A young woman briskly traverses the stairs, downwards to the kitchen. Near the bottom she slips, falling firmly onto her buttocks. She’s more startled than anything, arising and getting on with her day. However, she later notices pain in the right side of her pelvis when her weight is substantially shifted to her right leg and when she sits crossed legged on the floor during stretching. She also notes right gluteal pain when rotating her leg inwards and outwards. She hopes that the symptoms spontaneously resolve soon so as to not interfere with caring for her newborn and her body reshaping program.

Upon visiting her doctor, he finds no problems on x-ray. He informed her that normal hormone induced laxity of pelvic ligaments during late pregnancy, followed by the trauma (fall) resulted in some sacroiliac joint dysfunction. The stability of the joints between the sacrum and pelvic bones is provided by ligaments, no muscles directly support the SI joints.

Some important conservative care include restricted activity (avoid that which aggravates your condition), deep massage if there is an apparent occasional painful locking of the joints, flexibility exercises to engage the soft tissue as it heals. Deep heat and ice application will provide analgesia and promote circulation. You may address pain with oral OTC and prescription medicines, or preferred herbal analgesics. The target tissues are often too deep for topical medicated rubs.

Contact us with specific questions regarding contemporary assessment and management of sacroiliac joint injuries.

Wake up Average Joe, support healthcare reform or it will be just one more thing that the “haves” have and the “have nots” don’t.

If you are attentive to contemporary media you will see and hear very little anger from the public regarding the bailout of Wall Street, the bailout of major banks, the bailout of the mortgage industry, the bailout of the automobile industry, the thousands of Fortune 500 company jobs exported abroad along with jobs cut in the U.S., our leaky U.S. borders, or the ever increasing and massive expenditures on military operations and international disasters.

We are losing jobs and homes daily, our primary school systems are failing, college education is becoming increasingly unaffordable, retirement accounts have been ravaged by unscrupulous and unaccountable investment firms, and over 50 million true citizens cannot afford medical insurance while the medical insurance systems are always profitable. Moreover, the highly ranked personnel in the above listed organizations are doing very well financially.

So, how do media organizations portray you, average Joe? They pretend that you’re more interested in local crime, major sporting events, the moral transgressions of the rich and famous, and new reality series. Additionally, the extreme radical right, supported by the insurance industry, dominates the air time and images as though they represent the majority of Main Street America.

Wake up Average Joe, support healthcare reform or it will be just one more thing that the “haves” have and the “have nots” don’t. Refer back to the introduction above to reconsider where you should actually direct your political and social protest and assertiveness.

Lastly, write to, call and visit your political leaders, but don’t assault them.

The spectrum of health and pain management approaches pursued in our very diverse society is quite broad. An ongoing challenge is the need to acknowledge patients’ philosophical predispositions as part of the fundamentals upon which to initiate and expand upon care plans. Otherwise, conflicting perspectives and inadequate recognition may yield suboptimal results when you could have done better.

A related facet of health and pain care is that of the roles of stakeholder individuals and groups. All involved need to be prepared to integrate sometimes conflicting beliefs and objectives as perceived by a potential plethora of stakeholder (patient, nuclear/other family, community, clinicians, others) values. Not all members share the same significance in decision processes, but all need to be acknowledged to reach satisfactory objectives.

Many healing systems have origins in philosophy. Over time, most incorporate some constructs that can be found to at least have been derived or extracted from spiritual elements of the dominant cultures.

Stakeholders sometimes believe that a particular intervention will work because of previous experience (theirs, or others with whom they are familiar). At other times, they exhibit faith in documentation (commercials, articles) or the word of empowered figures (e.g., parents, prescribing clinicians). Just as faith can come to individuals via the repetition of relevant statements/words of respected clinical sources, faith comes to many Christian patients via repetition of their Word. As such, when Christians consider alternative treatment options, with thousands of years of historically successful implementation, they may consider application of scripture as part of their contemporary intervention.

Faith is generally a part of traditional and contemporary health and pain care approaches. However, faith in its spiritual context, as part of the treatment process, whether via Christian beliefs or another, is only as effective as the role that faith plays in healing within a particular belief system, in conjunction with its level of development in the person who is required to apply it to yield the desired result.

In Christianity, healing and restoration may result from miraculous intervention without input from the beneficiary or it may come in a more pedestrian and protracted manner following prayer, extended proclamation of faith-filled words and demonstration of supportive behaviors including conscientious attention to services provided by medical professionals.

Make sure that the faith applied to your healing, whether by you alone or in conjunction with others, including medical professionals, is consistent with a good understanding of the level of experience and skills of all involved in your health.

Permanent degradation is not a foregone conclusion when you notice problems with memory. Health, nutrition and fitness habits should be evaluated when memory appears to be flagging. Consider the following possible contributors:

1. Poor sleeping habits it the most common cause of occasional slips in memory. Make time for healthy rest.

2. Acute infection frequently clouds thinking. Chronic illness of any type often precipitates excessive mood changes, which has an untoward effect on memory. Take care of your health in general.

