Dr. Rathburn's Blog

As we begin 2012, it's time to face the direction health care is going in the USA and consider the impact it has on our future.  According to the results of a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics in September 2011, the percentage of Americans on prescription drugs in a given month has risen from 39.1% (1988-94) to 47.2% (2005-08).  This is not the percentage of adults who used prescription drugs.......this is EVERYONE!  Applying this growth trend, it is very likely that 2012 will be the first year in our nation's history that more than 50% of the people in our country are on some kind of prescription drug (1).  Looking at the data closely, we find that as of 2008, in a given month:

20.8% of all people are on three or more prescription drugs.

11% of all people are on 5 or more prescription drugs.

25.3% of children and teens (under 18) are on at least one prescription drug.

90.1% of seniors (65 and older) are on at least one prescription drug.

65% of seniors are on 3 or more prescription drugs.

36.7% of seniors are on 5 or more prescription drugs.

Why so many drugs? Luckily the same study breaks the reality down by ailment/drug type and age group:

Children (under 12): asthma (5.7% of children are taking prescription drugs for this), asthma/allergies (3.9% of children), infections (3.7% of children).

Teens (aged 12-19): Attention deficit disorder (6.1%), asthma (5.4%), antidepressants (4.8%).

Adults (age 20-59): antidepressants (10.8%), pain relief (10.1%), cholesterol lowering drugs (8.4%).

Seniors (age 60+ years): cholesterol lowering drugs (44.9%), beta blockers (26.4%), diuretics (19.9%).

Looking specifically at the growing trend of antidepressant use, we see in another study (2) that 10.8% of all Americans ages 12 and older are taking antidepressants.  Currently, 3.7% of our teenagers (age 12-17) are taking them, with 22.8% of their mothers (women age 40-59) setting the example.

Antidepressants are associated with an increased risk of stroke (3).  For children and adolescents, 90% of office visits are "associated with unapproved usage of antidepressant medication." (4)  Finally, a recent study found that expectant mothers who take antidepressants within the year before their babies are born increase the likelihood that the babies will be born with autism.  This study found that the risk of a baby being born autistic more than doubled if the mother took antidepressants within a year of the child's birth.  For those mothers who took antidepressants during their first trimester of pregnancy, their babies were almost 4 times more likely to be born autistic compared to babies of mothers who did not take antidepressants during that time (5). 

Generally speaking (yep, I'm generalizing here), Americans are lazy when it comes to their health.  We eat what we shouldn't, don't exercise, and expect pills to solve our problems, both physical AND mental.  Drugs are NOT the answer to becoming healthy, just read the research mentioned in this blog.

Chiropractic tends to run opposite to the current trend of drug use.  I think it is likely that my profession will be going against the current for several years to come until new research confirms what my profession has been saying for over a century.  Do I think drugs are bad?  Of course not!  Over usage and improper usage of drugs is bad!  Is chiropractic the answer for every disease?  Of course not, although it certainly helps to build an individual's health up and works in perfect conjunction with exercise and proper dietary habits!

 As a side note, we are now Medicaid approved (Kathy and I never saw sooooo much paperwork!).

1. Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase: U.S. Prescription Drug Data for 2007-2008. NCHS Data Brief No. 42, Sept. 2010.

2. Antidepressant Use in Persons Aged 12 and Over: United States, 2005-2008. NCHS Data Brief No. 76, October 2011.

3. Wu CS, Wang SC, Cheng YC, Gau SS. Association of cerebrovascular events with antidepressant use: a case-crossover study. Am J Psychiatry, 2011 May;168(5):511-21. Epub 2011 Mar 15.

4. Lee E, Teschemaker AR, Johann-Liang R, et al. Off-label prescribing patterns of antidepressants in children and adolescents. Pharmacoepidermiol Drug Saf, 2001 Apr 28.doi: 10.1002/pds.2145.

5. Croen LA, Grether JK, Yoshida CK, Odouli R, Hendrick V. Antipressant use during pregnancy and childhood autism spectrum disorders. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2011;68(11):1104-1112.

There's been some new research into scoliosis and chiropractic.  I won't go into ALL of the benefits of chiropractic treatment for scoliosis because you can find it right here:

http://www.uschirodirectory.com/index.php/chiropractic-research/item/346-scoliosis-and-chiropractic

 Copy and paste that link into your browser and read the results the researchers got from chiropractic treatment! If you'd like to discuss this research with me, feel free to call me here at the office.  601 924 4647.

Also, don't forget about our Diet/Exercise and our Health Care Classes (each an hour long) given on Tuesday nights at 6PM.  Call Mike at my clinic to reserve your seat!

There are three great research papers that show not only the clinic effectiveness, but also the COST effectiveness of chiropractic care.  Each one is explained, plus you can copy and paste the websites below to find the study and read it for yourself. 

