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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #51 - Recorded June 30, 2006

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and informational Podcast.

In this week’s news:  We’ll Look At –

• Passing of a Chiropractic Legend

• Suit Seeks to Force KFC to Stop Using Trans Fat

• Exercise reduces leg pain of PVD

• ACA Files Suit against ACN in Federal Court

• Study of the Hip Extension Test

• Health Corner continues its look at problems with the Medicare Part D drug plan

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #51, recorded June 30, 2006.  HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories.  Please surf to our web site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

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Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy.  However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing.  We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

Passing of a Chiropractic Legend

It is with sorrow that I have to present this next news item.  In
recent episodes, we presented conversations with Mr. Howard Wolinksy, reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.  In our conversations, we discussed the lawsuit against the American Medical Association.  One of the vocal and active advocates for the Chiropractic profession, was Dr. Jerome McAndrews.

On June 9, 2006, Dr. McAndrews passed away.  Rather than recap his life story and accomplishments here, let me ask listeners to surf to a beautiful memorial editorial written by Dr. Louis Sportelli.  The
web address is - http://www.ncmic.com/pages/about/man/mcandrews.htm

Let's all have a moment of silence for Dr. Jerome McAndrews.   

Suit Seeks to Force KFC to Stop Using Trans Fat

According to the June 13, 2006 NY Times, an advocacy group sued KFC, the fast-food US restaurant chain, to get it to stop using a key
ingredient of its fried chicken — partially hydrogenated oils containing trans fat, which scientists consider the most unhealthy fat.

Despite warnings that the oils are the most likely to clog arteries, most fast-food restaurants say they have had a difficult time
finding healthier oils that can stand up to high temperatures and still make food crisp and flavorful.

The class action lawsuit filed by the group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which frequently criticizes the food industry and the government, seeks to have a Superior Court in Washington either ban the use of the oils or force the company to post signs telling customers its food contains trans fat and that it can cause heart disease.

Federal dietary guidelines issued last year recommend that people consume less than 1 percent of their calories from trans fats, or less than two grams a day. Trans fat is considered more harmful than saturated fat because it lowers both the good cholesterol (HDL) and raises the bad cholesterol (LDL). About 80 percent of trans fat in the American diet comes from partially hydrogenated oil.

Trans fat became a part of fast-food meals in the 1980's after consumer groups demanded that the companies stop frying in beef tallow and palm oils because those oils are highly saturated. The
hazards of trans fat were not widely realized until years later.

Any decision against KFC is only binding on the District of Columbia, but the Center for Science in the Public Interest hopes it will force the chain to change its oil nationwide.

As always, COT's HealthBeat recommends discussing any dietary modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.


http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/business/13cnd-kfc.html

Exercise reduces leg pain of PVD

According to a study from the Journal of Vascular Surgery, arm
exercises can help relieve leg pain caused by peripheral vascular
disease (PVD), scientists report.

PVD involves damage to the blood vessels that serve the limbs, usually due to obstruction by plaque. The reduced blood flow can cause claudication (referring to severe, chronic pain
that can hinder walking). PVD and claudication are common in people with diabetes and high blood pressure.

The authors results suggest that a combination of physiological
changes and an increase in exercise pain tolerance account for the
observed improvement in walking ability.  The advantage of exercising the arms for patients with PVD is that they don't generally encounter pain during this type of physical activity. This can help to increase their motivation and enthusiasm for exercise.

For more information about PVD, contact your Qualified Healthcare
Professional.  Surf to our Show Notes for a  link to this article -
http://heart.healthcentersonline.com/newsstories/exercisereduceslegpainpvd.cfm?general=nl_heart

ACA Files Suit against ACN in Federal Court

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) recently asked the U.S. District Court in Miami to allow ACA to join as a plaintiff in the pending nationwide class action lawsuit Solomon v. Anthem, et al., and further asked that ACN Group, Inc. and United Healthcare Services, Inc. be named as additional defendants in the case. The ACA alleges that ACN participated with other managed care companies in the case in a conspiracy to illegally and systematically underpay providers by denying reimbursement for medically necessary treatment.

