John Wiens DC

Natural anti-inflammatory agents for pain relief

By John Wiens DC|November 24, 2015|Pain Relief|

Source US National Library of Medicine

Abstract

The use of both over-the-counter and prescription nonsteroidal medications is frequently recommended in a typical neurosurgical practice. But persistent long-term use safety concerns must be considered when prescribing these medications for chronic and degenerative pain conditions. This article is a literature review of the biochemical pathways of inflammatory pain, the potentially serious side effects of nonsteroidal drugs and commonly used and clinically studied natural alternative anti-inflammatory supplements. Although nonsteroidal medications can be effective, herbs and dietary supplements may offer a safer, and often an effective, alternative treatment for pain relief, especially for long-term use.

Read the full article…

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Chronicles of Health Creation: RAND Report Begs New Look at Integrative Medicine and Health Professionals in the Triple Aim Era

By John Wiens DC|November 20, 2015|Complementary and Alternative Medicine|

Excerpted from Huffington Post
John Weeks

A recent report from the RAND Corporation describes how regular medicine reduced complementary and alternative medicine professionals to “thing” status — as “modalities” — in the first years of the integrative medicine era.

The title of the report is “Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Professions or Modalities?” The discussions among policy makers, practitioners and delivery system leaders synthesized in the 75-page document beg a more significant question: Does the emergence of values-based medicine urge a major re-think regarding the potential contributions of these professionals?

The case statement by RAND’s Patricia Herman, ND, PhD and Ian Coulter, PhD begins with a blunt irony. “One of the hallmarks of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is treatment of the whole person.” Yet in the fee-for-service procedure and production orientation of the medical industry, licensed practitioners of chiropractic, acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and naturopathic medicine were typically stripped of this core value — treating the whole person — before being put to any use.

Regular medicine’s dominant influence when “CAM” integration by medical delivery organizations began in the mid-1990s was the industrial value of service production. Mayo Clinic’s director of innovation captures this concisely when he recently spoke of medicine’s historic focus on “producing” services rather than on “creating health.”

In such an industrial setting, a chiropractor became a thing to be use sparingly. Chiropractor = spinal manipulation for low back pain.

A precedent for this boiling down of a chiropractor’s potential value in human health to thing status was set for chiropractors decades earlier in Medicare. In that even more intransigent fee-for-service era, only adjustment of the spine for low back pain made the grade. Unremunerated was the time that a chiropractor spends in evaluation and management. Most of the chiropractic professional’s education and practice rights were dumped overboard. No value was placed on a chiropractor’s counseling of patients on diet, lifestyle, dietary supplements, or ergonomics, for instance.

Getting into Medicare at all back then was a victory for the field. But a consequence of this limited economic relationship was the rack ’em and crack ’em – as fast as possible method of treatment. Produce!

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FDA strengthens warning that non-aspirin NSAIDs can cause heart attacks or strokes

By John Wiens DC|October 27, 2015|NSAIDs|

Source FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is strengthening an existing label warning that non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke. Based on their comprehensive review of new safety information, they are requiring updates to the drug labels of all prescription NSAIDs. As is the case with current prescription NSAID labels, the Drug Facts labels of over-the-counter (OTC) non-aspirin NSAIDs already contain information on heart attack and stroke risk. They will also request updates to the OTC non-aspirin NSAID Drug Facts labels.

Based on their review and the advisory committees’ recommendations, the prescription NSAID labels will be revised to reflect the following information:

The risk of heart attack or stroke can occur as early as the first weeks of using an NSAID. The risk may increase with longer use of the NSAID.
The risk appears greater at higher doses.
It was previously thought that all NSAIDs may have a similar risk. Newer information makes it less clear that the risk for heart attack or stroke is similar for all NSAIDs; however, this newer information is not sufficient for us to determine that the risk of any particular NSAID is definitely higher or lower than that of any other particular NSAID.
NSAIDs can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients with or without heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. A large number of studies support this finding, with varying estimates of how much the risk is increased, depending on the drugs and the doses studied.
In general, patients with heart disease or risk factors for it have a greater likelihood of heart attack or stroke following NSAID use than patients without these risk factors because they have a higher risk at baseline.
Patients treated with NSAIDs following a first heart attack were more likely to die in the first year after the heart attack compared to patients who were not treated with NSAIDs after their first heart attack.
There is an increased risk of heart failure with NSAID use.

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World Spine Day – October 16th, 2015

By John Wiens DC|October 9, 2015|News|

World Spine Day is a part of the Bone and Joint Decade Action Week which occurs each year in October. The 16th of October is the day dedicated as World Spine Day.

The theme “Straighten Up and Move” was introduced in 2012 and emphasized the importance of healthy spinal posture and activity which promote body awareness and minimizes the day-to-day wear and tear on a person’s spine. The theme of posture and movement supports the BJD’s Vision of “Keep People Moving”. The intent of WSD is to bring people from all walks of life – patients, health providers, health care organizations, associations and governments to help ease this global burden.

