropractic can have its greatest impact. We are not low back pain gurus. We are not sciatica experts. We are vitalistic health care practitioners who have a unique understanding and set of credentials that can help people develop a far more mature and nuanced understanding of their bodies and then better manage their journey toward peak performance.
Thought leadership is not for everyone. It requires an unwavering commitment to excellence, honesty, and objective scrutiny and measurement. I think our profession has matured to the point that we are ready for that. If we can focus our communication and our dollars as a profession on researching the impact of chiropractic care on human health and performance, and sharing our vitalistic philosophy unapologetically and clearly, we can indeed help steer the national dialogue in a much healthier direction.
An interesting thought, more at www.backpainloss.com
By Guy Riekeman, DC
As the debate over health care reform rages on in Washington, D.C., and in contentious town meetings across the country, there is perhaps one thing we can all agree on: The chiropractic profession is not so much as a tiny voice in the back row.
A panel of medical experts is advising the Obama administration on everything from single-payer systems to obesity management and end-of-life care. But no one from our profession has been invited in to explain chiropractic's vitalistic approach to health and human performance, even though it perhaps best reflects the president's ideal of a health care system with greater emphasis on wellness, prevention and personal empowerment that won't break the national bank.
Maybe we shouldn't be surprised. We have so successfully carved out a niche as back pain experts, it's no wonder our national leaders aren't asking what we think is the best approach to helping people realize more of their inborn potential for health.
How will chiropractic ever get its chance to influence the direction of health care in our nation? Only through the exercise of powerful thought leadership that clearly captures and articulates chiropractic's unique understanding of and contribution to health and human performance.
Finding Chiropractic's Voice: Becoming Thought Leaders
Anyone who has been involved with chiropractic for more than five minutes knows our advancement has been hampered by a muddy identity and professional infighting that have made it difficult for the public to know who we are and what we do. What we may not have realized, perhaps even until now, is just how much our "internal" problems are actually affecting the health of our neighbors, communities and nation.
On a scale never before experienced in our country, our nation's leaders are talking about health. They actually want to know how to get the population healthier, how to better care for those who are sick, and how to pay for the best care without sending us deeper into debt. What if, when they thought of chiropractic, they said, "Oh, those are the professionals who help people's bodies work better so its natural powers of health, adaptation and healing can be more fully realized"? Now that's a group that's getting a first-class invitation to the White House for a roundtable on health care reform.
Understanding Thought Leadership
The term thought leader was first coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman, author of Global Edge, senior fellow and publisher of The Milken Institute Review, and former editor of the Harvard Business Review and business editor of The New York Times. He used it to describe people who were contributing new knowledge to their fields. Today, it's widely understood to refer to people who understand emerging trends in their discipline and have the expertise and independent research to back up their point of view in meaningful and actionable ways.
Thought leadership is about competence. First and foremost, it stems from having a depth of understanding of your field that is nearly unrivaled and that is highly substantiated with facts. It also evolves around and inspires trust. People (patients, students, national leaders) want to be involved with organizations they believe in.
What Thought Leaders Do
Stake out a clear position. Thought leaders do not try to be all things to all people. They have unique expertise that is well-tested and are comfortable saying clearly what they know to be so without apology. One marketing leader refers to this concept as "concentrated fame" or being "king of the mole hill." It's far more effective to have the greatest depth of knowledge and expertise within your field than to dabble in many.
Add new knowledge. Thought leaders tell us something we don't already know. They are constantly learning and developing and testing new theories and approaches in their field. They don't shoot from the hip and hope they're right.
Become masters. Thought leaders specialize. They know who they are and what unique role they fill, and work tirelessly to fulfill it at the absolute highest levels of competency and professionalism. They have a passion for their field that goes beyond financial reward and can't be faked.
Speak clearly with one voice. The first thing a communications expert will tell you in a crisis is to get one clear message and have the same person deliver it again and again. The same approach works for communication over the long haul. You help people understand your message when you make it clear and consistent and deliver it repeatedly over time.
