What is Facet Joint Syndrome?

By admin | Published: January 25, 2012

The facet joints in your spine act like hinges, linking your vertebrae together. Each joint is surrounded by connective tissue, ligaments and synovial fluid, and coated with cartilage, that helps to lubricate the joint for easy, pain-free movement.

Your facet joints are incredibly important, as they provide strength and flexibility to your spine, while allowing it to bend and twist. Also important, these joints prevent your back from twisting or bending too far in any given direction, thereby protecting you from otherwise certain injury.

As you might suspect, facet joints take a beating, as they are in near-constant motion with your spine, and as such are prone to degeneration and deterioration as you get older.

The degeneration may occur more quickly if you’re overweight, have poor posture, or have injured your spine due to injury or strenuous and repetitive activities. And, as with all facets of health, if you lead an unhealthy lifestyle, such as eating poorly and rarely exercising, this, too, can take a toll on your back.

Do You Suffer from Facet Joint Syndrome?

When the cartilage wears down to an extremely thin layer and the synovial fluid begins to leak out, allowing your facet joints to dry out, it can cause inflammation and extra friction between your vertebra — friction that may be anywhere from mildly irritating to debilitating. Bone spurs, leading to arthritis of the spine, may also develop, and it’s common for facet joint problems to be seen alongside other conditions as well, such as spondylolisthesis (when a vertebra in your spine slips out of position), diabetes and infections.

At this point, you may be told you have facet joint syndrome, which is simply a term used to describe degenerated facet joints. Some of the most common symptoms include:

Pain and stiffness in your neck, which requires that you turn your whole body to look right or left
Difficulty standing up, such as when rising out of a chair
Hunching over while walking
Back, neck and shoulder pain
A deep ache that radiates to your buttocks or thighs

Facet joint syndrome is not a “disease” — it’s a term used to describe a set of symptoms, which have their own underlying causes. So in order to solve this issue, it’s necessary to address these foundational causes, rather than simply treating the symptoms with anti-inflammatory drugs, steroid injections or surgery, which are commonly offered as “solutions” by conventional physicians.

In fact, facet joint syndrome is often diagnosed by injecting an anti-inflammatory drug into the facet joint. If the pain and stiffness disappears, you will know, officially, that the facet joint is the source (but not the cause) of your pain — but, of course, the relief is only temporary.

A Healthy Back Requires a Healthy Lifestyle

If you’re looking for long-term relief of back pain from facet joint problems or other causes — or you want to prevent it in the first place — a holistic, individualized approach is best.

Conventional approaches, such as injections of corticosteroids into facet joints to relieve pain are only temporary, and at times ineffective. In fact, research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported:[i]

“We conclude that injecting methylprednisolone acetate [a corticosteroid] into the facet joints is of little value in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain.”

There are many other options available, and using a combination of approaches is often most effective for long-term pain relief and prevention of worsening back problems. Remember, your back does not exist in isolation from the rest of your body; it is an integral part, which is why your treatment should be body-wide as well.

If you’re tired of struggling with pain, subscribe to the Web’s best back pain newsletter above for tips and videos offering long-term solutions, and fast pain-relief tricks, for even the most painful back conditions. Among the top options to consider for long-term resolution include:

Proper posture
Achieve a healthy weight
Proper nutrition, including avoiding inflammatory foods like trans fats, sugars and refined grains
Exercise, which will strengthen your core and other key supportive muscles and improve flexibility, which may protect your joints and help with pain relief[ii]

There are also safe, effective strategies to help with pain relief while you address the underlying causes. You can learn more about these, and other tips, in the LosetheBackPain.com free e-newsletter:

Heat therapy, specifically using a far-infrared heating pad, which can penetrate 2-3 inches deep for effective pain relief

Celadrin-based pain relief cream: Celadrin has an extremely high success rate in relieving joint pain[iii]

Natural anti-inflammatories to relieve inflammation

Muscle-Balance therapy, which helps restore your body to a neutral, balanced and stable state for long-term pain relief

Trigger-point therapy: Trigger points have been proven to be directly responsible for 75% of all pain, and eliminating trigger points may help with pain relief.

Inversion therapy, which helps your body reseat misaligned facet joints by relieving pressure and allowing the joints to simply “slip” back into the correct position

Emotional resolutions: Your emotional health can take a toll on your body physically, and back pain, specifically, has been found to respond well to psychological interventions. Emotional techniques such as hypnosis, supportive counseling, biofeedback and relaxation relieve back pain equally to or better than conventional treatments such as surgery, nerve blocks and drugs[iv] — so tending to your emotional health should not be overlooked.

Only by addressing your health as a whole will you be able to live free from back pain, and this is what The Healthy Back Institute is all about. Subscribe to our free e-newsletter today at the top right of this page and start your journey toward achieving the pain-free wellness you deserve.

[i] N Engl J Med 1991; 325:1002-1007

[ii] Harvard Health Publications 2011

[iii] J Rheumatol. 2004 Apr;31(4):767-74

[iv] Science Daily December 22, 2006

Posted in Back Pain, Far Infrared Heat, Live Pain Free Newsletter, Neck Pain, New, Products | Tagged Back Pain, facet joint syndrome, Neck Pain | Leave a comment

Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction

By admin | Published: January 25, 2012

What is Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction?

If you look for the two dimples in your lower back, this is where your two sacroiliac (SI) joints are located; these are the points where your spine essentially meets your pelvis.

Although your sacroiliac joints move only a couple of millimeters, or rotate 1-4 degrees at most, they have a heavy burden to bear. As a weight-bearing joint, and one of the largest joints in your body, your SI joints support the entire weight of your upper body when you stand, walk or perform any other upright activity.

As with most other joints in your body, your SI joints depend on cartilage to act as a cushion, but with steady wear and tear this cartilage can become damaged, allowing your bones to rub together, leading to pain and eventually osteoarthritis, which is one of the leading causes of sacroiliac joint dysfunction.

Sacroiliac joint dysfunction does not occur overnight, however. It’s actually more often a culmination of many years of imbalances within your body — imbalances that are largely preventable.

