October 2009 Blog Entries

H1N1 seems to be everywhere lately and is getting more coverage than the economy and our fighting men and women, combined.  But the news organizations have their own agenda when it comes to reporting on H1N1.  That was never more obvious to me than when I saw reports in a two week span decrying the "herding" of people into lines for H1N1 vaccinations followed by reports expressing outrage over the shortage of H1N1 vaccines.

You really do have to be careful from where you get your news considering these organizations thrive on creating sensation and controversy.  As such, I strongly recommend that you read this article by Dr. Mercola concerning the H1N1 flu and related deaths.  It details commonalities found in children who have reportedly died from the H1N1 flu virus, questions that should be asked by the media, and what steps you can take to make sure your body's immune system is as strong as possible to prevent infection.  You must be the primary advocate for your family's and your own health and well being.

I received an email this morning from Dr. Dennis Perman detailing a new study conducted by the world-renown medical doctor and researcher, Dr. Arnold Milstein.  Dr. Perman's email went on to read:

"Dr. Arnold Milstein is one of the world’s foremost experts on clinical and cost effectiveness in health care, and the Mercer Reports, written by him and his team, are considered the gold standard among medical establishments, third party payers and legislators. In essence, if Dr. Milstein says it’s so, it’s accepted as unchallengeable, based on his reputation for objectivity and scientific reason."

The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress commissioned Dr. Milstein and his team to study the effectiveness of chiropractic care compared to medical and physical therapy interventions.  The study concentrated on neck and low back pain.

Dr. Milstein conducted his study in Europe due to the greater consistency in chiropractic's scope of practice compared to in the United States.  Dr. Milstein concluded:

"Using data from high quality randomized controlled EU trials and contemporary US based average unit prices payable by commercial insurers, we project that insurance coverage for chiropractic physician care for low back and neck pain for conditions other than fracture and malignancy is likely to drive improved cost-effectiveness of US care. In combination with the existing US-based literature, our findings support the value of health insurance coverage of chiropractic care for low back and neck pain at average fees payable by US commercial insurers."

It's discouraging to me to see some large health insurers eliminate chiropractic coverage from policies in an effort to drive down costs when, according to Dr. Milstein's unbiased study, they may in fact be doing just the opposite.

I revamped the comment system.  Pretty much every article, blog post, exercise, and stretch has comments enabled.  So if you have questions about any in particular, you may leave a comment for me or other visitors.  I configured the comment system to pull avatars from gravatar.com so feel free to personalize your avatar.

I will soon add funcitonality that will allow you to create an account and set up a profile on the website.  My eventual goal will be to allow my patients to manage account balances and check appointment schedules.  I also plan to create comprehensive nutritional assessment tools for the website that my current and future patients can use to generate nutritional profiles.

I will keep you posted of the changes.  But in the mean time, please feel free to browse the site, make comments where appropriate, and let me know if there is anything I can do to improve your experience.

I didn't serve in the armed forces but I want to do something to show my appreciation for those brave men and women who protect our way of life.  So effective immediately, Woodbeck Family Chiropractic will be participating in the International Chiropractic Association's Free Care for Returning Veterans program.  I will provide a year's worth of free chiropractic care to veterans of the US armed services.  The immediate needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have a special urgency.  However, my participation in the program is open to veterans of other conflicts as well on a case-by-case basis based on need.

"Since October 2001, approximately 1.64 million U.S. troops have been deployed for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) in Afghanistan and Iraq. The care of the more than 800,000 returning military veterans who have been released from service and the many hundreds of thousands who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and remain on active duty is an urgent national priority. It is so because of the sacrifice they have made for us, and because of the unique and powerful contribution chiropractic can make to the healing process." - ICA

If you would like more information about receiving a year's worth of free chiropractic care as a veteran, please email me at drw@woodbeckchiropractic.com.  The care you receive is as complete and comprehensive as I provide to all of my patients.  It's the least I can do.  God bless you.

Another one of my wonderful patients was kind enough to write a testimonial yesterday.  I encourage you to read about her experience. 

Linda is one of my patients who remains very active into her 50's.  Without proper care, the injury Linda sustained could have easily derailed her exercise routine and prevented her from returning to the level of activity she was accustomed to.