Ask lots of questions. Thought leaders are not afraid that asking someone else's opinion or considering another viewpoint will weaken their position. On the contrary; they understand that the more they test their knowledge, the stronger it will be. They pour many diverse viewpoints into their funnel and tease them out to see what makes sense and what doesn't. They also ask a lot of questions through formal research that applies the most rigorous standards to the concepts they hold near and dear. They don't want unquestioned confidence in themselves and their ideas; they want to be accurate.
Where Is Chiropractic?
Do those traits broadly describe the chiropractic profession to you? I think your answer is probably no, and I agree with you. We have excelled at halfheartedly delivering a confusing and changing message that we defend with a near-religious zeal, but are largely unwilling to expose to scientific discovery and research.
We are trying hard to change that approach at Life University. Six months ago we brought together some of the world's most renowned philosophers, clinicians and scholars inside and outside of chiropractic for the inaugural event of the Lifesource Octagon, a Center for Infinite Thinking. A key result of the conference was published proceedings that document how members of varied professions are gathering around the concept of vitalism. But we have to continue to expand the conversation and, most importantly, hold these concepts up to external and objective evaluation. We must embrace objective critique if our vitalistic approach to health and peak performance is to capture the respect of key decision-makers.
Likewise, we have recently commissioned an independent research study of millenials (those born in the late '70s to mid '90s) so we can develop a much clearer understanding of how this generation approaches health and health-oriented decisions. Armed with this objective data, we'll be far better positioned to communicate the unique role of chiropractic in helping them reach optimum performance.
That's where chiropractic can have its greatest impact. We are not low back pain gurus. We are not sciatica experts. We are vitalistic health care practitioners who have a unique understanding and set of credentials that can help people develop a far more mature and nuanced understanding of their bodies and then better manage their journey toward peak performance.
Thought leadership is not for everyone. It requires an unwavering commitment to excellence, honesty, and objective scrutiny and measurement. I think our profession has matured to the point that we are ready for that. If we can focus our communication and our dollars as a profession on researching the impact of chiropractic care on human health and performance, and sharing our vitalistic philosophy unapologetically and clearly, we can indeed help steer the national dialogue in a much healthier direction.
An interesting thought, more at www.backpainloss.com
Sunday 15 November 2009
How Naturopathy is used for back pain
From Family.Gather.ComHow Naturopathy Treatment Is Used For Back Pain
More good stuff, I think.
For many individuals living with daily back pain, naturopathy treatment has become a viable alternative to conventional measures in providing relief. The base concept of naturopathy is to utilize the body's ability to heal itself by promoting common-sense curative practices designed to heal from within. It is also quite common for practitioners of naturopathy to incorporate conventional measures into a wellness plan, using the best of both disciplines with a patient's best interest at heart. While extensive studies of the benefits of naturopathy are lacking in large numbers, patients who have been helped by it's use swear by the positive features of it's practice.
Naturopathy as used for back pain can use one singular method of treatment or a combination of many, including some non-invasive conventional measures. Acupuncture, relaxation therapy exercises, massage, reflexology, diet advice and lifestyle counseling all fall within the general parameters of naturopathy, with each serving a designated purpose in addressing back pain. A Doctor of Naturopathy may recommend manipulation, herbal treatments or simple exercise in enabling an individual to become their own greatest benefactor in the healing process. In naturopathy, treatment for back pain tends to address causes for the presentation of pain rather than the treatment of symptoms. In this manner naturopathy can prevent future incidents simply through the removal of the root cause of the patient's back pain.
