This is a recent story that I thought was interesting because it almost sounds like it would be written for a Readers Digest magazine. On a daily basis I try to give people instructions on how to help themselves but often your advice gets debunked by a friend, neighbor, or doctor internet. I’m sure this is how dentists feel when trying to get people to floss. Here’s the story:
A patient recently was asked to perform some exercises for her knees. I told her to do them daily and return in one week to assess her progress.
The following week I walked into the treatment room and asked, “Did you do the exercises?”
She replied “no.”
I looked at her in bewilderment. I couldn’t understand how such a simple exercise performed once a day for 30 seconds per day could be so difficult.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Well, I saw my other doctor in Santa Barbara and he said I shouldn’t do them. He said he didn’t know why my left knee was hurting so he gave me a cortisone shot. Boy did that hurt” was her answer.
In my confused state, I tried to understand the situation. “Okay, so you have two different doctors. One says to perform an exercise, the other says not to. So I guess it’s up to you to decide which advice you want to follow.”
“He charges more so I’m following his advice” she explained.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Amazon Berries, Secrets From the Orient, and Oprah
So I guess there’s a new secret weight loss product that people are asking about. Since the good Dr. Oz and Oprah speak about it, that should tell you that it’s a message straight from heaven. So here we go.
People ask my opinion about this and since I don’t watch Oprah, it’s hard for me to learn about this stuff. I thought I knew a lot about nutrition, after all, I eat things that fall under the category of nutrition everyday. We studied it in school to the nth degree.
So here’s my biased opinion about new diets in general:
If it’s a fruit, vegetable or whatever from another country it can’t be too fresh by the time it hits my mouth.
If I have to buy it from an “independent distributor” then I’ll wait for next years’ miracle.
If it’s a “secret” than I’m not the one that should be involved. I was the worst at keeping secrets when I was a kid.
If I get a bathrobe with the purchase, I don’t want it.
If it involves a capsule, it can’t be as good as the real thing.
If a major nutritional company doesn’t make it, I don’t want it. I want to make sure the stuff is clean.
Try this:
Since Dr. Oz has his special diet, I figure I can come up with one. It’s sure to make you lose weight because it’s low in carbs (that’s very popular right now), won’t kill you, and has the whole “colon-cleansing” buzz to it.
I’m being serious here, go to the supermarket or Costco and buy the following items. This will last you for one week. Figure out how to cook them with the combined ingredients. Try to not eat anything other than what’s on this list.
3 lean steaks
2 salmon steaks
Iceburg lettuce
5 pounds of broccoli
3 pounds of tomatoes
Olive oil
Garlic
Basil
Dozen eggs
5 lemons
Low fat cheese
Deli turkey
2 bags of almonds
1 bag of walnuts
The great thing about my diet is that I tell you WHAT to eat rather than what NOT to eat! Isn’t this great?
So your goal is to figure out how to eat all this stuff during the weak. I might write a book or go on television some day with this diet. All I need to do is to speak with an Australian accent and wave my arms a lot. Then I’ll need to find a very pretty but curious interviewer that can ask the appropriate questions and I’ll be set for life.
Hey, and it’s only$19.95 plus s&h.
People ask my opinion about this and since I don’t watch Oprah, it’s hard for me to learn about this stuff. I thought I knew a lot about nutrition, after all, I eat things that fall under the category of nutrition everyday. We studied it in school to the nth degree.
So here’s my biased opinion about new diets in general:
If it’s a fruit, vegetable or whatever from another country it can’t be too fresh by the time it hits my mouth.
If I have to buy it from an “independent distributor” then I’ll wait for next years’ miracle.
If it’s a “secret” than I’m not the one that should be involved. I was the worst at keeping secrets when I was a kid.
If I get a bathrobe with the purchase, I don’t want it.
If it involves a capsule, it can’t be as good as the real thing.
If a major nutritional company doesn’t make it, I don’t want it. I want to make sure the stuff is clean.
Try this:
Since Dr. Oz has his special diet, I figure I can come up with one. It’s sure to make you lose weight because it’s low in carbs (that’s very popular right now), won’t kill you, and has the whole “colon-cleansing” buzz to it.
I’m being serious here, go to the supermarket or Costco and buy the following items. This will last you for one week. Figure out how to cook them with the combined ingredients. Try to not eat anything other than what’s on this list.
