The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that about 119 million, or 64.5%, of US adults are either overweight or obese. According to projections, this number is expected to increase to 73% by 2008. Young Americans today now face a lower life expectancy rate than their parents, thanks largely to the effects of poor nutrition and sedentary lifestyles.

The AP reported on May 14, 2008 that for the first time, it appears that more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems. The most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol — problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes, all of which are nearly 100% preventable with lifestyle modification.

The data shows that last year, 51 percent of American children and adults were taking one or more prescription drugs for a chronic condition, up from 50 percent the previous four years and 47 percent in 2001. Most of these drugs are taken daily.

Medication use for chronic problems (read taken daily for life) was seen in all demographic groups. Almost two-thirds of women 20 and older, one in four children and teenagers, 52 percent of adult men and three out of four people 65 or older take one or more prescription drugs regularly.

Most horrific is that among seniors, 28 percent of women and nearly 22 percent of men take five or more medicines regularly. All of which carry side effects too numerous to list, up to and including death. The estimated total number of iatrogenic deaths—that is, deaths induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures— in the U.S. annually is estimated to be approaching 1,000,000.

The current state of affairs in the U.S. with respect to diet is too bleak to even discuss in detail in this article, but here are some highlights:

The U.S. Census bureau data indicate that Americans drink a significant number of their calories. Americans drink about a gallon of soda a week along with a half gallon each of milk, bottled water, coffee and beer.

The biggest single source of calories in America is not pizza or burgers, but soft drinks. Soft drinks containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) supply just over 7% of all the calories consumed in the U.S. every year. The consumption of HFCS increased by more than 1000% between 1970 and 1990, far exceeding the changes in intake of any other food or food group. A possibly toxic chemical sugar alternative made from genetically modified, government subsidized corn is the leading staple of the American diet.

Americans are exposed to thousands of different food chemicals including: food additives, preservatives, synthetic sweeteners, pesticide residues, environmental contaminants, mycotoxins, novel food ingredients, packaging-material migrants, flavoring substances and other added nutrients. Food chemicals make up only part of the 75,000 synthetic chemicals developed and released into the environment since World War II. Fewer than half have been tested for potential toxicity to human beings.

America is a nation of poorly nourished, overly sedentary, chemically exposed individuals. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires a diet of natural, healthy, nutrient rich food, reducing toxin exposure from foods and drugs, regular exercise, normal sleep, emotional, spiritual health, and a fully functioning nerve system.

These factors all contribute to sickness and disease because they interfere with the body’s ability to produce new healthy cells. The brain controls and regulates, through the nerve system, all cellular function in the body. Proper cellular function is the key factor which determines ones health. The human organism is a community of 70 trillion cells working together, in harmony. This symphony is conducted by the brain and orchestrated by and through the nerve system. Chiropractic adjustments remove any impediment to the communication between the conductor and the orchestra.

Any attempt to extricate one’s self from the current disease care system requires an individual to radically alter their lifestyle. To begin an exercise program, change one’s diet, reduce their exposure to toxins, or work on their emotional health all take a considerable amount of effort on the part of the health seeker.

To improve one’s health through chiropractic requires nothing more than scheduling an appointment. We have in our offices the best kept secret in healthcare. Isn’t it time you find out what regular chiropractic care has to offer you and your family? As the only passive method of altering one’s health and well-being, chiropractic offices around the country will be inundated with more clients than they can handle in the coming decade.

Spread the word that chiropractic care is the fastest, the easiest and the most effective way to start off 2010 on the path toward health, happiness and abundant life.

According to Dr. Deed Harrison (Chair of PCCRP), “The PCCRP guideline is the most comprehensive evaluation of the chiropractic and biomedical literature on the topic of the utilization of X-ray in a Chiropractic setting. PCCRP Contains a thorough review of the reliability, validity, clinical utility and risk-benefit ratio of numerous radiographic views, including all standard views and specialty Chiropractic views like the Nasium, Vertex, and Base Posterior.”

Also, according to Dr. Harrison, “The extent of evidence contained in the PCCRP (nearly 2000 references) robustly refutes the contention that radiography in the Chiropractic profession should be used for Red Flag conditions only (suspected tumor, infection, fracture, etc).”

Some of the key topics that are reviewed in the PCCRP Guideline include:

• Guidelines for the use of radiography in the assessment of subluxation of adults and children;
• Biomechanical definitions for 6 subluxation displacement categories with supporting evidence from the literature;
• Discussion of the risk benefit ratio associated with the use of radiography in Chiropractic practice, including the radiation hormesis vs. the linear no threshold (LNT) theory;
• Comprehensive reviews of the literature on the reliability and validity of measurement of the biomechanical component of the subluxation through line drawing mensuration, as well as the reproducibility of patient positioning for radiographic views;
• Evidence based foundation for video fluoroscopy and digital motion X-ray;
• Reviews and rates the evidence on post-treatment use of radiography, in addition to follow-up radiography to assess the effectiveness of the Chiropractic methods employed and the long-term stability of the improvements achieved;
• Legal issues of Chiropractic radiography usage as determined by the existing State Law.

The PCCRP serves as a clinical guide, specifically for Chiropractors, on the utilization of X-ray, versus adopting/supporting the guidelines written for the use of X-ray in a medical setting. It is anticipated that the PCCRP document will provide supporting evidence which may assist Chiropractors using methods that rely upon X-ray analysis to determine appropriate management and to assess the effectiveness of the care plan for a variety of patient populations.

