Blog Posts - McMurray Chiropractic

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

10/25/2012

Wikapedia's definition of Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is "an entrapment median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, numbness, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression of the median nerve traveling through the carpal tunnel.[1]

In my experience, patients have symptoms of pain before they actually have numbness. They can have pain in the wrist and/or forearm. The numbness is one of the last stages, when the inflammation has encroached on the small space where the median nerve runs.
Carpal Tunnel can be treated with therapeutic massage, Acupuncture, ice and B6. I start with deep tissue massage techniques and have the patient ice at home. If this does not resolve the issue, the next step is acupuncture and B6. So far, I have not had a patient that needed surgery. There have even been some cases where the patient was scheduled for surgery and was able to cancel. Every case is different, and not everyone can avoid surgery, but if it were me, my family or friends, I would try this before surgery. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me. I always offer a free consultation.

Can Statin Drugs Increase Cardiovascular Disease?

10/15/2012

Is Your Supplement Giving You Enough Nutrition?

10/1/2012

More and more we hear that we Americans eat plenty of food, but we are still starving. In other words, we are overfed and undernourished. We are not eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables, and the foods we do eat have been stripped of their nutritional value. The same goes for our supplements.

The supplements available are abundant, diverse, and overwhelming, But they can also be nutritionally insufficient. Where did the nutrients in your vitamin come from? The best multivitamin nutrition is whole food supplements. That means that whole foods are concentrated into a supplement so that all the nutrients from the food are intact, and are replacing the missing nutrients from our diets.

Most multivitamins available are not from whole foods. They are single vitamins in large amounts, not the entire food complex, and not from whole foods. If you want the most effective multivitamin supplement, look for a whole food supplement. The one I use and recommend is Catalyn, by Standard Process. For further information, feel free to contact me. I always offer free consultations, and I am available for questions.

My Own Issues with Allergies

9/19/2012

I have struggled with allergies most of my life. Sinus infections were a common illness growing up. I tried everything under the sun to relieve my sneezing, coughing, post nasal drip, rhinitis, sinus infection issues. It was finally to the point where it was causing a chronic cough and sinus infections that led to asthma and bronchitis. I was sick at least three times a year, for months at a time. The last straw was when I had fluid on my lungs that I could not get rid of. I went to my primary care doctor and had to take Prednezone to get rid of the fluid. At that moment, I vowed to find something that would control the allergies, so that I would never have to take steroids again.
My journey was frustrating and disappointing at times. I tried herbs, supplements and finally found a combination of homeopathic remedies and whole food nutrition that helped control all of the symptoms I was suffering from. After researching the causes and the body's responses to allergens, I came up with a combination that has rid me of sneezing, coughing, sinus infections, and bronchitis. I am completely symptom free! I occasionally have to take both the homeopathics and the whole food supplements to keep the symptoms in check, but it's not as severe or as often as it used to be. I have not had a sinus infection for over a year now, and have found that my sense of smell is better. My hearing has also improved since I don't have the drainage, congestion, and fluid in my ears!
It is possible to support your body's healing ability. I am living proof, as are my patients. If you are interested in finding out about products that will support your body's healing ability, I am available to answer questions and help you heal!

Magnesium

9/12/2012

We have been taught that when you have a muscle cramp or "Charlie Horse", you should eat bananas to increase your Potassium. That is true. However, Magnesium is usually the reason for muscle cramping. Low Magnesium levels affect heart, neuromuscular and renal tissues. Some of the symptoms of a Magnesium deficiency are weakness, confusion, personality changes, nausea, muscle tremors, and gastrointestinal issues. I have given it to patients that are on heart medications, and their cramping goes away. Some of the heart medications decrease the body's Magnesium levels and can cause severe muscle spasms. I also recommend it to my patients that have severe pain that is due to, or worsened by muscle spasms.I recommend 400-600 mgs of Magnesium/day. If you are taking too much for your body to utilize, you will have diarrhea. If this is the case, take less until you have normal bowel movements. Once you have increased your levels back to normal, you can stop taking it. This usually takes a couple of weeks.

It is very important to continue to consume foods that contain Magnesium so that you don't become deficient. Good sources of magnesium are legumes, nuts, whole grain breads, dark green vegetables, seafood, and soybeans. There are also small amounts in meat, poultry and eggs. So make sure you are consuming these foods to keep your levels up.

