January 13, 2010

Just last night, as I was listening to the news, it was reported that a massive earthquake hit the island nation of Haiti, with a magnitude of 7.0 on the Richter Scale. This is the largest, most devastating quake in over 200 years and promises to be a major disaster for the Haitian people. Its epicenter was near the capital of Port-Au-Prince and reportedly, every other building was knocked down.
 
Though the weather services are watching closely for potential tsunamis, the real danger remains the series of powerful aftershocks. One such hit last night, causing a number of buildings to collapse. The chaos is near total, with no food, services, medicine, or medical care.
 
By the time you read this, the relief effort will be in full swing, spearheaded, no doubt, by the good ol’ USA. We have our faults, especially lately, but there has never been, in the history of the world, as decent and benevolent a hegemonic power as the United States. And, as Martha would say, “that’s a good thing.”
 
Even under the best of circumstances, Haiti is an exceptionally poor country, one of the poorest backwaters in the world, certainly the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Ironic, because the other country that shares the same island of Hispanola, the Dominican Republic is a garden spot of the Caribbean. Perhaps it has something to do with their respective governments, or in the case of Haiti, its conspicuous absence.
 
The poor people there have rarely been cut a break. They always have some a$$hole trying to run them down, everyone from drug lords to Papadoc, to the last guy our State Department was trying to prop up.
 
I’ve been there a few times, usually as a day trip during a Caribbean cruise, often to the beach at Labadie, and I’ve always been impressed with the grinding poverty. It’s been reported that the average person there lives on two bucks a day–unbelievable! So, the last thing these folks needed was a disastrous earthquake.
 
My brother-in-law, John, is a master diver, or was when he was in shape. He had been hired, along with another friend, Pete, to search for buried treasure off the coast of Haiti. No, really. Salvage companies have the records of ships lost off the coast of the island and often organize diving expeditions, to search for lost vessels and their valuable cargos, based on their manifests. He told me that, between the drug problem and the Voodoo, he never wanted to return there. 
 
The bottom line is, the place is dirt poor and this catastrophe will only make it worse. The toll in human lives and miserie is only beginning to be counted. Let’s hope for the best for the people of Haiti in this trying time.
 
I’ve never been in an earthquake, myself. But I have freinds who have. And they tell me that it has to be one of the most frightening and disorienting sensations you can imagine. With the very ground unreliable, shifting beneath you, rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’ it has got to be one scary situation.
 
If it’s anything like being at sea in a major storm, though, which I HAVE experienced, I should think that having strong legs and stable knees might make the difference between safety and falling, with broken hips, or worse. 
 
The best way I know of, to ensure that your knees are up to any challenge, is to develop the muscles and tendons around them, by using the strategic, knee pain exercises that I teach in my new, greatly expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and DVD
 
  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
By strengthening those muscles, you not only relieve knee pain, and prevent it, but you make your knees as stable as they can possibly be. It’s not only good for you, it’s cheap insurance of stability, when the world around you is going to Hell.
 
Meanwhile, our thoughts and prayers will be for the People of Haiti. Let’s hope the relief effort and an end to the aftershocks will minimize the human casualties and misery.
 
On another note, today is just shy of two weeks since my surgery for a hernia repair. I’m doing much better, and improving daily. I got the OK to start walking for exercise, as tolerated, but no lifting, or serious abdominal exercises for 6-8 weeks. Well that makes sense. The protein collagen (ie., scar or fibrous tissue, of which we’re all made, and which is the substance of the hernia repair, takes about 6-8 weeks to fully heal, and then another 6-12 months to mature, so…).
 
The surgeon gave me the OK to restart my pharmaceutical grade fish oil, so I have. But I have to start slowly, just as though I were starting out, which I am, after a fashion. Too much, too soon and I’ll get diarrhea, which would really stress my new repair and probably not be too comfortable, either.
 
My POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA is an ultra pure, but very concentrated fish oil. I need to take one capsule a day, for a few days, then one, twice a day. As I reacclimate to the dose, I can increase in a week or so to two caps in the AM, one in the PM. And after another week, finally back to my maintenance dose of two caps, twice a day.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
By that time, its full anti-inflammatory effects should be in full swing, with relief of my chronic back and knee pain. Makes a real difference, I can tell you. You don’t really appreciate what it does, until you have to do without. Believe me, I know.
 
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

January 6, 2010

Last night, or more correctly, last afternoon (it gets dark so early this time of year), I took my first outing in the car since surgery. We were down a few items in the larder, so we went to the local grocery store. My wife drove, since I can’t effectively respond quickly in case of emergency.
 
I thought it would be a chance to escape cabin fever and get a little ambulatory exercise. So I came along for the ride. We wrote a list, so we would get what we actually needed, and avoid impulsive shopping.
 
While walking with my cane down one of the aisles, a truly enormous young man turned round the corner ahead of me. This guy was gigantic–rolls of flesh encircled his body, where once there was a waist and his frame fairly quivered with every footfall. Seeing that I was on a cane, he very politely stood aside to allow me to pass–a good thing, too, because there was no way we were passing each other in that aisle, at the same time.
 
I nodded in thanks and continued on my way. But I got to thinking about what lay in this man’s future, if he doesn’t take stock of himself and get control of his body weight. Odds are good that his blood lipids are way out of whack, with sky-high cholesterol and perhaps high triglycerides, too.
 
He’s a cinch to have heart disease, with atherosclerotic plaque in his coronary arteries, perhaps his carotids and vertebral arteries, too. This would make him a set-up for heart attacks, strokes, even PAD (peripheral artery disease). He may well have high blood pressure, a seperate cause of heart disease and strokes.
 
In addition, he almost certainly has insulin resistance, if not full-blown diabetes mellitus Type II, with all the potential complications of that disease. A number of cancers, too, are associated with obesity, as well as a depressed immune system (which may well be WHY cancer has an increased likelihood in the obese).
 
There are other physiological consequences, too. Morbid obesity makes it much harder to breathe, easier to aspirate, easier to get pneumonia and more likely to get a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) with possible pulmonary embolism (which can also kill you). It also makes it more likely that you’ll develop sleep apnea, a condition that can lead to an increased risk of stroke.
 
Then, there are the mechanical, orthopaedic consequences. An increase in gross weight increases the load on the weightbearing joints. For every pound above the norm, you increase the joint reaction force on your hips and knees by a factor of at least 3-4 times. If climbing stairs, it’s up to seven times bodyweight; running, up to ten times.
 
Then, there’s the effect on your spine. Although this particular man was heavy all over, he had the typical “apple” pattern of central fat deposition, where the bulk of the adipose tissue is in the belly. This is what we in the trade call “omental fat,” present within the abdomen, on the omentum and interlarding the coils of the intestines.
 
Mechanically, this increased mass, hanging in front of the spine, has to be balanced, so you can walk around. The body does this by increasing the deep curvature of the small of the back (ie., the lumbar spine). Your shoulders are pulled back and your pelvis is tilted backward, to increase that curve (lordosis). This all happens automatically.
 
This exact same mechanism is invoked in the woman with gigantic breasts, too, though her back pain is more likely to be in the mid, or upper back. In both cases, it’s what’s up front that counts–the extra anterior weight is counter balanced by bending the spine backwards, which causes shearing and compression on the lumbar discs, worsens spinal arthritis, causes cramps in the paravertebral muscles and can cause, or aggravate, herniated discs, with severe back and/or leg pain.
 
So significant is this cantilevering effect from excessive anterior body mass, that in certain clinical circumstances, surgery is used to radically remove excess abdominal fat (paniculectomy),  or a reduction mammoplasty is done, to reduce the mass of breast tissue (which, though I know, as a physician, is sometimes clinically necessary, is a procedure, as an artist, that I consider an aesthetic disfigurement of the female form, akin to drawing a moustache on the Mona Lisa).
 
