Patients Are Powerful

Posts Tagged ‘chiropractic’

As a chiropractor I know that there are many people looking for good, afforable health care, and healthy alternatives to what is now available to them in such limited quantity and quality. I treat many people who have no health insurance or are struggling to pay for medical insurance that not only doesn’t cover chiropractic care, but doesn’t cover other medical needs.  And, I don’t have to tell you that these days, there’s a whole lot of shouting about health care going on. I don’t think that it’s too optimistic for us to hope that beneath and beyond the cacophony of conflicting opinions and misinformation, patients will find themselves more powerful than ever in determining what kinds of preventative health alternatives are available to them, the type of universal care that they will be able to get should they require it, and the variety, affordability, fairness, and efficacy of that care.

As an aid to “owning” your patient power, I am passing along a seemingly “neutral” article that I just read that I think you will find as helpful as I did, especially if you are confused by all the back and forth on health care reform. It is a guideline to terms that are commonly tossed about in the health care debate. If you have been wondering what any or all of the following terms mean, I invite you to check out the site at the bottom of this post: Blue Dog coalition, Co-op, Electronic records, End-of-life counseling, Gang of Six, health insurance exchange, Health care rescission, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mandated coverage, Medicare/Medicaid, “Obamacare,” Private insurance, Public options, Senate HELP committee, Single-payer.

Naturally, knowing what these terms mean doesn’t actually solve the problem. But, it may help us with the dialogue, should the sound decibels decrease to a point where the human voice is actually intelligible.

Getting past the lingo of the health care debate:

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, health care

I’m a Chicago chiropractor, and I believe in a holistic approach to health. Naturally, I believe in chiropractic care. I also believe that “you are what you eat,” and that exercise and a good night’s sleep are essential for good health. Most of the time, good health depends on what you put into your body to give it what it needs to function optimally. But, an essential component to being healthy also lies in what you “don’t do,” i.e., what you don’t put into your body, like avoiding fruits and vegetables that are sprayed with pesticides, and not drinking your spring water out of plastic bottles that contain BPA.

Just as patients are powerful when it comes to reforming health care, consumers are powerful when it comes to reforming product safety standards. Along those lines, I just read a really good article on Enviroblog: “BPA: Can consumer revolt trump K Street?” The blog post is all about Massachusetts’ strictly voluntary approach to reducing human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). On Monday, August 3rd, the state Department of Public Health issued a warning to parents and caretakers to avoid BPA-based polycarbonate baby bottles and infant formula packaged in cans lined with epoxy resin, another material whose key component is BPA.

Apparently, the Massachusetts advisory lacks the force of laws enacted earlier this year by Minnesota and Connecticut legislators, who have banned BPA in baby bottles and other containers used by young children. But, health warnings can spur consumer resistance that can change the marketplace faster than laws and regulations.

There’s a lot more interesting (and inspiring) information contained in the blog. You can read it at www.enviroblog.org. But, the point to remember is that change, really, is up to you. As a patient and a consumer, you are powerful and you can make a difference.

Technorati Tags: chiropractic, chiropractor, health

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession goes on nowadays a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack but a few natural herbs can help relieve stress

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic(or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This has lead me, a Ventura chiropractor to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and its ilk are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

There exist today many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine, and the rights of patients needs to be taken into concideration. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine,may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

Technorati Tags: acupuncture, alternative medicine, chiropractic, massage, natural medicine, patient advocacy, rights of patients