Busch Chiropractic Makes Pain Go Away!

When you do something well, word travels fast and that is exactly how Joe heard about the Busch Chiropractic Center.  Joe had definitely heard about Busch Chiropractic Pain Center, and even though he lived 2.5 hours away, he was willing to make the drive, if Dr. Busch thought he could help Joe. 

Joe had suffered from a low back condition (degenerative disc disease) and had tried conservative care such as chiropractic, physical therapy and pain medications.  When that didn’t work, he gave up and had a spinal fusion.  For the last two years, he continually suffered from moderate to severe low back pain, left hip and thigh pain. 

Joe absolutely did not want to have another surgery, because his recovery was so difficult and he ended up right back where he started.  So he decided to use the internet to research options other than surgery.  When Joe got to Dr. Busch he was miserable with constant pain and was having difficulty standing, sitting and walking.  He was also having cramping in his leg.  He was constantly taking one prescription or another trying to get some relief.  He took Norflex, muscle relaxers, Tylenol or whatever was available at the time.  Joe was relieved when Dr. Busch said he was confident – after a thorough examination and a review of Joe’s films – that the DRS Protocol™ would help him. 

With a willingness to stay in a hotel during the week, Joe began treating and today he is walking and moving much, much better. The 2.5 hour car ride was not an issue.  Joe is doing better than he ever expected.  And he is so happy he didn’t have to have another surgery.  His wife is also very happy to have him back to being able to walk and be active, because she was getting bored shopping by herself while they were in town!

Consumer advocate groups such AARP, the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, and Consumers Union are urging President Obama not to weaken this requirement of the healthcare law. 

The consumer groups are afraid that this administration will listen most to the insurance companies – as the insurance companies’ complaints are it is costly and burdensome to produce the standard, easy-to-understand benefit summaries. And, it is an election year, and costly proposed regulations, such as the above, from this administration will not help re-election.

Initially the way the government had proposed the law, there would even be an estimate of the cost for treating three common conditions: normal childbirth, breast cancer and diabetes.  However, should this be developed then consumers could really compare insurance coverage.  They can’t do that now, and it probably never will happen.

This rule is supposed to be coming into effect by fall 2012. However, as President Obama mentioned in the State of the Union message, “There is no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly,” and “I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense.”

The plan for easy-to-comprehend insurance summaries “don’t make sense” for insurance companies.

What are your thoughts?

Statins have been proven to prevent second heart attacks, but not first heart attacks. And perhaps taking statins could cause more harm than good – since diabetes is a major cause of heart disease. The conclusion of the study was statin medication use in postmenopausal women is associated with an increased risk for DM (Diabetes Mellitus is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by high blood sugar). This may be a medication class effect. Further study by statin type and dose may reveal varying risk levels for new-onset DM in this population.

The  Women’s Health Initiative study is the same study that discounted the idea that Premarin would prevent heart attacks, and Premarin was immediately stopped. Cholesterol lowering drugs frequently cause muscle damage, muscle cramps and leg pain, muscle weakness, muscle aches, exercise intolerance, elevated CPK – a muscle enzyme, sexual dysfunction, liver and nerve damage and other problems in 10-15 percent of patients who take them. They can also cause significant cellular, muscle, and nerve injury as well as cell death, all without symptoms.

It is a known fact that statins are big money.  The cost of these prescriptions are over $20 billion a year.

 Let us know your experience with statins.

Busch Chiropractic treats back pain

It is that time, when we need to be aware of snow shoveling injuries and medical emergencies.  There was a study that was from 1990 – 2006 and the findings were that most injuries were as follows:

• Overworking your muscles, falling, and being hit with the shovel
• Muscle, ligament, tendon, and other soft tissue injuries of the low back were very common.
• Cuts and broken bones. The arms and hands were the most likely to sustain a bone fracture.
• Heart-related problems made up 7% of snow shoveling injuries. However, all deaths due to snow shoveling were caused by heart problems.