You must forgive me. Ever since I lost all my own excess flab, I’ve been impossible. Nothing worse than a convert, as they say. But you must admit that getting rid of that excess poundage is the single best and simplest way to “cure” a myriad of ills.
 
And this is the perfect time to do it. The Holidays are over. So are all those temptations. Time to get serious. So, what to do?
 
The short answer is simple: a lean protein diet, with fresh, low glycemic index vegetables and fruits, increased fiber, lots of water. And a couple of softgels of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA, twice a day.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com 
 
This highly concentrated, enteric coated, ultra pure, pharmaceutical grade fish oil will provide the essential long chain fatty acids, to balance the overabundance of omega-6 fatty acids, so common in the Western diet, these days.
 
Then, you need to kick up your metabolism to a higher level, so you burn adipose tissue, instead of deposit it. The single best way to do that, bar none, is…(drum roll…) EXERCISE. Big surprise, right? 
 
Walking can be done by anyone. And if you’re that one in a million who can’t walk on dry land, walk in a pool. As soon as you can, step up into a real exercise program, like my new and improved PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD
 
  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
Exercise will boost your metabolism, build muscle, burn fat tissue, and, in the case of this program, relieve knee pain, long term. 
 
To further boost your metabolism, add my Heart Charging Formula, to supercharge your cellular mitochondria, the tiny powerhouses that provide the cells the energy for everything they do.
 
http://www.favoriteformulas.com/CoQ10formula 
 
So don’t wait any longer. Just DO these simple things and just watch your health improve! Til next time, my friend, be well.
 
Yours for optimal health and wellness,
 
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 21, 2009

After our recent soujourn in the City, where we enjoyed New York, in all its Christmas finery, it was time to head back to Florida. We’re having the family over for Christmas, so we have a bunch of work to do, before the homestead is fit for company. And besides, the bride was missing her “babies” and needed a fur fix, bad.
 
So, after setting the Southampton thermostats down to subsistence levels, we headed out to the airport. As a matter of convenience, we use Southwest Airlines, out of Macarthur Airport in Islip, because it’s the closest to Southampton. It’s two hours (depending on traffic) to the closest City Airports, LaGuardia or JFK, so Macarthur, it is.
 
We arrived there in plenty of time, to discover that the flight to Orlando was packed. Not a spare seat on the plane. And we were reportedly heading out just ahead of a massive Winter snow storm (even though it isn’t officially Winter, yet). “Global Warming,” right?
 
Fortunately, I had the foresight to buy “Earlybird” seating, which is Southwest’s idea for giving you early boarding for open seating. They claim that this saves them money, though I have never understood how. Anyway, this gives you a better choice of seats, as you get on the plane sooner. With the flight so packed and no empty seats, it usually let’s us pick our seats, get our stuff stashed sooner, with less hassle. 
 
If Jetblue could ever get into that airport, we’d be on that airline, all the time. They have more comfortable seats, they have those cute little TV screens, on the back of the seat in front of you, and the planes are always clean. They also have assigned seating, none of this “lining up” crap.
 
Normally, we head right for the mid-plane exit row. There are several reasons why we like that: 1. The seats have considerably more legroom, 2. If, God forbid, there IS an emergency evacuation of the plane, I want the limiting factor to a quick exit to be cool, fast, competent hands, ie., MINE, not those of some panicky, bumbling moron, and 3. When the plane is NOT packed tight, we can often have an empty seat between us, the closest you can get to “First Class” seating on these “cattlecar” flights.
 
This time, however, someone had beaten us to our favorite row, a big burly guy. And there he was, all spread out in the window seat, with his knees open and his shoulders and arms spreading over the armrest. Great.
 
Now, you need to undetstand that the bride does NOT sit next to strangers, anywhere, if she can help it. No. That’s MY job. So I settled in, as best I could, between my wife on my right and King Kong on my left. Great.
 
Guy never budged. No tendency for accomodation, at all. And he was a big guy. He was pretty broad. He actually took up that space, and then some. It’s not like I could ask him to move over. There WAS no “over.” So, I twisted slightly in the seat, insinuating my left shoulder behind his right.  And so I sat… the entire. miserable. flight.
 