A Doctor of Naturopathy utilizes many of the same diagnostic tools used in conventional medicine such as x-rays and MRI's, however the approach used in treatment is quite different. In naturopathy, back pain may be treated by something as simple as massage and changes in diet and lifestyle, while it may be recommended to the same patient by a a doctor of conventional medicine that surgery is required. While each doctor may present a valid case for their recommendations, the final treatment option lies with the patient suffering back pain. In it's truest sense, naturopathy always stays away from extreme or invasive measures such as surgery, radiation or strong medications that present possible difficulties with side-effects. In their place, naturopathy looks at a combination of often minor adjustments to overall lifestyle that can have a large cumulative impact of stopping back pain by enabling the body to correct itself.
Unfortunately, the practice of naturopathy to treat back pain is limited to a certain extent to those who are open-minded enough personally to attempt something different from the norm. This is also apparent in the fact that many if not most major health insurance carriers do not recognize or pay for naturopathic treatments.
More good stuff, I think.
For many individuals living with daily back pain, naturopathy treatment has become a viable alternative to conventional measures in providing relief. The base concept of naturopathy is to utilize the body's ability to heal itself by promoting common-sense curative practices designed to heal from within. It is also quite common for practitioners of naturopathy to incorporate conventional measures into a wellness plan, using the best of both disciplines with a patient's best interest at heart. While extensive studies of the benefits of naturopathy are lacking in large numbers, patients who have been helped by it's use swear by the positive features of it's practice.
Naturopathy as used for back pain can use one singular method of treatment or a combination of many, including some non-invasive conventional measures. Acupuncture, relaxation therapy exercises, massage, reflexology, diet advice and lifestyle counseling all fall within the general parameters of naturopathy, with each serving a designated purpose in addressing back pain. A Doctor of Naturopathy may recommend manipulation, herbal treatments or simple exercise in enabling an individual to become their own greatest benefactor in the healing process. In naturopathy, treatment for back pain tends to address causes for the presentation of pain rather than the treatment of symptoms. In this manner naturopathy can prevent future incidents simply through the removal of the root cause of the patient's back pain.
A Doctor of Naturopathy utilizes many of the same diagnostic tools used in conventional medicine such as x-rays and MRI's, however the approach used in treatment is quite different. In naturopathy, back pain may be treated by something as simple as massage and changes in diet and lifestyle, while it may be recommended to the same patient by a a doctor of conventional medicine that surgery is required. While each doctor may present a valid case for their recommendations, the final treatment option lies with the patient suffering back pain. In it's truest sense, naturopathy always stays away from extreme or invasive measures such as surgery, radiation or strong medications that present possible difficulties with side-effects. In their place, naturopathy looks at a combination of often minor adjustments to overall lifestyle that can have a large cumulative impact of stopping back pain by enabling the body to correct itself.
Unfortunately, the practice of naturopathy to treat back pain is limited to a certain extent to those who are open-minded enough personally to attempt something different from the norm. This is also apparent in the fact that many if not most major health insurance carriers do not recognize or pay for naturopathic treatments.
Alternative medicene is becomong mainstream.
From the Los Angekes Times
I have always thpught in terms of complementary, rather than alternative, still, have a read.
Alternative medicine is becoming mainstream
Many Americans are choosing to treat themselves using nontraditional methods, but to what end?
Leon Wittman tweaked his shoulder in 1994 while attempting to keep his basement from flooding during a thunderstorm by scooping water out of a window well with a bucket.
His left arm began to ache. He realized about a year later that he rarely used it anymore and could no longer comfortably sleep on that side. A physician said the only cure was surgery.
Wittman and his wife Charlene have always shied away from physicians, preferring to "maintain a good attitude, drink lots of water and figure things out on our own," as he puts it. And so he opted instead to try a pain relief supplement that included acetaminophen, alfalfa, cramp bark and valerian root -- which, he says, improved his shoulder within a month. The Shawnee, Kan., man now takes a glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM supplement.
Many Americans like Wittman choose to treat themselves with complementary and alternative medicine in lieu of surgery, pharmaceuticals or other traditional care. Their numbers have been steadily climbing over the last decade. According to a July study from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, based on interviews with more than 23,300 adults during the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, almost 40% of adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine to treat a variety of conditions.