What are the Underlying Causes and Symptoms of Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction?

If your pelvis is not seated properly in relation to the curvature of the base of your spine, it will become out of balance. This improper tipping or tilting also impacts the connection points of your SI joints, causing uneven wear that can lead to degeneration and arthritis.

Many factors can contribute to this deterioration, including:

Muscle imbalances, particularly in the muscles of the hips and glutes

Poor posture

Incorrect walking pattern, which may be caused by an injury or pain in your hip, knee, ankle or foot, or due to a difference in leg length

Pregnancy, during which hormones relax the ligaments supporting the SI joints, allowing for increased movement of the joints that can lead to imbalance and excess wear

Obesity, which places additional stress on the SI joints, and may also alter proper walking patterns

An accident, such as a fall or car accident, which strains the ligaments around the SI joints, allowing for too much movement

Lower back pain, located near the SI joints on one or both sides, along with buttock or groin-area pain are the classic signs of sacroiliac joint dysfunction. But how do you distinguish SI pain from other types of back pain?

Along with lower back pain, the following symptoms may also be present:

Weakness in one leg or both legs
Difficulty standing on one leg and raising the other leg (for example, when marching)
Numbness and tingling in one leg
Burning pain near the “dimples” in your back
Difficulty getting up from a seated position or turning over in bed
Muscle pain in your buttocks, hip or low back, the latter particularly after sitting for too long
Sciatica, a sharp, shooting pain that spreads from your buttocks down the back of your leg
Nerve irritation, specifically in your groin area or front of your thighs

Did You Know There are Treatments for Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction Beyond Drugs and Surgery?

Anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relievers are often considered first-line treatments for sacroiliac joint dysfunction, as they are with most types of back pain. If these measures do not relieve your symptoms, and your pain is severe enough, surgery to fuse the joint together to eliminate movement may be recommended.

What you need to understand with these types of conventional treatments is that they are focused on symptom relief; they will not address the underlying reasons why your SI joints became painful. If you need quick pain relief, there are natural options available, like Heal-n-Soothe, which contains natural anti-inflammatories combined with proteolytic enzymes to give your body a powerful and proven one-two punch against inflammation and pain. This will give you pain relief without side effects while you work on addressing the causes of your back pain.

As noted above, with sacroiliac joint dysfunction this is often the result of muscle imbalances that can be corrected through non-surgical and drug-free means!

In fact, researchers concluded in The Clinical Journal of Pain:[i]

“Most [sacroiliac joint dysfunction] patients respond to non-operative treatment.”

In developing a treatment plan that addresses the causes of your back pain, you first need to be sure you are in fact dealing with sacroiliac joint dysfunction, and not another type of back condition, such as facet joint syndrome, disc herniation or sciatica. All of these can cause similar symptoms, but each requires a special individualized treatment program.

In the case of sacroiliac joint dysfunction, the first thing you should consider if you suspect it as a source of your pain is find a health care professional who is skilled and experienced in addressing muscle imbalances, such as a physical therapist.

Next, sign up for the Web’s Best Back Pain newsletter using the sign-up link above — here you will receive invaluable tips and techniques for lasting pain relief, including dozens of videos reviewing the latest natural pain treatments and devices so you’ll know what will truly help your pain — and what won’t.

For instance, you can learn the principles of Muscle Balance Therapy™ to address your back pain and pinpoint what caused your spine and pelvis to get out of proper position in the first place. Through strategic body assessments, your individual muscle imbalances can be identified and a very targeted corrective program designed specifically for you to help restore proper function to the joints can be developed.

If you’re tired of having to go back to the doctor or chiropractor for weeks, months, or even years on end, with no lasting relief, now’s the time to learn about the other options — like Muscle Balance Therapy — that have already given lasting relief to over 240,000 people in 85 countries. Subscribe today using the box in the right-hand corner above; it’s free — and it’s your personal ticket to a new, pain-free life.

[i] Clinical Journal of Pain: September/October 2005 – Volume 21 – Issue 5 – pp 446-455

Posted in Back Pain, Heal-n-Soothe, Live Pain Free Newsletter, Lower Back Pain, Muscle Balance Therapy, Products, Treatments | Tagged Back Pain, Muscle Balance Therapy, Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction | Leave a comment

The 10 Most Stressful Cities In America

By admin | Published: January 25, 2012

Does Your City Make You Sick?

The chances are good you live in or near a big city. More than half of us already do, and that number is predicted to rise to nearly 70 percent within the next 40 years. So are you living in or near one of the 10 most stressful cities in America?

Whether you live in or close to Los Angeles (Forbes’ most stressful city in 2011 with 3.8 million residents) or Birmingham, Ala., (Portfolio.com’s ninth most stressful city in a 2010 poll at 212,000 residents) or nowhere near either one, there are very real mental health risks associated with living in urban areas compared to rural America.

It comes down to a distinct difference in brain structure between city dwellers and country folks. Researchers came to that conclusion after scanning the brains of 32 German students bombarded with negative feedback they heard via headphones while completing a series of math tests.

The Sounds of Failure

The social stress of hearing the “sounds of failure,” researchers say, activated different parts of the patients’ brains. Interestingly, two regions — the amygdala (emotion-processing) and cingulate cortex (negative-emotions generator) — were activated specifically or more strongly in the brains of patients living in the big city.

In fact, the relationship between those portions of the brain and geography was so distinct, scientists conducted a second experiment on 23 more patients, adding negative visuals to the mix just to be sure… The link between brain activation and geography remained the same in the second group.

Although migrating from the big city to Mayberry USA sounds appealing, today’s slow-growth economy makes moving away from bad roads, horrible traffic and even worse drivers highly impractical.

The 10 Most Stressful Cities

Apart from what lurks in our brains, and bad commuting habits, Portfolio.com identified other random but important qualities that make or break the mental health of city dwellers. Unfortunately, we have very little control over many of them, including unemployment, sunshine, housing costs and income growth.

