This past weekend, the bride and I went to a Dave Ramsey seminar, called
the Total Money Makeover. Although she dragged me to this extravaganza,
chiefly out of a sense of excessive concern for our future wellbeing, as ever
aging people in this dismal economy, I have to admit it was very instructional
and entertaining. I actually enjoyed it and ended up being glad I went.
In fact, I wish I’d had this information about thirty years ago, or so.

It’s well known among real business people that physicians are among the
worst investors in the whole wide world. As a group, we’re awful! And, having
seen many of my colleagues, up close and personal, I have to admit that this
view may be an understatement.

Now why is that?

My own theory is that physicians spend more time in education and training
than virtually any other profession, bar none. Think about it. We do four
years of medical college, AFTER four years of college, followed by a year
of internship, then several years of residency (even for being a Family
Medicine doc, what used to be called a General Practitioner, or G.P.) and,
in my case, a year of advanced fellowship training after that.

By the time the doctor is finally out in the real world and making a living,
he or she is already a decade or more behind everyone else in the work force.
All the mistakes and lessons you can only learn by living are denied to us,
not only financially, but socially, too. In a sense, we’re kind of socially
retarded…which probably explains a lot.

Then, all of a sudden, we have a few bucks above the subsistence levels of
training, for the very first time. And we are expected to know what to do.
But no one has ever taught us and we haven’t experienced the real world long
enough, so….that’s how docs got that well-deserved reputation:

Experts in Medicine. About finances and investments…not so much.

Of course, as in all things, there are exceptions. But try telling that to
a wife and you invite a scathing remark about all your human failings. No
one is a hero to his valet, or his wife. It’s just how it is. They know us
too well…or think they do. And there is that security thing that all wives
have–it’s part of their DNA.

The end result is that there ain’t no such thing as being too secure, as far
as any wife is concerned. So, that’s why I was there.

Now, this was held in the UCF (University of Central Florida) Arena, the
only local venue that can accomodate eight thousand people, which is who
was attending this event. And, like all such arenas, it had lots of steep
steps that we had to climb.

Now if you don’t use stairs on a regular basis, it’s not uncommon for you to
get thigh muscles that are progressively weaker, with time and age. In my
experience, this is one of the most common reasons for knee pain, in the
absence of any injury. Well, that and degenerative changes, which you have,
whether you know it or not, if you’re middle aged, or older.

The reason is that the weaker quadriceps allow the kneecap to glide off to the
outside of the knee, as it’s bent. And this abnormal tracking of the patella
is a major cause of anterior knee pain.

So, when my wife began to complain of knee pain, while climbing those stairs,
I knew exactly what was going on. Fortunately I also knew what to do about it.

I immediately started her on the specially modifed knee exercises in my very own
PAIN-FREE PROGRAM http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
which consists of the very best, most effective knee pain
exercises ever collected.

These are the same exercises I prescribed to my patients, for well over two
decades, both instead of surgery (in most cases) and after knee surgery, when
that was required.

In fact, these are the same exercises that I used, personally, to rehabilitate
my own knee, after I had arthroscopic surgery, in 2005. So, when I tell you
THEY WORK, I KNOW what I’m talking about, from BOTH sides of the operating
table.

Sure, you can do squats for your quadriceps muscles. But if you don’t modify
them the way that I describe in my program, you won’t see much improvement.

When you DO modify them and add to them the stretches I recommend, the
difference is dramatic…and pretty quick, too. In fact, you can expect to
FEEL the difference within a week to ten days. You can expect to improve or
eliminate your knee pain… in 30 days or less.

This is the best way to avoid surgery and the best way to achieve long term
knee pain relief. This is well documented in the medical literature. This
program WORKS. It’s that simple. It relieves Knee Pain FAST! No side effects
like drugs. No complications, like surgery. Just fast, soothing, long-lasting
relief of knee pain.

Why continue to suffer with knee pain, when relief is so close at hand?
Click the link and GET IT HERE: http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
You’ll soon see that this is no exaggeration. It works and it works fast.
See for yourself. And be able to bound up stairs without pain.
Til next time, my friend, be well.