Are Cholesterol Levels Based on Science?

8/29/2012

Several years ago, the National Cholesterol Education Program started promoting new guidelines for cholesterol levels and the use of statin drugs to lower these levels. The recommendation for people at high risk for heart disease was LDL levels <100 mg/dl, and people at very high risk for heart disease LDL levels <70 mg/dl. These are extremely low levels and can only be reached by using high doses of statin drugs.

Dr. Duane Graveline, MD, MPH explains "On July 13, 2004, they published their recommendations for new cholesterol guidelines in Circulation of the American Heart Association. Circulation failed to disclose that six of the nine authors had direct financial ties to the makers of statin drugs. Those drugs include Pfizer's Lipitor; Bristol-Myers Squibb's Pravachol, Merck's Lovastatin, and AstraZeneca's Crestor. These guidelines immediately boosted the sales of statins from fifteen billion per year when the report was released in 2004 to over twenty-two billion in 2005. And now we come to find out there is not a shred of scientific evidence to support that lowering cholesterol in this manner will reduce cardiovascular disease.
The October 3, 2006 review in the Annals of Internal Medicine tears this "solid science" to shreds, something that should have been done two years ago. The review explains the deceitful manipulation of statistics and how not one study proves that lowering LDL cholesterol to the super low levels recommended has any benefit in reducing cardiovascular disease. Simply put, this report is shocking."

You can read more about this at Dr. Duane Graveline's website spacedoc.com.

Results of the flu vaccine

8/21/2012

Vitamin C and Ascorbic Acid

8/13/2012

The Government rates vitamin C products by the amount of ascorbic acid contained in them. There are many other factors in vitamin C that are just as important. It is crucial to get all the nutrients and the synergistic cofactors, enzymes, and all the other unknown factors that are found along with it. So if you are interested in taking vitamin C, find a supplement that is a whole food supplement. In other words, it is the whole orange, lime, alfalfa, etc. It will list ingredients such as dried alfalfa leaf, carrot root, wheat germ. It will not mention ascorbic acid, although it is contained in the product. The brand I use for myself, my family, and my patients is Standard Process.

Lose Weight Now!

8/1/2012

Are you interested in losing weight? Want to start right now? Then stop drinking sodas and sugary drinks, including juices. Juices are concentrated, so they have a lot of fructose in them. You can have an occasional juice, just cut it down to one 12ounce juice every other day. It's better to eat the fruit than drink it. You get all the nutrients, fiber and synergistic value in a fruit.

Stevia is a natural plant based sweetener that can be used instead of sugar. It is less calories, and better for you than the artificial sweeteners. So if you need to add sweetener, it's the healthier choice.

Try substituting green tea, herbal teas, and water. It will take some getting used to, but you will be surprised as to how many empty calories there are in sugary drinks. You don't need them, and they are not healthy. And just by removing and substituting this one item from your daily routine, you will begin to lose a few pounds!

Antacids

7/24/2012

People take antacids because they have an upset stomach, acid reflux and heart burn. The theory behind this is that the stomach is too acidic, so you need an antacid to calm the acid production-to make the stomach more alkaline. In most people, it's just the opposite. In most cases, there's not enough acid to break down the food, so it is the rancid food coming back up. Antacids help with the rancid food, but not digestion of the food itself. In order to break down food, you need an acidic environment in the stomach.

And what about Calcium in your antacid? Well you also need and acidic environment in your stomach to break down and absorb minerals such as Calcium. So if you take an antacid that makes the stomach alkaline, you can't absorb the calcium. Also, what if you're on a stronger antacid that you take daily? Are you absorbing any calcium? Is it any wonder that taking these may increase the risk of bone fractures by 30 percent? Do you know anyone with osteoporosis? Are they also taking prescribed antacids? Not a good combination.

A well known remedy for this issue is organic apple cider vinegar. You can pick it up at any whole foods store. Taking at least one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar with meals, will increase the acidity in the stomach, and allow the food to break down easier. If this improves your digestion, you don't have enough acid, if causes burning, you may be the rare case that does have too much acid. Many people need more that 1 tablespoon, so you will have to experiment. A suggestion is to try 1, if there is no change, try 2, and so on until you get to the point where you can feel a little burning. Then back off one tablespoon. So if you get burning at 5 tablespoons, take 4 with each meal. You can mix with water, use as a salad dressing, or any way you can think to take it.