Still, cities of course have many fantastic qualities, which is why people flock to them … though they can feel like they are filled with people who learned how to use a car at the Mr. Magoo Driving School and pay more attention to their mobile phones than the road.

Here are the 10 most stressful cities, based on Forbes’ latest list:

Los Angeles
New York City
Chicago
Washington, D.C.
San Diego
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Boston
Dallas
Seattle

(Check out Portfolio.com’s 2010 list for their slightly different take on the most stressful large cities in America.)

Use This Checklist to Beat The Stress

Fortunately, there are safe and natural ways to beat the stress that causes all sorts of problems, like back pain, at your fingertips.

When you wake up every morning, drink a glass of lemon water (that helps everything from digestion to immune function).
Devote a few minutes at the start of your day to some quiet time, whether it’s planning your day or meditating to clear out the cobwebs.
Set aside time during your week for some kind of exercise — 4 minutes a day is all you need for the NO Excuse Workout — one of the best and easiest stress-busters you can do.
It’s impossible to hold onto stress and be thankful for something at the very same time. Can you think of five things right now to be thankful for?
Build a supportive network of friends and family to help you through the stressful times.
Stay in the present with your thoughts and feelings, and don’t stress out over yesterday (it’s over) and tomorrow (it hasn’t come yet).
Get the right amount of sleep every night.

Not Getting Enough Sleep?
Consider Sleepzyme, The #1 SAFE & Natural Sleep Aid.

Posted in Emotions, General Health, New, Sleep, Sleepzyme, Stress | Tagged emotions, Mayberry, NO Excuse Workout, stress, stress relief | Leave a comment

Arthritis of the Spine Treatment

By admin | Published: January 23, 2012

… The Best & The Worst Treatments

If you have back pain that comes and goes, along with stiffness and pain in your joints or spine — especially first thing in the morning — you may be suffering from arthritis of the spine. This incredibly common condition typically results from wear-and-tear on your spine as you get older, particularly if you also have muscle imbalances, poor posture, chronic stress and excess weight, or if you engage in hobbies or work activities that involve repetitive motions that stress your joints repeatedly.

When arthritis impacts your spine, it can be debilitating, even leading to pain that is so excruciating you no longer can, or want to, get out of bed. Psychological problems, such as anxiety and depression, are an inevitable consequence of this incapacitating condition, if effective treatment is not found.

Why Some of the Most Common Arthritis of the Spine Treatments are Also the Worst

Conventional treatments for arthritis of the spine, unfortunately, will not reverse or heal the degenerative process causing your pain. Rather, they are focused on symptom relief, while the underlying degeneration continues to progress. Because of this, and the fact that many conventional treatments carry significant side-effect risks, they make up some of the worst arthritis of the spine treatments.

This includes:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

These include over-the-counter drugs like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve), as well as prescription drugs like Celebrex. While effective in relieving pain, NSAIDs are notorious for being hard on your gastrointestinal tract, leading to potentially fatal side effects such as bleeding in your digestive tract, ulcers and perforation of your stomach or intestines.

Celebrex has even been found to double your risk of serious cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and death![i]

Other serious side effects include kidney failure and liver failure, along with, as mentioned, serious cardiovascular risk, which is sometimes fatal (such as heart attacks, stroke or death from heart disease).

Writing in BMJ, researchers noted:[ii]

“ … little evidence exists to suggest that any of the investigated [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory] drugs are safe in cardiovascular terms.”

A study published more than a decade ago in 1998 revealed just how many hospitalizations and deaths NSAIDs cause each year. And given that their use has increased exponentially since this study was released, the numbers are now even higher:

“Conservative calculations estimate that approximately 107,000 patients are hospitalized annually for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-related gastrointestinal (GI) complications and at least 16,500 NSAID-related deaths occur each year among arthritis patients alone. The figures for all NSAID users would be overwhelming, yet the scope of this problem is generally under-appreciated.”[iii]

Acetaminophen Pain Relievers

Your physician may recommend you take acetaminophen-containing pain relievers like Tylenol to “treat” your arthritis of the spine, an option you may feel is perfectly harmless. But did you know that if you take too much – which is extremely easy to do if you take multiple over-the-counter medications, for instance one for pain relief and one to relieve cough/cold or fever symptoms (even some sleep aids contain acetaminophen), or if you take an extra dose in a 24-hour period — you could suffer from fatal liver damage?

Sandra Kweder, M.D., deputy director of FDA’s Office of New Drugs, says:[iv]

“Overdoses from prescription products containing acetaminophen account for nearly half of all cases of acetaminophen-related liver failure in the U.S., many of which result in liver transplant or death … The risk of liver injury primarily occurs when patients take multiple products containing acetaminophen at one time and exceed the current maximum dose of 4,000 milligrams within a 24-hour period.”

It’s easier than you might think to overdose on acetaminophen. As a poignant Wall Street Journal article pointed out:[v]

“Whether or not the Food and Drug Administration decides to limit sales of acetaminophen [a measure they were considering due to the noted liver risks], consumers should know this:

It’s easy to take more than the recommended daily dose without realizing it.

The margin between a safe dose and a potentially lethal one is small.

The first symptoms of acute liver failure caused by an overdose seem like the flu and don’t set in for several days, by which time it may be too late to save your liver and consequently your life.”

Regular use of acetaminophen has also been linked to kidney damage, including kidney failure.

Opioid Pain Medications

If your pain is severe, you may be prescribed an opioid pain drug such as codeine or morphine. These powerful drugs provide very effective pain relief (which is why they are so useful after surgery or other serious traumas). However, when used in the long term they can be incredibly dangerous, leading to physical dependence, withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop using them, and oftentimes addiction. In fact, opioids are one of the most commonly abused prescription medications, and it takes only a single large dose to cause severe respiratory depression or death.

Overdose deaths from prescription opioids are actually disturbingly common – and on the rise. As reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):[vi]

“From 1999 through 2006, the number of fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics more than tripled from 4,000 to 13,800 deaths.”