They spent about $33.9 billion on these practices in 2007, accounting for about 11.2% of the public's total out-of-pocket health expenditures. In 1997, the last time such a survey was taken, the figure was $27 billion.
"Whatever this amount of the population is doing is no longer fringe," says Dr. Tracy Gaudet, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System. "We have to figure out what they are looking for that they can't find in conventional medicine."
Medicine outside the mainstream goes by many names -- naturopathy, complementary, alternative and integrative medicine -- partly because its umbrella covers almost any practice or product that is not generally taught in medical school or offered by traditional medical doctors. It encompasses a broad array of practices: crystal gazing, drinking green smoothies, taking fish oil, practicing yoga.
Alternative therapies are used most commonly to treat conditions such as back, joint and arthritis pain, colds and depression. The new study found the most popular therapies to be natural products, deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic and massage.
Self-care, at $22 billion, accounted for the majority of spending, mostly on nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products. The most popular supplements are fish oil, glucosamine, echinacea and flaxseed. Americans spent $4 billion on yoga, tai chi and qigong classes, and $2.9 billion on homeopathic medicine.
The survey found that visits to practitioners overall have decreased by about 50% since 1997, with the biggest drop seen by providers of energy healing and relaxation techniques. An exception was acupuncture, whose providers saw a threefold increase from 1997 to 2007.
For years, there has been a false assumption that users are anti-establishment and alternative types who choose it over conventional treatments -- but the data suggests otherwise, complementary medicine experts say. Dr. Mimi Guarneri, medical director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, says that these are regular people who want more help staying well.
"The good news about Western medicine is that it responds well in an acute setting -- if they have a heart attack, stroke or are hit by a car," she says. "When you look at other healing traditions, prevention is the first step, treatment is the last step."
But the trend worries many medical experts, although they acknowledge that some alternative therapies seem useful -- acupuncture for treating back pain, for example, and exercise and dietary changes for better regulation of blood sugar.
A 2008 study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found, for example, that patients who exercised, ate a low-fat diet and took fish oil and red yeast rice supplements over a three-month period reduced their bad, or LDL, cholesterol by 42%. A group taking the cholesterol medication Zocor saw a 39% LDL reduction.
But many more of the therapies are unproven or untested. Echinacea, ginko biloba and shark cartilage all came up ineffective in recent studies. A June Associated Press article highlighted the fact that after 10 years and $2.5 billion in research, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has not found any alternative medicine that works, save patients taking ginger for chemotherapy-induced nausea and limited uses for acupuncture, yoga, massage and relaxation techniques such as meditation.
Almost $3 billion is spent annually on homeopathic medicine, for example, but there is no hard evidence to show that it is effective. The treatment, which is based on the theory that "like cures like," offers patients highly diluted solutions of natural substances that create similar symptoms. (An insomniac, for example, would be given a solution with a small amount of caffeine.) A number of homeopathy's key concepts "are not consistent with the current understanding of science, particularly chemistry and physics," the complementary medicine center notes on its website.
"I think people using alternative medicines are wasting their money and are being fooled into thinking they are getting something that is beneficial for them," says Dr. Jerome Kassirer, distinguished professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Then there's the issue of safety. Herbs and supplements used by alternative health practitioners are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration because they are considered food, not pharmaceuticals. Thus, their purity is not guaranteed. The FDA has identified concerns with some dietary supplements that have been adulterated with drugs, mislabeled or may contain harmful substances including kava, ephedra and comfrey. A listing of alerts is on its website at http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/Alerts/default.htm.
Some supplements -- such as St. John's Wort and ginko biloba -- also are known to interfere with conventional drugs, but many supplement users do not discuss the supplements they take with their doctors.
