Wow. What a spectacular accomplishment for Michael Phelps and the U.S. swim team at the Beijing Olympics. Eight gold medals in one Olympic Games, finally surpassing the outstanding record of Olympic great Mark Spitz in Munich, ‘74. And breaking seven world records in the process, too.
 
Spitz was as gracious as it’s possible to be and has been supportive of Phelps for the entire Games. As he so wisely said, “records are there to be broken. And 36 years is pretty good.” What a gentleman and sportsman he is–true class, on display.
 
There are a lot of lessons for all of us in Michael Phelps’ great achievement. Rewards for hard work, determination, laser-like focus on his goals, and a little bit of luck–all are instructive. 

And for all that he is now the greatest athlete in the history of the modern Games, he remains a down-to-earth, even humble guy, appreciative of the support and the achievements of his team mates, as well as the varagies of fate (like his 1/100th of a second win in his contest with Serbia’s Milorad Cavic last Saturday, in the 100m Butterfly).
 
It’s hard for any of us mere mortals to fully appreciate the enormous pressure of expectations, as well as the truly great competition he had to face. I mean, this guy went into the Games with the press and everyone else saying, “Can he do it? He could possibly break the record of Mark Spitz set in the ‘74 Olympics. Can he really win eight golds?” I can’t even imagine how that must feel.
 
I think the winning of ANY Olympic medal is a truly outstanding statement of excellence in your sport. A gold is often separated from a silver or bronze by the thinnest sliver of time, mere hundreths of a second, as we saw. A good day or a bad day may be all the difference between being a medalist or not, or gold, silver or bronze. At that level, everyone competing is a champion. 

But, as they used to say on the old “Highlander” TV show, “in the end…there can be only ONE.” And to that one goes the gold medal, to that athlete that was the best…at that contest, on that day.
 
The point is, a single gold medal is a pinnacle of an athlete’s life. Eight is enough to catapult Phelps into the pantheon of the greatest athletes who have ever lived. How do you better that? Only by competing, not with others, but with yourself, alone…at least internally.
 
All indications are that Mr. Phelps will be an exemplary champion. He embodies everything that’s made America great: hard work, focus and dedication to a goal. If he never did another thing in his life, his place in the ranks of sports immortals would be assured. But he says he plans to compete in the London Olympics, in 2012. So, he’s not done yet….
 
Congratulations to a fine young man, a true paragon for the younger swimmers of tomorrow to look up to and an American Sports Hero. Closest thing we’ve got to Aquaman or the Submariner! And that “eight” thing the Chinese are so fond of as a sign of good fortune…it certainly paid off for Michael Phelps.
 
As it happens, swimming, or even walking in water, is one of the very best exercises you can do when you have arthritis, or an injured knee. It’s highly recommended, when you can find a pool for strengthening your quads, without any impact and with limited weight bearing, besides. But if you can’t swim, you can do nearly as well with my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM exercises. See them at
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html   That’s it for today. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Some jokes are funny because they’re true.Like, you know you’re over-the-hill when …

1. You and your teeth don’t sleep together anymore

2.   2. It takes longer to rest than it did to get tired in the first place

3.   3. Getting lucky means you found your car in the parking lot.

     But a lot of the “Over the hill” jokes and so-called “common-knowledge” about aging are just flat out wrong. And if you accept them, they can ruin your quality of life. Take back-pain for example.

   Most folks would say, “You know you’re over-the-hill when your back goes out but you stay home.” I hate that one because it’s a flat-out-lie. Back-pain is only a part of getting older if you let it be. If you suffer from back-pain, sciatica or a herniated disc, you know how hard it is to do the things you love. It can stop you from playing golf or tennis or picking up your grandkids.

   It slows you down and makes you FEEL old.

   So I have GREAT NEWS for you today:

   I’ve arranged for you to get two free gifts to get rid of any back-pain you might have.

GIFT ONE is a FREE copy of The Healthy Back Institute’s “Back Pain Relief Guide”

GIFT TWO is a VIDEO about how to both get rid of your back-pain AND make sure it never comes back

again.

Just click here to watch the VIDEO and get your Free Pain Relief Guide so back-pain doesn’t ruin anything for you ever again. If you know you have a specific condition, choose the guide appropriate for you…  Or if you’re not sure what kind of back pain you have just click here and watch the video and get the Back Pain Relief Guide. Over 500,000 people have used the information and strategies in this free guide to get rid of their back-pain.

Just listen to what other back-pain suffers are saying …

§         “This is UNREAL… I never would have thought something so simple could get rid of over 5 years of constant, chronic back pain.” - George Santos, Atlanta, GA

§         “I’ve been pain free for the last 8 weeks. And I mean PAIN FREE for the FIRST TIME in over 15 years!” - Mark A. Visalia, CA

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.htmlP.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html

FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION

Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a very important article by Betsy McCaughey, former Lieutentant Governor of the State of New York, current chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths, and long time health care activist. Ms. McCaughey (pronounced like McCoy) was the analyst who originally blew up the initial forray of Senator Clinton into Health Care, by pointing out its many fallacies and most obvious flaws. It was her article that started the landslide against Hillarycare. That alone, is enough to recommend her. But I’ve actually met her, at a fund raiser for then-gubernatorial candidate George Pataki, and I can tell you, she’s a very sharp, very smart lady, especially about medical topics.
 