The aims of WSD:

Raise awareness about spinal health and spine disorders within the interdisciplinary health care community and amongst public policy decision-makers and the general public;
To provide an opportunity for and encourage ongoing discussion about the burden of spinal disorders; and
To promote an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach to easing the burden of spinal disorders.

WSD Theme 2015- “Your Back at Work”

In 2015 a new theme is being introduced for WSD- “Your Back at Work”. It is anticipated that this theme will continue for the next 2-3 years, building on the “Straighten Up and Move” theme.

Prevention, education and management of spine disorders in the workplace are of utmost importance and this year’s theme provides an important opportunity to highlight the importance of global, regional and local initiatives to address the burden of MSK disorders in the workplace.

World Spine Day Toolkit

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Chiropractic Physicians Call for Conservative Treatments for Pain Management Amid Prescription Painkiller Epidemic

By John Wiens DC|August 20, 2015|News|

Source American Chiropractic Association

American Chiropractic Association launches 2015 public awareness campaign aimed at curbing opioid overuse and abuse

During National Chiropractic Health Month (NCHM) in October, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) will work with thousands of doctors of chiropractic (DCs), chiropractic assistants (CAs) and chiropractic doctoral students nationwide to bring attention to the public health crisis caused by pain, and in particular the overuse of prescription painkillers, with this year’s theme #PainFreeNation. The campaign is part of the profession’s ongoing efforts to educate the public about the value of exhaustingconservative forms of care for both acute and chronic pain before resorting to higher risk options, such as opioids.

“Opioid medications involve the risk of overuse and addiction. Beyond the risks of overuse and addiction, prescription drugs that numb pain may convince a patient that a musculoskeletal condition is less severe than it is, or that it has healed. This misunderstanding can lead to overexertion and a delay in the healing process or even to permanent injury,” said ACA President Anthony Hamm, DC.

President Hamm noted that people in pain should be informed of all management strategies, including non-drug approaches such as chiropractic, to reduce their risk of overuse and addiction.

“Each patient is unique, and care plans should be tailored to focus on what is the safest, most effective treatment for the individual. Chiropractic physicians stand ready to work together with medical physicians to help address this epidemic that has caused unnecessary suffering, enormous loss of human potential and massive financial and personal costs,” he added.

Fortunately, health care quality organizations have begun to recognize the value of this conservative, multidisciplinary approach. Earlier this year, the Joint Commission, which certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, including every major hospital, revised its pain management standard to include chiropractic services and acupuncture. Clinical experts in pain management who provide input to the commission’s standards affirmed that treatment strategies may consider both pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches.

During NCHM this fall, ACA will offer chiropractic physicians resources to help them share information about their conservative approach and why it is especially significant to today’s health care consumers amidst the opioid epidemic.

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The True Face of Medicare Fraud

By John Wiens DC|June 19, 2015|News|

Source The Atlantic
By David A Graham

A $712 million bust, the biggest in U.S. history, shows that the people most likely to bilk the system are doctors and medical providers, not “welfare queens.”

A specter is still haunting American politics—the mythological specter of the welfare queen. Even after Clinton-era welfare reforms, and despite an ever-growing list of state restrictions on how public benefits can be used, Americans remain convinced that there’s waste, fraud, and abuse in the system, and that stronger controls would keep undeserving citizens from bilking the taxpayer. There is fraud, it’s true. But it’s not nearly large enough to make a dent in the federal budget, and it’s not freeloading welfare queens who are taking advantage of the system.

Nearly lost Thursday in the response to the atrocity in Charleston was Attorney Loretta Lynch’s announcement of arrests in what she called “the largest criminal healthcare fraud takedown in the history of the Department of Justice.” A total of 243 people were arrested and charged with stealing $712 million from Medicare. The arrests included 46 doctors, nurses, pharmacy owners, and other medical professionals. Facilities billed the federal government for therapy sessions where patients were actually just moved, never treated. In a particularly disturbing case, a Michigan doctor allegedly “prescribed unnecessary narcotics in exchange for patients’ identification information, which was used to generate false billings. Patients then became deeply addicted to the prescription narcotics and were bound to the scheme as long as they wanted to keep their access to the drugs.”

(more…)

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About John Wiens DC

Natural anti-inflammatory agents for pain relief

Chronicles of Health Creation: RAND Report Begs New Look at Integrative Medicine and Health Professionals in the Triple Aim Era

A recent report from the RAND Corporation describes how regular medicine reduced complementary and alternative medicine professionals to “thing” status — as “modalities” — in the first years of the integrative medicine era.

FDA strengthens warning that non-aspirin NSAIDs can cause heart attacks or strokes

World Spine Day – October 16th, 2015

Chiropractic Physicians Call for Conservative Treatments for Pain Management Amid Prescription Painkiller Epidemic

American Chiropractic Association launches 2015 public awareness campaign aimed at curbing opioid overuse and abuse

The True Face of Medicare Fraud

A $712 million bust, the biggest in U.S. history, shows that the people most likely to bilk the system are doctors and medical providers, not “welfare queens.”