According to an article in The Annals of Internal Medicine (2002),
exercise can reduce, or even eliminate the need for pain medication
taken for back or joint pain, but it requires your commitment to actually
doing a regular home program.

Now, when I was in practice, I sent many (most) patients to Physical
Therapy, but that was in addition to, not instead of, a home exercise program.
You see, once I undertook the treatment of any patient, I became responsible
for the result they would get, from their point of view, even if the patient ignored
all my advice and even if they did things I specifically told them not to.

I quickly learned that most people, left to their own devices, would
slide on this, avoiding any prescribed exercises, but they’d be only
too happy to blame their doctor (me) for a less than excellent result.

For that reason, I sent everyone to P.T., before and after knee or hip
surgery. And of course, in many cases, this was the main treatment.
I told them to make gains at therapy (where they had supervision), then
maintain those gains with exercises at home. That simple formula worked
pretty well for my entire orthopaedic career.

If they were well motivated at P.T. and did the required work at home,
they almost always had significant improvement. And many had an outright
“cure.”

Exercise is far preferable to the usual treatment for chronic pain, with continual
analgesic medications, which almost always results in disappointment, with
constant pain, not to mention drug resistance (diminishing effectiveness, requiring
constantly increasing amounts) and eventually, potential addiction.

It is true that exercise can take longer to control chronic symptoms, like
pain, swelling and instability. But it has considerable advantages over passive
treatments and, other than mild post exercise aching (a good sign that muscle
growth and strength is being stimulated), exercise has virtually no adverse side
effects.

In addition, exercise can actively boost your health and enhance your quality of life,
by increasing growth hormone release, relieving stress, enhancing libido, decreasing
insulin secretion, raising your metabolic rate, lowering your hypothalamic set point, and
as a result, fighting obesity (and thereby, the accompanying risks of morbidity and
mortality).

Over the long term, there is NO better treatment than a series of well
designed exercises, like those in my PAIN FREE PROGRAM. This is the great
secret for “curing” knee pain and almost any other kind of joint pain, as well. This
is the mainstay of long term treatment.

In the short term, for acute, severe pain, there’s no reason not to get immediate
relief with pain meds, and/or anti-inflammatories (with the proper precautions). But
as soon as the acute pain begins to subside, exercise should be introduced and
become an ever increasing part of the overall treatment plan, as pain meds are
withdrawn.

The fact is, yes, it takes some effort. But there’s nothing better than
the specially modified exercises in my program for relieving that stubborn
knee (or hip) pain, for good. I’ve prescribed them for better than 30 years, now,
and I’ve used them personally, for my own painful knees. So I KNOW they work.
And you’ll see results in 30 days… or less.

Try them yourself and experience the freedom from pain that only this
program can bring. Get it HERE. Don’t suffer any longer. Like Nike
says, “DO IT!” Your aching joints will thank you.

Til next time, my friend, be well.

Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,

Dr. Bill

“The Wellness Warrior” TM

If you wish to stop receiving our emails or change your subscription options, please Manage Your Subscription

Dr Bill’s Clinic, Inc., 816 Turtle River Court, Plant City FL, 33567© 2011 All rights reserved.

January 21, 2010

The other day, I got another email from one of my subscribers, who had an interesting, but not uncommon story. Seems he had knee pain located right on his inner (medial joint line). He saw his doctor, and was sent for an MRI.
 
Sure enough, he had a torn medial meniscus. He also had some degenerative changes (read that as “early arthritis”), not uncommon in a middle aged guy. His question for me was, do I REALLY need to have an arthroscopic surgery? 
 
He was understandably reluctant to go “under the knife,” and was hoping that I could give him some less aggressive treatments that would relieve his pain, but help him avoid surgery. He also didn’t understand why these structures simply didn’t heal.
 
So, I tried to explain. I used to have to do this a dozen times a week, in my practice–meniscal injuries were the second most common cause of knee pain that I saw, after kneecap problems. So here’s the short story.
 
