I’ve been sitting here in my study for the better part of three hours, just surfing the net, while looking for articles and news bulletins that will inspire me to write about some topic that will teach you something about orthopaedics. And what should I see but a study that shows a trend that orthopaedists have been aware of for some time: that ACL Injuries are far more common in women athletes than men.

According to our parent organization, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the incidence of ACL ruptures is about 4-6 times greater in females than in males. In some studies, the incidence is as much as 8 times greater in women. 

Why? Well, there are anatomical differences between men and women (THERE’S a newsflash for you!). As you are probably aware, the female pelvis is wider, so the angle of the knee is more valgus (slightly knock-kneed) than that of a man. As I’ve pointed out in the past, this has implications for the kneecaps. But it also increases shearing forces across the joint. In addition, there are demonstrated neuromuscular imbalances in women, that cause them to land with their knees slightly inward, which exaggerates their anatomical tendencies and rely more on their quadriceps.

Men, by contrast, tend to land with their knees straight in line, or slightly outward, with more balance between their quadriceps and their hamstring muscles. And finally, there are some studies that implicate estrogen spikes in the bloodstream, a consequence of the menstrual cycle. The theory is that the increased estrogen may weaken the ligaments, making them more prone to injury.

Regardless of the actual cause, it’s apparent that some factor or combination of factors results in a significantly higher incidence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament ruptures among young women. This is especially true in those playing basketball and soccer, where sudden deceleration, combined with sudden change of direction, applies increased force to the ACL.

The need to slow forward progress and tolerate directional change simultaneously requires strengthening of the posterior muscles: the hamstrings, the gluteals and the gastrocnemius. These can be affected by backwards walking, back pedalling on the stationary bike, walking lunges and kicks, and bounding from leg to leg.

In the past, all the focus was on the quadriceps, in an effort to stabilize the knee and increase power and performance. But the modern recognition of the danger of ACL rupture has led to a rethinking of this method of training, in favor of a more balanced development of both front and back thigh muscles. Exercises, such as those I teach in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html can be selected in such a way as to result in balanced development, with strengthening of quads in front and glutes and hams in back. And I’ve always been a strong proponent of calf development, since the gastrocs cross and therefore help to stabilize the knee joint.

The same program, used to rehabilitate the postoperative knee after ACL reconstruction, can also be used to PREVENT the ACL injury from occurring. By using these exercises, together with other measures before the fact, we can often AVOID KNEE SURGERY. See how at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
In this as in many other cases, merely taking a different perspective on “old” training methods can result in great new benefits. Today, the emphasis is on prevention, rather than cure.

BTW, today’s the LAST DAY you can get my classic LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN at  http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
At midnight, the “introductory price” is gone for good. So, if you want it, make your move NOW. Click on: http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 

That’s it for today, my friend. Be well. Talk to you soon.

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

Here in Southampton, it’s just about 11 PM and I’m sitting here, writing my daily subscriber email. That’s the really nice thing about being an internet information marketer these days–I can do what I want, when I want, with no one to make any demands on my time (well, except for my wife). Far cry from what my life used to be….

On surgery days, I had to be IN the OR at 7:30AM, so I could say “HI!” to the patient. If I wasn’t there, Anesthesia would not bring the patient into the room. That, of course, would back up the entire OR schedule, and piss off all the other surgeons. So, I made it my business to be on time, all the time. 

After saying hello to the patient (and often the family) in the preoperative waiting area, I would go to the doctors’ locker room, and suit up in my scrub clothes and a long white clinical coat. Then, I’d take the elevator to the fourth Med/Surg floor, The Joint Implant Unit (Long Island’s FIRST such dedicated orthopaedic Unit–despite the specious claims of LIJH), where I would make rounds, visit my postop patients, confer with the nurses, write notes, do consults, give orders and so on…until the OR called me. In this way, I wasted NO time and I was maximally efficient. 