This would have been bad enough, but that slight twist was enough to set my warped, previously fractured spine off, causing some cramping and aches and pains, that I normally don’t have. Part of it was that my wife didn’t have enough of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.favoriteformulas.com  with her on this trip (I thought she packed them, she thought I’d packed them…), so I lent her some of mine.  And now, I could FEEL the difference of the lower daily dose.
 
If you ever doubted that pharmaceutical grade fish oil really DOES have natural anti-inflammatory properties, just try being without your accustomed dose for a few days and then talk to me. They’re real, alright.
 
So, to take my mind off the discomfort of my contortions, I started doing some of the isometrics that I teach in my all new, expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM exercises and stretches, like quad setting and seated calf raises, http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html   which have the added benefit of moving the blood through the lower legs, reducing the risk of a DVT (deep vein thrombosis, clots that can form in the veins of the legs, from long sitting in one position). 
 
Between these little leg exercise sessions and a few chest compressions (where you press one hand against the other and tense your pectoral muscles, while breathing deeply) and even a few head rolls, side to side and round and round, to loosen up my neck and spine, and a few cat naps, I finally made it. Hallelujah!
 
Talk about “flying the friendly skies…” this was one of the worst flights it has been my experience to suffer through, in quite some time. Thank God it was over. The bride, of course, was just fine. Just as well, though.  Don’t want her turning nasty…I’d still be suffering
 
Well, we picked up the luggage, retrieved the car and got back to the homestead, without incident. Luckily, it was fairly cool for Orlando, about 68-70 degrees, with a nice breeze, so I didn’t have to hear about the insufferable heat and humidity. But a helluva lot better than the 30′s we left in New York and the snow storm we had just missed, by my reckoning. I hate the cold. She hates the heat. How did we stay married for over 35 years? Just lucky, I guess….
 
Well, time for the big push, this week. Christmas is nearly upon us, so lots to do before the big guy in the red suit squeezes down our chimney, once more. Hope you’re getting your shopping done early. Talk to you soon. 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 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, 2009 by William Thomas Stillwell, MD, FACS
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

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

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

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

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

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

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

   It slows you down and makes you FEEL old.

   So I have GREAT NEWS for you today:

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

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

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

again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Recently, a friend of mine, who is a chiropractor, and I were discussing conservative options for the treatment of chronic low back pain. He knows about my personal history of back pain, the residual from the fall that gave me a compression fracture of a vertebral body in the middle of my back, crushed multiple discs and aborted my surgical career. I was damned lucky to survive the fall and avoid paralysis. But the collapse of four levels of discs and the angled collapse of the upper plate of my eleventh thoracic vertebra left me 1-1/2 inches shorter in height and left me with chronic, persistent mid-back pain, as well as inability to do things I could before, like running, or jumping (or surgery).
 
On the Visual Analog Scale, my pain ranges from about 2/10 to 3/10 most of the time. I take no medications, I use exercises, fish oil and DHA, ginger and other natural herbs for their anti-inflammatory effects, and I’ve virtually given up red meat–all measures that I’ve recommended to my subscribers as non-surgical methods to relieve pain. 
 
Surgery really wasn’t an option for me, because they can’t really improve the pain level, beyond where it is now. If I had an 8 or 9 out of 10 level pain, they could give me improvement to 2-3/10, which is where I live now. But no better than that. So, there’s no real chance for improvement, but they could make me worse: no benefits to gain, but many risks. That’s how you decide whether surgery is warranted: benefits must outweigh the risks and complications, or you don’t do it.
 
Well, he recommended a device that has reportedly given relief to many with chronic pain: the VAX-D. This is an abbreviation for Vertebral  Axial  Decompression.  This modality has been used by chiropractors for some time, although it was invented by Allan E. Dyer, MD, PhD, former Canadian Deputy Minister of Health, in the 1970′s, and much of its early work was reported in the orthopaedic and neurologic journals. But the company that manufactures this device made the strategic decision to market it to chiropractors, and the rest, 
as they, is history. But, now, its success in about 76% of cases is causing the medical disciplines to take another look, as a low cost, low risk, effective alternative to expensive and risky surgery.
 