The WSJ article is about the frequency of MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus–one of  the hard-to-kill “super bugs’)infections that are acquired in hospitals. Patient safety organization, Leapfrog, reported their survey finding that 87% of hospitals fail to “consistently practice infection control measures.” 

There is apparently now proof that nearly ALL hospital infections are avoidable. WHAT?!
 
This is reportedly demonstrated by the ZERO per cent infection rate achieved for central line bloodstream infections (a central line, also called a CVP line, for central venous pressure, also called an indwelling catheter), by some of our premiere medical centers, like Johns Hopkins, Beth Israel, etc. Because these plastic catheters are left within the vein for long periods (for monitoring blood pressure, instilling fluids, administering medication, or even intravenous feeding of patients), they are prone to eventual infection by skin bacteria. 

And hospitals are hot beds for the development of resistant bacteria, like MRSA. This is because of the prevalent use of antibiotics: Whatever is NOT killed by the antibiotic is, by definition, more resistant to that drug.  So, the resistant bacterium multiplies rapidly and soon you have a strain of resistant “bugs.”
 
You should understand that these bacteria are NOT more virulent than the run-of-the-mill variety, but they ARE much harder to kill, because of their resistance to routine antibiotics. Either one can kill you, if they overwhelm your body’s defenses. When that happens, it’s called SEPSIS. And it’s very, very serious, indeed.
 
Anyway, since treatment is much more difficult, prevention is key. That much seems logical. But now, legal pressures and public policy are apparently willing to settle for nothing less than perfection, as evidenced by judgments in lawsuits, Medicare regulations, insurance reimbursements and other external forces. Is this realistic?
 
Now, I like perfection as well as the next guy. And it’s always been my philosophy to TRY for perfection, on the theory that the harder you try, the closer you get and the more excellence you actually achieve. I always used to say to my patients, “Perfection is not of this world, but we ARE close,” always delivered with a grin. Looks like the powers that be are taking issue with the first part, even though I think it’s improbable for human beings.
 
Remember, even the institutions that have reported ZERO central line bloodstream infections (ie., sepsis), have only done so for 1000 days. That’s terrific–but it’s not forever. And even their original premise, that NEARLY all hospital infections can be avoided. “Nearly all” is like “a little bit pregnant”–you either achieve perfection, or you DON’T.
 
What I’m concerned about is that, in our quest for better, better, best care practices, goals that are unattainable and/or unsustainable will become the standard and also a “free-fire zone” for attorneys and legislators, against physicians and hospitals. Any infection will become defacto evidence of malpractice.  That’s neither fair, nor realistic.  Human beings are, by nature, imperfect. If such draconian standards are imposed and enforced, the result will be LESS perfect care, as the best and brightest, fearing these virtually impossible expectations, go into investment banking, or some other field, and the mediocrities, who cannot leave Medicine, will be all that remain. 

By all means, create protocols that encourage, even nurture a culture of excellence. Minimize infections to a vanishingly small incidence. But don’t demand perfection. It doesn’t exist, especially in Medicine. And such impossible standards are easily abused.
 
Meanwhile, as this question is debated and standards of care evolve, what you SHOULD focus on is the statistic that “87% of hospitals fail to consistently practice infection control.” THAT’S what should scare you.
 
What this means is that you should STAY OUT OF HOSPITALS (and Operating Rooms), unless you have NO CHOICE! It’s with that idea in mind and in that spirit that I wrote my most recent healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY
 http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   This book will help you to avoid all, but the truly most necessary surgeries. 

In my years of practice, I did lots of surgery–I was a surgeon, after all. But I operated on less than 10% of all the patients who were referred to me. Whenever possible, I tried to let the body heal itself. Which is how it should be. 

So, if you have knee pain, but you’d like to stay OUT of the Operating Room, order my program and see what I mean at http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html/.
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Just a short while ago, one of my first patients got in touch with me, via email. He just wanted to say “thanks’ for the multiple knee surgeries I had done on him, earlier and later in my career. That was a pleasant surprise. It’s one of the best things about the internet–people who have lost touch can reach out and re-establish contact.
 
This guy was a young lacrosse player in high school, if I remember correctly. We met in the Emergency Room of St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, Smithtown, NY, back in the eighties. He had smashed his knee up pretty well, as I recall. If memory serves, I believe he had fractured his kneecap and ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
 
You can like non-surgical, alternative methods for treating pain all you like. And most often, they’re appropriate. That’s why I wrote my newest program,  HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY (which you can get at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html ) to teach you how to do just that. But, when you have a bad crack-up like this knee, you need a mechanical solution. No doubt about it. There are times when  surgery IS necessary and this was one of them. 