Although, the PCCRP is officially a sub-committee of the International Chiropractors Association (ICA), the guideline committee members were a diverse group and included individuals such as Dr. Christopher Kent (one of the 5 Principle Investigators) and Dr. Dan Murphy. Of importance, the PCCRP was reviewed and endorsed by numerous Chiropractic political associations, organizations and leaders of Chiropractic Technique Methods:

National Organizations

International Chiropractors Association
World Chiropractic Alliance
Federation of Straight Chiropractors and Organizations (FSCO)
Council on Chiropractic Practice (CCP)
Norway Chiropractic Association,
Ukraine Chiropractic Association

State and Provincial Associations

Arizona Chiropractic Society
Chiropractic Awareness Council of Ontario
Chiropractic Diplomatic Corps
Chiropractic Fellowship of Pennsylvania
Connecticut Chiropractic Council
ICA-California (ICAC)
ICA-Indiana (ICAI)
Massachusetts Chiropractic Society
Michigan Association of Chiropractors (MAC)
Nevada Chiropractic Association
Virginia Society of Chiropractic
Washington State Chiropractic Association
Wyoming Chiropractic Society

Technique Methods

ASBE
Atlas Orthoganality
Blair
CBP
Gonstead
Grostic
NUCCA
Orthospinology
Pettibon
Toftness

If you would like a copy of the PCCRP Guideline you will be able to access these at http://www.ngc.gov/ in the coming weeks or you can contact the ICA at www.chiropractic.org for a printed bound copy.

To learn more about PCCRP, the principle investigators, the esteemed committee members and the international panel of reviewers assembled to guide and facilitate the creation of the guidelines, please visit the PCCRP website at http://www.pccrp.org/.

The opportunity now exists to present positive, accurate information about chiropractic care to those with health challenges at the exact moment they are in need of care.

According to recent research by the non-profit Pew Internet & American Life Project, seventy-nine percent of Internet users have searched online for information on at least one major health topic. That translates to about 95 million American adults using the Internet to find health information or about 9 to 10 million Americans on any given day.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s previous research found that online health seekers are often motivated to search out information that relates to actions they might need to take for specific health issues in their lives. For instance, they (or people they love) might have experienced health symptoms that worry them and Internet users search for information about whether they would be wise to visit a doctor. Or, they might have just received a diagnosis and want to learn more about their particular condition.

In many cases, online health seekers are action-oriented and highly purposeful because there is a pressing medical issue for them to address. Since it is highly likely that the issue they face may have nerve system involvement, how likely is it that the Internet user will find accurate, positive information on chiropractic that will encourage them to see a chiropractor? The answer to this question could have a far greater impact on the future of chiropractic than one might expect. In order to understand why, we must look at what Internet users are doing online. The Pew Internet & American Life Project’s research found the top five activities of Internet users searching for health information are as follows:

• Tentatively diagnose their own diseases
• Confirm their doctor’s diagnosis and suggested treatments
• Check their doctors’ credentials
• Research all available treatment options – not just those recommended by doctor
• Give themselves a crash course on a specific medical condition when they (or someone they love) is diagnosed

Clearly these activities indicate a course of action is being formulated. This is precisely the time when accurate, positive information on chiropractic care can have the greatest impact. The Internet provides, for the first time in history, the ability to reach those in need of care at the exact moment they are deciding the form that care should take. So, how well is the chiropractic profession currently represented on the Internet to take advantage of this opportunity? You can see for yourself. Using Google, the world’s leading search engine, perform a search on the term “chiropractor”. What you find should cause you great concern.

As of 6/15/2009 , a Google search on the term “chiropractor” returns a a somewhat less than flattering Wikipedia entry as the number one result. A Bureau of Labor Statistics overview of “a career as a chiropractor” is the number two result and the third result is a condemnation of the profession titled “My Visit to a Straight Chiropractor” by Stephen Barrett MD on his website, Chirobase.com, which is dedicated to disparaging chiropractic.  The fourth result is an article on the Spine Universe site that states that chiropractic is “a popular pain treatment”.  And the remaining results are not much more encouraging. There is nothing presented that will inform a consumer with a specific health challenge how they may benefit from chiropractic care.

You may be wondering how this affects you. Maybe you don’t have a website and don’t concern yourself with Internet search habits. You rely on tried and true methods of new patient acquisition like personally delivered health talks and referrals from satisfied patients. This situation impacts you as much as the chiropractor that has spent thousands of dollars building and marketing his/her own web site.

Google, which handles 72% of all search traffic according to SearchEngineWatch.com, had 168,100 searches conducted on the term “chiropractor” in May, 2009. That means 168,100 Internet users were exposed to Stephen Barrett’s anti-chiropractic sentiments in May, 2009 alone.

How many of these Internet users were potential new patients referred by a loyal practice member or attendees at your most recent health talk who decided to do a little research prior to scheduling an appointment? How many of your patients have suggested that their spouse schedule an appointment, only to have them go to Google, become sucked in by the anti-chiropractic rhetoric and become forever poisoned to the idea of chiropractic care? They may even take their new found “knowledge” and talk your patient out of returning for their next visit. No one can say how many patients you have lost to the current Google situation, but it is safe to say you are not immune.

We know, however, from the Pew Research and Google keyword statistics, that the vast majority of the 9-10 million daily web surfers are not searching on the terms chiropractor or chiropractic (as they have no idea that their nerve system may be a factor in the health challenges they face). We also know that the  majority of these Internet health seekers begin their quest for information at a search engine (72% using Google) and that they search on the symptom, diagnosis or condition from which they or their loved ones are suffering.

So what if an Internet user has just been told by a physician that they suffer from fibromyalgia? We know that four of the top five activities most frequently performed by Internet users seeking health information relate to a particular symptom, condition or diagnosis. A Google search on this term ( a condition, symptom or diagnosis) returns exactly zero results that mention chiropractic care as an option. Surely since many chiropractors see patients with “back pain” there will be many results from a search of this term which provide accurate, positive information about chiropractic. Think again. Not in the first 198 results displayed. The ACA website appears at 199 as of this writing. And guess what is among the first 100 results: Quackwatch.com by Stephen Barrett.

Term after term, condition after condition the results are the same. Except for an occasional sponsored link, there is no mention of chiropractic in the search results for any of the myriad conditions for which chiropractic has been proven safe and effective.