Antidepressants

It may sound surprising, but certain antidepressants, such as Cymbalta, are actually FDA-approved to treat chronic low back pain and chronic osteoarthritis pain. These drugs, too, come with their own battery of side effects and risks, including an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens and young adults, severe liver problems (sometimes fatal), problems with urine flow, increased blood pressure, worsening of glaucoma or diabetes and abnormal bleeding, especially if you are taking NSAID pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners.

Corticosteroid Injections

Known as cortisone injection, epidural, steroid injection, and epidural steroid injection (but all referring to the same treatment), this involves injecting a steroid into the space surrounding the spinal cord. This helps to reduce inflammation and in some cases the related pain, but this is debatable and often only very temporary. As reported in the journal Pain:[vii]

“The best studies showed inconsistent results of epidural steroid injections. The efficacy of epidural steroid injections has not yet been established. The benefits of epidural steroid injections, if any, seem to be of short duration only.”

Aside from their dubious-at-best effectiveness, steroid injections are notoriously painful to receive, not to mention expensive. And given that steroid injections do not provide long-term relief, there’s a good chance you’ll need more than one.

What Do All of These Typical Treatments Have in Common?

What you may have noticed is that conventional arthritis of the spine treatments focus only on symptoms. Not one of these strategies addresses the bigger reasons why your spine is degenerating and causing you pain!

This is a problem, because once you stop the treatment, your pain will return — and may in fact be worse since you’ve now gone even longer without addressing the underlying imbalances that are stressing your back. The BEST arthritis of the spine treatments are those that do just that — target the root cause of your pain for true healing and lasting, long-term pain relief. Better still, they do it without exposing you to deadly side effects and risks like dependency …

The BEST Arthritis of the Spine Treatments

There are quite a few strategies available, some of which you may not have heard of before. Because you are unique, as are your underlying pain causes and triggers, you may want to experiment with a variety of these techniques to see which one, or which combination, gives you relief.

It’s important to remember and realize that if you are having back pain, there’s a very good chance your muscles are out of balance, and this is the source of your pain. This can happen for a variety of reasons. Body-wide imbalances in your stress levels, hormone levels and nutrition may trigger or exacerbate joint degeneration. Weak core muscles are another common issue, which can negatively impact your posture, leading to neck and back pain, and furthering degeneration.

Some of the BEST — in terms of safety, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness — arthritis of the spine treatments include:

Inversion Therapy / Spine Decompression Therapy, to help with decompression and stress on the joints of your spine

Muscle Balance Therapy, which can help generate balance and stability in your pelvis and spine, and minimize excessive wear and tear of the disc and other joints of your spine

Trigger Point Therapy, to help restore proper muscle function and address localized pain

Healing Heat, which is deep penetrating and longer lasting for pain relief and to increase joint range of motion

Rub on Relief, a broad-spectrum homeopathic pain cream that was formulated to address many of the foundational reasons why you are in pain. While giving you the simplicity and fast-acting relief you expect from a pain cream, this synergistic blend of homeopathic ingredients works to address both pain and inflammation without any side effects

Heal-n-Soothe, a natural anti-inflammatory formula that contains 12 of the most powerful and safest anti-pain ingredients, giving you pain relief without side effects.

Whether your pain is severe or mildly annoying, chronic or intermittent, know that safe help is available. You don’t have to expose yourself to conventional treatments that may put your life in danger just to get short-term relief! Instead, demand more; demand lasting pain relief and healing that will get you back on your feet, enjoying life without pain, and without side effects. Demand only the best arthritis of the spine treatments available, and do not settle for anything less.

[i] Circulation. 2006

[ii] BMJ. 2011 Jan 11;342:c7086.

[iii] The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 105, Issue 1, Supplement 2 , Pages 31S-38S, 27 July 1998

[iv] U.S. Food and Drug Administration, New Steps Aimed at Cutting Risks from Acetaminophen

[v] WSJ.com July 14, 2009

[vi] U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCHS Data Brief, Number 22, September 2009

[vii] Pain Volume 63, Issue 3, December 1995, Pages 279–288

Posted in Arthritis, Back Pain, Conditions, Far Infrared Heat, Heal-n-Soothe, Inversion Therapy, Muscle Balance Therapy, New, Products, Rub on Relief, Treatments, Trigger Point Therapy | Tagged arthritis of the spine | 2 Comments

Dangerous Objects Left INSIDE Patients During Surgery!

By admin | Published: January 22, 2012

and Other Way-Too-Common Surgical Mistakes

: Surgical mistakes are more
common than you think!

“Trust me, I’m a doctor!”

It’s frightening to think of the errors, mistakes, and “accidents” that happen because doctors insist on your unquestioning trust. Unfortunately, surgeons and their teams are all too human.

Take the case of a woman who had surgery at Nassau University in 2008. The operating team left behind a sponge the size of a cocktail napkin. Two days after surgery, the woman was vomiting and back at the hospital, wondering what was wrong. The medical resident did an X-ray, but the X-ray detectable stripe on the sponge was interpreted as tape on the outside of her body. It wasn’t until the case was bumped up to a senior doctor 48 hours later that the sponge was finally detected and removed.

In 2009, Nelson E. Bailey had surgery for diverticulitis at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Palm Beach. After surgery, he was supposed to get better, but he kept getting worse. It took five months before his doctors opened him back up and found the 12”x12” surgical sponge that had been left behind during the original surgery. Rotting away, it had created holes in his intestines and part of his gut had to be removed along with the sponge in order to save his life.

Of course, it’s not just sponges that are forgotten – there’s also cases like Donald Church, who had surgery to remove a tumor from his abdomen at Washington Medical Center in June 2000. During the procedure his surgical team used a 13-inch metal retractor to hold his organs in place during surgery… except they never took it out. Isolated incident? No, it was the fourth incident of a “left behind” at the hospital in as many years, and Mr. Church was fortunate to survive the experience.

How often are objects left inside after surgery?

The National Quality Forum reports that surgical instruments left behind during surgery are a “never event” since such things are never supposed to happen.

