This past January when I was discussing various topics with my doctor, instead of asking again if I would agree to a Colonoscopy she said to the note taking nurse/assistant working the computer, "You see she's interested in alternative treatments, bio-identical hormones. We've asked several years in a row for the Colonoscopy, she is most likely not going to get one." The doctor turned to me with eye to eye contact and said "Are you?" I said, "No." Then she provided an explanation for the repetitive badgering about Colonoscopies that their medical practice receives extra money if a certain threshold quota of patients receiving Colonoscopies is reached. OK well, some say it's preventative medicine. Some say the best way to retain health is to eat right, exercise, manage stress and stay out of the doctor's office. Either way HERE is a great article "When to Say No to Your Doctor" to file away for the next time you are asked by your doctor to take a drug or get surgery etc to take this into account. One excerpt: "The United States spends roughly twice as much per capita as most of the nations of Western Europe, whose citizens on average outlive us by a couple of years. Our own national Institute of Medicine says we waste $210 billion annually on treatments of no or marginal benefit. In a study last year, researchers from the Mayo Clinic went through 10 years of the New England Journal of Medicine, from 2001 through 2010. Of the established tests and procedures reevaluated in studies in the journal, 40 percent were found to be worthless." "In the U.S., we don't stress preventing disease," Brawley says. "We stress finding disease early and treating it, which is a shame." Make no mistake: A good doctor is, or should be, your most trusted resource if you're sick. If you're not sick and he wants to treat you anyway, that doesn't necessarily make him a bad doctor. But it does make him a player in a system that operates according to the unspoken and often unexamined assumption that more treatment is better for the patient. It's unquestionably better for the financial health of the stakeholders in the system: the doctors, the pharmaceutical industry, the health-insurance companies, and the hospitals. If you don't know how the game is played, the odds go up that you'll wind up the loser." This article may be of interest to you as well:
Surgeries You May Be Better Without click HERE
0 Comments
Good posture. Poor posture. Debilitatingly painful posture. Good to see more and more research (below) confirming the negative impact technology is having on the human body. It is FANTASTIC to see more and more research confirming the negative impact technology is having on human POSTURE and human HEALTH. If you use a "device" meaning a smart phone, iPad or a computer, better look in the mirror or at a photo of yourself and see your POSTURE issues. It could explain the CAUSE of your pain - poor posture. Please observe the picture below, I have drawn in the position the entire SPINE has likely migrated to in red. The researchers only looked at the cervical spine, the neck. THEY DID NOT show what total spinal shape changes the rest of the spine has taken on. The spine must maintain the original "S" curve to position the head and shoulders in a healthy fully functioning position. Not only is the neck under 60 lbs of strain holding up the forward head but the entire spine is at risk. You can NOT stick your head out and hang it over the phone or desk without slouching the REST of the spine AND compromising your pelvic, hip, knee and ankle positions. The body works as a whole, not separate parts. See this blog post on that topic. The following is an EXCERPT from a Research Study by a Spine Surgeon. Click HERE for the full Research Study from Surgical Technology Intern'l Journal "Billions of people are using cell phone devices on the planet, essentially in poor posture. The purpose of this study is to assess the forces incrementally seen by the cervical spine as the head is tilted forward, into worsening posture. Good posture is defined as ears aligned with the shoulders and the “angel wings,” or the shoulder blades, retracted. In proper alignment, spinal stress is diminished. It is the most efficient position for the spine. Amy Cuddy and associates1-3 showed that high-power posture posers experienced elevations in testosterone, increases in serotonin, decreases in cortisol, and increased feelings of power and tolerance for risk taking. Low-power posture posers exhibited the opposite pattern. Poor posture invariably occurs with the head in a tilted forward position and the shoulders drooping for- ward in a rounded position. Loss of the natural curve of the cer- vical spine leads to incrementally increased stresses about the cervical spine. These stresses may lead to early wear, tear, degeneration, and possibly surgeries. People spend an average of two to four hours a day with their heads tilted over reading and texting on their smart phones and devices. While it is nearly impossible to avoid the technologies that cause these issues, individuals should make an effort to look at their phones with a neutral spine and to avoid spending hours each day hunched over." These neck positional changes are |
AuthorCatee Ingwersen is an Egoscue certified Posture Alignment Specialist and Licensed Massage Therapist. Archives
June 2018
Categories
All
|