So what can be done to correct this and to take advantage of the opportunity described in the beginning of this article? Our consumer oriented site at www.YourSpine.com, provides positive, accurate information about chiropractic and lays the foundation on which to build a much brighter future for the chiropractic profession. We provide valuable patient education material on specific conditions for which chiropractic is most effective. We use detailed graphics and animations to educate Internet health seekers on spinal anatomy and the composition and function of the skeletal and nervous systems. We demonstrate how spinal fitness greatly impacts overall health and quality of life. We explain the many degenerative diseases associated with neglect of the spine, the drugs and surgeries used to treat them, along with their sometimes disastrous side effects. And most importantly, we demonstrate the important role chiropractors play in finding and correcting subluxations.

We provide content designed to be “found” by the major search engines when an Internet user searches for information on chiropractic as well as specific symptoms, diagnosis and conditions. We combine this with search engine optimization techniques and use paid search engine advertising to drive those in need of care to the site at the exact moment they are in need of care, deciding what form that care should take and who will provide it.

Presenting chiropractic in a positive way to online health seekers who are action-oriented and highly purposeful because they have a pressing medical issue to address dramatically increases both awareness and utilization. With this repository of valuable consumer information available and easily found by Internet health seekers, we drive people to the site rather than sit passively and wait for them to come. We utilize a world class public relations firm to facilitate national exposure throughout all news outlets: Internet, television, newspapers and magazines. These very same public relations firms have successfully turned lackluster drugs into household names. In the future, with this strong foundation in place, we plan to run cutting edge television and print ads that reinforce the message. This is a three tiered approach, utilizing advanced Internet technology, world class public relations and creative advertising.

With the food, beverage, diet and drug industries all promoting health compromising products to consumers through national promotional strategies, you cannot be expected to compete for consumer attention on your own. You need and deserve help. By coming together and taking advantage of an initiative like the one described here, you become a force, a force that is an attractive partner to national non-profit and corporate sponsors trying to reach the same key demographic, those actively seeking to improve their health. This opens the door to co-sponsored national events, public relations exposure, increased credibility and greater cultural authority. You may not be able to outspend them, but with radical strategies and an aggressive agenda, you can certainly out-think them. Imagine proper care and maintenance of the spine being as important to the health care consumer as the care and maintenance of their teeth. Have you tried to make a same day dental appointment recently? Better yet, don’t imagine. Make it a reality.

To make your practice part of the growing network of Chiropractic America certified chiropractors and to secure your exclusive zip code allocation in this groundbreaking opportunity, visit: Doctors.YourSpine.com to sign on today!

]]> http://chirounity.com/7/chiropractic-and-the-internet-opportunity-or-liability/feed/ 4 http://chirounity.com/478/chiropractic-maybe-the-best-defense-against-influenza/ http://chirounity.com/478/chiropractic-maybe-the-best-defense-against-influenza/#comments Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:03:53 +0000 admin http://chirounity.com/?p=478 Media reports of Swine Flu in Mexico and now several US cities are frightening to many Americans, who are made to feel helpless. As a result, many will turn to dangerous vaccines out of fear and a lack of honest information. This virus is a strain of H1N1, the same virus responsible for the 1918 Flu Pandemic (often referred to as the “Spanish Flu”).

At this point, most confirmed cases in the United States have been mild and there have been no confirmed fatalities.  However, in Mexico there has been a high case fatality rate among young adults, 25-44, with atypical pneumonia, which has similarities with the 1918 flu pandemic.

The media is reporting that the 1918 pandemic was composed of a recombination of H1N1 seasonal flu and H1N1 swine flu. What you won’t hear reported in the main stream media is how chiropractic care afforded life saving relief to so many back in 1918.

The 1918 flu epidemic swept silently across the world bringing death and fear to homes in every land. More than one hundred million people died. In 1918 almost nothing was known about prevention, protection, treatment or cure of influenza. The whole world stood at its mercy, or lack of it.

Strangely enough, around that same time, chiropractic, the only American born health care profession, was close to extinction only 23 years after its discovery. In the time just after the end of World War I, laws against slander were so lenient that medical doctors were allowed to openly attack the chiropractic profession without any regard to truth, legality or the best interest of the patients.

Because medical doctors were making it so hard to have a practice, chiropractors were making mostly house calls. In 1918, chiropractors in Wisconsin began going door-to-door adjusting anyone who had the Flu.

As a result, an amazing thing occurred. Those who were adjusted by a chiropractor didn’t die.

The news about Chiropractic swept across Wisconsin and eventually the whole country. Within a short period of time, chiropractic became so well known as the best defense against the flu that chiropractors were being called “Flu Doctors”.

Out of this epidemic, the young science of chiropractic enjoyed a new measure of enthusiasm and respectability. If there had been any lack of enthusiasm among the doctors of chiropractic, or a depleting of the sources of new students, the epidemic took care of that. These chiropractic survivors of the flu epidemic were confident, assured, determined, and ready to fight any battle that came up. The effect of the epidemic becomes evident in interviews made with old-timers practicing in those years. The refrain comes repeatedly, “I was about to go out of business when the flu epidemic came – but when it was over, I was firmly established in practice.”

Why?

The answer is reasonably simple. Chiropractors got fantastic results from influenza patients while those under medical care died. Statistics reflect a most amazing, almost miraculous state of affairs. The medical profession was practically helpless with the flu victims but chiropractors seemed able to do no wrong.

[1] In Davenport, Iowa, 50 medical doctors treated 4,953 cases, with 274 deaths. In the same city, 150 chiropractors including students and faculty of the Palmer School of Chiropractic treated 1,635 cases with only one death.

In the state of Iowa, medical doctors treated 93,590 patients, with 6,116 deaths – a loss of one patient out of every 15. In the same state, excluding Davenport, 4,735 patients were treated by chiropractors with a loss of only 6 cases – a loss of one patient out of every 789.

National figures show that 1,142 chiropractors treated 46,394 patients for influenza during 1918, with a loss of 54 patients – one out of every 886.