Gaudet says that medical students at Duke -- who are required as part of training to spend some time "loitering" in health food stores -- find that most consumers get information on how to use supplements from the health food store clerks. And a 2007 study by the complementary center and AARP looking at medical practices of people aged 50 and older found that 63% have used some form of alternative medicine but less than one-third told their doctor.
"There are some of these alternative medicine potions that can be harmful," Kassirer says. "And I think people treat themselves when they should be seeing a doctor, and that can result in a delay in necessary treatment."
Alternative medicine practitioners counter that most of the therapies, even if not effective, are not likely to harm. "I think many herbal remedies are quite gentle compared to strong drugs. . . . They aren't necessarily all safe, but by and large they have gentle effects," Briggs says.
Nor are all the issues unique to complementary medicine, Gaudet says, offering as an example: In many areas of traditional medicine, such as surgery, rigorous trials are rarely completed.
It's also unreasonable to argue that alternative therapies must be studied as thoroughly as a lot of mainstream medical practices, Guarneri says. The research should be as strong as a therapy's potential for risks.
Certainly, a new chemotherapy treatment should be rigorously tested, she says. But "I don't need a 2-million-person double-blind, randomized trial to tell someone to eat blueberries because they are low in sugar and high in antioxidants."
health@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Good news for those of us who believe there is a place for both the men in White Coats, and those of us who just use our hands.
Bye for now
Paul
I have always thpught in terms of complementary, rather than alternative, still, have a read.
Alternative medicine is becoming mainstream
Many Americans are choosing to treat themselves using nontraditional methods, but to what end?
Leon Wittman tweaked his shoulder in 1994 while attempting to keep his basement from flooding during a thunderstorm by scooping water out of a window well with a bucket.
His left arm began to ache. He realized about a year later that he rarely used it anymore and could no longer comfortably sleep on that side. A physician said the only cure was surgery.
Wittman and his wife Charlene have always shied away from physicians, preferring to "maintain a good attitude, drink lots of water and figure things out on our own," as he puts it. And so he opted instead to try a pain relief supplement that included acetaminophen, alfalfa, cramp bark and valerian root -- which, he says, improved his shoulder within a month. The Shawnee, Kan., man now takes a glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM supplement.
Many Americans like Wittman choose to treat themselves with complementary and alternative medicine in lieu of surgery, pharmaceuticals or other traditional care. Their numbers have been steadily climbing over the last decade. According to a July study from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, based on interviews with more than 23,300 adults during the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, almost 40% of adults use some form of complementary and alternative medicine to treat a variety of conditions.
They spent about $33.9 billion on these practices in 2007, accounting for about 11.2% of the public's total out-of-pocket health expenditures. In 1997, the last time such a survey was taken, the figure was $27 billion.
"Whatever this amount of the population is doing is no longer fringe," says Dr. Tracy Gaudet, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine, part of the Duke University Health System. "We have to figure out what they are looking for that they can't find in conventional medicine."
Medicine outside the mainstream goes by many names -- naturopathy, complementary, alternative and integrative medicine -- partly because its umbrella covers almost any practice or product that is not generally taught in medical school or offered by traditional medical doctors. It encompasses a broad array of practices: crystal gazing, drinking green smoothies, taking fish oil, practicing yoga.
Alternative therapies are used most commonly to treat conditions such as back, joint and arthritis pain, colds and depression. The new study found the most popular therapies to be natural products, deep breathing, meditation, chiropractic and massage.
Self-care, at $22 billion, accounted for the majority of spending, mostly on nonvitamin, nonmineral, natural products. The most popular supplements are fish oil, glucosamine, echinacea and flaxseed. Americans spent $4 billion on yoga, tai chi and qigong classes, and $2.9 billion on homeopathic medicine.
The survey found that visits to practitioners overall have decreased by about 50% since 1997, with the biggest drop seen by providers of energy healing and relaxation techniques. An exception was acupuncture, whose providers saw a threefold increase from 1997 to 2007.