In each knee, there are two crescent shaped fibrocartilage structures that guide and cushion the knee in motion. They help to spread out the stresses of weightbearing over a larger surface area, kind of the way snowshoes work to keep you from sinking into a snow bank.
 
I have a great illustration of this principle in my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html  which I drew myself. (I used to work for the comics as an artist, back in the 70′s.) 
 
Here’s the thing he didn’t understand, though, that makes all the difference: These structures are mostly avascular. That means that they mostly lack a blood supply. There is virtually no circulation within these cartilage cushions, at least in the inner 2/3 to 3/4. There IS a marginal circulation at the periphery, where the medial (but NOT the lateral) meniscus attaches to the fibrous capsule of the knee joint.
 
If a tear occurs within this so-called “red zone,” it does have the potential to heal. But only 10% of tears occur there. The remainder occur in the avascular part, and therefore CANNOT heal (at least not without fairly sophisticated surgical help), because nothing heals without blood. 
 
This anatomical fact governs the behavior of meniscal tears AND determines what constitutes effective treatment.
 
Given that he has a positive MRI, he probably SHOULD have an arthroscopic examination. If pathology is confirmed at surgery, it can be fixed on the spot. This is a prime example of what I like to call a NECESSARY surgery. And, it’s a simple, outpatient procedure, with a fairly rapid recovery. I know. I’ve not only done thousands of them, but I’ve had the surgery myself, too.
 
Had he presented with the same pain pattern, but NOT had an MRI, I probably would have urged him to try the non-surgical treatments I teach in my healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, which you can get here:
 http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
With methods from across the entire medical spectrum, including many effective alternative treatments, it can provide relief of pain and help you avoid surgery, in many cases. 
 
In this way, if pain is relieved, you’ve avoided an UNNECESSARY surgery. If not, you’ve “burned no bridges” and can still get an MRI and if that is positive, arthroscopy, if needed. But it gives your knee a chance to heal itself.
 
Except in case of a completely locked knee, which is a surgical emergency, it can buy you time, perhaps heal you, and you lose nothing. 
 
For other causes of knee pain, like chondromalacia patellae, or arthritis of the knee, it may be definitive treatment. I teach you how to relieve pain fast, but also how to stay pain-free for the long term, with special, modified exercises and the anti-inflammatory properties of my pharmaceutical grade fish oil, DR. BILL’S POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA:   http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
an ultra pure, highly concentrated omega 3 formulation, with a special enteric coating that prevents virtually all the fishy aftertaste and fish burps that plague other, lesser brands. 
 
But in this man’s case, he already had a demonstrated, through and through tear in the avascular zone. The probablity of healing was poor to none. And further delay would accomplish nothing good, but might result in degenerative damage to the articular cartilage, which is permanent damage. This must be avoided. 
 
THAT’S why I recommended that he proceed with surgery. And now, you can understand the thought processes that led me to that conclusion, too.
 
In the end, judgment has to be based on the anatomical and pathological facts. And that’s another good reason to get your doctor involved early in the course of your knee problem. Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior”        TM
 
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 conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.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, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

January 14, 2010

 Here’s something you may find pretty interesting.  I know I did. Just the other day, I had to take my wife to see her cardiologist. As it happens, he’s a bit like me, in that he’s what’s called an interventional cardiologist, meaning he does angioplasties and stents (which is almost like surgery), but he’s also a very holistic guy. He recommends supplements and fish oil to his patients.
 
Sometimes, he writes them prescriptions for a prescription form of fish oil, which is covered by those with prescription plans. But other times, when NOT covered by insurance, this same brand of fish oil, though very high quality, is frightfully expensive. And by expensive, I mean nearly three times as costly as my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA, an ultra pure, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, with a special enteric coating, that prevents the softgel from dissolving in the stomach.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
That enteric coating, which the prescription fish oil does NOT have, virtually prevents any fishy aftertaste or fish burps, which trouble some people, who would otherwise benefit from the concentrated omega-3 fatty acids in my formula.
 