However, in 2009 in New York State alone, there were 84 reported cases of foreign objects left behind… barely an improvement over the 88 items reported left behind the previous year.

Altogether, in the United States some 1,500 people have objects left inside them after surgery every year… that we know about. That according to materials published by the Loyola University Health System.

The most commonly “forgotten” items are surgical sponges, which account for 2/3 of all objects left behind. When covered with blood, they can be mistaken for body tissue and abandoned. The problem has been such an ongoing issue that hospitals often have multiple systems in place to count, recount, and double check sponge locations before and after surgery. Loyola University scans bar codes on their sponges both on their way in and on their way out, while the American Journal of Surgery reports studies underway to use RF ID technology as a “foolproof” way to pin down sponge locations.

These methods help, but may not be enough. In the Nassau University case, the surgical team marked down that all sponges were accounted for even though they hadn’t actually checked.

Surgical mistakes – even more common than you think!

It’s not just things being left behind that you have to worry about either.

Serious surgical errors happen every day – between five and 10 daily in the United States according to The Journal of the American Medical Association – despite all the precautions in place.

Doctors perform surgery on the wrong patients, do the wrong procedures, and even amputate perfectly healthy limbs! Though they’d like you to think they can do no wrong, doctors, nurses, and medical assistants make serious mistakes every day of the week.

And Americans aren’t alone in their troubles. The World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan says errors in medical care affect one in 10 patients worldwide. These errors can be “minor” incidents such as accidentally cutting an adjacent organ during surgery, or they can be major issues, such as performing a bypass on the wrong artery or amputating a healthy limb.

Think it’s crazy something like that could even happen? So did Willie King, who had the wrong leg amputated at the University Community Hospital in Tampa in 1995. Benjamin Houghton had his non-cancerous testicle removed at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. Rhode Island Hospital drilled a hole in the wrong side of a patient’s head. And only a complaint from the doctor whose patient was supposed to be in the operation room stopped Joan Morris from getting the open heart surgery scheduled for another patient.

All in all, the number of people facing a medical error is 1 in 361 patients in the United States, according to the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 report, To Err is Human. The report points out that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as a direct result of medical errors that could have been prevented in 55% of cases.

To put things in perspective, more people die from medical mistakes in hospitals than die in car accidents every year.

The cost to hospitals is estimated between $17 billion and $29 billion, but who can put a price tag on the lives, health and well being of affected patients?

After a medical error, patients report feeling outraged, hurt, and paranoid about their future prospects for good medical care, even if they switch doctors. Despite ultimately receiving outstanding care for his heart from another doctor, actor/comedian Dana Carvey will never get over a double bypass on the wrong artery, “I was very lucky in that I didn’t sustain heart muscle damage. But knowing what I do now, I would never take a gamble like that again.”

4 Tips to Prevent Surgical Errors from Happening to You

How can you prevent surgical errors from happening to you, ruining your life, or even killing you? Hospitals are working on their own counting and checking systems, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, but you shouldn’t be passive when it comes to your health and your life. While there’s not 100% fool-proof method, here are four top tips:

Avoid unnecessary surgery. Learn to live with your nose, go on a diet instead of having liposuction, and explore all-natural health cures first. After all, why risk your life on something like back surgery when there are so many ways to stop the pain now without surgery?
Have a doctor you like and trust. Why work with a doctor you don’t know or don’t trust? Get a second opinion, transfer to a new doctor, or request someone else if you don’t have a relationship with your doctor that makes you feel comfortable about the surgery.
Be an informed patient. Do your research. Is your doctor a student practitioner or fully licensed? How many of these procedures have they done? What exactly is supposed to happen in the operating room, and how should your recovery look? Does the surgical team do a count and check with every surgery? If you know what’s going on, what safety measures are in place, and what to look for in terms of problems, you’ll prevent and catch many errors before it’s too late.
Know what’s special or different in your case – and make sure your doctor knows, too. Surgical errors and accidents happen more often when there is something complex or different about the surgery. Do extra preparation and research with your doctor going into a surgical situation if you know there is something different about your case.

Considering Back Surgery?

7 out of 10 Patients Who Tried THIS No Longer Need Surgery!

References:

Crowley, C. Mistakes, Advances in New York’s Hospitals. Times Union. 2010 Sep 20.

Falcon, M. Heart Operation No Laugh for Dana Carvey. USA Today. 2001 Nov 5.

Inbar, M. Doctors find 1-square foot sponge inside patient. MSNBC. 2010 Sep 15.

JAMA and Archives Journals. Surgical Errors Remain a Challenge in and out of the Operating Room. ScienceDaily. 2009 Nov 16.

Loyola University Health System. Surgical Objects Accidentally Left Inside About 1,500 Patients In US Each Year. ScienceDaily. 2007 Dec 8.

Oh, J. 4 Best Practices for Minimizing Retained Surgical Items. Becker’s Hospital Review. 2011 Feb 17.

Rosen Louik & Perry, P.C. 13 Disturbing Cases of Medical Malpractice. 2007.

Steelman, V. Sensitivity of detection of radiofrequency surgical sponges: a prospective, cross-over study. The American Journal of Surgery. 2010 Mar 31.

Institute of Medicine. To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System. 1999 Nov.

Posted in Back Surgery, New, Treatments | Tagged back surgery, failed back surgery syndrome, surgery | Leave a comment

They May Shut Down This Site…
and YOUR Freedom!

By admin | Published: January 19, 2012

IMPORTANT UPDATE: WE HELPED TO STOP SOPA DEAD IN ITS TRACKS! BUT…

When we published this post below, many thousands of LosetheBackPain.com readers took action, joining millions more from across the Internet … and together WE DID IT!

Due to our collective protests against it, SOPA — the bill you will read about below that is a serious and thinly disguised threat to your freedom of choice — has been KILLED in Congress by its lead sponsor, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX)!

Given the political climate today, it can be easy to feel there is no way your voice can be heard and no way you can make a difference … but as demonstrated here, the good news is that is not true! The ONLY reason the bill was killed was due to the collective resistance against SOPA from those who value freedom like you.