In the same epidemic, New York health authorities (who kept records of flu as a reportable disease) showed that under chiropractic care, only 25 patients died of influenza out of every 10,000 cases; and only 100 patients died of pneumonia out of every 10,000 cases. This comparison is made more striking when viewed in the following table:

Influenza

—————————————Cases               Deaths

Under medical care                10,000             950

Under chiropractic care         10,000             25

Pneumonia

—————————————Cases               Deaths

Under medical care                10,000             6,400

Under chiropractic care         10,000             100

The same epidemic reports show that chiropractors in Oklahoma treated 3,490 cases of influenza with only 7 deaths. But the best part of this is, in Oklahoma there is a clear record showing that chiropractors were called in 233 cases where medical doctors had cared for the patients, and finally gave them up as lost. The chiropractors saved all these lost cases but 25.

Statistics alone, however, don’t tell the whole story.

Dr. Helen B. Mason [DC], whose son, when only a year old, became very ill with bronchitis explains: “My husband and I took him to several medical specialists without any worthwhile results. We called a chiropractor, as a last resort, and were amazed at the rapidity of his recovery. We discussed this amazing cure at length and came to the decision that if chiropractic could do as much for the health of other individuals as it had done for our son we wanted to become chiropractors.”

Dr. M. L. Stanphill [DC] recounts his experiences: “I had quite a bit of practice in 1918 when the flu broke out. I stayed in Van Alstyne (Texas) until the flu was over and had the greatest success, taking many cases that had been given up and restoring them back to health. During the flu we didn’t have the automobile. I went horseback and drove a buggy day and night. I stayed overnight when the patients were real bad. When the rain and snow came I just stayed it out. There wasn’t a member of my family that had the flu.”

When he came to Denison, he said, “I had a lot of trouble with pneumonia when I first came. Once again I took all the cases that had been given up. C. R. Crabetree, who lived about 18 miles west of Denison, had double pneumonia and I went and stayed all night with him and until he came to the next morning. He is still living today. That gave me a boost on the west side of town.”

And when interviews of other old timers are made it is evident that each still vividly remembers the 1918 influenza epidemic. We now know about 100 million persons around the world died of the flu with about 500,000 Americans among that number. But most chiropractors and their patients were miraculously spared. Even today, we repeatedly hear about those decisions to become a chiropractor after a remarkable recovery or when a close family member given up for dead suddenly came back to vibrant health.

Some of these heroic chiropractors who served faithfully during the 1918 crisis went on to become the major characters thrust upon the profession’s stage in the 20′s and 30′s and they had the courage, the background and the conviction to withstand all that would shortly be thrown against them [including being thrown in jail for practicing medicine without a license]. The publicity and reputation of such effectiveness in handling flu cases also brought new patients and much acclaim from people who knew nothing of chiropractic before 1918.

Chiropractic’s journey into health care took a huge leap forward thanks to its incredible effect on thousands of Americans during the flu crisis. [2,3,4] When you get adjusted, you increase immune function, among many other benefits. An increase in immune function is important for everything from the cold and runny nose to influenza, cancer, and heart disease, not to mention the great enhancing effects on a healthy individual. This is why everyone should have their spine checked and adjusted if needed. An adjustment may stimulate your immune system to better fight off any challenge, including influenza.

Remember, regular visits to your chiropractor will assure that your body is always operating at 100% of your optimal health potential. And that is good news.

References

1. Rhodes WR: “The Official History of Chiropractic in Texas.” Texas Chiropractic Association. Austin, TX. 1978.

2. Kent C: “Neuroimmunology — an update.” The Chiropractic Journal. August, 2001. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/2001/aug/aug2001kent.htm

3. Kent C: “Neuroimmunology and chiropractic.” The Chiropractic Journal. October, 1995. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/1995/oct/oct1995kent.htm

4. Kent C: “The mental impulse-biochemical and immunologic aspects.” The Chiropractic Journal. February, 1999. http://www.worldchiropracticalliance.org/tcj/1999/feb/feb1999kent.htm

While the focus of the show is stress, the research confirms tenets that, unlike the allopathic medical community, chiropractors have emphasized since the early 1900s. The “educated brain” impacts the “innate” function of the body at the level of the end organ, the tissue cell.

Sapolsky, who holds the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professorship, is particularly interested in how social standing makes one more or less susceptible to stress. His research in baboons is consistent with findings done by other researchers studying humans and monkeys.

One research study followed a cohort of British civil servants, who have a discrete hierarchical structure as follows:

* Administrative Assistant – Lowest of the low, although the numbers in this grade are slowly going down and most permanent staff are being upgraded to Administrative Officer.

*Administrative Officer – The legions of AOs are what keeps the civil service running.

* Executive Officer – This is considered to be the first management grade. An EO may be responsible for a number of AOs, but in some departments an EO would be the standard grade for staff.

*Higher Executive Officer

*Senior Executive Officer

The findings in this research revealed results strikingly similar to the studies in baboon troops (which have a strict hierarchical social structure) and in studies of colonies of macaque monkeys (who also live in large groups where constant and stressful competition establishes the social hierarchy).

In all three studies, the results were the same. Emotional stress causes those lower on the social ladder to exhibit higher blood pressure, higher levels of atherosclerosis, higher levels of stress hormones, weakened immune system function, additional fat storage and even reduces life span.

In other words, nearly identically matched humans and primates exhibited vastly different physiology, based on their THOUGHTS and FEELINGS. The “educated brain” produced vastly different cellular function, vastly different physiology, vastly different immune response, and different physical tissue cells, despite the fact that all other environmental factors were virtually identical.

As is so often the case, the latest scientific research bears out that the chiropractic view of health is correct: That health is controlled by the brain, all bodily function is regulated by the brain, physical, chemical and emotional stressors are the primary cause of disease in the human body and the educated brain impacts the innate function of the human organism. This is truly “must see TV” for every chiropractor.

Sapolsky is part of a group of researchers appearing in the program, whose collective work is illuminating just how big an impact stress has on our health. The documentary is based partly on Sapolsky’s best-selling book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. The broadcast represents the first time National Geographic has joined forces with a major research university to create original programming in the areas of science and technology for television audiences. Randy Bean of Stanford served as an executive producer.

When BJ Palmer developed his father’s discovery into a health care discipline that was separate and distinct from the allopathic model, he did so with the knowledge that treating symptoms rather than cause was misguided. He taught that the logic of diagnosing and labeling symptoms as diseases and treating with chemicals and surgery was flawed. He maintained that finding the true cause of infirmity and reversing the cause was the only true path to health.