I then went down to OR #5, often referred to as “my” OR. Operating Room 5 was the largest of all the eight OR’s in St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center. It was also the only room that had a full bank of windows across the back wall, overlooking the forest outside. And it had a special “Laminar Flow” air filtration and conditioning unit, to hyperclean the air flow into the operative field, to prevent any contamination, or infection. It was ideal for doing the big joint replacement surgeries and revision procedures I was known for.

The windows were there specifically because I asked for them, during their renovation. Of course the other surgeons ridiculed the concept and called me a prima donna and worse, for asking for them. But oddly enough, when the room was finished, they ALL wanted to get that room. “Hey! How come Stillwell rates that room all the time?”they’d say. And I would reply sweetly, “Say, didn’t you think this was a stupid idea? And it WAS my idea, wasn’t it?” HA! 

Today, there’s a bronze plaque outside OR#5, “The William T. Stillwell, MD Operating Room”–an honor which, though pretty cool, is usually reserved for the dead.

Anyway, after doffing my coat, putting on a mask and coming into the room, I had to position the patient. Most often, I did this myself, with help from the OR staff, the assistant and Anesthesia, who always was in charge of the patient’s airway and head. Before my back injury, I was a strong little sucker, so I liked to turn the patients on their sides and position them just so, in preparation for the surgery. 

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of this positioning. In joint reconstruction at that time, my judgment and assessment of the proper angles for implanting the artificial parts were all that resulted in a stable joint, and avoided dislocation. So when the patient was so positioned that a true vertical and a true horizontal were established, it made my determination of the correct angles for implantation much more accurate and more likely to be successful.

After all of that, finally, the surgical team: myself, and my assistant, preceded by the Scrub Technician, would then go to the sinks just outside the room and scrub, while the nurses were scrubbing the hip or knee with antibacterial soap. We would then re-enter, gown and glove. The patient was then prepped and draped, and at long last, surgery could begin. This mini-opera was re-enacted before every surgical procedure. 

As you can see, there was a heck of a lot of activity before anything actually happened. Just thinking about all of that makes me tired! It’s amazing what you get used to, through training and repetition. 

These days, life is much more civilized. And I spend all my time trying to teach you how you can AVOID surgery, with the best alternative and conventional treatments and strategies. Ironically, I can potentially affect far more people now–many thousands more–than I ever could as a surgeon. Which reminds me…

Hard to believe though it is, this Wednesday will be ONE YEAR since Dr. Bill’s Clinic Website went live and I presented my first product, the popular LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN, which you can see at http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html 
But after one full year, my “special introductory rate” has run its course. After all, it’s not “introductory” anymore, is it? So here’s fair warning: as of midnight, October 1st, the price for the LGB will revert to its originally intended price, roughly double the current price. 

If you have been “on the fence” about getting this book til now, further delay WILL cost you. So don’t delay any longer. Click here and buy NOW: http://drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html

Don’t say I didn’t warn 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

Here I am at 10 AM, sitting in my Southampton study, watching the birds bathing in the stone waterfall my wife had built outside our rear windows. I don’t know about you, but I love the sound of running water, or even better, the sound of surf, crashing against the shore.

When I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, I loved going to the beach. No private pools in those days. For us, that was Coney Island (a near cess pool now, but once a really lovely sand beach, with a boardwalk), only about six miles from where we lived in Bay Ridge, Reese Park (particularly good for crashing waves and big surf), or Jones Beach, out on Long Island. Rarely, maybe once a year, all the families in our neighborhood would jump in their cars and form a caravan to travel to a man-made lake and picnic grounds called “Paramus Bathing Beach,”in New Jersey. Wherever we were, I was always a “water rat,” playing and swimming in the waves, all day long. My parents had to drag me away, every time. 

In college, and later, in Medical School, I even studied by tape recordings called “Environments,” chief among which was the sound of gentle waves lapping the shore of some distant beach. I always found that sound particularly peaceful and soothing, and conducive to serenity and meditation. Years ago, when my wife and I visited Hawaii, I drove her crazy by stopping next to every waterfall, large or small, for a photograph, or next to every beach, to see and hear the pounding surf.  The Road to Hana, on Maui would have been a lot shorter, had I not insisted on visiting every waterfall, and every beach for the entire way.