3. Emotional distress often adversely affects memory. A calm mind is a healthier mind.

4. Pharmaceutical agents such as sleep agents, opiates, anxiolytics and some blood pressure medications and a good memory often conflicting objectives. Talk to your doctor about any side effects of medications.

5. Alcohol overuse may both effect your cerebral tissues permanently and have numerous short term adverse effects, including affecting memory. Moderate alcohol use significantly. Moreover, there are much healthier sources of anti-oxidants than red wine.

6. Poor circulation is can be circumferential, effecting your body and mind. Exercise regularly.

Eat well (including vitamin supplementation as needed, e.g., B-12), sleep well and exercise regularly. Take care of your health, nutrition and fitness for the good of your memory.

The internet, with all of its glorious diversity, is primarily a sales tool for everyone. The HON@CODE by the Health of the Net Foundation, of Switzerland, is a new tool for rebalancing the playing field for some groups.

In commercial western medicine the modern approaches to carving out a profitable position in the food chain are the acquisition of degrees, residencies, fellowships, supplemental certifications, organization alliances, panel associations, practice style adherence to insurer supported guidelines, prescription of covered products and now, website labeling with the HON@CODE.

I do not diminish the value of the majority of the above. However, what I have seen is an excessive number of politically and financially connected groups create for-profit organizations that subsequently mandate to practitioner markets that they will pay for training and certification via specific, narrow portals if they wish to be recognized as credible and valuable resources in the community. This provides them niche markets and allows them to carve out niches for their associates who are willing to participate in the processes.

Of course, no one wants the internet spammed with false or misleading health information, but practices that primarily benefit the founder and affiliates is just self-serving marketing. The internet is for everyone; not just HON@CODE health sites. Moreover, vast numbers of sites, forums, and blogs share reliable, useful and valid information and perspectives.

The content on Contemporary Health Nutrition Fitness & Injury will often voice complementary, alternative and non-standard positions. So, it is a bit unlikely that we would pursue labeling by a conservative organization that could refer to us as “certified liberal.”

p.s. – I know of a number of huge lots of unused products sitting in clinic warehouses. Would anyone like to purchase some leftover H1N1 vaccine that the health pundits suggested we would require?

Chinese Medicine, classical and traditional involves a range practices originating in eastern Asia. Although well accepted throughout China and many other parts of the world, it is considered an alternative medicine. (follow hi-lited text link for more . . .)

Contemporary western health care recognizes the association between tinnitus, experiencing a ringing sound in the ears, and overuse of aspirin. More recent studies suggest that regular use of common pain relievers (acetaminophen, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and aspirin) also increase the risk of experiencing hearing loss. The data does not point to the mechanism, just the association. Look at our other posts regarding alternative pain treatment strategies. However, to the extent that you use these types of products, use them cautiously and with consideration.

Whether you want to reduce back stress or fatigue or stimulate your blood circulation, an inversion table makes a great household accessory. An inversion table contributes to your body’s overall health via lumbar traction, relieving pressure . . . . . (follow link for complete article)

In America, opium was sold legally and conveniently and at low prices throughout the nineteenth century. Morphine came into common use during the Civil War for management of pain, heroin toward the end of the century. These opiates and countless pharmaceutical preparations of similar products were as freely accessible as our numerous over the counter products today. Five regular portals of legal distribution included:
• Physicians.
• Drugstores that provided products with and without prescriptions.
• Grocery and general stores stocked and sold opiates.
• Opiates that could be ordered by mail.
• Opium and morphine as common ingredients in hundreds of proprietary medicines and other products.
Most of the opium consumed in the United States during the nineteenth century was legally imported. Morphine was legally manufactured here from the imported opium and opium poppies were also legally grown within the United States.
Alternative herbs and medicines for pain care often face tremendous community opposition. Some would say rightfully so, because we now know better and do better by our population. But, if such were true we would make cigarettes and liquor illegal given all of the injury and disease associated with these products.

Effective and appropriate alternative pain management is a matter of perspective and merits our support.

Spinal Inversion-traction for Pain Relief. by Dean

Do you think hanging upside down to relieve back pain is unusual, or a new-age approach? Reconsider your perceptions. Inversion probably goes back to the dawn of documented human medical care.

19 elements of your foot and back pain treatment plan. by Douglas

A patient presents for pain management. This is the initial visit.

Alternative pain management pathways. by Douglas

You are aware that there are various means to address low back pain. As alternatives may differ substantially,  . . . . .

Work-related low back pain and alternative treatment. by Douglas

You hurt your back at work and are not sure what to do. If your symptoms are not localized or are incapacitating regarding your ability to work, what will you do?

Cure my low back pain by nailing it back together? by Douglas

You present to your primary care physician in the following manner.  Chief complaint - low back pain.

Cure your low back pain. It is all in your mind. by Douglas

While causes of back pain may not be all in the mind, experiencing the symptoms is all in the mind. That is to say, in the absence of a neural connection between that which you are experiencing in your back and signals transmitted to your brain, there would be no pain (i.e., if a tree fell in the woods all alone, did it make noise?).

Alternative Pain Management | Cure your pain. by Douglas

People present to clinicians every day with the objective of management. Presuming the validity of the pain, consider the following treatment options.