He fought to develop a separate and distinct health care system based on addressing the cause of disease rather than treating the symptoms. Considering the period in American history when this was achieved, he accomplished the impossible. He took on organized medicine and the fledgling pharmaceutical industry and offered an alternative. He fought to maintain the integrity of chiropractic from both inside and outside the profession. As a result, chiropractic still exists today as a separate and distinct health care profession..

Chiropractic is not complimentary. It is diametrically opposed to the allopathic model. It is the only true alternative to the drugs, radiation and surgery model of modern industrialized medicine. And an overwhelming body of evidence has proven that BJ Palmer and the chiropractors that followed were correct in their condemnation of this allopathic model and justified in the extreme measures taken to keep the profession separate and distinct.

The Wisdom behind the Model

The basic tenet of chiropractic was that nerve interference disrupts the normal function of the innate intelligence within the body and unless this interference was corrected, normal healthy function could not take place.

This radical view was the cornerstone of chiropractic and it had the profound impact of encouraging chiropractors to reject the prevailing allopathic medical view that man could control the innate intelligence of the body through chemical/surgical intervention. Chiropractic held that the body has this innate ability to adapt, self regulate and heal, which when given the proper environment would produce healthy tissue cells and in turn, a healthy person. BJ Palmer understood that the human body, properly maintained would provide a lifetime of health. We now know that other factors impact the function of the end organ, the tissue cell, beyond the nerve system alone.

What We Know Now

We know that nutrition is a key factor in proper cell function. We now that environmental toxins introduced into the body from drugs, pollution, chemical food additives and other sources negatively affect cell function. We know that one’s emotional state affects cell function. And we know that all disease is a result of improper cell function. Since the brain regulates and controls most cellular function in the body through the nerve system, we can form a more modern tenet of chiropractic which is congruent with the current body of knowledge. That is: Nerve interference is a possible causal factor in all disease.

It turns out that health is no more mysterious than maintaining your car. Regular maintenance (exercise and chiropractic care) combined with proper fuel (a healthy diet of natural foods and clean pure water) along with additives when needed like coolant and brake fluid (whole food nutritional supplements) and avoiding environmental contaminants such as dirt clogging your air filter or foreign matter in your gas tank (avoiding drugs, chemical food additives, toxins in air, water, etc.) results in a lifetime of useful service. It really is that simple.

One chiropractic leader recently put it this way: Regular low cost, low risk interventions such as regular exercise, proper nutrition, chiropractic care to keep your nerve system functioning properly and stress reduction (applied consistently throughout life) allows you to avoid high risk interventions such as drugs, radiation and surgery, except in emergencies.

The Toxic Lie

Yet somehow the majority of Americans have been convinced by “scientific experts” that health is a great mystery and we need highly trained scientists to dictate to us, using ever more elaborate tests and evaluations, what the body needs. And what we need are chemicals. And we need them in ever larger quantities for an ever growing list of labeled diseases like: ADD, ADHD, Restless Leg Syndrome, Osteopenia, Erectile Dysfunction, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Peripheral Artery Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Fybromyalgia, Bi-Polar Disorder, Depression, etc.

And these are just the advanced cases. We need cold remedies, cough medicines, pain relievers, antacids, cholesterol lowering drugs, blood pressure medications and the like to survive between doctor visits for these other, more serious “conditions”.

The public has become convinced that they need doctors and chemists to develop and refine these chemicals and adjust the dosage. And they now need ever more expensive health insurance to pay for these chemicals and the experts that dispense and monitor them.

This is a lie, a very toxic lie. BJ Palmer left a great legacy. His legacy is an organized, licensed body of health care providers that do not rely on chemical intervention. Those that sought his wisdom, adopted his teachings and held his skepticism of organized medicine are now in a unique position to change the world, more specifically to save the world. To save us from the madness of the pharmaceutical fantasy, to save us from bankrupting our people at the hands of the robber barons of modern medicine and health insurance who are medicating the human species into oblivion through disease mongering and fear tactics.

But we need the help and support OF and to offer reciprocal help and support TO those that are championing the other requisite components of the aforementioned recipe for avoiding high risk interventions. We cannot do it alone. Chiropractic care alone is not a health care solution. It only becomes a health care solution when it is combined with education on how the body functions and honest, accurate, non-prescriptive information on the other components necessary to regain and maintain health.

The Opportunity

Chiropractic needs to combine and align to grow and prosper, to combine adjustments with information regarding the other facets of the chiropractic lifestyle that promote health. We must align our messaging with others that share our view. And there are many who now share our view. We must combine our power with others in the profession who share our passion. Align our power with the power of others outside the profession who share our vision and stand in opposition to the allopathic model.

The list of groups that have a philosophy that is congruent with chiropractic is long and prosperous:

The natural/organic food industry
The whole food supplement industry
The exercise industry
The personal development industry
The ergonomic products industry
The environmentally friendly products industry
All organized religious and spiritual practitioners
All meditation practices including TM, Yoga, Qi Gong, etc.

Along with a growing number of organizations which exist to expose the harm being inflicted by the food and pharmaceutical industries and the corruption of the FDA that is charged with protecting consumers.

There exists an opportunity to serve as a very valuable ally to those with health promoting products or messages. The position of trusted health care provider carries considerable appeal, particularly in today’s fast paced, and media saturated economy.

The average consumer is bombarded with nearly 3000 commercial messages a day. The appeal of having a message conveyed or supported by a trusted, licensed health professional (or their staff) is invaluable, in order to have it stand out in the crowd. If that message is one that is of value to you and your practice members, by assisting in its dissemination, you are helping your practice members achieve health, elevating the importance you play in their lives and increasing the likelihood they will fully experience the benefits of your service and be more likely to stay and refer. Help others spread their message of health and they in turn can help spread the chiropractic message.

We don’t have to become mattress salesmen or vitamin distributors. But we do need to cooperate with these other industries for the common good of those we serve.

