moved

Moved to Dowagiac MI

October Blog 2011

October Office Hours- Dr. Riggs will be out as follows:
Closed Saturday 10/8, closing at 5 PM Friday 10/7.  Out of town
Closed Saturday 10/15, closing early at 4:30 PM Friday 10/14-have to catch a plane for St. Louis MO.
If you have an emergency please call 911 or go to the ER.

September 2011 Blog

September Office Hours & Clinic News:

• We will be closed Saturday-Monday Labor Day Weekend (September 3-5). If you have an emergency, please call 911.


• Dr. Riggs will be completing Laser certification in October. He will be a CLP (certified laser practitioner) when he completes his last course. The only one in the area.


• Dr. Riggs is also re-entering the orthopedics postgraduate program at Palmer with a targeted test date of fall 2012. He completed two years previously and has to complete the 3rd year. This will give him advanced credentials in chiropractic orthopedics (non-surgical orthopedics).

Health News:

Nutrition News:

• Rhodiola helps combat the effects of excess cortisol (stress hormone). Excess cortisol can supress immunity; cause hypertension, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, carb craving, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes (adult onset), fatty necks, faces and bellies, decreased libido and bone loss. It is akin to taking steroids frequently.


• Too little or too much sleeping may affect cognitive decline (outside the 6-8 hour range).


• Olive oil intake is linked to lower stroke risk.


• Resveratrol's anti-inflammatory and anti-aging capabilities shows potential in anti-aging.


• Obesity leads to liver disease.

Medical News:

• Trazadone and pregabalin combined improve fibromyalgia symptoms.


• Men are at risk for osteoporotic fractures but about 10 years later than women. Men suffering hip fractures in the 76-84 age range do not fare too well-1/3 dying within a year. Low body weight, advancing age, and smoking increase the risk. Most fractures occur after age 70.


• Risk for hip fracture increases if hormone replacement therapy is discontinued.


• Jogging wins out in beating belly fat over resistance training.

December News/Holiday Schedule

Office Hours for the Christmas and New Year will be as follows:
Marty and I wish you all a happy and safe holiday season. Remember alcohol and motor vehicles are a leading cause of accidents and death.

• Closed Christmas Eve 12/24/10 (Friday) and Christmas Day 12/25/10 (Saturday)
• Open all day Thursday 12/23/10 (normally closed in afternoon)
• Closed 12/31/10 (Friday) New Years Eve at Noon (12:00)

Health Care News

• Researchers at Penn state have discovered a protein and unexpected process that repairs nerves after severe injury. This could lead to therapies for regenerating nerves with cord injuries and other severed nerves.
• Stem cell researchers in Japan were able to make a paralyzed monkey jump again. Another stem cell researcher in Colorado has devised at method to improve arthritis with a 75% reduction in pain reported. He uses your own stem cells (autologous stem cells).
• Reduced testosterone in men is linked to increased mortality.
• DIABETES IS EXPECTED TO TRIPLE BY 2050. Controlling glucose (the silent killer) dietary options include: low-calorie diet (1400 to 1800 calories/day); Mediterranean diet (lots of resh fruits and vegetables, fish, beans and omega 3s (olive oil); avoid sugary fruit juices and beverages with fructose, sucrose and hi-fructose corn syrup; consume a low-glycemic index and low-glycemic load diet.
• Metabolic syndrome increases heart attack and stroke risk
• Keeping on night lights could lead to weight gain as well as late night eating.
• Luteolin may help prevent memory loss by reducing brain inflammation
• A form of vitamin E (gamma tocotrienol) was found to inhibit prostate cancer regrowth.
• Carnosine-an antioxidant and glycation fighting nutrient has been found in a study to extend the life of laboratory animals
• Gamma Linolenic Acid (GLA)- an omega 6-essential fatty acid has anti-inflammatory properties for control and prevention of diseases such as eczema, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and major killers such as cancer and heart disease.

Evolutionary Biologist Michael Rose, contents that if we can live long enough we can go into a phase where we stop aging. The trick is to get there in good enough shape to take advantage of it. He proposes the following approach to immortality: From Kurzweil's newsletter.