3 lean steaks
2 salmon steaks
Iceburg lettuce
5 pounds of broccoli
3 pounds of tomatoes
Olive oil
Garlic
Basil
Dozen eggs
5 lemons
Low fat cheese
Deli turkey
2 bags of almonds
1 bag of walnuts
The great thing about my diet is that I tell you WHAT to eat rather than what NOT to eat! Isn’t this great?
So your goal is to figure out how to eat all this stuff during the weak. I might write a book or go on television some day with this diet. All I need to do is to speak with an Australian accent and wave my arms a lot. Then I’ll need to find a very pretty but curious interviewer that can ask the appropriate questions and I’ll be set for life.
Hey, and it’s only$19.95 plus s&h.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
"Unique" questions people will ask
Last week I had some real interesting conversations with patients. Some day I’m going to write a book about all the fun stuff that goes on in a chiropractic office. Maybe it will be the next sitcom.
Q: Is there a way I can get your newsletters without going on the computer? I’m afraid of computers.
A: I didn’t know what to say to this one. The answer is no however. Maybe a friend can print it out for you. We don’t print them and send them via the mail anymore.
Q: Is there a way to learn trigger point therapy without coming to your class?
A: You can buy books. You can go on the internet.
Q: Can I see you on Saturday or Sunday?
A: If it’s an emergency. There is an additional charge. The fee is $75 and insurance doesn’t cover it. You must pay in advance for the appointment.
Q: How can I crack myself?
A: I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That’s how we end up getting those emergency phone calls on the weekend. A friend cracks your back, messes you up, and then I have to repair the damage.
Q: Are you going to play music or light candles?
A: No.
Q: Is there a way I can get your newsletters without going on the computer? I’m afraid of computers.
A: I didn’t know what to say to this one. The answer is no however. Maybe a friend can print it out for you. We don’t print them and send them via the mail anymore.
Q: Is there a way to learn trigger point therapy without coming to your class?
A: You can buy books. You can go on the internet.
Q: Can I see you on Saturday or Sunday?
A: If it’s an emergency. There is an additional charge. The fee is $75 and insurance doesn’t cover it. You must pay in advance for the appointment.
Q: How can I crack myself?
A: I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That’s how we end up getting those emergency phone calls on the weekend. A friend cracks your back, messes you up, and then I have to repair the damage.
Q: Are you going to play music or light candles?
A: No.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Am I working out too much?
This is the time of year when everyone spends their hard-earned money at the gym. There are some that are the unfortunate few that will end up in my office in February. There are many ways to avoid overdoing it. First of all…stop overdoing it.
Some people will join the gym and spend up to 2 hours a day in there. How anyone can spend that much time in there blows my mind. After finding out that 40 minutes was spent in the sauna and another 20 minutes was spent cooling down, it’s still an hour. If you’ve spent 20 minutes warming up, then you are getting 40 minutes of exercise. When you factor in that you might be waiting for a machine, it’s no wonder that it takes so long.
When you begin to spend a good portion of your life in the gym, it’s easy to lose weight. Almost anything you do will burn some calories. Even the sauna will make you lose some water weight. After about a month most people start to plateau on the weight loss. The secret is to not spend more time in the gym, but rather make the time spent there more efficient.
There’s really no reason why a person should spend more than one hour at a time in the gym. The typical workout that most people do is 20 minutes of “cardio” which can mean a treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike. Then they hit the machines for about 20 minutes, then do a different machine to cool down. This is universally accepted as to what is supposed to happen in the gym. All the fitness centers are organized in this manner.
But what do you do once you’ve stopped losing weight? Do you add more time to each section? Do you double it? Do you eat less?
One option is to divide the workouts. Sports training research has found it beneficial to do strength training separately from endurance training. In other words, you could do weights/machines on Monday, then Tuesday do all endurance/cardio. Wednesday could be a day off and then Thursday and Friday are similar to what you’ve already done. The different exercise routines demand different forms of energy in the muscles and stimulate different hormonal responses in the body. That’s why it’s better to separate the two styles of workouts.
If you are totally addicted and want to go to the gym 6 days a week, then on Wednesday and Saturday you would do another cardio workout that is not stressful to the joints like the stationary bike. Do these days for only ½ hour because you need to be ready to exercise hard the following day.
I would recommend that you not workout 6 days a week. Four times for most people is enough, especially in the beginning. Lots of people get injured from doing too much too soon.
