Sauna's for Health? Part 1

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

When was the last time you got into a hot sauna?  Probably on your last vacation right?  And why did you use it?  Just to relax more than likely!  Did you know there are excellent health benefits of regular hot sauna use?

You’ve likely heard of a Finnish sauna.  That’s because the Finns have been using saunas for over 2000 years. A full 99% of Fins take at least one sauna per week! Here in the USA we mainly see them as a luxury for use at the gym or on vacation. But many in Finland have them right in their homes and businesses.

Can a Chiropractor Help Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

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

Do you or someone you know have hand pain, numbness or tingling? Have you been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS)? Do you think surgery is the only answer? I’m writing to give you a different perspective on this pervasive problem.

First we will start with some statistics on the second most common musculoskeletal surgery (back surgery is number one). There are more than 250,000 carpal tunnel surgeries performed every year in the United States, and growing. More than 8 million people are affected, and employers spend over $7.4 billion in workers comp costs yearly. Only 23% of all CTS surgery patients were able to return to their previous profession following surgery!

Artificial Sweeteners Good For You? Part 2

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

In this article on sweeteners, I will present a few acceptable alternatives to the chemical slurries commonly used. There are six sweeteners to consider: stevia, stevia based alternative, xylitol, dextrose or pure glucose, and lastly, sugar and honey in moderation.

We’ll start with my favorite of the bunch, stevia. Stevia belongs in the herb and shrub genus in the sunflower family. It comes from the Central and South Americas. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar, has no calories, no fat, carbs or sugars. It has a negligible effect on blood glucose, so diabetics and low carb dieters can use it without worry.

Artificial Sweeteners Good For You? Part 1

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

How many of you think you are doing yourself a favor by reducing calorie intake with artificial, no calorie sweeteners? You know the pink, blue, yellow, and now green packets. Advertisers entice people to use artificial sweeteners as a means to lose weight. Did you know it doesn’t really help at all? Would you believe it actually makes you fatter? Studies show that artificial sweeteners have adverse consequences, including tricking the body into desiring MORE calories. Plus, the long list of side effects connected to them just doesn’t make sense for your health. This week, we’ll look at the ones you should avoid, and in the next article we will cover what you can safely use as alternate sweeteners.

First, to prove my point above, a study by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, presented this report at an American Diabetes Association meeting. Diet sodas are not a “guilt free” treat at all. After following 474 diet soda drinkers for 10 years, they found that their waists grew 70% more than those who drank non-diet sodas. For those who drank 2 or more diet sodas a day, their waists increased, on average, over 500%. Waist size indicates the amount of fat at your organs, which is strongly linked to type II diabetes.

Laser Therapy Helps Pain!

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.

Who Uses Chiropractic?

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

For several years now the chiropractic college I graduated from has done a Gallup Survey of Americans.  This survey is intended to reveal American adults’ experiences with pain and their perceptions/opinions of pharmaceutical treatment versus conservative treatment of their pain.

                This year the survey findings reveal the severity of the epidemic of pain in Americans, particularly the neck and low back, and the opportunity chiropractors have to offer a clear alternative to the opioids and pain pills.

                This survey was conducted in February and March of 2017 and surveyed some 6,305 U.S. adults age 18 and older.  There are four major takeaways found:

Do Prescriptions Really Expire?

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

Have you ever wondered if that old prescription sitting in your refrigerator is still any good?  You see the expiration date is well past, but it was expensive and you may need it again, right?

If the expiration date has come and gone, is it safe to keep? And for how long? Will it hurt you if you take it “out of date?”

Let’s start with how medication expiration dates came about. There were no expiration dates on medications until 1979. The FDA started requiring dates to “ensure effectiveness.” The generally accepted minimum standard for potency is a concentration of 90% or better.

The term “expiration date” is a real misnomer. The drug companies actually decide the date a drug “expires.” And by “expires”, they mean the date at which they will no longer guarantee its’ effectiveness. They test the drugs initially on one batch of drugs using humidity, temperature, photolysis and oxidation as stressors on the drug. The FDA reviews the data and sets the date. However, the drug makers do not have to do any further testing to establish if the drugs are useable past the date they set.