Maybe it’s an echo of the womb, or a whisper of primeval seas, from which we all sprang, or maybe it’s a Feng Shui thing. I don’t really know. I just know that water speaks to something inside me and it always has. 

But water has practical implications for relieving joint and back pain, as well. In Physical Therapy, hydrotherapy or whirlpool treatments are among the most effective methods of relieving pain and increasing local circulation. The underwater treadmill is a fairly new device, that allows the very heavy patient, or the arthritis sufferer to exercise without undue joint stress. And the old standby, the swimming pool, is an ideal environment for the same reasons.

Right after my arthroscopic surgery, in mid-2005, I was looking for a method to rehabilitate my knee, since I was doing my own therapy. I happened to think about using my swimming pool as a way to do just that. When your knee is swollen and stiff, the gentle massage of a jet of water entering the pool has a soothing effect that also helps to mobilize the excess fluid in the tissues and resolve inflammation. And the pressure on the joint is minimized, as the water buoys the weight of  the body. It helped me regain my motion and function much faster than would have been the case, otherwise.

This is just one of the often overlooked, simple, yet effective non-surgical methods for relieving knee pain that I reveal in HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, my newest healing program, which you can see for yourself at http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 

Although there are times when knee surgery is unavoidable, many if not most times, surgery can be delayed or avoided altogether. It’s just a matter of applying the right principles, at the right time, in the right way, for the right reasons. And all that is a matter of knowing what you’re doing.  Fortunately for you, that’s exactly what I can teach you. Go to http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   and see how, for yourself. Don’t wait until you HAVE knee pain, either–learn what you can do NOW, to PREVENT pain or a disabling condition. Order NOW. 
 
Til next time, my friend, be well and have a great weekend!

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 I was over this past weekend, talking with some of the paticipants of Matt Furey’s GET TOUGH! Fitness Seminar this past Winter. I wasn’t there myself, built as I am for comfort rather than speed . But a near universal remark among those of my vintage, or even a bit younger, was the deep and persistent muscular aching they all experienced. Even those who are very fit and are habitual exercisers felt it. 

One of the ways that you know you’re getting older is this delayed muscular aching after vigorous exercise, that seems to be more intense, and seems to last much longer than when you were younger. The technical term for this is Delayed Onset Muscular Soreness, or DOMS.  As a mnemonic, just remember the old DRAGNET theme: “DOM…DA DOM-DOMS…” 

This is a product of inflammation, provoked by microtears and other microtrauma, induced by exercise. This is the stimulus for muscular hypertrophy–in other words, this is how exercise causes muscle fibers to grow larger and stronger. With age, this process takes longer, and the discomfort is prolonged. Since muscular hypertrophy results from this process,
it follows that it isn’t the exercise, but rather the REST after the exercise that allows the muscles to grow and strengthen. This has practical implications. If you’re trying to get stronger, REST, for proper recuperation, is just as important as the exercise you do.

This is especially important when you’re doing exercises to treat joint pain, such as the specially modified exercises I teach in HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
It’s sometimes difficult to differentiate between the joint pain itself and the muscular soreness that results from the exercises, when it’s excessive. The rule of thumb that I was always taught and that I have found to be true throughout my career is that mild muscular soreness that follows exercise, but fades by the following day indicates just the right level of exercise intensity. If soreness persists beyond the following day, it’s too much.

To treat this condition, first, REST. Don’t add to the problem by exercising before the soreness and stiffness have resolved. Next, apply local moist heat.  You’ll find it feels soothing, which helps to bring healing blood into the area and speed the resolution of inflammation. Anti-inflammatory measures are also helpful, including OTC medications. But be sure to take any of these meds with FOOD, to protect your stomach. 

