Dr. Rathburn's Blog

1. Every step counts; every bite counts.

2. He who shops on an empty stomach goes home with an empty wallet and wakes up with tight pants.

3. I can tell you what, when, and how much to eat, but I can't be there when you visit with Ben and Jerry.

4. Nobody gets fat eating apples, oranges, or carrots.

5. There are 21 meals a week.  If 18 of them are healthy, you'll be healthy.

6. Eating the fruit is much better than drinking the juice.

7. Better food is fresher food and fresher food is on the perimeter of the market.

8. Show me a person with a magic pill, potion or powder, and I'll show you a person after a bunch of your dollars.

9. You are what you eat, not what you take.

10. A good diet without supplements is better than a bad diet with them.

11. A product that has everything doesn't have enough of anything to really do anything.

12. Sometimes you can't tell whether something's helping until you stop taking it, but if a doctor recommends you stop a product that works, I recommend a second opinion.

As another year draws to a close, here's a preview of what I expect to see more of in 2010.  The negative impact that the misuse and overuse of drugs is having on our global health can no longer be swept under the media carpet. 

A recent article that focuses on the state of antibiotic-resistance in Europe (1) by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) states "If this wave of antibiotic resistance gets over us, we will not be able to do organ transplants, hip replacements, cancer chemotherapy, intensive care, and neo-natal care for premature babies."  According to this article, each year these microbes (sometimes referred to as superbugs) are responsible for 400,000 infections, 2.5 million hospital days and 25,000 deaths, and that's in Europe alone!  The culprits are the same as they were decades ago: medical doctors who keep prescribing antibiotics for viruses (colds and flu) even though they know antibiotics will have no effect.  This situation is costing Europe more than $1.3 billion in hospital stays and another $900 million in lost productivity per year.  Doctors mis-prescribe the antibiotics to save them the time and hassle of educating their patients.  The drug companies make billions selling the stuff and the European economy is stuck paying the tab. 

In the USA this scenario is no different than in Europe, except that here, it's actually worse (something I haven't exactly been quiet about).  This country is pumping out drugs with limited research and then holding its collective breath to see what the long-term adverse side effects will be once the drugs begin being used by the masses.  The strategy seems to be to sell now and factor in the expenses related to the cost of a certain number of lawsuits, recalls, etc., as a cost of doing business (remember Vioxx?)  What is lost in the quest for the dollar is the price unsuspecting patients pay in terms of their health. 

Again, I believe this is something you will read and hear a lot more of in the next year - and the year after that etc., until something is done to change this horrific situation.  Fortunately, the chiropractic approach remains a reasonable and cost effective approach (think about it - when was the last time you saw a TV commercial by lawyers advertising to sue chiropractors?  You only see them wanting to sue over drugs and their side effects!)  In these times of profit maximization, make choices for health and wellness that make drugs unnecessary in your everyday life.  It's just one way to help ensure you'll have a happy and healthy new year.

1. Kelland K. "Antibiotic Overuse Threatens Modern Medicine: Experts." Reuters, Nov. 10, 2009.

This is a post I have debated about writing for at least a year.  Probably because it's controversial, and it's happening to me.  This is one of the most difficult things to endure as a man and it's a big wake up call to men my age.  It's the middle age craziness some men experience.  It's been known by many names, but mostly goes by andropause or male menopause.  Despite jokes and ridicule, research proves its existence and it is both a physical and mental phenomenon.  We'll discuss both aspects.

The toughest part of andropause is the mental aspect.  Some men find it quite easy to accept the aging process: wrinkles, abdominal weight gain, muscle mass deterioration, balding, etc.  Others fight every inch of it with cosmetic surgery and hair replacement procedures.  Some men feel the need to buy stuff like new sporty cars or (in more drastic cases) they start dating much younger women.  I can personally attest to the fact that it is tough seeing your youth slowly go away.  However, in the end the aging process will win.  Try not to fight it and accept the fact that you have a certain mental age and not a chronological age.  Whether you believe it or not, what really matters is how old you are mentally and if you ask a woman, most of them will tell you the same thing.      

Physically starting at around age 30, testosterone levels start dropping.  Somewhere around 30 percent of men in their fifties have lowered testosterone levels, which means lowered libido, depression, memory loss, erectile dysfunction and loss of muscle mass (YIKES!).  If you gain fat weight, you may be asking for real trouble!  Excess weight leads to increased levels of a protein that blocks the action of testosterone, making it unavailable to his body.  Please believe me, testosterone does alot of beneficial things in the human body (NOT just the sexual effects) and a loss of this precious hormone's effects is incredibly unhealthy.  

Pay attention: here is how to deal with this nasty condition, guys (and ladies who want to help their men!).