This was in the days before we had arthroscopic surgical techniques for ACL reconstruction. I don’t remember the exact details, but I seem to remember that we did an open, exterior ACL reconstruction procedure, called an Ellison (after the guy who developed the operation).
 
We took a strip of his iliotibial band, on the lateral side of his thigh, with a small cube of bone at its attachment to the upper outer tibia and re-routed that strip of fibrous tissue under his lateral collateral ligament. Then, we used a screw to fasten the bone and the attached fibrous strip back to the tibia. Once it healed, this tightened the knee up and discouraged excessive rotation of the knee, in effect substituting for the absent ACL.
 
It’s funny that I didn’t remember all of that, until I started to tell you about it…I guess there are all sorts of echos of the past in memory, just waiting for the right trigger, to emerge. 

I also remember that he eventually had so much pain from his kneecap, that we had to remove it, at a later date. Patellectomy isn’t something that you want to do–it’s something that you’re FORCED to do, by intractable pain and disability. Once the kneecap has been removed, the surgeon has to “tighten up” the entire extensor mechanism (the quadriceps muscles and their tendons), because removal of the kneecap weakens the quads by 60%!
 
So, the key to success in that procedure is really up to the patient–EXERCISE. It’s absolutely vital that the patient strengthen the quadriceps, using all the knee exercises that I currently teach in my popular PAIN-FREE PROGRAM at http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Well, this guy did just that. He worked so hard that his thighs were huge and hard, like steel. He was, hands down, the BEST clinical result from a patellectomy, not only that I did personally, but the best that I ever saw. And it was all the exercises and his dedication to them.
 
Years later, he reinjured the knee and we eventually had to do an arthroscopic reconstruction of his ACL. And again, he did spectacularly well, working like crazy to rehab his knee, with those very same exercises at http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
This whole case demonstrates one of the key things I always tried to teach my patients: 2/3 of a surgical result are up to the patient–attitude and exercise. Only 1/3 if the result is due to the surgery itself.  The procedure provides the potential. But the realization of that potential can only come from the patient, no matter how good the surgery was.
 
This man had the grit, the character and the determination to do the work and he enjoyed the excellent result. In cases where surgery is NOT warranted, the attitude and the exercise are then EVERYTHING. Long story, short–in the end, it’s really up to YOU. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Just the other day, I got an email from one of my subscribers, who also happens to be one of my friends from the “old days,” back when I was living in New York and practicing orthopaedics. It seems she was looking for some helpful advice for a friend of hers who apparently has arthritis of her knee. 

The woman had apparently developed gradual onset pain of her knee over the last several years. She had seen a physician and apparently had x-rays. The x-rays reportedly showed “bone-on-bone” in the inner aspect of her knee (the medial compartment). She was told that she needed a total knee replacement. But she clearly didn’t want to have surgery. So she asked my friend to ask me what she should do.
 
Well, I wrote back that once you have an x-ray that demonstrates “bone-on-bone,” you are pretty much committed to having a joint replacement, eventually. However, that procedure can be DELAYED, or postponed.

You see, “bone-on-bone” means that the bones of the knee joint, that you see on the x-ray, are touching each other. And that means that their protective cartilage layer has worn away. Since cartilage is invisible on an x-ray, the normal appearance of an x-ray is one of the bones appearing to “float” apart. In other words, there is a  joint “space” between them. Once the cartilage is gone, there’s nothing to hold them apart anymore–hence, the bones touch, ie., “bone-on-bone.” 

The problem is that once the cartilage has worn away, and the underlying bone is exposed, the cartilage isn’t going to grow back. That’s one of the key factors about cartilage: it lacks a blood supply. And without a blood supply, healing, or regrowth of the tissue CANNOT take place. 

Yes, yes. I know there are methods out there being promoted that CLAIM to regrow cartilage. They even show x-rays, reportedly “un-retouched,” that seem to show a new “joint space” re-formed. I saw one just recently in an in-flight airline magazine and I’ve seen them before on various web sites, which market to the credulous. 

Unfortunately, that is absolute crap! No known non-surgical method can regrow cartilage, once it’s been destroyed. 

What these magazines and websites show is actually a “before” weight bearing x-ray, in which the bones are touching, followed by a NON-weight bearing x-ray,  in which the bones APPEAR to be separated, because there’s no weight on them to press them together. 

So their claim is technically true: the x-rays ARE un-retouched. But the new “space” is  NOT from new growth of cartilage. And they’re even cleverer than that–they never actually SAY that they grow new cartilage. They show the pictures and let YOU make the inference.

Now, mind you, there ARE non-surgical methods that can help relieve pain, and forstall the need for surgery. But actually re-grow cartilage? No. ‘Fraid not. Maybe some day, with stem cells or some such, but not now.
 