It’s also worth noting that in the GET TOUGH! Seminar, the exercises were ALL bodyweight techniques–no free weights. And still, many participants had significant persistent soreness, in some cases for many days. That should put to rest the idea that bodyweight exercises are not adequate to really stimulate muscular strength. If you want a full body workout that is challenging, functional and SAFE, try Combat Conditioning, at  http://drbillsclinic.com/combat_conditioning.html
 
And if you want to treat a painful knee with non-surgical methods, including many of my specially modified exercises, see HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY at   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html  It’s the only program like it out there…and it works. 

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

When I was a kid, growing up in Brooklyn, NY, during the sixties, just about all my friends and I were into weight lifting. Not Olympic weight lifting, but more like weight training, using what are now called free weights, to distinguish them from Nautilus and other mechanical resistance machines that didn’t exist then. “Bodybuilding,” as a separate sport and as a commonly used term, was really unknown, except by those in that subculture. We were into “muscle building” and fighting–typical for young guys. In the full flower of our youth, we were in love with strength.
 
There’s a reason that most auto accidents involve teenage boys and young men under 25 years old–entirely too much testosterone and not nearly enough acetylcholine (neurotransmitter that enables brain and nerve function). So, awash in the flood of newly minted hormones, we lifted and pressed and squatted as much weight as we could, with little regard to form or safety, using techniques that would give a proper trainer heart failure.
 
The amazing thing is that any of us survive our teens. Luckliy, Nature compensates and we all had a resilience and recuperative ability that we’d never know again in this life. And considering our near complete ignorance of the correct principles of training, we actually looked pretty good. The thing about age though, is that the ability to bounce back is rapidly lost. Just try to do some of the things you used to and you’ll be paying the price for quite some time.
 
Especially for Boomers, like me, weight training as a way to get back in shape is fraught with hidden dangers. Chronic back, neck and shoulder pain, aching knees and snapping joints are among the more common results of heavy free weight use. And the risks of sudden injuries, torn tendons, ripped muscles and the like are very real consequences of just one split second of inattention or poor form. For that reason, thanks largely to my friend Matt Furey, bodyweight exercises have made a comeback. His international best seller,  COMBAT CONDITIONING, which you can get at http://drbillsclinic.com/combat_conditioning.html  led the current wave of these functional strengthening techniques. Their advantage is that you develop real strength, flexibility and coordination, but within physiological parameters. That means you never over load your joints tendons or ligaments with stresses they were never designed to handle–the major reason for training injuries.
 
But that doesn’t mean that you NEVER use free weights. It just means that you use them as a supplement to your bodyweight training, rather than the main event. For example, suppose you are trying to do chins, or pull-ups, like those in Ed Baran’s Animal Conditioning Program at   http://drbillsclinic.com/animal_conditioning.html/, but you’re just starting out and you’re too weak to pull your body weight up. Then, you can use dumbbell curls to strengthen your biceps, gradually increasing the weight until your strength has grown and you CAN do the chin-up.
 
Or, if you’re trying to do the knee exercises I teach at  http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html/, and you discover your quads aren’t up to the effort. Then, you can use NEGATIVE SETS to strengthen both muscles and tendons. This technique uses weights to permit the knee to bend and the muscles to lengthen, while resisting the weight all the way down. This is the opposite of the normal way to exercise, a very rapid way to enhance strength. It’s a way of turning a negative into a positive. For the full details on this and other terrific methods of rapidly increasing strength, without injury, try my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM at  http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
The point is, weights are neither bad nor good, by themselves. They’re just tools, a means to an end. Used wisely, as an adjunct to functional bodyweight exercises, they can still help to improve your strength and function, as part of an integrated exercise program to relieve pain and restore function. 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

When I first arrived on the scene in August of 1973, the other orthopaedic surgeons in Smithtown weren’t exactly thrilled to see me. I didn’t find out til later on, but my new Associates had been in a struggle for dominance in town with another large group and had been sort of “rubbing their noses in it,” about my coming into their practice–the first fellowship trained joint surgeon on Long Island. So, quite naturally, but unbeknownst to me, the other guys were more than a little peeved, before they even met me.
 