1.  Get up and exercise!!!  It's a must!  It does wonders for the human body and the mind.  Plus for me, I enjoy running and trying to get a 32 year old man to keep up with me ("C'mon, ya young whippersnapper!").  It also increases your bone and muscle strength, heading off muscle wasting and fat building.

2.  Increase sex time.  Men tend to have fewer erections as they get older.  Up to 90% of erectile dysfunction has a physical cause, not a mental one.  Most doctors are in agreement that being able to have decent sex when you are older is more likely if you've continued to keep your equipment in working order by having sex throughout middle age.

3.  Watch your diet and take advantage of the ways that food can help you boost your testosterone.  Drink less alcohol and avoid low-fat, low-protein diets.  Instead, eat more niacin (pill form is available here at the clinic) for a boost in your "good" HDL cholesterol.  Niacin is found in dairy, lean meats, poultry, fish, nuts, and eggs.  Also, use more canola, olive, and safflower oil, and add some garlic and onions to your sandwiches and burgers to get more allicin.  Not sure what allicin is?  Here is the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allicin

 To find out more, this book has lots of great information! 

Being a research lover, this interesting project came across my desk a few days ago.  It was a real eye opener!  I couldn't help but put it into my website blog so my members and patients might get some good information from it.  This information was obtained from Medicare expenditures.  As everyone knows chronic back pain is among the most common of patient complaints.  Being so very common, it has spawned a rapidly and expanding range of tests and treatments.  Some of these have become widely used for indications that are not well validated, leading to uncertainty about safety, increasing complication rates, and (naturally) marketing abuses. 

Increases in Medicare expenditures:

1. 629% increase for epidural steroid injections

2. 423% increase for expenditures for opioids for back pain

3. 307% increase in the number of lumbar MRIs

4. 231% increase in facet joint injections

5. 220% increase in spinal fusion surgery rates

These authors state: "The prevalence and impact of back pain have led to an expanding array of tests and treatments, including injections, surgical procedures, implantable devices, and medications.  Each is valuable for some patients, but use may be expanding beyond scientifically validated indications, driven by professional concern, patient advocacy, marketing, and the media."  Although approximately 25% of US adults reported back pain during the past 3 months, this percentage has not changed for decades.  Added to that fact is expanded testing and treatment for back pain have not improved outcomes, but have increased complications, including deaths.  The use of MRI imaging, according to the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society, is not recommended in cases of nonspecific low back pain. 

Opioid use in patients for noncancer pain sometimes lasts for decades.  These patients have persistent high levels of pain and poor quality of life.  The authors even state "opioid use may paradoxically increase sensitivity to pain."  Chronic use of opioids may also cause hypogonadism, reduced testosterone levels, diminished libido, and erectile dysfunction. 

The research project also admitted that spinal injections may offer temporary relief of pain, but European and American guidelines based on systematic reviews, conclude they do not reduce the rate of subsequent surgery.  "Facet joint injections with corticosteroids seem no more effective than saline injections." 

Spine fusion surgery is limited when treating degenerative discs with back pain with no sciatica, yet they have increased 220% from 1990 to 2001 in the US.  "Higher spine surgery rates are sometimes associated with worse outcomes."  In fact, in a 1999 study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, the best outcomes occurred where surgery rates were lowest, and the worst results occurred in areas where surgery rates were highest. 

These authors didn't even footnote the number of studies that show that spinal adjusting is highly effective, safe, cost effective, and results in long-termed stable outcomes in the treatment of chronic low back pain. 

http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/content/full/22/1/62 for the article.  It's quite fascinating!!

A new study published within the past month now shows conclusively that yoga is indeed better than pain medication for patients with chronic lower back pain!  As many of you know, for years there was a yoga studio right next door to me.  I loved to send patients over there for yoga classes because it was such a wonderful adjunct to the chiropractic care I offered.  The patients responded wonderfully and got well and stayed well for long, long periods of time. 

Now a study published in Spine shows that yoga works better than drugs.  The study randomly divided 90 patients with chronic lower back pain into two groups.  One group received conventional medical therapy and the other participants took 90 minute classes twice a week for 24 weeks, doing postures targeted to relieve chronic low back pain.  The chief researcher, Kimberly Williams, PhD., stated "The yoga group had less pain, less functional disability and less depression compared with the control group.  These were statistically significant and clinically important changes that were maintained six months after the intervention."  Wow!  Six months is an impressive time frame considering these were people who suffered with lower back pain for years!

Maybe now we should consider calling "conventional" medical therapy alternative medical therapy.  After all, drugs are much, much more risky than flexibility exercises like yoga.  This is one of the cornerstones to the Health Care Classes that I offer on Tuesday nights.  I teach these kinds of topics and show my patients what risks are involved with each type of provider.  Some  Tuesday night at 6 pm take an hour to drop by the office and learn these principles of healthcare.  Its always a very lively class and it's incredibly informational.  However, you must RSVP if you plan to attend.  601 924 4647.