So the best advice I can give this lady is to follow the many measures, from across the entire medical spectrum, that I teach in my newest healing program,  HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, which you, too, can see at http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
These methods, conventional and alternative alike, when used together, create a SYNERGY, where the combination is far more effective than any single component alone. And these methods are proven and safe. They won’t grow new cartilage. Nothing short of a very sophisticated, two-stage surgical technique can, at this time. But they CAN give you relief of pain, buy you time, and delay a joint replacement. See how at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
That’s all for today, my friend. Talk to you soon. Meanwhile, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Over the weekend, like many other people, I’m sure,  I periodically tuned in to the Olympics on NBC. The other night, I watched as Mariel Zagunis beat a much taller, larger woman, in the sabre fencing competition, with lightning quick stabs. Not quite like the flamboyant displays of Errol Flynn, or more recently, Antonio Bandaras as Zorro, but effective, nonetheless. 

She then went on to beat her own team mate, Sada Jacobsson (ranked world number one) 15-8 in the finals competition to win the gold medal, the first US gold in Beijing. In fact, the USA swept the women’s individual sabre competition.
 
Now, fencing isn’t usually a sport that holds my interest. It just happened to be on the TV when I tuned in. But I was captivated by the jittery, lightning quick moves displayed by the combatants. It certainly was different from what we’ve come to think of as fencing. And I was particularly struck by the role of the knees in executing these lunges.
 
I could easily imagine how strong their legs must be to hold that en guarde position and then rapidly uncoil to lunge forward in the thrust past the opponent’s sword. It all depends on their knees. 

Now imagine how different the results would have been if Mariel Zagunis, or any of the other competitors, had serious knee pain. No contest. They simply couldn’t do it.  Any attempt to lunge forward in that case would cause a quick, stabbing pain in the front of the knee and abort any attack. And of course, if it were real sabres in a real duel, that would result in death.
 
Well, the reason these world class competitors are able to execute these lunges is because the years of exercise have strengthened their knees and stabilized their kneecaps, so they don’t develop chondromalacia patellae, or degenerative disease, which cause the anterior compartment pain in the knee. You can learn more about the various disease that can cause you pain at
http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
Same thing in Women’s soccer, which I watched the next day. The continual conditioning of these athletes is what helps to protect them from injury. Now, soccer, which requires running, sudden changes of direction and rotational movements, like pivoting and twisting, often with all the body weight on one foot, is a sport that subjects it practitioners to a much higher risk of injury than fencing, which involves chiefly linear movements. Like professional American football, soccer players often get torn menisci and ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments(ACL) from these torsional forces.
 
While you can’t play these aggressive competitive sports and not expect that you might be injured, you can minimize the risk by strengthening all the muscles around the knee, especially the VMO. Quarter squats, terminal extensions with resistance, Hindu squats, all are excellent exercises for creating a margin of safety for the athlete. And the same exercises are fundamental in treating knee pain for the long term.
 
After an injury, the initial treatment is aimed at reducing the resultant tissue inflammation. But after the initial swelling, fluid build-up and redness of inflammation have receded, it’s important to rehabilitate the knee with a variety of exercises to enhance stability, ensure central patella tracking and increase strength.
 
These and other specially modified knee exercises, which are designed to prevent or eliminate knee pain, are the core of my popular PAIN-FREE PROGRAM. See it at http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
Choose your own selection from the recommended exercises. Do these exercises at least three times a week, and they will relieve your pain and literally transform your life. Try it and see for yourself.
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

Hi sports fans! Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for–the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, on this most auspicious of all days:  08/08/08.  According to my friend and mentor for all things Chinese, Matt Furey, eight is considered a lucky number in China. So a string of eights is especially propitious. The date wasn’t picked by accident. 

The Chinese have been working like demons to finish everything in time for the Games. And making preparations for a horde of people from all over the world. And providing security for dignitaries and visitors, to prevent any terrorists from ruining the events. So, finally, the Opening Ceremonies will begin in just a few hours, from when I write this. 

President Bush is scheduled to be there for the Ceremonies, despite some early grumbling about his boycotting them, to highlight human rights abuses by the regime, such as suppression of dissent, the current occupation of Tibet and other examples. In fact, just prior to arriving in Beijing, the President just yesterday made a speech in which he offered the support of the United States for those in China who yearn for freedom. 

The Chinese promptly suggested that our President should, in effect, mind his own business and not meddle in the internal affairs of China. But the message was delivered and when the sting of Bush’s words have faded, the Chinese will remember that he was there. And that’s far more important than any speech–he gave them FACE, respect, and that will pay dividends down the road.
 
In this instance, I think he did the right thing. I favor the ENGAGEMENT of China, rather than confrontation, whenever possible, mainly because I think it’ll be more effective in the long run. The Chinese wanted this showcase to the world BAD, for the international prestige and respect the Olympics confer, and of course, for the money. To the Chinese, these Games are a symbol of China having arrived on the World Stage and a great source of national pride. 

