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HEALTHBEAT SHOW NOTES .... Episode #59 - Recorded August 25, 2006Hello
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 –
For
HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow. Welcome
to HealthBeat Podcast #59, recorded
August 25, 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. If
you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office
or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send
us an Email …. ….
or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”,
all in small letters. 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 …. ACA
and Humana Humana
has agreed to a class action settlement resolving claims on behalf of
chiropractors and other health care providers in Solomon v. Anthm, et. al.,
pending before Judge Frederico Moreno of the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Florida. The
ACA participated, through its counsel, in the settlement discussions and is a
signatory to the proposed class action settlement agreement. If approved by the
Court, Humana will pay $3.5 million to fund payments to class member
chiropractors and other health care providers as well as fees and costs advanced
by class counsel. Plaintiffs
in the Solomon action recently filed a motion seeking to add the ACA as a named
plaintiff in the Solomon case and requesting that ACN Group, Inc. and United
Healthcare Services, Inc. be added as defendants. The case against ACN, United
Healthcare Services and all remaining defendants is still pending. In
addition to the cash fund described above, terms of the proposed settlement
agreement with Humana include: 1.
Changes
in Humana's business practices, intended to make its claims editing process more
transparent and reduce confusion and disagreement over payments. 2.
Online
information provided by Humana to help providers understand its payment
decisions. 3.
More
options for chiropractors and other health care providers to challenge Humana
payment decisions in the future, if necessary. 4.
Independent
external reviews to resolve billing disputes. 5.
The
appointment of an ACA representative to a newly formed Humana health care
provider advisory committee, which will provide a means of direct communication
on issues and concerns. As
part of the settlement, doctors of chiropractic will be permitted to assign
their portion of the recovery to the ACA, if they wish to do so. Surf
to our Show Notes for a copy of the settlement agreement, and contact the ACA
for more information - http://www.acatoday.com/pdf/Humana_Settlement.pdf Physical
Therapists Get Direct Access Patients
in New York who need physical therapist services can now go directly to their
physical therapist without having to wait to receive a referral from a
physician. New
York is the 43rd state to pass "direct access" legislation that
eliminates, under certain conditions, the physician referral requirement for
patients needing physical therapist services. The Consumer Access to Physical
Therapy bill, S3169/A5622, passed the legislature with bipartisan support and
was signed into law in Late July 2006, by Governor George E Pataki. It will
become effective 120 days from the signing date. This
new law will allow patients to directly access the services of a licensed
physical therapist for ten visits or thirty days, whichever comes first. The
New York Physical Therapy Association (NYPTA) is a non-profit professional
association of approximately 5,000 physical therapists, physical therapist
assistants and students. The
American Physical Therapy Association is a national professional organization
representing more than 66,000 members. Its goal is to foster advancements in
physical therapy practice, research, and education. Surf
to our Show Notes for more information about this bill -
http://www.nysca.com/?id=393 Exercise
May Have Neuroprotective Effect August
11, 2006 — Exercise helps maintain brain structure and function with aging and
may delay onset of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, according to a
review presented at the 114th annual convention of the American Psychological
Association (APA). There
is a diverse body of evidence from retrospective and prospective clinical
studies, as well as from animal research, all of which suggests that exercise
has beneficial effects from middle age to old age. "Exercise
has neuroprotective effects enabling higher levels of cognition and delaying the
onset of various forms of dementia such as Alzheimer's disease in prospective
epidemiological studies," according to a Dr. Kramer. "It also has
positive effects on brain structure and function, both from human research with
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI, and event-related potentials,
and especially from the animal literature showing proliferation of active
capillary beds, new dendritic connections, and even new neurons in selective
areas such as the hippocampus." "Clinical
data [show that] people who exercise several times per week show a reduced rate
of cognitive decline with age [compared with] those who have low levels of
activity." In
the review by Dr. Kramer and colleagues, the epidemiologic literature showed a
significant protective effect of physical activity on cognitive function and on
decreased incidence of dementia, with the benefits lasting up to several
decades. A few studies of human subjects older than 65 years showed that
exercise lasting at least 15 to 30 minutes, 3 times weekly, reduced the
probability of developing Alzheimer's disease, even in subjects who were
genetically predisposed. Aerobic
exercise appears to confer more positive effects on brain function with aging
than do other forms of exercise. In a study of older adults, those who were
randomized to a walking group for 6 months performed better on a distractibility
task than did those randomized to a stretching and toning control group.
Furthermore, the aerobically trained group had increased neural activities in
frontal and parietal brain regions mediating attention, and reduced activity in
the dorsal region of the anterior cingulate cortex, which is thought to be
sensitive to behavioral conflict, or the need for increased cognitive control.
