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Americans Embracing Alternatives

By On · Add Comment · In acupuncture, alternative, chiropractic, medicine

Bravo! Nearly forty percent of all adults in the U.S. are turning to alternative medicine–like chiropractic, acupuncture, nutrition, and massage, among others–for chronic pain and other health issues. Much to the chagrin of “conventional” medicine, not only are adults seeing the value in alternative forms of treatment, but American children are too.

The most common reason people seek out alternative health care is for back pain. Neck and joint pain, as well as arthritis are the next most likely conditions that drive people into chiropractic and other natural health practices around the country. According to a survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the numbers of adults using complementary and alternative medicine for any condition is up 2% (about six million people) from 2002, the last time the numbers were collected.

I don’t know about you guys, but I think that’s huge. Americans are getting it, after all. They are getting that there is more to health than just the same old medicine and surgery offered by conventional medicos. Not knocking that very important part of our health care arsenal at all. But there’s more, much more. And Americans have discovered it, and they are using it to better their health.

What amuses me is that there are still so many in the medical profession that are aghast by these findings. Wake the eff up, cavemen! There is way, way more to health and healing than what mainstream western medicine has to offer. Be open and learn about what’s out there. Chiropractic has been around in some form for thousands of years, and in the form we know today for over one hundred years. Acupuncture for probably longer. Medicine as we know it today has only been around for about the same length of time as chiropractic has. Earlier than that, it was just as much voodoo as chiropractic has been accused of over the years–leeches and all.

So once again America, I say bravo! Keep it up. We’ll all be the better off for it.

Not Quite Right Yet

By On · Add Comment · In alternative, chiropractic, gratitude, medical science, paradigm, prevention, stretch, water, wellness

Welp, they almost got it right. Medical science is working very hard to jump onto the wellness bandwagon. There was a time when the term prevention was considered an “alternative” concept – that is, medical science placed very little stock in the idea of practicing preventative measures. But not anymore. Oh no. Not only is it very hip (medically speaking) to promote prevention, but now mainstream medicine is trying to form the term to fit within its own paradigm.

Imagine my excitement when I caught the headline, Preventive steps could save 100,000 U.S. lives: study. What? Do my eyes deceive me? Is the mainstream medical information machine really going to push the same agenda as I do with The Six Keys To Optimal Health? Wow, cool man. Let me check it out.

Hmmm. Not quite. But I guess it’s a start. The premise of the article is that if people were to take preventative measures, such as taking an aspirin every day, quitting smoking, getting more colorectal exams, getting more mamograms, and getting annual flu shots, then many life threatening diseases could be averted. OK, that’s true. But is that the gist of prevention? What about health, I mean, that surely can’t be all there is to it, can it?

Heck no. And the problem lies within the philosophy of our current health paradigm, which is: you are fine until you have symptoms, and when you do, you’re sick, and then you’ve got to be treated for your particular illness. All right, we know that one. It’s been in place for at least a century, so we’ve all been there, done that. And we ain’t gettin’ any healthier, now, are we? No, but we do have an overloaded medical system, which creates quite a problem.

I’m not going to go into all the details of why our current system doesn’t work and how we can change it into something more useful. Let’s save that for my upcoming book, The Six Keys to Optimal Health. You’ll find that I do a very thorough job of dissecting the current health paradigm and how we can now take our understanding of health to the next level. And based on the studies coming from our current health authorities, I can assure you the change isn’t going to come from that camp any time soon.

Instead, if I were to rewrite this study, it might read something like this:

Increased use of just five preventive services would save more than 100,000 lives every year in the United States, and they are:

These tips are just a small taste of what you’ll find in my upcoming book, and I’ll provide the information to prove them. You better believe that. When you’re done, you won’t even think about prevention, because if you do things right, there will be nothing to prevent.

Chiropractic Can Pevent Drug Addiction

By On · Add Comment · In abuse, acupuncture, alternative, bodywork, chiropractic, chronic pain, disease, drug addiction, dysfunction, healing, low back pain, massage, opioid drugs, OxyContin, Percocet
You heard right – that miraculous healing art called chiropractic can actually prevent drug addiction. Here’s how: According to a large study conducted at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, nearly four percent of chronic pain patients abuse opioid drugs, such as OxyContin or Percocet. The findings are relevant because these numbers suggest that chronic pain sufferers are four times more likely to abuse opioid drugs then people in the general population (3.8% to 0.9% respectively). Since many chronic pain sufferers report great results through regular chiropractic care, it stands to reason that utilizing this exceptional form of bodywork can lower the risks of opioid drug addiction.

When it comes to pain, it is important to remember one thing, the function of pain is to tell you something is wrong. Whether that something is a biomechanical dysfunction or the onset of an organic disease (cancer, heart disease, etc.), the pain response acts as a warning signal to let you know that a problem is present. It seems that chronic pain is becoming more and more looked upon as an entity unto itself, and being treated as such with powerful opioid drugs. No doubt that occasionally the system goes haywire and pain develops for no apparent physical reason; however, this is more the exception than the rule (and likely due to other chemical, hormonal, neurological or organic imbalances), and it would, therefore, be prudent to find and correct the cause than simply treat the symptom with dangerous pharmaceuticals.