"Rose’s natural recipe for immortality

• Adopt a hunter-gatherer lifestyle after 35 to 40 if Eurasian, earlier if ancestry is less Eurasian. If younger than 30 and Eurasian, continue on a post-agricultural revolution diet (or Andrew Weil-style diet).
• Use the best modern medicine
• Use autologous (from your own cells) tissue repair as it becomes available in five or more years
• Use next-generation pharmaceuticals in the next 10 or more years
• “With this recipe, I feel, many of you could be alive, basically, indefinitely,” Rose said.
  Paleo diet: The paleo diet, sometimes called the “caveman diet,” is one that mimics the diet of our ancestral hunter-gatherer ancestors in the Paleolithic era before the advent of the agricultural revolution of the Neolithic and animal husbandry.
• It includes meats, seafoods, fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
• It excludes processed foods (including meats), grain-derived foods such as pasta and breads, and dairy-derived foods such as milk, yogurt and cheese.
  Proponents of the diet such as Loren Cordain and S. Boyd Eaton argue that the agricultural revolution caused an “evolutionary discordance” between diet and our “genetically determined biology” as shaped through evolution.
  

Andrew Weil-style diet

• Andrew Weil, MD, of the University of Arizona, has authored several popular articles and books about health and diet, including best-sellers Eating Well for Optimum Health and Healthy Aging. He also has a popular Web site.
• The “Andrew Weil diet” is one in accordance with more conventional advice from dietitians and nutritionists. It includes eating whole grains, fruits and vegetables (50 to 60 percent of calories); fats largely derived from monounsaturated and polyunsatured oils (30 percent of calories); and protein (10 to 20 percent of calories) mainly from vegetarian sources such as soy."

From Kurzweil's Health Tips column brings you ideas for finding happiness, tips for living to a ripe old age, parenting advice, and new ways to help you lose weight, lower blood pressure, and prevent chronic diseases.

HAPPINESS IS…

• A social life.
• Having frequent sex with your partner. It reduces the likelihood of being irritated with each other
• Meditation. It can also train the brain to reduce sensitivity to pain from arthritis, back pain, or cancer [Universite de Montreal].

LIVING TO A RIPE OLD AGE IS ABOUT…

• Maintaining the right attitude.
• Staying mobile.
• Hiring a dietitian for hospitalized elderly.

FOOD AND SUPPLEMENTS

• Lose weight by drinking green tea after meals.
• Stay heart-healthy with whey protein shakes.
• Prevent colon cancer with apple smoothies.
• Eat fruits and vegetables for stronger bones.

MEDICAL TREATMENTS

• Long-term low-dose aspirin for cancer prevention. Stomach precautions.
• Early physical medicine is best for lower back pain.
• Smoking cessation medicines half the risk of heart attack admissions.

PARENTING ADVICE

• Planning parenthood? There’s an app for that. A new iPhone app called iCyclebeads makes it easy for a woman to know if this is a day when pregnancy is likely or not [Georgetown University Medical Center].
• Help your child get good grades. It’s linked to them taking better care of their health [University of Wisconsin-Madison].
  Keep kids away from second-hand smoke. It’s harmful for many reasons, including increased risk of bacterial diseases such as meningitis [PlosOne].
  Got a new (documented) health tip?

December News/Updates

December's Blog News

Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare & Nutrition News:

• FDA has new website on drug safety: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drugSafety.htm.
• Vitamin D may perform a protective role against multiple sclerosis (MS). Deficiency raise hip fracture risk.
• Boswellia (5-Loxin) significantly decreases pain and improves arthritis of the knee. Osteo-Biflex, and a preparation from the Life Extension foundation provide glucosamine sulfate (cartilage protective) and 5-Loxin (anti-inflammatory properties as well).
• Curcumin (tumeric spice) shows promise against cold sore virus.
• INDIGO OINTMENT (Indigo naturalis)- was shown to dramatically improve the lesions from psoriasis in a study report in the Archives of Dermatology.
• Loss of sleep may increase the risk of inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Green tea extract improves blood glucose control reducing hemoglobin A1c.
• Black raspberries appear to protect against cancer risk.
• Goji berry juice helps improve well-being, mental performance, calmness and gastrointestinal performance and lower fatigue and stress.
• Broccoli may help reverse damage done to blood vessels by diabetes.
• Flaxseed oil was shown in a recent study to improve urinary symptoms in men with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH).
• Journal of Neurology reports an association between vitamin B12 deficiency and brain shrinkage (atrophy-which has been linked to Alzheimer’s).
• Macular degeneration (MD)-plant caroteinoids such as lutein and zeaxthin have been shown to help prevent MD. One researcher suggests a hormonal component.
• Excessive intake of high fructose corn syrup appears to correlate with increased obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
  