But it’s a double-edged sword: to get the Games, China had to open up to the world, thereby inviting many foreigners and their respective press corps into the notoriously secretive and authoritarian country. But you can’t do that, without exposing your people to those foreigners and their very different ways. And some of the worst abuses will not stand foreign scrutiny. It will be interesting to see if China’s government wants world recognition and acceptance as a major power, more than it wants to maintain strict authority over its people. I think it likely that it can’t have both, in the long run.
 
Once the “Genie of Freedom” is out the proverbial bottle, it’s pretty tough to put it back, especially with the world watching. And the thirst for freedom is apparently alive and well in China. In fact, according to my friends who have been there, the people have a great deal of personal freedom, quite unlike the picture we’re often given here. But then, we know how biased the press is in our own country. There’s no reason to suspect it isn’t the same with regard to China. Some reportage is cast through the prism of preconceived notions, so who knows what the real story is? There’s still that business in Tibet….
 
But guess what? The Dalai Lama has blessed the Games and prayed for their success on his website. Pretty canny move…and a great gesture of hope and potential reconcilliation by a great religious leader.
 
Well, for all the tedious back-biting rivalries between countries that are the normal state of affairs, the Olympic Games periodically come, like an island of hope and idealism in a sea of turmoil, a brief respite from the constant international tension. Now, I’m well aware that the IOC is corrupt and often does stupid things (witness their witless abuse of the poor Iraqi athletes, over some procedural nonsense). But the Games are greater than their venal governing body.  In the end, it’s about the athletes.
 
And the athletes are magnificent specimens of humanity–Aces all. I have a fierce, profound admiration for all of them. Just think about your own life; while you and I were partying and having fun, these kids were getting up at the crack of dawn to work, exercise, train, and perfect their performance, despite set-backs, injuries, and frustrations. It’s hard not to admire such consistent dedication and unbelievable discipline.
 
My old friend, Dr. Ben Rubin, was a Team Physician for the US Olympic Diving Team. He took care of Gold Medalist Greg Louganis. He told me that the average person couldn’t even comprehend that level of desire and discipline that makes an olympic athlete. They eat, sleep, live and breath their sport, with a dedication to excellence that’s hard to imagine. That’s what it takes. That’s how they got there.
 
These athletes will form that special bond between those who have shared a momentous experience, as soldiers in battle, or students in school. And the  friendships they will form will last a lifetime, human bridges across cultures and politics and ideologies. 

In truth, these kids are the best of us, not just as the representatives of their countries, but as examples of the best of humanity, of what we CAN be, but all too often are not. It’s not just their physical skills we admire, but the strength of the spirit that allows them to scale those heights and achieve the pinnacle of human endeavor. It’s what’s inside that makes a champion.
 
So, let the Games begin! And let’s all hope for a safe, successful Olympics, not only for China, but for us all.

Now, if you’re not an olympic level athlete, you STILL need to exercise. But if your knee is painful, it could frustrate your best efforts. Want to do Hindu Squats? Well, if you do the special modified version I teach in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM exercises http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html   you can get all the benefits, but without the pain. The secrets are simple, once you know them, and they make all the difference in the world. Try it and see:  http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Til next time, my friend, be well. Have a great weekend and enjoy the Olympics!
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

When I was living at home, going to school, I remember my mother telling me that if you want to avoid conflict in any polite social setting, you don’t discuss religion, politics, or sekks. And of  course, other than perhaps Art, what other topics are really interesting enough to talk about? The reason polite (and dull) people avoid these discussions is that they, and the people to whom they speak, usually hold strong opinions that are based on emotion, rather than reason. And strong emotion inevitably leads to conflict.
 
This makes sense when you realize that Man (as in humankind, not the gender–See? Very P.C.) is not a rational, but rather a rationalizing animal. That is to say, most of us decide on an opinion for emotional reasons, that reflect our values, then use our powers of reason to JUSTIFY the opinion we’ve already decided on. Were we to use those same powers to ANALYZE the demonstrated facts, odds are good we wouldn’t hold the same opinions for long.
 
Case in point: the current presidential race. Now,before I offend about half of my subscribers, let me state that I’m not in love with either of these guys. Both of these men have serious flaws, but one of them IS going to be The President of The United States of America. From my point of view, I want the guy who is least likely to screw up my life, or screw up the country, until we can get someone in there who actually has the seeds of greatness. 

This last is getting to be more and more unlikely.  Truly brilliant people are much too smart to get into the sewer of modern politics. So we have to make do with the mediocrities that remain–always a daunting prospect. Remember “Stormin’ Norman” Schwartzkopf, from the First Gulf War? You see him looking to get into politics, as popular as he was? Hell, NO! He’s off the radar screen, man. Guy had a registered IQ of 170–that’s  30 points above genius. In other words, he was smarter than the rest of the Congress, combined, Joe (”I’m the smartest guy in the room”) Biden included. OK. That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point. He was far too smart to get into the sordid arena, when either political party would have given him the world to get him on their side. BTW, remember that he wanted to go into Bahgdad and finish off Sadam Hussein? He was right, wasn’t he? All the current situation would have been avoided, had they let him do it. But, no, we had to limit ourselves to the UN mandate, as stupid, corrupt, impotent and venal an institution, as ever there was. And we’ve paid the price for that judgment. Kind of makes my point for me.
 