I had just completed the Aufranc Fellowship, arguably the finest and most prestigious joint reconstruction fellowship in the country. But like all residents and fellows, I had been part of the house staff in the hospitals in which I trained. I had no airs, no sense of entitlement and I hope, no arrogance. Training programs are all very cooperative: The patients always come first, but everyone is in it together and we all help one another, in a spirit of good-fellowship.
 
So, the motives and behavior that the other guys in town projected onto me, were wholely undeserved and were frankly mystifying to me. I had always gotten along with everyone–my nickname was “Easy Bill.” To be treated with suspicion, paranoia and thinly veiled hostility for (to my knowledge) no reason, right out of the box, was quite a shock. I was, in short, clueless about the now competitive nature of my relationship with the other surgeons. Welcome to ”Private Practice,” kid!
 
Since I had no inkling of what had provoked this response, I tended to be a little defensive and decided, “Well, I’ll show THEM.” And I did.
 
I did procedures that I had been trained to do, complex surgeries that no one else in town had even seen, much less done. And I was adept at scooping up free patients from the ER, making friends with the ER docs and nurses, the family physicians and internists in town, and especially the rheumatologists. I did consultations and saw patients in the office and the ER with the raw energy of the newly minted doctor.
 
I was aggressive in doing surgeries, like no one but a young surgeon can be. And although I NEVER did a surgery that wasn’t warranted, I tended to view all problems through the prism of my training: “If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” As a result, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy–I BECAME exactly what my collegues had feared and was soon acknowledged as THE regional expert in my field.  And yet…
 
It’s an old, but true saying: “There are OLD surgeons and there are BOLD surgeons; but there are NO old, bold surgeons.” Things I did then, though strictly indicated, I would never do, or recommend today. Certain things you only learn through time and experience. And after nearly a quarter century in the Operating Room, I’ve learned that the very best surgery is the one you AVOID. I’ve learned to respect the integrity of the body and appreciate its capacity for self-healing. 
 
In short, I learned the wisdom of the non-surgical solution.
 
That’s not to say that there aren’t times when only surgery will do. There are. But many times, patience and the use of time-tested non-surgical solutions, from across the entire medical spectrum, conventional, alternative and complimentary, will help relieve your pain and restore your function–but do that WITHOUT SURGERY. And that’s why I wrote my newest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY. See it here at:    http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Even if you don’t have knee pain right now, the methods and strategies revealed in this program will help you PREVENT conditions that result in pain. And, of course, if you DO suffer an injury, you’ll be prepared to get the right treatment, avoid mistakes and vastly improve your chances to AVOID KNEE SURGERY, if that’s possible.  So be smart, before the fact. BE PREPARED. Get your copy of this unique program, today. Click on the link NOW:    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

Last Friday about nine AM, I was sitting in the Grand Ballroom of a hotel, listening with rapt attention to the speakers at an internet marketing seminar, with a number of high profile entrepreneurs. To my surprise, a number of the particpants were martial artists, and pretty well-known champions, at that. One guy, from Canada, actually did two pushups ON TWO FINGERS, just to demonstrate that it could be done. That’s TWO FINGERS of just ONE HAND, by the way. And he did it not two feet from my seat, so I can tell you, it was no trick. Wow! I couldn’t do that on my best day…and I have very strong fingers, from years of crushing bones in the OR .  This young man and his father are among the most successful martial artists in their country.
 
Another one of the speakers was a champion karateka in Tae Kwon Do and is now the President of NAPMA, National Association of Professional Martial Artists and a successful informational marketer. Man, how things have changed from the old days, when I studied Goju-Ryu karate in New York.
 
I remember entering the rickety elevator in the five story commercial building on 17th Street, just North of Union Square, in the summer of1967. The dojo was a large loft, with a polished wooden floor, on the third floor. On the fifth floor were the offices of Al Goldstein’s Screw magazine (but, of course, I never went up there). The sensei was a medium tall, very broad shouldered Hispanic guy (though no one had thought up that term, at that time) named Joe Lopez, a fourth dan (4th degree black belt) in Goju. 
 