Medical News:

• Liraglutide, a new drug in the same class as Byetta, cuts blood sugar and lowers weight in a yearlong study of people with early type 2 diabetes.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced approval of

• Tapentadol hydrochloride (Johnson & Johnson), an immediate-release oral tablet for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain.
• Focalin for ADHD

Transient Ischemic Attacks:

Transient Ischemic Attacks (TIAs) are the harbinger of strokes and need to be identified and treated. Neurologist recently identified 3 clinical characteristics:
1. Gradual symptom onset. Neurological mimickers generally take longer. TIAs come on like lightening. Migraines or seizures take longer.
2. History of unexplained transient neurologic attacks.
3. Presence of nonspecific symptoms.

Cost Containment: With the current weakening economy and health insurance issues, it is important for patients to know that I am committed to getting them well as fast as possible and at a reasonable cost. I have not raised my charges on any services since 1995 and am using the charge sheet developed at that time. To be able to do so, however, I cannot give many free services and have to charge for the procedures I do perform.

Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare & Nutrition News:

Monitoring your blood pressure: What are normal ranges?

• Normal blood pressure: Systolic (top number) <>
• Pre-hypertension: Systolic 120-139 mmHg or Diastolic 80-89 mmHg.
• Stage 1 Hypertension: Systolic 140-159 mmHg, or Diastolic 90-99 mmHg.
• Stage 2 Hypertension: Systolic 160 mmHg+, or Diastolic 100 mmHg +
  Note: Recent smoking or exercise can increase the numbers slightly. Try to take your pressure at the same time every day. 3 successive high reading are needed to establish hypertension on different days. If your numbers are high, take 3 successive readings one minute apart. Very high numbers are at risk for strokes.
  

Heart Attack Signs:

• Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back. It can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Symptoms can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
• Other signs may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness
  As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.
  

Heart attacks are also more prevalent during holidays and cold weather with the peak incident level on December 25th.

Stroke Warning Signs The American Stroke Association says these are the warning signs of stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
  If you or someone with you has one or more of these signs, don't delay! Immediately call 9-1-1 or the emergency medical services (EMS) number so an ambulance (ideally with advanced life support) can be sent for you. Also, check the time so you'll know when the first symptoms appeared. It's very important to take immediate action. If given within three hours of the start of symptoms, a clot-busting drug called tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) can reduce long-term disability for the most common type of stroke. tPA is the only FDA-approved medication for the treatment of stroke within three hours of stroke symptom onset.

Signs of Peripheral & Autonomic Neuropathy:

Peripheral Neuropathy signs: This is especially important for diabetics.

• Tingling or burning in your toes, feet, legs, fingers, hands, or arms?
• A "pins and needles" feeling?
• Pain or cramping?
• Numbness or loss of sensation?
• Insensitivity to heat and cold?
• Extreme sensitivity to even the lightest touch?
• Muscle weakness in your hands or feet? Loss of coordination

Autonomic Neuropathy:

• Trouble feeling when your blood sugar is low?
• Chronic constipation or diarrhea?
• Frequent indigestion, nausea, or vomiting?
• Problems with urination?
• Problems with sex or orgasm?
• Faintness or dizziness when you stand up?
• Trouble seeing well enough to drive at night?
• Changes in sweating, either much more or less than usual?

Some things you can do to handle peripheral neuropathy.

• NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories)-aspirin, ibuprofen, Aleve, etc. Can cause stomach issues. Prescription strength- Lodine, Relafen, Celebrex.
• Tylenol – no anti-inflammatory properties therefore easier on stomach.
• Creams and gels: capsaicin (Capsaicin, Zostrix). Made from chili-peppers; can take a week to act; some get allergies; may interfere with healing (diabetic problem); can burn if sweating or open pores right after a shower. Lidocaine-can be bought in non-prescription strength or can get with a prescription. Don’t waste your time on Aspercreme or Ben Gay as they have not been shown to be effective.
• Anti-Seizure Drugs- Neurontin, Lyrica, Cymbalta.
• Anti-depressants- SSRIs- prozac, paxil, SNRIs-Cymbalta, Effexor. Tricyclic anti-depressants-Elavil.
• Opiods.