So Norman drew his pension and disappeared, except for a brief stint as a spokesman for prostate cancer. No, the truly brilliant don’t want to get involved with politics, the way it’s played today. And who can really blame them? 

OK. Let’s look dispassionately at our candidates.

One guy is young, tall, handsome, charismatic, a minority (which induces minorities to vote for him and induces white liberals, consumed with racial  guilt, to practically cream themselves), has great oratorical skills (which are especially striking in contrast to President Bush’s eggregious lack thereof), and an uncanny ability to be a vessel for the hopes and dreams of millions of devoted followers. But,he’s been a senator for a total of 143 days, before officially beginning his run for President. And before that,he was a “community organizer–” think, Rev. Al Sharpton, with real rhetorical skills. 

The other guy is short, stiff, old (ie., experienced), has actually shed blood and paid for his patriotism in the coin of his life, demonstrated real heroism (in refusing to leave his men in the “Hanoi Hilton,” when he had the chance to go home), and is less than scintillating on the stump. But he’s been a Senator for a bunch of years and knows how D.C.works. And he’s really a tough guy. Trouble is, he’s pissed off his conservative base,  so they’re less than enthused about supporting him.
 
So let’s look at their major policies. 

Obama wants to tax everything that moves, and some that don’t (Death Tax). He LIKES our gas prices north of $4 a gallon. He wants to raise income taxes, and social security taxes and raise the capital gains tax, thereby chasing foreign investment to other, friendlier countries (Know what the capital gains tax is in Hong Kong? Zero. How’s that for competitive?) All this, at a time the economy is shaky and wouldn’t take much to push us into a recession. If he’s elected and does all this stuff, look for a real depression, not a recession. 

His mantra of “CHANGE” is actually unreconstructed socialism/collectivism, ala Europe, replete with income redistribution (taking by force from people who actually EARNED money, to buy votes, by GIVING it to people who DIDN’T EARN IT). It should be very clear that this guy is CLUELESS about economics and his principles are those of Karl Marx, not Adam Smith.  If he’s elected, and you live in California, you will keep only 37 cents of every dollar you make. Think about that. 

Listen, I’m at the age where if there’s a vast redistribution scheme, I’m gonna benefit, personally.  But it will destroy the country and everything the country has stood for.
 
Then, he wants to pull out of Iraq, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, and is refusing to even acknowledge that the surge WORKED, when even the New York Times admits that. Naturally, that’s because, by virtue of years of study and long experience, he knows better than General Petreus what needs to be done.  No wonder he’s the candidate for Osama Bin Laden, Al-Zawarhiri and Achmedinijad. Oh yes. They support his candidacy. And the Europeans loved him, at least for a while; think they’d like a weaker America? Yeah.  I feel safer already.
 
How about the courts? Do you really want a few more Ruth Bader Ginsbergs on the Supreme Court? I rest my case.

Now, let’s look at McCain. Says he’s learned his lesson about border security. But you know, from things he’s said, that he can’t wait to do “comprehensive reform,” code for “let’s find a way to legalize all these illegal aliens.” And he sticks his thumb in the eye of the conservatives, whenever he can.  He can’t seem to help himself.  And yet… This guy is a real warrior. No phoney “dissent is REAL patriotism” crap. The real deal. The radical Islamic trio mentioned above would shake in their sandals, if this guy gets in. I admit, I like that.     I think he’ll finish these guys off, given the chance. I  like that, too. 

He’ll leave taxes alone. Fine by me. If he’s not an economics maven, at least he knows it and he still seems to like capitalism. 

The courts? Well, there’s no guarantee, but the odds of getting qualified, relatively conservative appointments are higher than is likely with his opponent.
 
For me, the make or break issue is the defense of the country, which means the War on Radical Islamic Fascism (”The War On Terror” is a euphemism; terror is a tactic, not an ideology). Nothing else matters, if you’re dead. And these guys want to KILL US, no mistake about that. 

And the simple fact is, Obama is a pussy, and worse, is perceived as a pussy by our enemies, our alleged “friends” and the UN. There is no surer way to invite aggression than to be perceived as weak. History is full of examples. Jimmy Carter is the most recent.  Hey, I didn’t like much about Hillary, but at least she is competent and I’ll bet she can be a real bitch. Iran tried to screw with her, she’d gut them, in short order. That, I like. But it’s sad that a woman has more testosterone than the candidate.
 