Seven hours a week is more than enough to reach most peoples’ goals. It’s not necessary to spend 14 hours in the gym per week. That’s how people end up with injuries, burnout, and missed workouts.
Some people will join the gym and spend up to 2 hours a day in there. How anyone can spend that much time in there blows my mind. After finding out that 40 minutes was spent in the sauna and another 20 minutes was spent cooling down, it’s still an hour. If you’ve spent 20 minutes warming up, then you are getting 40 minutes of exercise. When you factor in that you might be waiting for a machine, it’s no wonder that it takes so long.
When you begin to spend a good portion of your life in the gym, it’s easy to lose weight. Almost anything you do will burn some calories. Even the sauna will make you lose some water weight. After about a month most people start to plateau on the weight loss. The secret is to not spend more time in the gym, but rather make the time spent there more efficient.
There’s really no reason why a person should spend more than one hour at a time in the gym. The typical workout that most people do is 20 minutes of “cardio” which can mean a treadmill, elliptical, or stationary bike. Then they hit the machines for about 20 minutes, then do a different machine to cool down. This is universally accepted as to what is supposed to happen in the gym. All the fitness centers are organized in this manner.
But what do you do once you’ve stopped losing weight? Do you add more time to each section? Do you double it? Do you eat less?
One option is to divide the workouts. Sports training research has found it beneficial to do strength training separately from endurance training. In other words, you could do weights/machines on Monday, then Tuesday do all endurance/cardio. Wednesday could be a day off and then Thursday and Friday are similar to what you’ve already done. The different exercise routines demand different forms of energy in the muscles and stimulate different hormonal responses in the body. That’s why it’s better to separate the two styles of workouts.
If you are totally addicted and want to go to the gym 6 days a week, then on Wednesday and Saturday you would do another cardio workout that is not stressful to the joints like the stationary bike. Do these days for only ½ hour because you need to be ready to exercise hard the following day.
I would recommend that you not workout 6 days a week. Four times for most people is enough, especially in the beginning. Lots of people get injured from doing too much too soon.
Seven hours a week is more than enough to reach most peoples’ goals. It’s not necessary to spend 14 hours in the gym per week. That’s how people end up with injuries, burnout, and missed workouts.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Trigger Point Therapy
Our next trigger point therapy class with be on Wednesday, January 28th . It will start at 6:00 pm and end at 7:15 pm.
We do the class in the examination room which can hold 10 people. Therefore, if you and your spouse/significant other want to attend, please let Jen know. We will reserve space for 10 people and once it’s full, we stop telling people about it.
Here’s what you will learn:
1. The causes of trigger points in the muscles.
2. What normal muscle should feel like, what trigger points feel like.
3. Locations of common trigger points that cause headaches, neck
pain, shoulder pain, and lower back pain.
4. Other therapies that help (heat versus ice, balms, stretches, etc)
Trigger point therapy has been an invaluable method for me personally as I have found that I am able to reduce my own muscular pain very quickly. It has helped me recover quicker from workouts that normally would wipe me out. It’s so simple and easy to do that people overlook it searching for a more complex way to deal with pain.
Many people leave the class asking me, “is that all there is to it?” There’s no ancient secret that takes years to master. Once you learn it, you’ll be able to do it forever.
So if you would like to attend, please let my staff know and we’ll sign you up. Bring your spouse/significant other because very often, they are the ones that can do this for you.
We do the class in the examination room which can hold 10 people. Therefore, if you and your spouse/significant other want to attend, please let Jen know. We will reserve space for 10 people and once it’s full, we stop telling people about it.
Here’s what you will learn:
1. The causes of trigger points in the muscles.
2. What normal muscle should feel like, what trigger points feel like.
3. Locations of common trigger points that cause headaches, neck
pain, shoulder pain, and lower back pain.
4. Other therapies that help (heat versus ice, balms, stretches, etc)
Trigger point therapy has been an invaluable method for me personally as I have found that I am able to reduce my own muscular pain very quickly. It has helped me recover quicker from workouts that normally would wipe me out. It’s so simple and easy to do that people overlook it searching for a more complex way to deal with pain.
Many people leave the class asking me, “is that all there is to it?” There’s no ancient secret that takes years to master. Once you learn it, you’ll be able to do it forever.
So if you would like to attend, please let my staff know and we’ll sign you up. Bring your spouse/significant other because very often, they are the ones that can do this for you.
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