The study also showed that those over 55 were more likely than younger people to have heart-related problems while shoveling. Shoveling puts extra work on the heart and the cold can be a factor for those who already have heart conditions.

 Shoveling injuries occurred most for adult males, but children were highly likely to be hurt by being hit by a snow shovel. Most of these injuries for children were head injuries coming from playing around.

Check out your snow shovel and maybe get a new one that is designed for less body stress.  It is recommended that the shovel have a curved-shaft and will lower the risk of muscle injury. Use a shovel made of lighter materials such as plastic or lightweight aluminum.  

Here are some recommendations for you to do before shoveling.

• Do  some light exercise first – warm up just like an athlete
• Wear shoes or boots that have slip-resistant bottoms
• Push the snow whenever possible instead of lifting it.
• Never throw the snow over your shoulder or to your side because the twisting motion will stress the back.

 Since most of us can’t avoid some shoveling, just pace yourself and take frequent breaks.  The job will get done.

Now the Obama administration is getting ready to require the disclosure of payments made to doctors for research, consulting, speaking, travel and entertainment to “protect the underlying integrity of the healthcare system.”

 Congress says patients may benefit from this mandatory disclosure, and that doctors would make “best interest” decisions rather than best “financial interest” decisions.  Meaning that Congress must feel that doctors’ decide on more expensive drugs and medical devices based on the encouragement of benefiting financially.

The New York Times states that they found that “¹doctors who take money from drug makers often practice medicine differently from those who do not, and that they are more willing to prescribe drugs in risky and unapproved ways, such as prescribing powerful antipsychotic medicines for children”.  ¹  Jan. 16, 2012, The New York Times.com Money and Policy,  U.S. to Force Drug Firms to Report Money Paid to Doctors

According to the Obama administration there are 1,100 plus drug, device and medical supply companies who will have to file reports, generating “large amounts of new data.” Federal officials said they would inspect and audit drug company records to make sure the reports were accurate and complete.  And the federal government will post the payment data on a Web site where it will be available to the public.  And of course, there will be fines.

This will help the job market by creating more federal jobs for auditing and by posting more “vital” information on difficult-to-navigate websites.  When a drug rep drops off a $100 worth of bagels and cream cheese, he or she may have to 1099 the doctor.  Better make it $99.99 worth of bagels.

There are probably some cases where doctors are influenced, but what do you think about our administration’s grave concern about all of this?

If you would like to read the complete article you can at http://tinyurl.com/84xwem4

The Obama administration rejects any suggestion that the Medicaid provision is unconstitutional. A federal judge and an appeals court has ruled against the twenty-six states.

The Obama administration filed its main brief last Friday and said Congress was within its constitutional powers in requiring Americans to buy insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Known as the individual mandate as the centerpiece of the healthcare law.

The Supreme Court has scheduled three days of oral arguments in the battle against the mandate for March 26-28

How do you think the mandatory expansion of Medicaid will be paid for?  Should states have the right to control their own Medicaid programs?  What do you think of the individual insurance mandate? 

DRS Protocol at Busch Chiropractic Pain Center treats sciatic pain

Sciatica or sciatic pain is symptom of a back problem, and it is not a diagnosis of the actual problem itself. Sciatic pain refers to pain along the length of the sciatic nerve, the largest nerve in the body. The sciatic nerve branches off your spine at the pelvis and travels down each leg. A problem at the root of this nerve, where the nerve exits the spine, may be felt along the entire length of the leg and can cause leg weakness. Sciatic pain can be severe and debilitating.

Patients often misinterpret this as a problem with their legs, when the primary cause is the result of a bulging disc compressing a nerve at the base of their spine. Sometimes, with severe inflammation, pain will also be felt in the hips and buttocks.