Look at it on a personal level. If a guy wants to bully you, is he more or less likely to bully you, if you smash his face in, every time he tries it?The answer is axiomatic. And everyone knows it, on a gut level.
 
Why, then, do vast numbers of people not see this? They can’t all be stupid. Answer: they’re complacent and they don’t really believe the level of the threat.  They’re wrong, of course, but they won’t realize that until there are ten thousand dead Americans in the street. Meanwhile, I don’t want that degree of naivety running the country. 

So in answer to the question, “where are the ones we’ve been waiting for?” I say, nowhere in sight, right now, more’s the pity. It’s “lesser of evils” time, once again. And that means, on defense, on taxes, on business, on courts, on energy, it’s McCain by default.
 
So while we watch the decline of The Last Best Hope of Western Civilization, if you have knee joint pain, and if you’re worried about needing surgery, go see my latest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION
 
Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

A couple of months ago, I was asked about vaccines by one of the members of the Fitness Forum, for which I am a medical advisor, specifically flu vaccines. Well, although I normally wouldn’t impose my opinion on the membership (I am, after all, an orthopaedist, not an internist or pediatrician), when I’m ASKED, I try to give an honest answer.  So, I told them that I took a yearly shot, myself.  And I suggested that it was probably a good idea, especially for people in high risk categories, like health care workers, the elderly (I was the former and I’m turning into the latter, more rapidly than I care to) or children. I really wasn’t prepared for the vehemence of some of the responses I got. Thing was, many of the opposing viewpoints were based on sheer paranoia, disinformation, conspiracy theories and a fundamental deep distrust of anything resembling conventional medicine. While I try to treat everyone to whom I respond with respect, even when their remarks indicate that they’re functional idiots on the subject under scrutiny, that courtesy is not always reciprocated.
 
Let’s face it–I did a decade of formal training, AFTER college, and then over two decades of clinical experience as an acknowledged expert in my field.  And against this,what level of credentials do my erstwhile critics bring to bear? No comparison.  Yet, they think their opinion has equal weight to mine. Because you have a RIGHT to express an opinion doesn’t mean it has any value. Imagine if I were to offer my opinion to an astrophysicist about the nature of the universe, or propound my own theories of space-time to a mathematician, or espouse my take on particle physics to a physicist. If they were to wither me with scorn, most everyone would think I got my just desserts. After all, what do I know about those fields, compared with experts who have studied them for years? It would be the height of presumption. Yet, people do this to me all the time.  Truly unbelievable.
 
You see, not everyone is qualified to HAVE an opinion. I saw this many times during my practice. I remember one woman who had very bad arthritic hips–she was in agony and needed her hips replaced. She was very cooperative and grateful for everything I tried to do. But her husband was a smug little guy, an engineer, who continually asked questions, not to learn the answer, but to try to “trip me up.” Most annoying.  And these questions were always delivered with this superior little smirk. You see this technique a lot with lawyers. The questions are not a search for knowledge, but an attempt at self-aggrandizement, or worse, to make the object of the query look foolish, if possible. 

His wife was mortified by his behavior. She would always apologize, when we had a moment of privacy.  For her sake, I let him live. I realized that such behavior betrayed a very insecure individual–one who had to believe he was the smartest guy in the room. But it was still obnoxious. I always answered his questions with calm, rational facts, and took the time to explain the reasons for everything I did. But it took time and was very wearing–his act got old, fast. No one likes being cross examined.

She eventually did very well after her surgeries and he grudgingly, but finally, accepted that I actually knew what I was doing.  Other times, I would see some variants of the same phenomenon. People would come from far and wide and pay me big bucks to get my advice or secure my skills.  But with some patients, or their families, there was always a certain level of skepticism, just below the surface. And if anyone said something to the contrary of what I said, ie. the next door neighbor, or an article in the most recent tabloid, or some alternative guru, they would question ME. I called this “National Enquirer Medicine.” Very annoying, based as it is on the assumption that I’M trying to con them. 

Likewise, other professionals would sometimes say the most outrageous things, with NO validity or buttressing evidence at all: family practitioners,  chiropractors, physical therapists, trainers, herbalists, naturopaths, you name it, and people would swallow this whole, with no hesitation, or doubt. Now, I respect these professions and they offer many people very real help. But there is  NO COMPARISON with the level of education and rigor of training that was required of me. Yet,  they were believed without any hesitation. And I was placed on the defensive. 

It always used to set my teeth on edge. Nothing I hated to see more than some new patient with a ream of pages, printed out from the internet…I knew it would be a looong consultation.    

In the years since my retirement from the active practice of surgery, I’ve developed a more sanguine viewpoint. I see now “with new eyes,” and finally realize why some people react toward medical doctors the way they do. It’s a matter of trust;  And in some cases, an abuse of that trust. 