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

Dr. Bill

P.S. Remember, for long term pain relief, NOTHING works better
than these specially modified knee pain exercises. Not pain drugs.
Not NSAIDs. Not surgery. Why suffer even one more day? Do it NOW.
Click the link. GET IT HERE! http://drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
And experience relief.

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© 2012 All rights reserved.

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 18, 2010

Back in my high school days, one of my closest friends was a guy named Vic. He was a strange kid, no question. He was a good looking kid of Italian extraction, who had an effete, almost feminine quality, but was tough as nails, was definitely not gay, as he nailed anything with a pulse in skirts (had excellent taste too, as I recall), and carried a ten inch knife down the front of his pants, at all times. It wasn’t uncommon for him to be in a fight with someone and I never saw him lose. The guy could really handle himself. 
 
Yet, he also wrote the most beautiful, sensitive poetry. He DID however, threaten to kill me, if I ever told anyone that he wrote it. He also had a soft spot for pets and kept goldfish. Definitely a boy of complex nature. 
 
But as odd as he was, his father was a real piece of work. Reputed to have worked for the CIA (and I never did find out whether that was pure BS, or if it was true–which it well might have been), he was a big, broad shouldered, barrel-chested, handsome man of Italian lineage, with a massive, leonine head and a thick, but well-trimmed mane of long, wavy, jet black hair, barely touched by gray, though he was 53 at that time.
 
(Funny that we once all thought that anyone over 50 was OLD… time tends to change your perspective, doesn’t it?)
 
He was a apparently a very sophisticated man, who was usually very well dressed in business attire, and he had that urbane manner of the continental European, who was both wealthy and well travelled. All of Vic’s friends were very impressed by him, me included. 
 
He was always relaxed and friendly with us, but he had this underlying air of subtle menace about him, a sense that there was danger there, just below the surface. Vic had told me how his father could suddenly convert from an apparent wealthy cogniscenti to a savage fighter, in an instant, surprising a would-be opponent and putting him down for the count, before that poor bastard even knew he was in a fight.
 
Youthful hyperbole? Who knows? I never saw any of that. I only had Vic’s word for it. But he DID look very capable of it. And I only know that nobody would dare to screw around with him. He was accorded a rare and wary respect, by all of us.
 
I never did find out what happened to Vic’s mother, whether she had died, or if they’d been divorced, but Vic lived with his father in an apartment, a few blocks down from me, on 89th Street, a few doors up from Narrows Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. His dad kept company with a very handsome woman, also very well dressed and of some sophistication, who also had a very cosmopolitan air about her. 
 
I never did figure out exactly if she was his wife, or his girlfriend, but she apparently lived in another house or apartment, not with Vic and his Dad.
 
The truly impressive thing about Vic’s Dad, though, that I DID see, was his great physical strength. It was amazing, especially to my young eyes, at the time. And the moreso, because he WAS 53.
 
He would lie face down, flat on the floor, to eliminate all leverage, and pick up a solid iron 55 pound dumbbell with one hand, palm upward, and a straight arm. He would then curl it above and across his head, pivoting on his elbow, for multiple repetitions, with no discernable effort. Try that some time. It ain’t easy!
 
I remember bringing my then girlfriend, Linda, over with me to visit Vic, when his Dad was there. She was a line-girl for the Copa Cobana, a professional dancer with a really well-toned body and an aura of sheer animal magnetism, that I’ve rarely seen in anyone else. I introduced her to Vic’s Dad and she was really turned on by this “old” guy, at 53 yet! Unbelievable!
 
Whatever he had, I wish I could have bottled it. Woulda made a fortune. That’s for sure. Guy had it all: looks, self-posession, that aura of innate authority and that kind of forever strength, that age couldn’t wither. We all knew he worked out, to maintain it, but still…

I don’t know if he took supplements or not, but I’m betting he did. I’m confident that a guy like him, so obviously concerned with staying fit, virile and young, would be a big proponent of my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA  http://www.drbillsformulas.com  if, of course, it had existed back then.

I never did find out what happened to him, or if he still lives. Vic and I sort of lost touch after college, when I went off to medical school and, though I’ve tried to find him, so far, no luck.
 