Here is a general list of symptoms

• Constant pain in only one side of the buttock or leg  – generally does not occur in both legs
• Pain may be worse when sitting
• Burning or tingling down the leg is more like that a dull ache
• Hard to move your leg or foot, you can also have weakness and numbness
• Constant pain on one side of the buttocks
• Difficult to stand up or to walk

Sciatic pain is successfully treated at the Busch Chiropractic Pain Center, Fort Wayne IN, with DRS Protocol™ when the underlying cause or diagnosis is a disc condition such as herniated and degenerative disc (s). 

The study was done with rats; by giving two different groups of rats a yogurt diet.  One rat group had yogurt sweetened with sugar. The other group ate yogurt sweetened with saccharin. The outcome was the rats on saccharin had bigger appetites, gained a lot more weight and had increased body fat:  these same rats had decreased  metabolisms.   The calories consumed by the “artificial sweetener” rat group were lower than the “sugar” rat group.  Yet the weight gain was highest in the “artificial sweetener” group.

Unfortunately, these sweeteners are everywhere in food.  Sucralose is 600 times as sweet as sugar. In many areas sweeteners have poluted our water and  are unable to be completely removed from drinking water.   There can be neurological and hormonal  problems caused by artificial sweeteners.  Plus when a product such as sucralose is heated, it becomes toxic.

When we attempt to cut calories with sweeteners that have no nutritional value,  it definitely can lead to weight gain.  Research supports this and stats show that  America, the sugar-free nation, has had a rapid increase in obesity and diabetes.

Why not just try this.  If you want something sweet – eat something sweet – make it a carrot, an orange, or even have a little sugar.   Test this out for yourself.  Get off anything “artificial” for a week, and see if your cravings subside. Oh, it would be good to drop the fast foods too.  All you have to lose is a little weight. 

Busch Chiropractic Pain Center would like to know  about your experience with artificial sweeteners. 

Diabetics should talk with their doctors before altering diet.

That is good news for the insurance companies right now –  but looking ahead to 2014!  It is anticipated that Medicaid will add 16 million additional low-income Americans, and  private insurance policies for 19 million more mandatory policies will begin and will be partially subsidized by the federal government – or rather by the tax payer.   That should be even better news for them.

Private insurance companies are hired to run for-profit managed-care plans for Medicare and Medicaid.  These insurance companies receive fixed amounts of money from a state or federal authority that has authority over what is called a “covered” Medicare or Medicaid population.   In many instances, insurance companies can keep any savings (this will be a profit source) created by being cost-effective through “managing the care” of the Medicare or Medicaid population.  

What do you think of a significant amount of profit for private insurance companies coming from cost containment of Medicare and Medicaid healthcare benefits?  Could this result in any problems?  Let us know your thoughts.

If healthcare goes according to plan in 2014, most of the millions of uninsureds will have access to healthcare through state-based insurance exchanges.  And, it will be mandatory for most Americans to carry health insurance.   Could this be why primary care providers are so important to insurers?  There are shortages now of primary care doctors:  private practice doctors are being driven out of business for reasons such as of mandatory upgraded technology for electronic medical records, claims filing and capital for growth, etc.

What kind of shortages will there be in 2014?  Are they (insurance companies) simply insuring access to primary care doctors for their members?  These business arrangements are raising eyebrows among doctors, and of course angering competing insurance companies.  According the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, “I think this largely symptomatic of the disruption in the healthcare system.”

So what is going on?  Do insurance companies really want to employ doctors?  Is it a trend?  Are insurers attempting to simply to deliver healthcare?  Is there are larger point in the scheme of things?  Possibly…

According to recorded telephone calls, Blue Shield is now alleging that Monarch physicians are refusing to make appointments with Blue Shield members (patients)  and that Monarch is urging Blue Shield members to switch health plans.  Not only will this create fear, confusion and disruption, it would seem to be illegal.  But in this time of transparency and politics, what is illegal?  We would really like to know your thoughts.

Busch Chiropractic Pain Center, Fort Wayne IN 

If you would like to read the complete article of Marriage of convenience: As they adapt to reform, insurers court historic adversaries: physician practices go to  http://tinyurl.com/78mqlw4