With all the 7th, 8th, and 9th dans floating around today, 4th dan doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you, Goju was a Japanese style, and pretty conservative about promoting people. Joe had come out of the old Peter Urban dojo in New york and he was widely respected by all the martial artists, of all schools, for his unbelievable strength and tremendous punching power. Even the Chinese respected him and actually taught him Gung Fu. Today, that’s no big deal, but in those days, they wouldn’t teach “white guys.” So he was the real deal. Solid and traditional–Nothing inflated, or puffed up about him.
 
Goju only had four belt ranks, too: white, green, brown and black. None of the multicolor constellation you often see with the Korean styles. Pretty conservative, all around. And our sensei absolutely idolized the Grand Master of the style, Gogan “The Cat” Yamaguchi.
 
“Cat” Yamaguchi was a really impressive guy, too: Short man, with long flowing black hair past his shoulders, who wore traditional black Japanese robes all the time. By the time I got involved in Goju, he had become a Shinto priest, with great emphasis on the “internal” or meditative aspects of the art. But when he was young, by all accounts, he was a real street fighter. He was one of the original students of Chojun Miyagi, the Okinawan founder of Goju, and he represented a direct lineage to the roots of modern karate. So everyone in the dojo, from the sensei on down, was greatly honored to follow in the footsteps of the “Cat.”
 
One of the things I admired most about the style was its Chinese influence and its emphasis on flowing, circular motions, very unlike the linear forms seen in Shotokan style, another Japanese form. But, some of these circular movements, especially round house kicks, if not done correctly, would result in knee pain, and occasionally, torn menisci, or injured ligaments, that could result in knee surgery–and they didn’t have arthroscopy in those days.
 
Of course at that time, I didn’t know what I know today. I knew barely enough anatomy to be dangerous. And as for exercises, I was into weights, like everyone else and the basic exercises taught at the dojo, some of which could actually cause knee injuries. But who knew? Had I known then what I know now, I could have helped a number of my fellow students avoid pain and disability, with the exercises I teach today in my new healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, which you can see at  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Whether you’re a fledgling karate student like I was in 1967, or a champion mixed martial arts fighter, an aging Boomer, or an aspiring young athlete, if you have knee pain, or would like to be sure you avoid it, try the measures I reveal in HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   I thnk you’ll be glad you did. 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

September 19, 2008

Well, this week, I’m off to a seminar on internet marketing in Tampa and, while I’m there, the lease on my Mercedes E320 wagon expires. So, I was forced to surrender my car a few days earlier than I had originally intended. To prepare, I took all my crap out of the car. You know, all the little stuff that accumulates in rear seat pockets, the trunk, the glove box, over the years, like barnacles on a ship. Then, I had it washed and polished. And finally, I drove it to the dealership for inspection and surrender. Sayanora.
 
Just in time, too. Despite the steady fall in price of a barrel of crude to $92, the first time in a while that it’s been under $100, the recent Hurricane Ike and the anticipated damage to oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico (which did NOT materialize) did not allow gas prices at the pump to decrease to the same extent as crude prices. And it’s pretty obvious to me that any little glitch in the supply pipeline, whether it’s from natural causes or an uptick in terrorism in the Middle East, will shoot gas prices right back up again. And, frankly, I’m getting damned tired of dropping nearly $70 to fill up my car with premium gasoline (MB cars don’t take Regular).
 
With China and India coming “on-line” for their share of the precious resource, more and more, the days of cheap oil are OVER. And that’s without the determined efforts of Congress to prevent ANY more supply from being drilled, or refined. No, those geniuses know better…they’re happy with this opportunity to “encourage” the benighted masses to “alternative” fuels: Wind, solar, geothermal, that’s the ticket… never mind that we’ve been spending beaucoup bucks since the eighties on just such sources and we’re no closer to a real solution than before. So the ideal car would be one that moves by a giant sail, but only when the wind’s blowing .
 