ACA, along with other national and state health care associations, individual doctors of chiropractic and other health care providers, challenge the utilization review and payment practices of some of the nation's largest managed care companies. The case alleges that these companies, including ACN, violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act by systematically and illegally denying, delaying, and diminishing payments owed to chiropractors and other health care providers.

The suit calls into question the use of financially expedient cost and actuarial criteria rather than appropriate bases of medically necessary treatment for utilization review, and alleges that these criteria are purposely imposed on providers with the knowledge that they cannot be met. Through this legal action, ACA will seek damages against ACN and the other defendants in the case on a class-wide basis. It will also seek to obtain injunctive relief to bring an end to what it views as the abusive practices and procedures of ACN.

The ACA's overall campaign to correct the harmful practices of some managed care networks is an outgrowth of a resolution passed by the ACA House of Delegates in March 2002 formally outlining ACA's opposition to the improper practices of chiropractic networks.

In addition to the filing of this national class action, ACA-in cooperation with several state chiropractic associations-is actively engaged with a number of state attorneys general, offices of insurance and boards of licensure, and the Federation of Chiropractic Licensing Boards (FCLB) regarding the tactics undertaken by ACN.

To view copies of pleadings filed by ACA in the U.S. District Court in Miami, or for more information on ACA's managed care initiatives, visit ACA's Chiropractic Networks Action Center at http://www.ACAtoday.org/networks

Study of the Hip Extension Test

A study in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics found that the hip extension test may be a clinical sign of impaired motor control in the lumbar spine, which may have a negative impact on spine stability. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the interexaminer reliability of the hip extension test for suspected dynamic instability of the lumbar spine in patients with chronic low back pain.

Forty-two patients with chronic low back pain participated in this interexaminer reliability study. Chronic low back pain was defined as pain of greater than 7 weeks duration in the area between T12 and the buttocks, with or without leg pain. Two doctors of chiropractic simultaneously observed and independently assessed the left and right prone hip extension test on all 42 patients.

The study concluded that the hip extension test appears to have good reliability in detecting deviation of the lumbar spine from the midline. Validity with regard to the test's ability to distinguish patients with chronic low back pain from normal individuals and its relation to lumbar spine stability remains to be determined.

For more information, surf to the June 2006 issue of JMPT.

Exercise Ball Training and Trunk Extensor Exercises

Another study in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics looked at exercise training with exercise balls.

Only a few abdominal muscle exercises have been quantitatively evaluated on both a mat and exercise ball, but the benefits reported for the ball have been equivocally applied to all exercises. The purpose of this study is to evaluate differences in the biological response of muscle activation, lumbar spine posture, and loading variables for extensor exercises performed on 2 surfaces.

Bilateral muscle activation was recorded from 7 sites (rectus abdominis, external/internal obliques, latissimus dorsi, thoracic/lumbar erector spinae, and multifidus) on 8 subjects.  Cocontraction of trunk flexor and extensor muscles was reduced by up to 30% for the extension exercises when performed on the ball. Peak muscle activation remained unchanged or decreased, and spinal loading (compression and anterior-posterior shear) decreased when the extension exercises were performed on the ball.

The study concluded that the assumption that the use of an exercise ball will always create a greater challenge for the musculoskeletal system was not supported by the findings of this study. Likewise, in a healthy, young population, there does not appear to be any training advantage to performing extensor exercises on a ball versus a mat. However, in a rehabilitation scenario, these exercises performed on a ball could reduce low back loading and hence reduce the potential for reinjury.

For more information, surf to the June 2006 issue of JMPT.

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropractiRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember - COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Health Corner –In this edition of HealthBeat’s Health Corner, we continue our look at problems with the US Government’s new Medicare Part D drug program.

The organization, Families USA, the self-proclaimed Voice for Health Care Consumers, presents a 14 minute special hosted by Walter Cronkite.  Listeners are also urged to surf to our Show Notes for a link to the video of this presentation - http://www.familiesusa.org/issues/medicare/rx-drug-center/cronkite-video-2006.html#

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Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
– Thomas Edison  

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

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