BUT the fight is not over … first of all, PIPA, the Senate version of the bill, has been postponed but as of this writing is not completely dead yet. Second, you can be certain given the money (i.e. bribery) involved from the powers-that-be that some other thinly disguised “bill” will come forward trying to shut down independent sites like ours that DARE reveal facts that go against what THEY want you to hear…

READ below and then use the links to tell your Senators to KILL PIPA too … and to tell them we are now watching and we will NOT let them pull sneaky stunts like this again!

Here is the original post … please share this page and share your comments below…

Do Not Let SOPA / PIPA Pass … Take Action Now!

If you want to live in a world where your knowledge and choices – and therefore the very length and quality of your life — are controlled and limited by a handful of elite individuals in the government and big business, STOP READING the following message.

For the rest of you who flat-out REFUSE to let your mind and choices be imprisoned by those who will benefit at your expense, this is as must-read as it gets…

Your freedom to receive information outside the censorship and control of the U.S. government, the global corporate elite, and the mainstream media they control is at grave risk.

Your freedom to make your own informed choices to improve your health and life based on this uncensored information is at grave risk.

You and I both know there are many ways they are trying to do this these days.

But one of the most threatening and disgusting you need to know about now – and speak out against – is disguised as a bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).

That SOUNDS like a noble cause, doesn’t it … stopping online piracy! Well who wouldn’t want to support that?

BUT TAKE NOTE: that’s how they do it! They spin words and use smoke and mirrors to TRICK those they want to treat like sheep … you and I, We the People … into believing that these dangerous ploys of theirs are actually beneficial…

But I can ASSURE you that SOPA … also known as House of Representatives Bill 3261, and accompanied by a sister bill in the Senate known as PIPA … will completely rip away your freedoms in the LAST frontier big government and big business still do not completely control … the Internet.

Giving It To You STRAIGHT on This Evil Bill…

If SOPA or PIPA passes, here is what will happen:

Blogs and websites not run by the government, big business, and the mainstream media who DARE to reveal important information about how those corrupt entities are trying to brainwash you for their own gain WILL BE SHUT DOWN.

Giving themselves the roles of both accuser and judge, they will have the legal means to shut down LoseTheBackPain.com (and likely would!)

Drudge, Reddit, Mercola, InfoWars, Lew Rockwell, and the many other smaller sites whose mission is to expose the lies the Three-Headed Monster is trying to feed you would likely be shut down.

No, these sites are not always perfect or pretty in how they go about trying to do this…

BUT REMEMBER THIS: with big government, business, and media already in complete control of all other means of information like TV, these bold and independent websites are the LAST DEFENSE against Big Brother controlling you.

For example … SOPA contains a provision in section 105 that would allow the U.S. government to shut down websites it claims “endanger public health.”

That means the government will decide what information is good for YOUR health! Really now, do you trust the government to decide what is good for your health???

It is NO SECRET the government is in bed with the health insurance industry and the pharmaceutical industry, for example … so GUESS what they would consider “endangering public health”???

Any website publishing information EXPOSING the sinister propaganda techniques of the insurance and pharma companies, or any aspect of the corrupt conventional medical establishment!!!

It’s NOT a Matter of Conservative, Liberal, or Independent…

The SOPA bill was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican … along with a bi-partisan group of 12 sponsors. It is being debated in February 2012 in their attempt to pass the bill.

Please do not let the very few who will benefit from this con you … it is NOT about Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative…

THOSE are the brainwashing tactics they use – trying to pit We the People against one another based on our beliefs while they laugh together all the way to the bank…

It is called divide and conquer, and it is a tactic that has been used by the elite to subjugate the many in other societies for eons…

But we can no longer let it take place here. There is indeed an us here, and there is a them … but the THEM is those at the top in government, big business, AND the mainstream media. And the US is you and I…

Take Action NOW by Telling Your Government NO WAY!

Knowledge is power. Do not let them pass a bill disguised with a positive-sounding name to censor what knowledge you can and cannot have access to…

> Read the actual Bill being proposed here (and please read between their double-talk lines carefully): http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3261:

> See an explanatory video about SOPA and PIPA and a FORM LETTER OPPOSING THEM FOR YOU TO CLICK AND SEND TO CONGRESS here: http://fightforthefuture.org/pipa

> Learn more about SOPA and the wide range of individuals and organizations protesting it here: http://sopastrike.com/

> SIGN Google’s opposition page to SOPA here: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/

And please SHARE THIS PAGE with everyone you know and encourage them to help protect our freedom and the truth, too.

Posted in Health Politics, Motivation and Inspiration, New | Tagged free speech, freedom of choice, health freedom, pipa, sopa | 22 Comments

FDA Warning on Dangerous Painkiller Mix-up

By admin | Published: January 17, 2012

Another Reason to Break the Conventional Medical System Addiction!

The 20 alarming prescription drug statistics I told you about a little while back should be enough to motivate anyone to use the far safer methods of stopping pain and improving health that we’re dedicated to teaching in the free Losethebackpain.com newsletter.

But hopefully warnings like this (not the first for Novartis/Endo, as you’ll read below!) will encourage those who still put their trust and health in the hands of the drug companies to reconsider!

The FDA has issued a health advisory due to the potential accidental mixing of over-the-counter (OTC) medications with prescription opioid painkillers at Novartis Consumer Health’s Endo Pharmaceuticals plant in Lincoln, Nebraska.

In the words of Novartis’ own press release, they are “voluntarily recalling all lots of select bottle packaging configurations of Excedrin® and NoDoz® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2014 or earlier as well as Bufferin® and Gas-X Prevention® products with expiry dates of December 20, 2013 or earlier, in the United States. NCH is taking this action as a precautionary measure because the products may contain stray tablets, capsules, or caplets from other Novartis products, or contain broken or chipped tablets.”