In the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, an article states that "patients with chronic low back pain treated by chiropractors showed greater improvement and satisfaction at one month than patients treated by family physicians.  Satisfaction scores were higher for chiropractic patients.  A higher portion of chiropractic patients (56% VS. 13%) reported that their low back pain was better or much better, whereas nearly one third of medical patients reported their low back pain was worse or much worse."  Choosing a chiropractor over a family physician to treat low back pain just makes sense based on conclusions from this study. (1)

In another study found in the British Medical Journal, the American Chiropractic Association reports that, "in a randomized controlled trial, 183 patients with neck pain were randomly allocated to manual therapy (spinal adjustments), physiotherapy (mainly exercise), or general practitioner care (counseling, education, and drugs) in a 52 week study.  The clinical outcomes measures showed that manual therapy (chiropractic) resulted in faster recovery than physiotherapy and general practitioner care.  Moreover, total costs of the manual therapy treated patients were about ONE THIRD the costs of physiotherapy or general practitioner care." (2)

In the third study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, it was reported that, "In our randomized, controlled trial, we compared the effectiveness of manual therapy, physical therapy, and continued care by a general practitioner in patients with nonspecific neck pain.  The success rate at seven weeks was twice as high for the manual therapy group (68.3%) as for the continued care group (general practitioner).  Manual therapy scored better than physical therapy on all outcome measures.  Patients receiving manual therapy had fewer absences from work than patients receiving physical therapy or continued care, and manual therapy and physical therapy each resulted in statistically significant less analgesic use than continued care." (3)

 Check out these studies, print them out, and share with friends, family, and your general practitioner!  There are people out there who need to have less pain and in a cost effective way!

(1) http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754%2800%2990170-2/abstract

(2) http://www.bmj.com/content/326/7395/911.abstract?sid=55366c2f-dc07-4515-bdab-0c7160fcb2da

All of you know I am a big believer in avoiding surgeries, if possible!  Sometimes you can't avoid skeletal surgery, but when it comes to disk surgeries, research has been showing consistently through the past 10 years that chiropractic adjustments help to treat lower back pain and relieve sciatic nerve pain.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36RMezB5Mzg&feature=share

That's a link to an interesting video discussing this study.  If you'd rather read about it, here is the link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21036279

 So if anyone out there knows of someone who is considering lumbar disk surgery, advise the most conservative route first: chiropractic adjustments.  You can always opt for the surgery later if chiropractic is unsuccessful (and yes, it's happened to me - I've had to refer my patients to surgery when chiropractic was unsuccessful and with very successful outcomes).  If you want to know more about how to increase your health and have a great and healthy life, just come by the clinic Tuesdays at 6 pm for our Health Care Classes.  They last an hour and are designed with one thing in mind: SAVE YOU MONEY!  Face it, doctor's bills can be expensive!

 We also are now hosting an 11:00 am exercise hour here at the clinic on Saturdays.  We will meet here and jog, walk, or bike in the subdivision behind the clinic.  It's a great area for exercise and we would like to get at least 3-4 trainers involved and 10-15 members in this group.  Call the clinic and let us know if you are interested: 601 924 4647. 

These are a few of the things I learned in 2010.  I hope some of you will find it helpful.

1.  Muscle is built in spurts, kind of like a child growing.  The best results seem to come from "kicking the life" out of your body for 3 weeks and then taking an easy week concentrating on flexibility before repeating the process.  This formula can be repeated all year round. 

2.  Taking fish oils after a strenuous workout helps reduce to post workout soreness and seems to promote healing after a heavy lifting session.

3.  Don't do life alone.  As many of you know, my adopted brother, Carlos, has been staying with me for the past 6 months.  He's a joy to have around and is a far cry from lazy.  Forming a band of brothers and coming along side each other in good times and bad times is part of what being a man is all about.  Being a man your buddies can count on is one of the greatest satisfactions in the world.

4.  A real man cares about his physical health and understands that improving his body benefits more than just himself - it inspires his friends, co workers, kids, and ensures his wife/girlfriend keeps her hands where they should be - all over him. :-)

5.  If you don't stand for something, then you'll fall for everything (thanks, Dad!).

6.  Distance yourself from friends/couples who complain about their friends/spouses and have unhealthy relationships.  Hang out with friends/couples who are real, in love with each other and with life and have friendships/relationships/romances you can look up to. 

7.  The more people you serve, the more money you make.  But hanging out with people whose lives revolve around excess and more, MORE, MORE, can be just as dangerous as hanging out with people who are broke.

8.  Working harder and longer is not necessarily better but at some point of your success it'll probably be necessary for a short period of time.  If you only work harder and longer, you're addicted to work.

9.  Recognize you are blessed - whatever your current situation.  There are tragedies all over the world and a good percentage of people are living in a hellish nightmare right now.  Remember that everything you have is a GIFT and that it can be taken away just as quickly as it was given to you.  Maximize what you have and live reasonably with what you have been given.