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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #10 - Recorded September 16, 2005

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #10, recorded September 16, 2005.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health. 

Let’s begin with some In-House items….  First, Chiropractic OnLine Today is extremely grateful for everyone’s comments and support for these HealthBeat Podcasts.   Please surf to Chiro-Online.com and click on the HealthBeat link for Shownotes and Health Polls.  Our current poll is inquiring about your Chiropractic Philosophy preference. 

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                        And Now for some news ….

Chiropractic Care for Visceral Problems

Board members from the Chiropractic Research organization, the FCER, recently had a study published in the August 2005 issue of the  journal Seminars in Oncology Nursing, with an article entitled - Alternatives in Cancer Pain Treatment: The Application of Chiropractic Care.

The article methodically lays out the rationale for the use of chiropractic management of pain in cancer patients. The authors point out that nonpharmacological treatments for pain control may be necessary for patients who “

• have poor responses to medical treatment or medical contraindications for further pharmacologic treatment;

• wish to become pregnant or are nursing;

• have a history of long-term, frequent, or excessive use of analgesic or pain-abortive medications that can aggravate other problems; or

• simply prefer to avoid the use of medications.” And in such patients, chiropractic is one of the few alternatives that has been most frequently studied.

The article concluded that The judicial use of chiropractic services in cancer patients appears to offer many economical and effective strategies for reducing the pain and suffering of cancer patients, as well as providing the potential to improve patient health overall.

Pain Questionnaires

An article in the August 15^th issue of the journal Spine discusses the use of language prompts in Patient Pain Questionnaires.

The study was conducted to investigate the validity and use of a single question on the bothersomeness of low back pain (LBP) as a method of classifying the severity of symptoms among patients seen in clinical practice.

The article concluded that there is evidence for the validity of a single bothersomeness question as a measure of LBP severity. It has the potential to provide a practical standard scheme for classifying patients with LBP in clinical practice. However, further work is needed to clarify its usefulness in a clinical setting.

For more information, surf to http://www.spinejournal.com

EPA and New Chemical Regulations

According to the US Government’s General Accounting Office (GAO), Chemicals play an important role in everyday life, but some may be harmful to human health and the environment. Chemicals are used to produce items widely used throughout society, including consumer products such as cleansers, paints, plastics, and fuels, as well as industrial solvents and additives. However, some chemicals, such as lead and mercury, are highly toxic at certain doses and need to be regulated because of health and safety concerns. In 1976, the Congress passed the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to authorize the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to control chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk to human health or the environment. The GAO released its review in June, 2005 of the EPA's efforts to

1.    control the risks of new chemicals not yet in commerce

2.    assess the risks of existing chemicals used in commerce, and

3.    publicly disclose information provided by chemical companies under TSCA.

EPA's reviews of new chemicals provide limited assurance that health and environmental risks are identified before the chemicals enter commerce. Chemical companies are not required by TSCA, absent a test rule, to test new chemicals before they are submitted for EPA's review, and companies generally do not voluntarily perform such testing.

While the EPA has the authority to evaluate the appropriateness of confidentiality claims, the EPA states that it does not have the resources to challenge large numbers of claims. State environmental agencies and others are interested in obtaining confidential business information for use in various activities, such as developing contingency plans to alert emergency response personnel of the presence of highly toxic substances at manufacturing facilities. Chemical companies recently have expressed interest in working with EPA to identify ways to enable other organizations to use the information given the adoption of appropriate safeguards.

For more information, surf to http://www.gao.gov/values

Preventing Chronic Disease

Chiropractic and other forms of Complementary health care providers have for years taught that Prevention is the key to good health.  By not letting a sickness develop into a serious disorder, patients can help in the prevention of the more Chronic, or long-term diseases which have infiltrated Western Society today

Chronic disease today includes:

• Heart disease

• Cancers, etc.

Occasionally, there appears to be moments when more mainstream, or allopathic healthcare providers catch on to this prevention trend.

It is important for listeners of COT’s HealthBeat to become aware of the many different methods of prevention available today.  At the top of the list are the many services and educational tools provided by Doctors of Chiropractic.

Inflammation and Olive Oil

According to a report in the September 1^st issue of Nature, A chance tasting at a scientific meeting in Sicily has led to another reason for including olive oil in your diet.

The pungent liquid turns out to contain a compound called oleocanthal that has the same molecular action as ibuprofen, the widely used painkiller.  This compound acts to stifle components of a pain pathway known as the prostaglandin system.

Not all Olive oils are the same, however.  The compound should be present in any extra-virgin oil. But concentrations will vary depending on a range of factors, such as the variety of olive, and the age of the olives at pressing. 

There is a simple rule of thumb to help you out: oleocanthal is also responsible for the throat-stinging sensation of a good extra-virgin oil. "The way to check is to sip the oil neat and see how strongly it stings the throat.   Lead Researcher, Paul Breslin suggests, going for the authentic Mediterranean taste.   And researchers think that this similarity to pain killers means that olive oil may offer the same health benefits as low-dose use of anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

Possible benefits include a reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, some cancers and Alzheimer's disease.

As always, HealthBeat recommends that listeners discuss any dietary behavior modifications with a qualified healthcare provider, especially when it comes to the use of Fats.

For more information, surf to http://www.nature.com

Blood Test for Heart Disease

Many listeners are familiar with common blood tests for heart disease, such as testing for Cholesterol and Triglyceride levels.

A test that has only been receiving media press in recent years however may also be indicated as an additional test for heart disease.  The August 2005 issue of the American Journal of Hypertension reports on how testing for the c-reactive protein may be connected to detecting the increase risk of heart attack and stroke. However, there has been controversy over whether the protein damages blood vessels or merely indicates the presence of damage.

The C-reactive protein test measures the level of C-reactive protein, a substance released when inflammation affects some part of the body.  This test appears to indicate the presence of hardening of the arteries, also known as atherosclerosis and may serve as an early warning of heart disease.

The study’s researchers found that even low-grade inflammation detected by the blood test was associated with hardening of the arteries. They concluded that this inflammation might be a mechanism through which the protein is related to heart attack and stroke, and might explain why the C-reactive protein test may be a useful early warning test for asymptomatic or presymptomatic heart disease.

Healthbeat recommends discussing all diagnostic tests with your Chiropractor or Qualified Healthcare professional.

For more information, surf to - http://heart.healthcentersonline.com

Study to Analyze Physician Notes

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System will conduct a pilot study of data mining technology. SAS Institute Inc., located in Cary , N.C. , will sponsor the pilot and the delivery system will use the vendor’s technology.

Graduate medical students will analyze information from dictated physician notes and other text-based information from 12,000 of the seven million records in the delivery system’s patient database. The goal of the pilot is to find patterns that indicate best treatment methods.

Additional information is available at www.sas.com

Chiropractic Corner – In this edition of Healthbeat’s Chiropractic Corner, I will discuss the role of Ergonomics in the Workplace and home-office environments.  This is the full recording from my interview on the Internet radio show – workingpodcast.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

- Bertha Calloway

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

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