Nutrition/Diet News:

• Using a combination of simvastatin and red yeast rice and fish oil supplements in a study showed more significant drops in LDL, triglycerides and body weight as reported in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings in 2008. The triglyceride and body weight drops were where significant compared to the control group. Turns out there is a way other than statins to achieve these good results.
• The association between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women in a review indicates a possible biochemical mechanism occurring between vitamin D and mood disorders affecting women, warranting further studies of these variables using rigorous methodologies.
• Epidemiological studies and clinical trials suggest that soy isoflavones have beneficial effects on bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, and bone mechanical strength in postmenopausal women. The long-term safety of soy isoflavone supplements remains to be demonstrated.
• The INTERHEART study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, shows that the risk of heart attack crosses geographic boundaries and correlates strongly to the so-called Western diet that favors salty snacks and fried foods, and to a lesser extent, meat increases heart attack risk globally.
  

Nutrition Update, Cancer, Women's Health

Chiropractic, Alternative Healthcare & Nutrition News:

• Good news for dark chocolate eaters- it may reduce C-Reactive Protein (inflammatory marker) just don’t eat too much since it can increase lipids (blood fats).
• Energy drinks-looking for a boost in your energy. LOOK OUT. Some of the energy drinks out there have the caffeine equivalent of 14 cans of Coca Cola. On top of that they are laden with sugar (I’ve seen them have been 20-30 grams of sugar). It’ll give you energy but what are the health effects. The caffeine will keep you up for a long time and once the sugar wears off you could have a serious drop in blood sugar. It gives a jolt-crash phenomenon and you people are particularly susceptible to it. It can cause heart palpitations. There may be some links with drug use as well.
• Vitamin C may prevent gout.
• Exercise and diet might help preserve muscle mass in the elderly.
• Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to risk factors for Multiple Sclerosis.
• Mediterranean Diet and Disease-The researchers found that people who followed a strict Mediterranean diet were:
  9% less likely to die from heart disease or other cardiovascular problems
  6% less likely to develop cancer or die from it
  13% less likely to have Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease
  The Mediterranean diet was first popularized in the U.S. in the 1990s. It is low in saturated fat and high in fiber and monounsaturated fat and includes vegetables, whole grains, fish, legumes, fruit, and moderate red wine. The main cooking fat is olive oil.

Medical News:

• Progressive muscle issues and weakness may be an early sign of a serious problem developing called ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) according to a Medscape article.

Women’s Health News:

Women's Heart Attack Symptoms:

• Many women don’t have chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained fatigue
• Pressure in lower chest or upper abdomen
• Weakness
• Nausea
• Back pain
  

Cancer Information:

What Are the Symptoms for Endometrial Cancer?
Some women with endometrial cancer experience no symptoms until the disease has spread to other organs. However, endometrial cancer is usually diagnosed by the appearance of symptoms -- like vaginal bleeding -- as the malignancy begins to grow. The most likely symptoms are:
· Abnormal vaginal bleeding which occurs in 9 out of 10 women diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Before menopause, this means unusually heavy irregular menstrual periods or bleeding between periods. After a woman enters menopause, this means any vaginal bleeding, unless she is on post menopausal hormone therapy (HT). Postmenopausal women on HT may have monthly bleeding that resembles menstruation; any unusual or heavy bleeding should be reported to the doctor.
· Vaginal discharge that may range from pink and watery to thick, brown and foul smelling. Difficult or painful urination.
· An enlarged uterus, detectable upon pelvic examination.
· Pain during intercourse.
Unexpected weight loss; weakness and pain in the lower abdomen, back or legs. This occurs once the cancer has spread to other organs.

Colorectal Cancer:

• The second leading cause of death from cancer in the United States is colorectal cancer, according the March-April 2008 issue of CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
• The American Cancer Society guidelines for colorectal cancer screening include sigmoidoscopy every 5 years and colonoscopy every 10 years.
• Vegetables and fruit may protect men from colorectal cancer.
• Fecal Occult Blood Testing (FOBT) is likely helpful as a screening tool for colorectal cancer according to the Cochrane Report.