ALSO due to the mix-up, the FDA is advising people to examine opiate medicines made by Endo in their possession and ensure that all tablets are the same. The following medicines may be affected by the problem:

Opana® ER (oxymorphone hydrochloride) Extended-Release Tablets CII
Opana® (oxymorphone hydrochloride) CII
Oxymorphone hydrochloride Tablets CII
PERCOCET® (oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen USP) Tablets CII
PERCODAN® (oxycodone hydrochloride and aspirin, USP) Tablets CII
ENDOCET® (oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen USP) Tablets CII
ENDODAN® (oxycodone hydrochloride and aspirin, USP) Tablets CII
MORPHINE SULFATE Extended-Release Tablets CII
ZYDONE® (hydrocodone bitartrate/acetaminophen tablets, USP) CIII

According to Novartis, “[The] mixing of different products in the same bottle could result in consumers taking the incorrect product and receiving a higher or lower strength than intended or receiving an unintended ingredient. This could potentially result in overdose, interaction with other medications a consumer may be taking, or an allergic reaction if the consumer is allergic to the unintended ingredient.”

Get more details in the link to the FDA advisory below; I also provide Novartis phone number should you have questions for them…

But These Numbers SHOULD Concern Everyone!

Novartis/Endo reports such mix-ups have occurred three times since 2009, and FDA inspectors say company officials failed to follow up on 166 related consumer complaints too.

And though you won’t hear much about these serious drug company issues in the mass media (think of all the advertising dollars the pharma companies send big media’s way that keep them quiet), Novartis is by no means the only drug company with these issues and complaints!

PLEASE remember that overall in just the past 10 years, sales of painkillers – and corresponding deaths from prescription drugs – have quadrupled … don’t miss our post on the illuminating and frightening CDC report issued late last year!

Knowledge really is power — and in terms of breaking free from the grip of the conventional health “care” industry including the drug companies, knowledge can truly save your life.

On that note I encourage you to dig deeper into LosetheBackPain.com for the facts untainted by drug company or ANY manipulative influence, and for SAFE and proven alternatives to end pain, overcome disease, and achieve optimal health … starting with key facts on the most dangerous pain medications…

Discover The 5 Most Dangerous Pain Medications Now

And for more on the FDA warning, head to the:
FDA & Novartis / Endo Public Health Advisory

Finally, consumers with questions about this latest health warning can contact Novartis on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) at 877.477.2403.

Posted in General Health, Heal-n-Soothe, Health Politics, Medications, New, Nutrition, Products, Supplements, Toxins | Tagged drug recall, Excedrin, FDA, heal-n-soothe, opioids, painkiller | Leave a comment

Some Amazing People Doing Amazing Things!

By admin | Published: January 16, 2012

Just an amazing short video to make you say “Wow!”, to make you smile, and to remind you that even if you won’t be thrown through a basketball hoop anytime soon … you really CAN achieve whatever your greatest goals are, too!

So enjoy, and please click Share to the right above to share the WOW with others!

Posted in Motivation and Inspiration, Multimedia, New, Video | Tagged achieve your goals, amazing, amazing people | Leave a comment

The World’s Number 1 Deadliest Painkiller

By admin | Published: January 15, 2012

The 8 Things You MUST Know About Oxycodone …
And About the New Drug That is 10 Times More Powerful

Hard to believe a drug that’s been on the market in the U.S. for some 17 years could be considered the world’s number 1 deadliest painkiller … but that’s what oxycodone really is.

Oxycodone, which also goes by the brand name OxyContin, is one very “popular” member of the opioid family (drugs originating from synthetic or natural forms of opium or morphine) that suppresses a patient’s perception of pain and calms his/her response by limiting the pain transmitted by the nervous system.

It’s even harder to believe a drug originating from morphine or opium would be approved for use beyond for those dying from the cruelty of cancer who truly need it … but that it was. In part that may be because drug-maker Purdue Pharma claimed it was nearly addiction-proof. Yeah, right…

Purdue Pharma pleaded guilty in federal criminal court to misleading marketing, leading to a $635 MILLION fine in 2007.

After reviewing these eight factoids, learn about oxycodone’s potentially even MORE DEADLY nephew and then how to effectively reduce pain naturally…

The Deadly Facts

1. More Americans died from opioid use than cocaine and heroin combined

The 15,000 Americans who died from overdoses in 2008 represent three times the number reported in 1999, according to the CDC.

2. America’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) defines oxycodone as a Schedule II controlled substance

Because the DEA defined it as a controlled substance — due to the dangers of abuse — oxycodone undergoes more far more restrictions in dispensing and distribution limits, record-keeping and manufacturing security.

3. OxyContin — a time-released, oxycontin derivative — accounts for more than a third of an estimated $11 BILLION generated by this class of opioid drugs

According to one Wall Street expert, pharmacies filled 254 MILLION prescriptions of opioid drugs.

4. Oxycodone has at least 29 different side effects, according to MedlinePlus

Some side effects listed are deemed tolerable — nausea, constipation, drowsiness, mood changes — while others have been labeled serious — hallucinating, fainting, seizures, irregular heartbeat, slowed breathing.

5. Despite its relatively recent surge in popularity, oxycontin’s origins date back to World War I Germany

Created to be less addictive than heroin, morphine and codeine, oxycodone, a modified form of the opiate thebaine, came to America in 1939, but only received FDA approval for its time-released formulation in 1995.

6. Arguably, the Sackler brothers, former psychiatrists who own Purdue Pharma that produces OxyContin, were the “grandfathers” of modern day marketing practices that have addicted our world to drugs we don’t need

According to Forbes, Arthur Sackler was named to the Medical Advertising Hall of Fame for his aid in shaping “pharmaceutical promotion as we know it today.”

7. In a bizarre case of “monkey see-monkey-do,” mega-drug company Pfizer is jumping into the oxycodone pool

Because tampering improves the speed at which the drug is absorbed (crushing generic, non-timed released meds speeds absorption), the FDA has actively persuaded drugmakers like Pfizer to develop tamper-resistant forms of OxyContin. Wall Street predicts developments like this plus growing demand will push the opioid market of drugs to more than $15 BILLION in sales by 2016.