Let’s Change the World, One Spine at a Time

So here we are, with more momentum than has ever existed to support the principle and philosophy that is chiropractic. It is time to combine and align. The chiropractic lifestyle is health. It is life fully expressed. Tell the story effectively and you will never want for more practice members again. Help those that support health to tell their story and you will never want for more practice members again. Give your practice members the gift of health and the gift of life and you will never want for more practice members again. You have been empowered with a great legacy and a destiny as yet unfulfilled. You have the power to change the world and impact the future of mankind. Use it wisely for you and humanity

]]> http://chirounity.com/331/a-sacred-trust-guard-it-well/feed/ 0 http://chirounity.com/221/golden-opportunity-for-chiropractic-fraud-and-scandal-surrounding-central-nerve-system-depressant-drugs/ http://chirounity.com/221/golden-opportunity-for-chiropractic-fraud-and-scandal-surrounding-central-nerve-system-depressant-drugs/#comments Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:58:51 +0000 Herb Newborg http://chirounity.com/?p=221 Tuesday’s bombshell that a key researcher involved in the Neurontin and Lyrica research faked the study results and invented patients takes the fraud and deception surrounding these drugs to a whole new level. This comes as new reports continue to surface about alleged fake medical articles Pfizer planted to sell the earlier half of this dynamic duo of central nerve system depressants, Neurontin, for unapproved uses from 1995 to 2002.

But it doesn’t seem to be slowing down the marketing machine promoting these new chemicals, which work by shutting down nerve system function. Remember, the pharmaceutical answer to nerve interference is to chemically shut down the messenger network.

Pfizer gave nonprofits $2.1 million in grants in 2008 for medical courses about the pain-and-fatigue ailment fibromyalgia for which its Neurontin follow-up pill, Lyrica, just happens to be approved.

Lyrica (pregablin), affectionately called Son of Neurontin at Pfizer, was discovered by Northwestern University chemist Richard Silverman in 1989, earning the university a cool $700 million when it sold royalties in late 2007.

Pfizer is funding the $100 million Richard and Barbara Silverman Hall for Molecular Therapeutics & Diagnostics, under construction now, which will employ 245 faculty, staff and research assistants.

Like Neurontin (gabapentin), Lyrica (Pregablin) is an anti-epilepsy drug (AED) that modulates calcium channels to dampen the excitability of nerve endings. And, like Neurontin which made $3 billion a year from unapproved uses like pain, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder and restless legs syndrome, Pfizer has high hopes for Lyrica’s “crossover appeal.”

Lyrica was approved in 2006 for partial onset seizures and nerve pain associated with diabetes and shingles. But the FDA’s approval of Lyrica as the first drug for fibromyalgia in 2007 is what kicked sales up 37 percent in the third quarter to $465 million.

Fibromyalgia, with no clear cause, blood test, definition or cure “is almost a textbook definition of an unmet medical need,” enthused Pfizer VP Ian Read in a conference call to analysts when the drug first launched.

Datamonitor predicts the fibromyalgia market can be “grown” from $400 million to $2 billion thanks to all the people who do not know they have it yet.

And even before the name Lyrica appeared, Pfizer’s initial “unbranded” campaign of public service announcements (PSAs) in conjunction with the National Fibromyalgia Association that featured people describing their symptoms and hawking the web site www.fibrohope.org laid the groundwork for massive sales of Lyrica, once FDA approved.

(Think Merck’s “unbranded” HPV awareness campaign that preceded the vaccine Gardasil’s FDA approval)

Despite a temporary Lyrica scare in 2001 when Pfizer had to freeze patient trials because mice developed cancerous tumors–luckily for Pfizer, rats did not-Lyrica was well received by the “medical community”.

Except the “medical community” was made up of Pfizer paid mouthpieces.

“Well tolerated,” said Pfizer paid doctors in Arthritis and Rheumatism in 2005.

“Proven efficacy” and “No new adverse events,” said Pfizer paid doctors in Drugs of Today in 2005 and 2007.

And, “Durability of effect for relieving FM pain,” said Pfizer paid doctors in the journal Pain in 2008.

Actual Lyrica users were less overenthusiastic, reporting memory loss, mental confusion, extreme weight gain, hair loss, impaired driving, disorientation, twitching and even two deaths reported on the website askapatient.com. The FDA added suicide warnings to Lyrica and all AEDs in 2008.

Pfizer and other drug manufactures will be ratcheting up the “patient education” and awareness campaigns for fibromyalgia. But in doing so, they have been forced to admit that a primary causal factor in these symptoms is nerve interference. Otherwise, there would be no justification for prescribing nerve system depressants as a treatment for said symptoms.

As chiropractors, it is our duty to inform the public that there is an alternative to treating nerve interference with a drug that causes all of the above side effects including an increased likelihood of suicide.

As a chiropractor, you know that chemically suppressing nerve system function cannot possibly be wise. The drug does not selectively shut down only nerves transmitting pain signals. It depresses all nerve function to all tissue cells: brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. These chemicals have the exact opposite objective as the chiropractic adjustment. Just imagine what the long term effects of these drugs will be. They effectively create a chemical subluxation of the entire nerve system.

The fact that the drug was possibly approved based on faked research and promoted via fake articles in medical journals presents a unique opportunity for the chiropractic community. We must take full advantage of the awareness campaigns for the “unmet medical need” Pfizer VP Ian Read is so excited about. But instead of a suicide inducing chemical, we offer life enhancing subluxation correction with the only side effect: clinically proven increased quality of life.

Of course, this can only be accomplished with a unified effort, chiropractors working together and pooling their resources to get the message out there. This is exactly the type of opportunity Chiropractic America’s YourSpine.com initiative was designed to capitalize on. Do your part by becoming a member today!

A widely known Massachusetts anesthesiologist whose research has widely influenced how doctors treat surgery patients for pain has been accused of fabricating results in at least 21 published studies and, in some cases, even inventing patients.

Physicians and journal editors said the allegations, if proven, could constitute one of the largest and longest-running cases ever of medical research fraud.