Drugs are important. They help us get over humps that can act as obstacles to our healing. Case in point: I had an emergency appendectomy last summer and I don’t know what I would have done without a couple – OK, seven – shots of morphine. The pain associated with appendicitis is excruciating – I was literally bowled over – and the opioid medication allowed me to handle the 22 hour wait for surgery. So I’m all for the drugs, man. But when they are prescribed simply for chronic pain – most commonly low back pain – something is seriously wrong.

I can’t say that all chronic pain sufferers can be helped by chiropractic care, but I know through my own observations, that far too many neglect to give it a serious try. If they are not fixed within one or two visits, they quit. And off to the pain specialist for a dose of OxyContin – the easy route, since pain will be alleviated quickly, although only temporarily. And since opioids also feel good – that is, they get you high – it’s no surprise that many people would rather take these addictive drugs, than suffer through chiropractic care and ice therapy, which takes longer and requires more work and has a financial commitment.

Fortunately, more people are looking to complimentary and alternative (CAM) health practices like chiropractic care, massage and acupuncture, to help alleviate their physical problems. According to the study, 54% of subjects had used or were currently using chiropractic care to treat chronic pain. Some other notable characteristics of CAM users are:

  • adults between 35-49 years of age
  • college educated
  • incomes above $35,000
  • have a holistic orientation to health.

And I would add wiser, more attractive, funnier, and all around better people. But, hey, that’s just my humble opinion.

TEMPUR-PEDIC PILLOW GIVEAWAY

Congratulations to Laurie H. of Los Angeles for winning the Tempur-Pedic Comfort Pillow in our Independence Day Raffle. Laurie says she’s especially excited since her neck has been bothering her. Nothing a little chiropractic care and a nice soft pillow can’t resolve. Thanks everyone for playing.
D.C.

Get Smart!

By On · Add Comment · In alternative, alternative therapy, calcium, conventional wisdom, cow's milk, health practices, medical paradigm, mommy, natural health, phytates, soy, soy milk, tooth decay, vitamin D

My wife told me today of a mommy she met at the park. The mommy asked my wife if she gives my daughter soy milk. My wife said no – we don’t drink it so she didn’t really see the point in starting my daughter on it. The mommy then said she only gives her child soy milk, and never cow’s milk, although she has been noticing her child’s teeth were decaying.

Now, pediatricians will o.k. a child’s drinking soy milk instead of cow’s milk if the soy product is fortified with vitamin D and calcium. That’s because soy milk is not as great a source of these two nutrients. Furthermore, soy milk contains compounds – called phytates – that decrease the absorption of calcium and other minerals. Vitamin D is necessary for proper bone development, immune function and cell growth. Calcium is necessary for healthy bones, muscles, blood vessels, and nerves. Both nutrients play a major role in tooth development and health. Deficiency in either can cause weakened or underdeveloped bones and teeth, including tooth decay.

O.k. here’s my problem with what my wife told me. I think there is a major cultural shift happening in this country, and it’s towards natural health. I’m all for natural health – heck, I’m a chiropractor, for crying out loud (and I did write a book about it – The Six Keys To Optimal Health) – however, I think that if you are going to do things naturally, you’ve got be smart about it.

You see, the medical paradigm is actually the safest alternative for people who do not want to think for themselves. On a purely statistical basis, medical wisdom is the safest, lowest maintenance way to care for your body. Do what your doctor tells you and, for the most part (probably around 75% – I’m pulling this number out of my keester, but it’s more for illustrating a point, anyway), you should be o.k. True, for the minority of people, following the conventional wisdom might be harmful, useless, or minimally beneficial at best. So for these people, thinking outside of the box is often necessary.

That’s where “alternative” health practices originated (and in this case we’re discussing natural, but it can just as well mean any other alternative therapy – magnets, leaches, exorcisms, whatever); they came from man’s desire to heal himself outside of what he was told worked, but, unfortunately, hadn’t for him (or his parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.). As the alternative therapy began helping more people, it began to rise within the mainstream, moving closer, itself, to becoming conventional wisdom.

Here’s the point: if you are going to practice natural or alternative health methods, be informed. Don’t give your child a product without knowing everything about that product, and definitely do not substitute a well-known health product (vitamin/nutrient) for one of today’s latest health-food flavors of the month. I know, I know, soy is safe – I just said it, didn’t I? However, if you notice your child’s teeth decaying – WAKE UP! Either look it up and educate yourself, or call your pediatrician or dentist and find out if there’s a vitamin deficiency causing it.

The bottom line is this – if you are going to be the master of your own health, then you gotta know the way to do it: read the instructions, watch the demonstration video, take the weekend seminar. If you don’t have the time to buck up, then just do what conventional wisdom (read: modern medical science) tells you – it’s simply the safest way to go.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.