Look, it’s just like knee surgery. I believe that Medicine, which is to say, non-surgical treatment, is inherently superior to surgery, because it allows the body to heal itself. That’s why I wrote my new healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY  http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html   But until Medicine has evolved so it can cure all diseases, there are times when surgery is going to be needed. In the same way, until the alternatives are well developed, cheap and practical, there will still be a need for oil. So let’s do it all.
 
Like I’ve mentioned before, if you’ve ever visited a city or country with NO air polution controls, like Bangkok in Thailand, and your eyes start to water as soon as you’re off the plane, you develop a whole new appreciation of those emission regulations. There’s no question that they’ve improved the general health of the population, especially regarding respiratory diseases. But, “global warming?” Not so much. 
 
I’m a skeptic when it comes to that particular article of faith of the Left. And it’s worth noting that there IS evidence of prior cyclical warming, over centuries before the invention of the internal combustion engine. And then, there’s that business of the shrinking polar ice caps…on Mars! The whole thing is based on projections of computer models!
 
It’s hard to refute the charge that the whole “Man-Made Global Warming” religion has a lot less to do with the environment but instead, is actually a leftist, anti-capitalist movement, designed to slow our economy.  Don’t think so? Observe that it’s not enough that you believe in global warming; you must believe that it’s all the fault of Man’s activities on the planet. And by the way, lately it’s all “Climate Change,” so they’re covered, as it becomes more apparent that in that we’re not actually warming all that much…and in fact, has been cooling for the last seven years. There’s now evidence by the Norweigian Meteorological Society that there is MORE ice in the polar caps than normal. Oh, where have you gone, Al Gore?
 
Sorry. I just don’t buy it. I think that if there’s any warming, it’s from sun activity. And it’s most likely a normal, cyclical phenomenon. And there is a growing body of evidence, much of it from former global warming scientists, that this is so. Of course, this is heresy to the True Believers. But, eventually, the truth will out, as it usually does. I believe in what IS.
 
Despite my conviction that the environmental crisis business is a scam, for reasons of self-interest, I’m all for developing any and all alternative sources of energy. And in my day to day life, that means abandoning my love affair with Mercedes, since 1984, and getting a hybrid. Actually, I’d get a fuel cell car, if you could find some places to fill the damn things. Dependence on a finite and diminishing resource just makes no sense, anymore. And I DON’T like being dependent on our enemies for fuel–that’s just crazy.
 
So, finally, the skeptic goes green. I picked up my Prius yesterday. And you know, it’s remarkably good. 48 miles to the gallon, in the city and regular gas, too. Okay, it doesn’t have the pickup of an SL500. But I’m at least 20 years away from having to “peal out,” or project an image. And, now, every time the price of gas goes up, I’m just gonna smile….
 
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

September 18, 2008

How great would it be if there was something that could…
 * Lower blood pressure
 * Burn off stubborn body fat
 * Strengthen the immune system
 * Erase years of pain in just minutes
 * Flush toxins from your body
 * Plus help with dozens of other conditions

 That would be great, I know… but that can’t possibly be…could it?  Well guess what, this is just SOME of what “Far Infrared Heat Therapy” can do for you.  https://gethealthy.infusionsoft.com/go/LTBP-HEAT/drbill/
 
Pain Relief Wherever You Go…
 
The team over at the Healthy Back Institute have just released a “MOBILE” version of their “Healthy Heat” far infrared heating pad available and this thing is awesome! They sent me one about 3 weeks ago because they know I’m a huge fan and wanted to try it out ASAP…
 
It charges in only 15 minutes and provides up to 4 hours of soothing and healing heat.
 