There ARE unecessary surgeries and those that are ineffective or inappropriate. There ARE alternative measures that can be helpful, or even curative.  And there ARE some alternative techniques that create a synergy, when used together with conventional methods. It’s a matter of doing  WHATEVER WORKS. And it is in that spirit, to rekindle that trust, that I gathered all the methods I know, both conventional and alternative, from across the entire medical spectrum, to relieve knee pain and do it without resorting to surgery. The result is my newest healing  program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY    http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html  
 
These are the techniques, tips, tricks and methods thatI have found to be the most effective in getting rid of knee pain, for good. They WORK.  And if you let them, they’ll work for YOU.  Don’t stay in pain another second. Click the link and experience relief:
 http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
Dr. Bill
 
P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
 
FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION

Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved

There’s always a first time for everything in life. Yesterday was my first invitation to a dog memorial.  It seems a friend of our friend, who watches our animals for us, lost her dog last Sunday. He was a sweet black lab, “Cooper” who apparently ran away from home. I got the alert by email last week. But at that time, I was still in Florida and these events all occurred in Southampton. Anyway, the followup email carried the worst news for dog-lovers–Cooper had been found, dead at 4AM last Sunday.

So this Sunday, my wife and I were invited to a “memorial” for Cooper. And, since I’d spent the last week in Southampton, enjoying “The Season,” we were in town and decided to go.

Now, I’m a big animal fan, as you know, but I’d just never been to something like this before. So, we brought some cookie and pastry platters from the local bakery (we hate to go anywhere with empty hands) and arrived about 10:30 AM, not quite knowing exactly what to expect.

There was an interesting group of people, very casual, all of whom knew each other through walking or running their dogs on the beach. Lots of good, home made food, bagels, smoked salmon, cream cheese, apple cake, and a chocolate birthday cake for our friend’s husband, whose birthday happened to coincide with the dog’s memorial, and so was included in the affair. Whole bunch of dogs were there, too, all underfoot, but remarkably well behaved–tiny little dogs and big labs and collies. And all of them were mooching around, hoping for some goodies from the table.

We met the lady who had owned Cooper, and she and others reminisced about that big black lab with his “goofy smile.” Having lost the occasional pet to a car when they’d escape from our yard, we could certainly empathize. The lady seemed to have come to terms with the incident, however, and the whole affair wasn’t sad, at all. Instead, it was a celebration of the dog’s life and the joy he had brought to those around him.

If you’re not an “animal person,” this probably sounds a bit bizarre; if you are, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

Anyway, while we were there, as with any group of middle aged people, talk turned to their various ailments, and as luck would have it, a number of them had orthopaedic problems.

One woman had an orthopaedic boot on, for a chronic ankle sprain. Our friend, who had hosted the gathering, had persistent tenderness and swelling of her calf  from a Baker’s Cyst. She’d had prior arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus, but the Baker’s Cyst had taken on a life of its own, as they sometimes will. As it happened, she had a CD copy of her preop MRI, so I took a look, on her computer.

Then, I explained what measures she could use to try to resolve some of her symptoms. First, I had her start some Fish Oil, for its anti-inflammatory properties. Then, I suggested she try some OTC Aleve, with the usual precautions (these and other non-surgical methods are reviewed in some detail in my LITTLE GREEN BOOK  http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html).
I also suggested she raise the foot of her bed up on some phone books, to help resolve the fluid accumulation in her legs, and use elastic stockings during the day.

Then, I showed her some simple exercises to strengthen her knee muscles and centralize her kneecap, which the MRI showed was pulled a bit off to the outside (lateral side). Straight leg raising, quarter squats, and wall sitting should help her feel better, without applying undue stress across the joints. These and other specially modified knee exercises are described in detail in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN (designed as a companion to the LGB) http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

Then, there was a guy with bad ankles, shoulders and ribs from a fall, another guy with a bad back, and an older woman, with chronic knee swelling (probably arthritis). I gave them all advice and suggested they visit my website for further tips.

So, I not only got to meet some nice new “animal”  people, but I had some good food and got to reminisce about all our pets. And I got to “keep my hand in” too, by running an informal orthopaedic clinic. Too bad I’m not still in practice–this would have been like at least a half day of new patients

Well, if my advice can help anyone feel better, I’m glad to do it–that’s what it’s aways been about. That’s it for today. Til next time, my friend, be well.

Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,

Dr. Bill

P.S. For DR. BILL’S LITTLE GREEN BOOK ON ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, a concise, but complete handbook on the root causes and the various options for treating knee pain, go to http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html

P.P.S. For DR. BILL’S PAIN-FREE PROGRAM: EXERCISES TO PREVENT OR ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN, please go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html

P.P.P.S. For the giant, comprehensive ADVANCED MASTERS’ COURSE: HOW TO ELIMINATE KNEE PAIN–ONCE & FOR ALL!, everything you need to know on causes and solutions for knee pain and the complete exercise program, too, go to
 http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html

FREE BONUS CD with any order: THE HEALING POWER OF POSITIVE PAIN PERCEPTION

Copyright, 2008 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD
All rights reserved