But the other day, I was watching TV when a commercial came on, with the tag line, “Forever Strength.” And for some reason, out of nowhere, I flashed on my memories of Vic and Vic’s Dad. HA! If he were still around, I’d use HIM as a model, for my next fitness program. 
 
As it is, you’ll just have to make do with the fetching blonde personal trainer, who is the model for the knee pain exercises and stretches in my new and expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM & DVD: http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html 
 
Well, wherever Vic’s Dad is, I wish him well. He was someone I admired and looked up to, in my formative years and a really good guy. Y’know, I STILL can’t do that trick of his with the dumbbell… and I never could. The power that guy must have had….
 
Well, that’s it for today. Look for my new Podcast show, “The Wellness Warrior” on mypodcastworld.com and on iTunes. First episode is about the many health benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids.  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 11, 2010

Later today, I go to see my surgeon for my post-surgical office visit. The incision is clean and dry, no redness (erythema), no drainage, no swelling and it appears to be healing very well. Nice and clean, with no signs of infection.
 
Of course, it’s a bit tender still, but nothing like it was for the first few days. As a surgeon myself, I know that it’s healing well, and I’m  grateful it is. But the doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient, or so they say. 
 
So, I will dutifully go to the surgeon and get his official evaluation and his blessing, before starting back on my POWERHOUSE OMEGA FORMULA,  http://www.drbillsformulas.com  my garlic, DR. BILL’S MAXIMUM ALLICIN FORMULA (only available for those already on my fish oil), which enhances the lipid lowering actions of the pharmaceutical grade, enteric coated fish oil, to make it a net cholesterol lowering agent, as well as lowering triglycerides.
 
Especially since this cold snap and nasty, rainy weather lately has made me feel my incision more lately, than before, I’ve really missed its natural anti-inflammatory action. Did you know that in a number of clinical studies, fish oil was found to have an equivalent effect to NSAID’s, but without their adverse side effects? It’s true. In fact, in cases of rheumatoid arthritis, fish oil use allowed some patients to reduce, or eliminate NSAID’s. 
 
And, as I’ve mentioned before, inflammation is a necessary part of this hernia repair, allowing the ingrowth of fibrous tissue into the implanted mesh. So I have had to forgo the comfort of my usual dose. But, as a result, all my joints are “talking” to me, my back is aching and of course, the incision site aches, too. So I’ll be glad to get the OK to start it up again.
 
I’ll also be glad to start some mild knee pain exercises for my aching knees, like those in my newly redone and expanded PAIN-FREE PROGRAM and full length DVD  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/exercise_eliminate.html
 
Combined with walking and isometrics, I can begin the long process of rebuilding my fitness, a step at a time. Luckily, he did a subcuticular closure, meaning there are no sutures to be removed–a long suture under the edges of the skin gives a hairline scar and a tight closure. There wasn’t even a drop of blood, when I took off the initial dressing. Good job, all in all.
 
So, I’m looking forward to a positive evaluation, now eleven days and counting, out from my surgery. This will take about six months to really mature, but this is a good beginning. Thank God! If there’s ever going to be a problem or a complication, it’s gonna happen in a doctor, guaranteed. 
 
Well, over the weekend, we had that plumber return and install a couple of new toilets for us. I went upstairs, to say hello and came up on him, kneeling on the bathroom marble floor, while setting the base of the commode. And, whaddyaknow…he was wearing KNEE PADS! Just like I told him to. 
 
You know, usually, I give folks good advice and more often than not, they ignore it. People often don’t respect or value what they don’t pay for. But not this guy. I told him I was proud of him. He said, “Hey, if I’m told something by a guy who knows what he’s talking about, I listen.”
 
Well, good for him. If he sticks with his new protection, he’ll be real happy a dozen years from now, when he DOESN’T have to suffer with patellofemoral arthritis. For more simple, but effective tips on preventing, or treating knee pain, try my LITTLE GREEN BOOK FOR ELIMINATING KNEE PAIN  http://www.drbillsclinic.com/eliminate_knee_pain.html
 
So that’s it for today, my friend. Talk to you soon. Til next time, be well.
 
Yours for a pain-free tomorrow,
 
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.drbillsformulas.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.drbillsformulas.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