The point is, he, like me, is a card carrying, bona fide member of the medical establishment. Yet, he tries to see the whole person, not just the heart, and he makes the natural healing treatments, that work, available to his patients. And he gives the impression of being very, very sharp and competent. As a person of Indian extraction, he has the whole Depak Chopra thing down, pat. And that is a source of great comfort to his patients and to me.
 
In any case, he was reviewing my wife’s case, making recommendations and adjustments to her treatment regimen, including some dietary changes and getting more exercise, like walking and the knee pain exercises I teach in my PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and new DVD   http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html  She has some knee pain, too, mainly from carrying a bit too much poundage and having some weak muscles around the knee. 
 
You’d think that having me right with her, and there all the time, would inspire her to jump right into the program. But as Kahlil Gibran once wrote, “A prophet is forever without honor in his own land.” She pays no attention to me. She has to ask someone else, you know, a “real doctor,” before she’ll do anything I recommend. People came from all over, other cities, other states and other countries to get my opinion, at great expense, but that doesn’t matter to her. Nope. You know what they say about familiarity and contempt? But I digress…. 
 
His cell phone rang and he answered. Then he made another rapid call and started dictating rapid orders to the nurse at the Cardiology Unit of Florida Hospital.  It seems that another cardiologist had seen this patient, a middle aged guy, who had developed chest pain and broken out into a cold sweat for 15 minutes, while lifting barbells. Now, given this history, any physician, not to mention a cardiologist, would have had this guy admitted to the hospital ASAP, because the odds are great that he had an infarction (heart attack).
 
But no. This cardiologist sent this guy HOME and scheduled a stress test for him, THE NEXT DAY!  Good chance that he would not have made TO the next day and if he had, he certainly would have coded during any attempt at a stress test! So my friend took matters into his own hands, admitted the guy for stabilization and an immediate angiogram (where dye is injected into the coronary arteries, to visualize any blockages in the arteries, which can then be opened, with a stent).
 
He just shook his head and said, you know, you’re an orthopod, not a cardiologist. Yet YOU would have known that this guy had likely had an MI and had him admitted to the ER immediately. But his “cardiologist” sends him home! Unbelievable! Some of these guys, despite their education, just have no medical intelligence.” 
 
All too true. And a good illustration of when a medical procedure IS really necessary. I teach the same concept in my newest healing program,  HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY   http://www.drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
where, before we discuss the various ways to relieve pain and keep you OUT of the operating room, we first talk about those circumstances when surgery IS needed, often on an urgent basis. The idea is to avoid surgery when you CAN, but get it in a timely fashion, when that’s the optimal treatment. 
 
So, my friend left us to go tend this new patient, who should be thanking his lucky stars that my friend was involved. Else he’d be worm food, by now.
 
That’s why it’s so very important to choose your doctors wisely. They all have the same degree–but NOT the same levels of skill, compassion and JUDGMENT. And that difference can mean life or death to you. So interview any doctor you see and ask questions. If you’re not comfortable, or getting answers, go elsewhere.
 
Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow and your optimal health,
 
Dr. Bill
 
“The Wellness Warrior”   TM
 
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 conventional and alternative treatments and exercises to relieve knee pain without surgery click on http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html 
 
P.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, 2010 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
All rights reserved

December 29, 2008 

During the second half of my surgical internship, I was assigned to the VA Hospital in Richmond. At that time, and it probably hasn’t changed, everyone wanted to go to the VA because you got to do surgeries that were way beyond your usual fare. As an intern, I got to do surgeries that I normally wouldn’t be given to do for at least another two years, or so, at the regular hospitals. 
 
When you think about it, that’s really unfair to the vets. I mean, here are guys that have sacrificed for their country and here they’re being used as guinea pigs for some young punks looking to learn surgery. But, of course, at that time, all I cared about was doing more surgery. The fairness of the situation never even entered my mind–that’s just the way things were.
 