Dr. Scott S. Reuben, who works at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, has published dozens of articles on “multimodal analgesia,” an important and emerging area of anesthesiology involving use of more than one type of drug to relieve post-surgical pain and foster faster recovery.

Last May, during a routine review of research summaries that were to be presented at the hospital’s research week, physicians discovered that the research Reuben intended to present had not been approved by an internal hospital review board that oversees research on patients, Dr. Hal Jenson, Baystate’s chief academic officer, said yesterday.

That discovery led to a full-scale investigation by the hospital, which was completed in January. The investigation uncovered 21 published papers over 13 years in which Reuben made up some or all of the data, Jenson said.

Jenson said that in many cases “there was no clinical trial because there were no patients.”

The hospital notified several medical journals about the results of its investigation, and the journals are in the process of retracting Reuben’s papers, said Jenson.

“This would be the largest research fraud in anesthesia,” said Dr. Steven Shafer, editor of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. “Doctors have been using [his] findings very widely. His findings had a huge impact on the field. The act of fabricating data is so difficult for me to comprehend. It’s beyond my ability to imagine.”

Dr. Greg Koski, an anesthesiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and former director of the federal Office for Human Research Protections, said the case is unusual, not because of the number of journal articles involved, but because of the number of years the deception is alleged to have gone on.

“That’s what makes this so remarkable,” he said. “. . It seems to have gone on for so long without being detected by the peer review process. It’s hard to fake something for that long. Pain research is not an obscure area; people look at it all the time.”

Celebex, Lyrica and Neurontin Research Part of the Fraud

In some instances, the studies in question involved data about drugs made by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc., including Celebrex, Lyrica, and Neurontin. The company gave Reuben five research grants between 2002 and 2007, and he was a member of Pfizer’s speakers bureau, in which physicians give talks about Pfizer drugs to colleagues.

In response to the news of this fraud, Pfizer spokeswoman Sally Beatty said the clinical trials that led the US Food and Drug Administration to approve Celebrex and Lyrica for pain did not include Reuben’s research. Celebrex was approved to treat acute pain, including that following surgery, in 2001. Lyrica is not approved for the treatment of acute pain, but doctors can use the drug for that purpose “off-label.” The company’s statement did not address Neurontin.

*It should be noted in the above quote from Pfizer spokeswoman Beatty that it is illegal for a drug company to suggest off-label use of the drug for pain as Beatty does above.

“It is very disappointing to learn about Dr. Scott Reuben’s alleged actions,” Pfizer said in a statement, adding that the company was “not involved in the conduct of any of these independent studies or in the interpretation or publication of the study results.”

The fraud allegations were first reported this week by Anesthesiology News.

Although Reuben often co-wrote papers with other researchers, Jenson said Baystate found that the other researchers did not know about or participate in the alleged fabrications.

In a Feb. 20 letter to readers posted online, Shafer said his journal will publish formal retractions of Reuben’s studies published in Anesthesia and Analgesia in May.

Anesthesiologists agreed there will be an impact on the field, but disagreed over how significant it would be.

Dr. James Rathmell, chief of the Massachusetts General Hospital pain clinic, said the effect is unknown.

“Reuben’s idea of adding Lyrica and Neurontin to the mix.”

“He had some important findings that were very encouraging to all of us,” he said. But, he said, many other researchers have published positive results for Celebrex and other Cox-2 inhibitors for treatment of surgical pain. More in question, he said, is Reuben’s idea of adding Lyrica and Neurontin to the mix. “He’s done the few studies in that area,” Rathmell said.

Shafer, however, said researchers and physicians are going to reexamine the literature and may have to repeat clinical trials. “We have to be open to the possibility there was patient injury,” he said, despite the relative safety of the drugs in question. “Nothing is without risk.”

A Senate inquiry found that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “isn’t keeping track of how drugs are marketed for off-label use, even though marketing for off-label use is illegal and it’s the FDA’s job to enforce that law,” Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa said in a statement. “As a result, drug makers aren’t being held accountable for promoting unapproved use of medicine and patient safety is diminished.”

The report from the Government Accountability Office delves into a gray area of medical practice and federal oversight: the use of medications to treat conditions other than the ones the drugs were approved for, a practice known as “off-label” prescribing. The Wall Street Journal reports that studies have found off-label use accounted for 40% to 50% of all prescriptions.

Drug companies are forbidden to promote medications for uses that have not been validated by the FDA on evidence from clinical trials. Doctors, however, can use independent judgment in prescribing medicines. Also, under guidance proposed by the FDA this year, drug companies could distribute to doctors “scientific articles” that suggest new and unapproved uses for medications

The review that Grassley requested by the investigative arm of Congress found that the FDA is ill-equipped to catch even blatant marketing abuses by drug companies. The agency does not have any staff exclusively assigned to monitor whether companies are following the rule against marketing drugs for unapproved uses. Although widely accepted, off-label prescribing can amount to an uncontrolled experiment. Many people have been harmed by unexpected side effects.

The study found that it takes FDA an average of seven months to issue a warning, according to a draft report by congressional investigators. It typically takes four more months for the company to fix the problem. During the ensuing 11 months, a lot of prescriptions can be written.

From 2003-2007, the office issued only 42 notices of possible violations, which usually (but not always) prompted the drug maker to drop its promotional claims.

Why does this matter to me as a chiropractor? One word: Neurontin.

Neurontin is a controversial anti-seizure drug approved for epilepsy, which was widely and illegally promoted by Pfizer for pain. Pfizer also illegally promoted the drug for bi-polar disorder and anxiety disorder.

In 2004, Pfizer pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in the promotion of Neurontin, and agreed to pay $430 million. Neurontin was approved for limited use as a supplemental anti-seizure treatment for epilepsy, but was promoted by Lambert-Warner (now Pfizer) and a consortium of paid physicians who promoted and prescribed the drug for everything from ADHD, mental illnesses to a variety of pain conditions, including migraine headaches. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2004: “use of Neurontin for unapproved uses – estimated to account for 90% of the $2.7 billion in sales last year – continues to rise despite stepped up prosecutorial efforts aimed at curbing the practice. At the same time, studies show that much of the unapproved use of Neurontin isn’t even effective.”