Aerobic exercise also appears to help the brain maintain its plasticity. Of
course specific questions remain that will hopefully be answered with future
research. As
always, COT's HealthBeat always recommends discussing all Exercise related
questions with a Qualified Healthcare Professional. For
more information, surf to our Show Notes - http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/542621?sssdmh=dm1.207747&src=nldne Dynamic
Surgical Stabilization of the Lumbar Spine A
study published in the journal Orthopedic analyzed the outcome of patients treated with total
disk replacement and posterior dynamic stabilization. For pathologies of
different origin, dynamic stabilization of the lumbar spine is a novel
alternative to fusion surgery. Although a physiological reconstruction of the
sagittal profile was not always achieved, improvement was seen in all subscales
of the clinical outcome measures in both treatment groups. Posterior dynamic
stabilization and total disk replacement are promising alternatives to fusion
with acceptable morbidity for strictly defined indications. Despite
advances in surgical techniques, fusion is considered neither fully successful
nor without side effects (e.g., pseudarthroses or donor-site pain). Moreover,
some investigators believe that fusion may induce degenerative changes in nearby
segments, often necessitating additional fusion surgery To avoid this cascade
and to avoid a loss of segmental motion, new dynamic implants were developed. In
addition to other methods e.g., tissue engineering and cell transplantation,3-5
which are not yet established), posterior dynamic stabilization with
transpedicular screws and total disk replacement are the most popular devices
used. One of the main drawbacks of
new implants is their unknown clinical outcome. Furthermore, indications
suitable for these systems have to be established. This
is especially important as the capacity of new implants should not be
overstrained before successful results are achieved for a defined pathological
condition. This
study analyzed radiological and clinical outcome measures after total disk
replacement and posterior dynamic stabilization only for strictly defined
pathologies. The
postulated principles of posterior, transpedicular dynamic stabilization with
Dynesys are:
The
study concluded that Total disk replacement and posterior dynamic stabilization
are promising alternatives to fusion in strictly defined pathologies. The
indications are different for use in treating degenerative disk disease of the
lumbar spine, as the biomechanical principle of both systems is different. Total
disk replacement should only be considered for a clear diskogenic problem with
intact posterior elements, whereas the posterior dynamic stabilization system is
a possible solution for patients with clearly defined posterior pathologies.
Although promising short-term results are achieved with both systems, neither
system is able to restore the physiological situation that perhaps will affect
long-term results. Therefore
careful observation of patients with a strictly defined pathology will aid the
surgeon in seeking possible flaccidities of these new implants. Surf
to our Show Notes for a link to this Study - http://www.orthosupersite.com/default.asp?page=view&rid=17923 Preventing
Golf Injuries A
recent mailing by the Association of New Jersey Chiropractors included some
information about preventing Golf injuries.
Their tips included the following: 1.
Prepare
Your Body
– Golfers should have a customized exercise routine to address specific
weaknesses and/or restrictions related both to playing the game and perfecting
their golf swing. For example, if a
golfer has had elbow problems in the past, he or she should develop an exercise
routine that aims to strengthen the elbow. 2.
Warm-up
– A majority of golfers go straight from their car to the first tee and do
nothing more than a few practice swings to warm-up.
Golfers should take a brisk 5 to 10 minute walk after arriving at the
course to increase blood circulation and warm the muscles, then hit 20 to 25
balls, using the full range of clubs, and finish with some light stretching. 3.
Use
the Right Equipment
– Most golf pros are able to custom fit each golfer with clubs that are
optimal for the individual’s swing. Playing
with clubs that are too long, too heavy or too light will affect swing mechanics
and increase risk of injury. 4.
Prevent
Injuries Upfront
– More than 75% of all golf injuries are caused by poor swing mechanics,
usually as a result of muscle weakness due to improper nerve function.
An effective strategy for preventing injuries due to poor swing mechanics
is to consider having a check-up with a chiropractor prior to the start of the
golf session and then regularly throughout the season. 5.
Do
Not Play Through Pain
– Pain is your body’s warning system alerting you that there is a problem.
This is especially true if the pain lasts for more than a day or two or is
recurring. “I thought it would go
away,” is one of the most common phrases heard by ANJC chiropractors. 6.
Consider
“Dropping Out”
– Injuries to the wrist, elbow and shoulder are frequently caused by trying to
hit near trees, rocks, roots, etc. If
you can’t establish a stable stance and take your normal swing with a normal
follow through, taking a drop may be the most prudent play. 7.
Swing
Backwards
– One of the big problems with golf is that every movement in the sport is
focused in one direction. Over time this can lead to imbalances in the
musculature. To help restore balance
to the body, it’s a good idea to take a few practice swings backwards both
when warming up and before every third hole. As
always, COT’s HealthBeat recommends discussing all Exercise related activity
questions with a qualified healthcare provider. For
more information, surf to www.anjc.info 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. Thank
you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you.
Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com
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