MAX-GXLS

Archive for July, 2011

Patients with neck pain, back pain, sciatica and other musculoskeletal conditions seek care from health professionals including MD’s, Physical Therapists, DO’s and chiropractors. Unfortunately most miss an important type of therapy to help correct the cause of the problem. Medical doctors usually just prescribe medications that at best mask the pain, but the underlying cause of the problem remains and progressively gets worse, while there is always a huge risk of medication side effects. Doctors of Osteopathy usually take the same path, but might do some minor manipulation. Physical therapists usually will perform some passive therapies like electric stimulation, ultrasound or laser. Chiropractors take a more active approach at correcting the underlying cause by adjusting the spine to remove the pressure on the nerves.

In the 13 years I’ve been in practice, I find one of the most important steps in correcting the problem is addressing the tight muscles that support the spine and mechanics of the body. Every day we are putting stress into the body, causing the muscles to not only tighten up, but to be out of balance: from slouching at a desk while working on a computer, to carrying a pocket book or briefcase on the same shoulder on a daily basis, talking on the phone with your head tilted to one side, playing sports and working out, the list goes on and on.

It’s finally cooling down here in the sunshine state, to the point that those early morning runs feel good – still sweaty, but not gasping. Thank goodness. I need all the inspiration I can get to stick with it sometimes. It’s all about getting past that energetic ditch, but hair loss is one of those factors that can make getting over that ditch akin to getting out of neck-deep quicksand. Even if we do get out, we’re way too exhausted to think about going for a run.

After years of coaching tennis, competing in marathons, semi-pro golfing, and maintaining a solid swim schedule, my life as a fit and active woman was completely derailed by Alopecia Universalis – an autoimmune disease that caused my hair to fall out. I was suddenly bald and I was devastated, depressed and just wanted to hide. On the rare occasion I emerged from my closet, I hid my condition under a wig. Exercise had always been the one emotional pickup I could count on through thick or thin. I was (and am) an exercise endorphin junky, but once I lost my hair, my exercise rhythm came to a fast halt. This is Florida, where running, swimming, and playing tennis in a hot, scratchy wig is about as inspiring as struggling my way out of neck-deep quicksand before my morning run. Once I lost my hair, my running shoes, my tennis rackets, the golf clubs and my swimsuit all started collecting dust.

Ever since the medical science achieved a major landmark with the first successful bone marrow transplant in the year 1968, the treatment has emerged as a revolutionary medical procedure that can be used to treat many diseases which were widely perceived to be incurable. This breakthrough medical procedure is now used to treat several life threatening diseases such as aplastic anemia, leukemia, breast cancer, immune deficiency disorders, among many others.

However, even though BMTs are now able to cure a considerable number of people every year who are suffering from malignant and non malignant diseases, there are still many patients who are not able to receive this treatment for lack of a compatible bone marrow donor.

What is Bone Marrow Transplant?

The spongy or flexible tissue that is present in the interior of bones is known as bone marrow. It is present in the large size bones, such as breast bone, hips and spine where it produces new blood cells. The blood cells include white blood cells (leukocytes), platelets and the red blood cells (erythrocytes).

It is nearly impossible nowadays to open a newspaper, turn on a television set or radio without encountering at least one story about the shortage of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil and natural gas) and the ever-increasing need for the development of alternative energy sources. The most popular forms of renewable energy are Hydro Electric Power (also known as Tidal Power), Biofuel/Biodiesel and Solar Energy. However, the most obvious indicator of the increased drive for renewable energy sources is the growing number of wind turbines and the growing number of wind farms.

The advantages of renewable energy sources do not just rest with the fact that the already limited supplies of fossil fuels will otherwise be depleted at an even greater speed. Global Warming is another key reason why projects such as Wind Farm Developments have attracted an increased level of interest and funding. We are taught that the use of traditional fossil fuels (such as coal and natural gas), becoming increasingly used to power the machines developed during the Industrial Revolution, only exaggerated the problem now facing our environment. This is because the combustion of such fuels resulted in very high levels of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere, demonstrating the need for the development of a source of energy which will not be depleted and will not damage the environment.