Plus, the best part is you can strap it around your back (or any other body part that may hurt) and go about your day…you can wear it while at work, driving, doing chores, even exercising.  Since releasing it on the 10th, this item is quickly becoming one of their best selling products…and the few customers who have tried it, besides me, already are just loving it…here’s what a few have to say:
 
“I bought this for my mother who has been suffering from back pain for over a decade but when it arrived I wanted to try it out first. As you can guess, I loved it and had to buy another one for me! Thanks for letting me know about this great new product.”
 
– Richard S, Oceanside, CA
 
But here’s the catch…Because they wouldn’t let me mention it to you until they offered it to their customers first, they only have 47 units available and I am sure that they will sell out fast – probably within the next few hours and once they do, they will mark it as “out of stock” on the website.
 
That is exactly what happened when they first introduced the pad version of this product several months ago – they were back ordered for several weeks.  So you gotta check this thing out now… https://gethealthy.infusionsoft.com/go/LTBP-HEAT/drbill/
 
And if you have any questions about it be sure to let me know. If you have knee pain, back pain, whatever…I think it’ll help.
 
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

Well, as might be expected, the article in last week’s New England Journal of Medicine has spawned dozens of additional articles and blog posts across the infosphere. This, of course, was the article by Canadian researchers that found that arthroscopic surgery offered no real  benefits, when used to treat arthritis. And, as I pointed out a couple of days ago, this study reiterated the findings of earlier studies which found pretty much the same thing.
 
Dr. Robert Litchfield, the head of the Kennedy Fowler Sport Medicine Clinic and the one of the study’s co-investigators, suggested that in view of their findings, “surgeons need to think about other ways of treating patients, rather than jumping immediately to surgery.”
 
Well, DUH! I was always under the impression that that was what we were supposed to so ALL the time. Ah well, the fat’s in the fire, now. Every purveyor of alternative measures is out there, beating the drum for their own special brand of remedy. Physical therapists, in particular, are in high cotton over this report, since exercise is one of the alternatives that the study found to be just as effective as surgery in improving arthritis symptoms. And it is. And so is exercise without the benefit of a therapist, like the exercise I teach in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM at http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Now the NEJM article has led to a derivitive article in U.S. News & World Report, that promotes “six alternatives to surgery for treating arthritis.”  These not-so-secret six are well known to everyone, and in fact are included in my newest healing program,
 HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, as you can see at   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
But the trick is knowing HOW and WHEN to use them, and in WHAT MANNER.
 
The six alternatives treatments that are known to be effective include 1. weight loss & exercise,  2. physical therapy (read, supervised EXERCISE),  3. medications, 4. glucosamine & chondroitin (read, NUTRICEUTICALS), 5. Viscosupplementation and 6. total knee replacement.
 
Given the message that arthroscopic surgery for arthritis was to be avoided, I was kind of amused that the sixth “alternative” to arthroscopic surgery was total knee replacement. I mean, that’s the definitive treatment for end stage arthritis, from virtually any source. But that’s pretty major–it’s as big a surgical intervention as there is, with regard to arthritis. So their recommendations range from exercises and naturopathic measures to complete joint replacement. That’s quite a jump!
 
The fact is, no one in their right mind would suggest a total knee, unless ALL other measures had been exhausted, first. It’s kind of axiomatic. It’s what I refer to as my “Ladder Principle:” you start at the bottom rung, with the least invasive, least aggressive therapy you can find. Then, you “climb the ladder” until you find that treatment that works for you.
 
The problem is that you don’t need information–there’s a world of information out there. But without a filter, without a guide to teach you what’s effective and what’s not, you’ll be spinning your wheels a long time and wasting a lot of money in the process. That’s why I wrote my healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
It’s a guide to all those treatments that are out there, conventional, alternative, and complementary, that shows you, step by step, what to do, how to do it, how much of any medication or nutriceutical to take, and most important, what to AVOID. You see, you don’t need more information. You need ADVICE. And that’s what I provide. That’s what I do.
 
So, if you or someone you care about has arthritis, or some other type of joint pain, and you want to know what to do to get FAST relief of knee pain and do it WITHOUT SURGERY, click on this link for my latest and best program http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.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