Based on my research of the literature, this is a benign type of intermittent traction that literally creates a vacuum in the spinal discs, and distraction of the facet joints, thereby decompressing them.  It works with herniated discs, collapsed discs, degenerative disc disease and other types of chronic low back pain. It is approved by the FDA as a primary means for treating back pain by decompressing discs.
 
The patient lies prone (face down) on a special two piece table, with the division just above the low back.  The pelvis is constrained in a harness on the lower,  mobile section. The table segments are gradually separated over one minute, with gradually increasing distraction force, monitored by computer feedback. Then, the tension is released for a minute, allowing the back to relax. The process is repeated
for a total of 15 cycles per session. Research has demonstrated that the best results are obtained with  20 sessions, though some cases benefit from additional lower frequency post-treatment sessions, as well.
 
The traction generates a negative pressure within the discs of up to 200 mm of mercury. This degree of vacuum can not only suck back extruded disc material in a  herniation, but it also permits nutrients and oxygen, that were previously blocked by pressure, to enter the disc and promote healing. The intermittent nature of the traction is different from static traction, which is a discredited treatment. Static traction does NOT generate decompression within discs; furthermore, the skin cannot tolerate the high levels of traction that can be generated with the intermittent technique.

The reason is because the discs are like taffy–they are “viscoelastic resistors”–once they begin to stretch, further stretching comes more easily. And the intermittent nature of the traction in VAX-D therapy promotes the decompression. 

Obviously, acute fractures, infections and tumors are not appropriate for this treatment. But for a simple, effective, low cost alternative to standard treatments, or costly surgery, for low back pain, it certainly deserves consideration. I may even try it myself….

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

Well, I’m back in the swing of things at the Florida  “Animal House,” while my bride is looking after things in Southampton. You’d think I’d been away a year, not  just a week. The cats were all starved for attention,  not to mention begging for food. And my dog, Kelly, was  full of herself, as well. It’s a full time job, taking care of all these critters. 

I had to pick up one little girl, Chelsea, at the vets, where we boarded her. She’s had a bit of an upset stomach, so we thought it best to board her. The good news is that she did well and actually gained a few ounces during the past week.
 
So, between pet chores, sorting mail, paying bills, cleaning house and all, I’ve been busy. But I miss my bride, though it’s only been a night and a day.  It’s funny. We’ve been married for over 33 years, so you’d think that we’d need a break from all that togetherness, but we really miss each other when we’re apart. Well, I suppose that’s why we’ve stayed together so long. I know her absence certainly makes me appreciate her….

Despite my schedule, I’ve been working on the outline for my next new product, HOW TO AVOID SURGERY,  which will be a book and CD’s. When I asked a group of friends, most of whom are involved in fitness, what they most wanted to know, that topic was, by far,  the winner. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, as the book develops.

That reminds me–I’d like to arrange a FREE  TELESEMINAR in the near future for all my subscribers,  to address your most pressing concerns about orthopaedics and joint pain and answer all your questions, live. 
 
To prepare for this, I’d like each of you that is interested to EMAIL ME with your ONE, single MOST  PRESSING QUESTION, that you would like me to answer. Send your question to info@drbillsclinic.com
 
I will select the top questions to include on the call, which will be about an hour. So, if there has ever been something you always wanted to ask your doctor, but couldn’t, here’s your chance.
 
BTW, if you’re ever in a strange bed and you find your back is sore the next day, it’s likely to be from a lack of the support you’re used to from your own bed. I notice this when I’m in Southampton or in a hotel.  Here’s a simple tip: open one or two bath towels crosswise on the bed, folded in thirds, one atop the other, for more support. Arrange the towel(s)  so that they lie beneath the small of your back, and provide support even when you roll from side to side. You’ll be amazed how well this 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