Anyway, one of the patients on my ward was a guy who had been operated on by every house officer who had rotated through that surgical service since he had been admitted over three years before. The guy was an old man, a real basket case. 
 
He couldn’t even eat because he had NO intestines left. He was fed through a vein, by I.V. hyperalimentation–a very fancy term for total parenteral (by vein) nutrition. Every few weeks or months, he would develop some complication or another that required another surgery. There was hardly anything left of him, but he kept on chuggin’ along, educating generations of interns.
 
Then, one of the residents told me how he came to be like this and my blood just froze. You see, he originally came in for a “minor surgery.” He was just supposed to have a simple bunionectomy. But, hard luck guy that he proved to be, it got infected.
 
So he got a second surgery to drain the infection. And I.V. antibiotics, of course. But, the surgical site turned into osteomyelitis–bone infection. And of course, this required another surgery.
 
Then, he needed a toe amputation. Then another. Then, his veins clotted up, so he needed a central I.V. line, for long term antibiotics. Which also got infected and needed removal. And a new central line. Then, one day, he got horrible stomach pains, which required a full work up. Turns out he had now developed a real problem: mesenteric embolism — a shower of clots that blocked off the arteries which feed the intestines. Without blood, the intestines literally die and develop gangrene. Which requires their removal. Naturally, you try to leave what you think will live and only remove the dead or dying tissues.
 
But the same thing happened again. And again. Each time, taking more and more of the man’s intestines, until finally, he had nothing left. By the time I showed up, he was The “Phantom” of the V.A.–a shell of his former self–quite literally.
 
And then he got really sick and resistant to the antibiotics. Turns out he had developed a subphrenic abcess (a big infected collection of pus, under the liver) and it was my job to take him to the OR and drain this mess. Which I did. If that didn’t gross me out, nothing ever would again.
 
Well, he rallied, but eventually it was just too much for the poor man. He died. Finally at peace. I came upon him one morning, while making rounds, already cold. And I also noted that he had perfect vital signs charted, right up until 8AM, when I found him. Hmmmmm…Guess the VA night nurses were too busy with other things to notice that this patient had passed on. 
 
I was sent to the autopsy, to learn what had finally gotten him. And I was shocked to see that when they opened him up, there was almost nothing left–he was like a used up, empty shell. Cause of death? Organ failure–take your pick. Poor guy. No one deserves this.
 
And I reflected, not for the first or last time, that our bodies were merely machines, shells driven by an animating spirit and that whatever made us “us,” the soul, if you will, was long gone from him. 
 
The horror of all this is that it started with a “minor surgery,” a “simple procedure.” And like that poem, “For Want of a Nail, the Kingdom Was Lost,” one thing led to another, and another, until the final, pathetic denouement.
 
Lessons learned here? 1. Ain’t no such thing as a “minor surgery” (only minor surgeons). 2. “One never knows, do one?” 3. Murphy is always waiting. 4. Whenever possible, avoid surgery…and you avoid its complications.
 
And after a lifetime in the OR, I’ve distilled the lessons I’ve learned in my newest healing program, HOW TO AVOID KNEE SURGERY, which you can get here at   http://drbillsclinic.com/avoid_knee_surgery.html
 
Think you need surgery if you have a torn meniscus?  Maybe you do. But then again, maybe some of the tips I teach you in this program can relieve your pain, but keep you out of the O.R. See for yourself, 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

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

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

I think it was 1973 when I read about Durk Pearson for the first time. His book LIFE EXTENSION was a mega best seller, back then. He and his girlfriend, and co-author, Sandy Shaw were scientists, who had made a study of various supplements, vitamins, minerals and
the like that they believed, based on available resaerch, would extend the life span of the average person and enhance the quality of that life, as well. Now, bodybuilders and other athletes had been taking supplements for years, but this was something new. This was real science backing up their recommendations.
 