The commercially successful marketing “miracle” of Neurontin was achieved through a collaborative effort of the company and leading physicians who were given financial incentives to encourage their colleagues–under the pretext of providing “continuing medical education”–to prescribe a largely ineffective drug for unapproved, diverse and unrelated conditions. Essentially physicians were “educated” to use their prescribing license to increase profits rather than to improve their patients’ health.

Neurontin and its successor Lyrica work by depressing the central nerve system. They are widely prescribed for “neuropathy”, “peripheral neuropathy” or “nerve pain”. The pharmaceutical answer to the subluxation is as follows: if there is a problem with the signals being transmitted over the nerve system, chemically shut down the transmission network.

The marketing for these chemicals include statements such as: “Peripheral Neuropathy is one of the most common diseases most people have never heard of…and yet, upwards of 20 million Americans have it. Peripheral neuropathy is caused by damage to your body’s peripheral nerves. This damage disrupts the body’s ability to communicate with its muscles, skin, joints, or internal organs. It is like the body’s wiring system breaking down.” They go on to explain that the nerve interference can be caused by: “compression, drugs and toxins, or of unknown psychological causes”.

Sound familiar to anyone? Improper communication between the brain and the muscles, skin, joints, or internal organs caused by physical, chemical or emotional stressors.

Drugs that chemically shut down the nerve system are raking in billions of dollars for drug companies who are promoting them as the only solution for “neuropathy”, which literally means “changes in the pathology of the nerve”. But wait, it gets worse.

Neurontin has been documented to cause potential side effects of depression, aggression and suicide. There are currently over 100 lawsuits pending in federal court from suicides that are allegedly tied to Neurontin. A researcher involved in the clinical trials that preceded Neurontin’s approval testified last month that the company was aware of the side effects as early as 1995.

In June 2008, the FDA officially announced that Neurontin, Lyrica and nine other epilepsy drugs are associated with a higher risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior. They are working, as you read this, on requiring that patients finally be warned of the associated risks with a “black box” warning, the FDA’s strongest safety notice.

In the mean time, millions of unsuspecting consumers are taking these potentially lethal chemicals to treat “nerve interference” causing back pain, neck pain, headaches or any other nerve related pain.

One more thing, Lyrica is the world’s first drug ever approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia. The time is now to stand up and have your voice heard. If you don’t do it, who will?

In a recent USA Today interview Matt Cutts, who works for the Search Quality group in Google, specializing in search engine optimization issues, gave his top 5 easy tips on how to “optimize” your site so Google and the rest of the world can find it.

Matt gives an example of a San Diego chiropractor who lamented that his site was not listed at the top of the Google search engine results. A quick peek at the site revealed that nowhere on the site was the term “San Diego Chiropractor” spelled out.

This would seem like an obvious oversight, until you consider that even after deducing what word or phrase (AKA search term) Internet users will be searching on to find you, you must then decide how many times to repeat the search term on the page, whether to include the term in the “title tag”, in what order, and at what “density”. Should they be repeated in the “H1″ and “H2″ tags as well?

Once that has been worked out, go out and get some high quality “backlinks”, create a “blog” for your practice, get some traffic to your blog, hopefully resulting in some additional incoming links. Create interesting and fresh “content” for your blog and employ the latest strategies to get your blog found.

Next, go out and begin to “bookmark” your site on some popular social media sites such as Digg and Stumbleupon. Participate in the the discussion, get to know the etiquette necessary to successfully engage in these social media communities and you should, in time, have some limited success.

You are now ready to develop an “XML sitemap” for your site. If you create a search engine friendly “URL” structure, hopefully in a neat “silo structure”, factor in some “latent semantic indexing” terms that are appropriate for your site, and voila, your site will be found, indexed, and if you are really lucky, you may appear in the top 50 or so results of the current 283,000 results Google has indexed for the term “San Diego Chiropractor”. Change the search to “Chiropractor San Diego” and Google has 460,000 results indexed.

Now if all this is Greek to you, rest assured you are not alone. The fact is, trying to get an individual practice website to appear at the top of the search engines is a daunting, if not impossible task.

In fact, one of the largest Chiropractor web site companies in the country sent out an email very recently that stated ” we had neglected the whole search engine thing”. He went on to exclaim, after several years of charging nearly one thousand doctors a monthly fee for chiropractic websites, “We need to figure out this search engine thing”. This self inspection occurred only after being berated by a potential customer.

If the president of a company that has collected millions of dollars from chiropractors for web site services had to be taunted into investigating how this stuff works, should you feel bad if you need an Internet to English dictionary to make sense of all of this?

You are, after all a chiropractor, not a web site developer. And at the end of the day, having a top placement for a term such as San Diego chiropractor doesn’t mean much these days anyway.

Why? Because the “local” search results now appear over top of the “natural” search results for searches that contain a city name. So all of the aforementioned work and effort still will not put your practice information in front of consumers, at the top of the search engine results page (SERP).

And even if you could achieve top placement in your town for a term like “San Diego chiropractor”, this still only reaches the 5% of the population that are already looking for a chiropractor. This does nothing to reach the 10 million Americans who are searching the Internet for health information each and every day. They have no idea that chiropractic care can help them.

Do yourself a favor. Join together with the thousands of other chiropractors who had decided to let the computer geeks handle this web stuff and stick to making sick people well.

Together, we have developed a comprehensive program to not only put you in front of the Americans that regularly seek chiropractic care, but also put positive, accurate information about chiropractic in the hands of all Americans that can benefit from your care. And we reach them at the exact moment they are deciding what form that care should take.

You owe it to yourself to check out what is possible, by working together, rather than against one another. There is great power in numbers. Power to change the world. Get on board with other like minded chiropractors. Get involved with something big.

Let us worry about the complexities of search engine placement, local search optimization, keyword density, title tags, heading tags, blog posts, content creation, optimization, directory structure, etc, etc.

Do what you do best: improve the quality of life of your practice members. Let us handle getting them in the door.