Back Pain And Chiropractic

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

It is estimated that 80% of Americans will have chronic back pain (BP) at some point in their lives. At any point in time, over 30% of the population of adults will have back pain. Then why is it that only 7 to 10% of the population goes to the chiropractor? 

People struggling with BP take many different paths to find relief, many of which have been proven ineffective. Debilitating symptoms cause some to resign themselves to a lifetime of prescription pain killers, steroid shots and even multiple surgeries. All of these have been proven less effective than alternative treatments such as spinal manipulation, exercises and massage.

High Fructose Corn Syrup's New Name

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

High fructose corn syrup now has a sneaky new name, trying to fool you into believing it has gotten healthier.

In May 2012, I wrote an article on the danger of high fructose corn syrup, HFCS. Go to the website and read that article for further context.

HFCS is the number one source of calories in the USA today. This stuff is not good for your health, especially in the amounts it is consumed by many people. Soda and sweet drinks are the largest culprit, but many packaged foods have high amounts of HFCS too.

Hydration Principles

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

The heat of summer is here. The humidity makes some days unbearable, so we hide in the air conditioning. At those times you choose to be outside or must be in the heat, do you stay hydrated?

During strenuous activities, especially in the summer heat, we need to replenish liquids and sometimes, electrolytes. On a daily basis, listening to your thirst mechanism is a good way to stay hydrated. Pure, clean water is vital for optimal health.

Once your body has lost 1-2% of its total water content, you start to feel thirsty. During times of heavy exercise or work, by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated to some degree. This is why it is important to drink plenty of liquids prior to and during periods of heavy sweating. Professional athletes tend to know this.

Aspirin- part 2

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Before you jump on the bandwagon of taking aspirin daily for the reduction of heart attacks, stroke and cancer, you really need to educate yourself on the actual benefits and side effects.   Like we showed last week, recent studies point toward no benefit in reducing heart attack with aspirin use.  In fact, use of aspirin by people who have not had a cardiac event seems to increase the incidence of heart attack.

Let’s start with the professed benefit of taking an aspirin a day. It is said to help prevent cardiovascular events, especially in a person who already has had a heart attack or stroke. A recent report came out saying aspirin prevents cancer when taken for at least 3 years. The process of thinning the blood so it can circulate more easily amongst clogged and narrowed arteries sure seems logical enough, if it only were true.

Aspirin- part 1

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

For many years, doctors have been prescribing aspirin therapy as a cheap, effective way to reduce cardiovascular events and improve survival after a heart attack. Neither of these is true.

Chewing two aspirin during a heart attack event has been shown to be very effective in reducing damage to the heart.  You must chew them, and it must be during the event.  That is not what we are talking about here.

Even low dose aspirin therapy has serious side effects that, just like statin drugs for cholesterol, overshadow any supposed benefit. The evidence in support of aspirin has always been weak, and over the last decade it has become even weaker.

The benefit purported by medicine for taking aspirin is that of its antiplatelet activity. They say that it helps save lives by reducing deaths from heart attacks.

Healing Laser Therapy

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Have you heard about the latest advance in pain relief?  It is called Class IV high power cold laser therapy.  Let’s take a look at the history of light therapy, what laser therapy is, what physiologic changes occur, what conditions benefit from its use and its safety and effectiveness.

Laser is an acronym.  It stands for Light Amplified by Stimulated Light Emission of Radiation.  It was theorized by Albert Einstein in 1916, invented by Theodore Maiman in 1960.  In 1967 Endre Mester discovered the bio stimulatory properties of laser light.

Peptic Ulcers or something else?

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

Is that pain in your abdomen just a belly ache, or could it be reflux or a peptic ulcer? How do you know?

A short term ache in the upper abdomen is usually just that, an upset stomach that passes quickly.

Pain in the upper abdomen that burns up into the chest and throat is most likely a reflux condition, actually caused by too little stomach acid. (See my website for an article on reflux on June 28, 2012.)

Peptic ulcers are a whole different problem. About seven percent of Americans are diagnosed with ulcers, some 16 million in total, and 500,000 new cases each year.

Obviously the stomach is at the bottom end of the esophagus. After the stomach, the upper part of the small intestine is next, called the duodenum. It is about 12 inches long. Glands inside the stomach produce acid and pepsin. The stomach also produces mucus to protect the stomach lining from the acid.