Durk Pearson himself was quite an enigmatic guy. He was a frequent guest on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. He was a strange looking, tall, gangly man in black leather pants, hideous silver and tourquoise Native American Jewelry (though they were still “Indians” in those days), straggly, shoulder length brown hair. He also reportedly had the highest IQ of anyone they’d ever had at MIT in Boston, where they were quite impressed with him. Sandy was no slouch either. They lived and worked together and apparently were an item. The two of them together were as odd and Bohemian a pair as you’d ever see and you’d never suspect the depth of intelligence they possessed from their appearance. Hey, you never know….
 
Anyway, I was one of very few people who actually read the entire tome, cover to cover. I know I was pretty impressed with their research. Starting then, I began taking megadose Vitamin C, Vitamin E, selenium, niacin and a host of other supplements. Although much of their data was based on animal studies, extrapolated onto human beings, I was impressed with their reasoning and I always felt that it was a gamble worth taking. After all, if you wait 20 or 30 years to find out if it works, and then discover it does, it’s too late to do you any good. 

A number of my more conservative colleagues have always thought I was crazy, in this regard. They’d never take anything without a number of double blind, controlled studies, which on its surface, seems to make sense. Only problem was and still is that no one is making a buck on these things, in comparison to prescription drugs; therefore, no funds or incentives to conduct such studies. Still, I looked in the
literature for myself and found support here and there in various journals.
 
For example, I found buried in the Plastic Surgery journals evidence of the efficacy of Vitamin C in wound healing. They did a study of the tensile strength of scars in rabbits, and compared those given the human equivalent of 2 grams of Vitamin C a day with another group that had none. They made incisions in each rabbit and allowed them to heal. Then, they cut the scars out of them and hung weights on the scars, held on a hook, length-wise. They added weights until the scars tore apart. Guess what? The scars from the Vitamin C rabbits had three times the tensile strength of the other group. That’s a 300% increase in strength.
 
So, years later, when I began doing my own surgery, I ordered oral and intravenous Vitamin C (as well as my own concoction of liquid vitamin B complex) on all my postop patients. And I was able to get the staples out of their incisions in three days, instead of the 10-14
days that everyone else needed. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
 
So I’ve been taking supplements since that time. Over the years, I’ve added to my own personal regimen, although I was always much more conservative with my patients. After all, a lot of this is a speculative gamble, and I didn’t want to gamble with my patients, without more solid proof. Over the last decade or so,  I’ve learned about and added other nutrients, including the protective compounds in many foods and the pain relieving effects of certain spices, which have additional health benefits, to enhance your life, as well. Some spices are so effective that they can be taken orally; others can be applied to the skin and relieve the pain in the joint beneath. 

I describe these spices, as well as a number of other dietary measures and helpful supplements, that can help to relieve joint pain, in my ADVANCED MASTERS COURSE   http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.html
The great thing about these naturopathic measures is that they work with conventional treatments and medications, often by different pathways, to bring long term relief and, in many cases, can help you to avoid surgery.
 
This course is the real deal–everything I know about eliminating knee pain, but in layman’s English. If you’re a therapist, trainer, nurse, chiropractor,  or a non-orthopaedic physician, or just someone who wants to know it all, this has all the information you’ll ever need, from across the entire treatment spectrum. And it’s available in a convenient, affordable monthly lesson format, to make it easy to learn and easy to own. So click on the link and sign up for yours today    http://drbillsclinic.com/advanced_masters.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

May 19, 2008

It was early 2001 when I was first confronted by an attack of the cyberchondriacs. I was in my office, going from room to room, seeing patients, as was usual in the afternoon. Because I had such a busy surgical schedule, I had office hours normally only two days a week.  The waiting room was full, as usual, watching our office TV, reading or chatting with the girls at the front desk. By and large, my patients were all pretty tolerant of waiting. While I tried my best, I was almost always behind. 

But most of them understood that I was one of very few doctors who would give each patient the time he or she actually needed, not just the 15 minute time slot they were signed up for. And all of them knew that when their turn came, I would do the very same with them.
Add in the occasional emergency, and it’s not too hard to get behind. But, like I said, they understood that.
 
