Is Arthritis Really A Joint Problem?

Obviously, arthritis is a joint problem. However, how does is start? Of course, it can begin with that old knee injury from football or the time you fell on your head in cheerleading, but most people blame it on age. However, my question any time someone blames their age on why their right knee hurts is, “How old is your left knee?”

As a Chiropractor, I always inquire on people’s history when trying to find the source of their problem. When I ask about past accidents, most people say, “Yes, but that was a long time ago.” The truth is, however, that it’s our old falls and accidents that cause much of our arthritis today.

When you have an accident, it causes tiny soft tissue tears and small spinal and/or extremity misalignments. If these go uncorrected, the small dysfunctions turn into large damage. Similar to an automobile tire that is slightly out of place or breaks that are squeaking slightly—time causes further damage. Saying that an old fall off your bike when you were five or the car accident from when you were 16 has nothing to do with today’s knee pain or lumbar-disc herniation is like saying to the mechanic, “Yes my breaks squeaked, but that was weeks ago.”

Additionally, stress, poor nutrition, a lack of good fats, an acid diet, inadequate water, and not enough rest can also cause arthritis. All of these are addressed in our Maximized Health Workshops.

ALSO—not only can arthritis be avoided, it’s not like luggage, you don’t have to keep it for the rest of your life. Certain types of Chiropractic care, building up joint muscles, and getting nutritional necessities like the top seven listed below can actually reverse arthritis:

• Adequate water
• Omega 3 capsules in supplement form (fish oil)
• Omega 3 in the diet (avocado, fish, flax, walnuts)
• Reducing or eliminating caffeine, sugar, and white flour
• Reducing grains
• Consuming large amounts of greens
• Supplement with glucosamine/chondroitin

Remember to tell others, you don’t develop arthritis as a function of age or how many birthday candles are placed on top of your cake. Instead, you develop arthritis, joint pain and other health problems from subluxations in the spine and nerve system, which change how the body works and manages stress. As the stress accumulates in the joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons and discs over years and years from neglect, they degenerate faster and faster. The key is to remain subluxation free and enjoy a strong, flexible and healthy body for as long as possible!

Your Maximized Health Mentor,

Dr. Craig

WHO'S #1 IN SCIENCE?

Adapted from: May 29th/06 –Cover Story: Newsweek

It’s Unbelievable! For what has been months, nearly every major newspaper and magazine has been riddled with cover story after front page story pointing out the dangers of going to your medical doctor, hospital, or drug store. These stories are replete with scandal, the fact that medicine is unproven and unscientific, that prescriptions and over the counter medications are the leading killers in America, that prescriptions are the top sources of drug addiction and street drug-pushing, that M.D.s fear M.D.s and hospitals, and most importantly –completely failing. The U.S. is ranked at or near the bottom of the world in for every category of pre-natal, infant, child, adult, or geriatric health. . .despite the fact that we spend 2-5 times what healthier countries spend per person on health.

THIS WEEK: The Newsweek article points out what I have known all along about medicine and why I chose Chiropractic college over Medical school. Chiropractic and wellness care is simply far more scientific and cutting edge. In an article entitled “Medical Guesswork,” the author reveals that 85% of all medical care is unscientific and unproven. So, as you look back over your life, your child’s life, your pregnancy, all treatments or medications you’ve ever had, and everything you know to be true about medical care, only 15% of it was real, necessary, or proven to be safe or effective!

Dr. David Eddy, presenting at the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute board meeting, presented information exposing what he called the “dark secret” of medicine. “The problem is that we don't know what we are doing," he says. Even today, with a high-tech health-care system that costs the nation $2 trillion a year, there is little or no evidence that many widely used treatments and procedures actually work better than various cheaper alternatives. This judgment pertains to a shocking number of conditions or diseases, from cardiovascular woes to back pain to prostate cancer. “

“Dr. Eddy has showed, for instance, that the annual chest X-ray was worthless, over the objections of doctors who made money off the regular visit. He proved that doctors had little clue about the success rate of procedures such as surgery for enlarged prostates. He traced one common practice -- preventing women from giving birth vaginally if they had previously had a cesarean -- to the recommendation of one lone doctor. Indeed, when he began taking on medicine's sacred cows, Dr. Eddy liked to cite a figure that only 15% of what doctors did was backed by hard evidence.”

Chiropractic and wellness care doesn’t have a billion dollar marketing budget. Resultantly, although its effectiveness and safety is proven over and over and over again in study after study and clinic after clinic, the belief is that it’s odd, outside the box, “alternative” care. The facts are, however, and you know in your heart it’s true, that if you look at our family, our Maximized Health patients, and the thousands of chiropractic families we know and work with who are not part of the medical system. . . you’ll find that they’re far, far healthier. The medical U.S. might have the worst health in the world, but the chiropractic U.S. has the highest.

Your Maximized Health Mentor,

Dr. Craig