8. No one is immune to addiction to oxycondone-derivatives like Percocet (oxycodone plus acetaminophen) or OxyContin, including famous athletes and movie stars

Celebrities have been anything but immune to the harmful touch of this dangerous drug. This includes athletes like former Boston Celtics guard Chris Herron, the syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh, and musician and American Idol judge, Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler.

Meanwhile, one of the world’s best and youngest actors, Heath Ledger, died a year before winning a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight in 2009 — the victim of a combo-overdose of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, doxylamine, Alprazolam and Temazepam.

The Newest Deadly Kind of Oxycodone

Just as awareness is growing about this very dangerous drug comes news that a 10-times more powerful formulation of a “sister” opioid drug derived from pure hydrocodone is being tested by four drugmakers. In fact, Zogenix may have their Zohydro on the market as early as next year.

Drug companies argue that a purer form of hydrocodone would sidestep the likelihood of liver damage linked to acetaminophen, but would require greater supervision by doctors too.

One more deadly argument for these new hydrocodone-based drugs: They’re just more pain-fighting weapons necessitated by an aging Baby Boomer population.

So here is an IMPORTANT REMINDER: You don’t need to fall for their marketing. You don’t need to put yourself at great risk with dangerous pain medications.

There are far safer and natural ways to beat pain, and I encourage you to learn about the top-recommended below right now…

Protect Your Health And Tame Your Pain With the 12 Most Powerful Natural Pain Relievers in Heal-n-Soothe

U.S. Department of Justice/Drug Enforcement Administration

St. Louis Today

Fortune

Discovery Fit & Health

Scientific American

Posted in Addictions, Conditions, Heal-n-Soothe, Health Politics, New, Supplements | Tagged complementary pain treatment, dangerous drugs, drug abuse, oxycodone, OxyContin | Leave a comment

6 Unusual Ways to Detect Cancer

By admin | Published: January 15, 2012

From Sniffing Dogs to Listening for Cancer … and
How to Literally Burn Cancer Out!

The world of medicine his getting mighty creative in discovering how to detect cancer, as you are about to discover. These methods can detect it sooner and at deeper levels, and perhaps lower health care costs for everyone.

After learning about these innovations, do not miss the link on how to literally burn cancer out of your body and 11 safe and natural cures now available.

1. 3D Imaging Detects Breast Cancer

Have you been amazed by the 3D special effects wizardry behind films like Hugo and Avatar? Some of that scientific know-how may be taking the early detection of breast cancer to a brand new level.

Researchers at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University examined 150 groups of normal, benign fibrocystic and malignant breast cancer cells with the help of the Cell-CT, a microscope that produces 3D images using optical project tomography.

The unit works like the typical CT scanner, but uses visible photons of light, instead of X-rays. Rather than being placed on slides, breast cells were suspended in gel and injected through a micro-capillary tube that produces multiple images with 360-degree views.

The good news: Researchers concluded the Cell-CT provided subtle, improved looks, particularly at malignant cancer cells, that would probably have been missed with conventional 2-D imaging.

2. The Race to Develop a Blood Test For Lung Cancer Continues

The same blood work you may do on an annual basis for your health physical may also detect lung cancer.

There’s a race going on in the world of medicine to find an effective way to warn patients if they have lung cancer at a much earlier and far more treatable phase.

Even more fascinating are the various routes researchers are using to find the most effective method of detection; for example, by looking for protein signatures as other blood tests for cancer do (specifically, the PSA for prostate cancer), or tracking the expression of protein-coding genes within immune cells.

3. Using a Digital Camera to Find Cancer

Bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have brought the cost of cancer detection way down with the aid of a $400 Olympus E-330 digital camera, attached to fiberoptic cables, that’s sensitive enough to tell the difference between healthy and pre-cancerous cells.

This high-resolution microendoscope may also provide an alternative to biopsies, by guiding health professionals to the best spots on a patient’s body to conduct tissue sampling. Currently, the device is being tested in Botswana and China to screen for cervical cancer and esophageal cancer, respectively.

4. Can Your Dog Sniff Out Cancer?

If the multiple efforts to develop a blood test for lung cancer fail, science can fallback on man’s best four-legged friend, quite literally, to sniff it out.

A recent European study tracked the amazing accuracy of four dogs (Australian shepherd, Labrador retriever and two German shepherds) trained to discern cancer from non-cancerous cells. The canine foursome detected the presence of lung cancer in 71 out of 100 tissue samples. And, targeting healthy cells, the success rate out of 400 samples was an astonishing 93 percent.

In fact, these dogs were more accurate, scientists say, than a combination of CT scans and bronchoscopy (an invasive procedure requiring anesthesia). Why? A dog’s heightened sense of smell can be as much as 1,000 times better than that of humans.

5. That’s The Sound of Cancer…

Biomedical engineers at the University of Missouri have created a laser-light device that uses photo acoustics (laser-induced ultrasounds) to separate aggressive melanoma cancer cells from surrounding healthy ones.

The intensity of the laser heats cells so quickly the melanin in cancer cells absorbs the light, leaving a trail as easy to identify as “a black 18-wheeler,” University of Missouri scientists say.

A pair of electrical engineers at the University of Connecticut will soon be testing a similar device using ultrasound and photoacoustic technology to detect the early-stage presence of ovarian cancer on women undergoing the early removal of their ovaries as a preventative measure.

Any improvements on identifying cervical cancer are good, considering the disease kills some 14,000 American women annually and only has a 47 percent survival rate over five years.

6. You May Be Breathing Lung Cancer Cells.

Last year, researchers at Purdue University and the National Institute of Standards and Practices created a breathalyzer device that measured biomarkers in the respiration of humans as high as the parts per million range, in hopes of identifying signs of cancer and other diseases.

Very recently, a first-generation model of the device detected signs of lung cancer (the presence of volatile organic compounds) in exhaled human breath with an accuracy approaching an amazing 89 percent for small cell lung cancer and 79 percent for which of the four stages of lung cancer a patient may be fighting.