For years, there has been a false assumption that users are anti-establishment and alternative types who choose it over conventional treatments -- but the data suggests otherwise, complementary medicine experts say. Dr. Mimi Guarneri, medical director of Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine in La Jolla, says that these are regular people who want more help staying well.
"The good news about Western medicine is that it responds well in an acute setting -- if they have a heart attack, stroke or are hit by a car," she says. "When you look at other healing traditions, prevention is the first step, treatment is the last step."
But the trend worries many medical experts, although they acknowledge that some alternative therapies seem useful -- acupuncture for treating back pain, for example, and exercise and dietary changes for better regulation of blood sugar.
A 2008 study in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings found, for example, that patients who exercised, ate a low-fat diet and took fish oil and red yeast rice supplements over a three-month period reduced their bad, or LDL, cholesterol by 42%. A group taking the cholesterol medication Zocor saw a 39% LDL reduction.
But many more of the therapies are unproven or untested. Echinacea, ginko biloba and shark cartilage all came up ineffective in recent studies. A June Associated Press article highlighted the fact that after 10 years and $2.5 billion in research, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine has not found any alternative medicine that works, save patients taking ginger for chemotherapy-induced nausea and limited uses for acupuncture, yoga, massage and relaxation techniques such as meditation.
Almost $3 billion is spent annually on homeopathic medicine, for example, but there is no hard evidence to show that it is effective. The treatment, which is based on the theory that "like cures like," offers patients highly diluted solutions of natural substances that create similar symptoms. (An insomniac, for example, would be given a solution with a small amount of caffeine.) A number of homeopathy's key concepts "are not consistent with the current understanding of science, particularly chemistry and physics," the complementary medicine center notes on its website.
"I think people using alternative medicines are wasting their money and are being fooled into thinking they are getting something that is beneficial for them," says Dr. Jerome Kassirer, distinguished professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and former editor in chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Then there's the issue of safety. Herbs and supplements used by alternative health practitioners are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration because they are considered food, not pharmaceuticals. Thus, their purity is not guaranteed. The FDA has identified concerns with some dietary supplements that have been adulterated with drugs, mislabeled or may contain harmful substances including kava, ephedra and comfrey. A listing of alerts is on its website at http://www.fda.gov/Food/DietarySupplements/Alerts/default.htm.
Some supplements -- such as St. John's Wort and ginko biloba -- also are known to interfere with conventional drugs, but many supplement users do not discuss the supplements they take with their doctors.
Gaudet says that medical students at Duke -- who are required as part of training to spend some time "loitering" in health food stores -- find that most consumers get information on how to use supplements from the health food store clerks. And a 2007 study by the complementary center and AARP looking at medical practices of people aged 50 and older found that 63% have used some form of alternative medicine but less than one-third told their doctor.
"There are some of these alternative medicine potions that can be harmful," Kassirer says. "And I think people treat themselves when they should be seeing a doctor, and that can result in a delay in necessary treatment."
Alternative medicine practitioners counter that most of the therapies, even if not effective, are not likely to harm. "I think many herbal remedies are quite gentle compared to strong drugs. . . . They aren't necessarily all safe, but by and large they have gentle effects," Briggs says.
Nor are all the issues unique to complementary medicine, Gaudet says, offering as an example: In many areas of traditional medicine, such as surgery, rigorous trials are rarely completed.
It's also unreasonable to argue that alternative therapies must be studied as thoroughly as a lot of mainstream medical practices, Guarneri says. The research should be as strong as a therapy's potential for risks.
Certainly, a new chemotherapy treatment should be rigorously tested, she says. But "I don't need a 2-million-person double-blind, randomized trial to tell someone to eat blueberries because they are low in sugar and high in antioxidants."
health@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
Good news for those of us who believe there is a place for both the men in White Coats, and those of us who just use our hands.
Bye for now
Paul
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