And if I was really behind, I would come out into the waiting room, apologize to all present for being behind, explain why I was running late and offer to reschedule anyone who couldn’t or didn’t want to wait. My attitude was that their time was important, too. But I made it
clear that I would not compromise anyone’s care just because I was running behind. And they responded to that.
 
Only rarely did some self-important executive make a public fuss. I remember one young woman who was carrying on because she had to wait for 20 minutes. 20 minutes!?  I wait longer than that for both my dentist and my vet! She apparently wasn’t satisfied with my very reasonable explanation of the delay and didn’t appreciate my gently pointing out that in many other offices, people were waiting for 3 hours and more, never mind 20 minutes.  But she wouldn’t be mollified. She was not going to be patronized, dammit! She was going to be taken seriously!
 
I seriously advised her that she would be much happier in another office, since I doubted that I could measure up to her standards. She was dumbfounded. But I refused to see her. No way, after that, could I possibly make her happy. Who needs the agita? Hey, life is too short….
 
Anyway, the interesting thing was that once someone who had been waiting out there actually got in to the exam room, they would put down roots! Like I had all the time in the world to chat with them. You’d think they would have some consideration for their pals, still in 
the waiting room, but nooooooo….
 
Well, one day this guy comes in who has been referred to me for a joint replacement by his rheumatologist.
 
Ironically, though I did everything anyone could do to help my patients AVOID surgery, this resulted in an enormous number of referrals FOR surgery. It seems patients and their doctors wanted someone who would only do surgery when it was really warranted. So this guy comes in, having already had the full course of non-operative treatments by the rheumatologist, with end stage disease, ie., bare bone. So for him, this case is kind of open and shut.

But he presents me with a ream of articles, I mean like 50 pages printed from the internet, on every arcane point and potential complication on his surgical procedure you could imagine. And he proceeds to attempt to cross examine me on this arcana. And he has every symptom that’s listed, both real and imagined.  And he wants me to go through all of them, right now. Screw the other people in the waiting room.
 
That was my first attack from a cyberchondriac–a  patient who has managed to acquired every scrap of  information from the web on his particular disorder and manifests every symptom listed. I would come to dread this subspecies of patient. Problem was, they wouldn’t believe you when you explained to them that not everything on the web is gospel. It was like they were feeding their paranoia with unfiltered cyberinfo.  There was no way to win with them…and a whole lot of wasted time. 

With this guy, first thing I did was, take all his papers away and promise to read them (which, I really did–since I knew what was legitimate and what was mostly crap, it was fairly quick for me). Then, I put him on specialized exercises, like those I teach at
 http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html, “to get the tissues ready.” Then I sent him off and had him come back in a few weeks for reevaluation. By that time, he had calmed down and had begun to trust me. He finally had his surgery and he did great!
 
You have to understand that at the core of every cyberchondriac is…FEAR. They desperately need to be in control, but they simply CAN’T be. That’s why they spend all those hours searching the net and why they feel they have to challenge the doctor. It’s their way of trying to exert control. Understanding this, I  first gave them something positive to do, while putting off the dreaded surgery. In this way, I could get them to know me and hopefully trust me, so that ultimately, I could help them.
 
But, it was really an investment of time and effort, I can tell you. And not a whole lot of really qualified, top flight surgeons will put up with that stuff, believe me. They have neither the time, nor the inclination to indulge any psychodrama. They’ll throw them out!
 
If you ever find yourself in that position, by all means, look up anything you want to on the net. But DON’T bring ALL your articles to your doctor–he/she doesn’t want to see them! Instead, summarize the main points of your reading, then write down a few pertinent
questions, which you will HAND to the doctor. DO NOT READ THEM OUT LOUD. It takes too long and you’ll just try to embellish them. The doc can scan and answer all your concerns better and more quickly if you just hand over the list. Your doctor will appreciate it and you’ll  be marked as an intelligent and considerate patient.  And that’s the best way to get great care!
 
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