2011 has been crazy in the office in terms of pregnancy and babies.  Not only have Dr. A and Dr. M had babies of their own, and Sarah will soon, but we’ve had over 25 individual practice members give birth!  Because of all this I’ve been keeping a extra close eye on the new research and literature coming out regarding pregnancy and birth.  The last couple months a couple of articles in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology have caught my eye.  The first is an editorial in the August issue detailing the overuse of C-sections called “How to Stop the Relentless Rise in Cesarean Deliveries.”  We’ve talked before about the dangers in the rising rates of C-section, about how they increase the risks to both mom and baby, and how, in many to most cases, they are due to doctor/mother convenience issues or caused by medical intervention in the natural birth process.  This article does a great job outlining many of the causes of the rising rates (and why it is bad) and issues one of the first calls to action (by a medical provider in a prestigious journal; midwives, chiros, natural birth advocates having been beating the drum for years) that I’ve seen.  Speaking to his colleagues in his own words:

“What the appropriate rate should be for the United States is elusive, but a 50% rate seems too high and would draw common sense criticism from many areas. As of now the problem is ours to solve. If cesarean delivery rates spiral upward, our profession will lose both credibility and the opportunity to determine our direction, as third-party payers and the government will become involved. … The rising cesarean delivery rate is a threat to our profession. Remember that the official statistics on deliveries are always a year or two behind. There is no time for complacency. In my judgment, the best action for our profession is to commit to lower the primary cesarean delivery rate using every practical measure while we are still in control.”

The second article that I found very interesting was in the September issue of the same journal.  In it the quality of the evidence behind the clinical guidelines for OB/GYN practice is examined.  For those of you who don’t know clinical guidelines are practice guidelines issued by panels made up of “experts” in a profession that outline for a doctor how he should treat/address conditions.  The doctor doesn’t have to follow them but he is under pressure from licensing boards, insurance companies, and medical groups such as the AMA and specific specialty groups to do so.  These guidelines are the so-called “gold standard” of medical practice.

I’ll give you an example in the real world.  As I wrote in the blog post about our birth story, we were recommended to induce labor at 37 weeks due to Pippa measuring in the 8th percentile in size on ultrasound.   The doctor who made that recommendation was operating under clinical guidelines which say to induce labor at that point.  We didn’t (for a variety of reasons outlined in the birth story) and Pippa was born perfectly normal at 6 lbs 12 oz.

The problem with these guidelines is outlined in the September article.  When the researchers look at the total of the guidelines (717  issued dating back to 1999) they found that “Our findings suggest that only a third of the recommendations put forth by the College in their practice bulletins are based on high-quality, consistent scientific
evidence.”  When you break it down it even more you see that of the recommendations regarding labor and delivery only 27% regarding treatments (epidural, induction, episiotomy, etc) and 4% regarding delivery (c-section, forceps, vacuum vs vaginal, VBAC) were actually evidence, science based.  The others were found to based on limited or no evidence or solely on conjecture or opinion.

What does this mean?  For me it means that, when we have uncertainty, we should fall back to the most conservative, safest, most natural option.  For us that was to not induce labor at 37 weeks because there was no evidence that there was something wrong.  For most women that should mean going into labor naturally and letting it take it’s course – the body knows what it needs.  It also tells me that patients need to educate and inform themselves about treatment options that have been given to them, the evidence and science behind those options, and the risks involved.

Again we want to welcome Monica even more into our family here at McKinley Chiropractic, and we can’t wait to meet Sarah’s new little one when he or she decides to make an appearance.  Thank you for your patience during this transition and we can’t wait to see you again!

First off, let me remind you or maybe teach you for the first time the importance of infant, toddler, and childhood adjustments.  The first system that forms in the womb during pregnancy is the nervous system, and from that time on it regulates and controls body function.  Since most births these days are no longer natural, the first trauma is during the birth process.  Not being checked for subluxations or spinal misalignments until later in life, is a major detriment to the child’s  nervous system, leading to weak immunity and poor mechanical structure.   Even though its now 2011, we still see skyrocketing numbers of asthma, ear infections, allergies, and sensory integration issues.  This is all the result of a nervous system that is not adapting to changes in environment, and has very, very little to do with genetics.

Also, when kids grow up getting regular wellness adjustments, they realize their body is important  and when taken care of properly works fine without medications or vaccines to battle the flu, common cold, headaches, fevers, ear infections, etc.  This is empowering and lessens the likelyhood that your child will be another sad victim of the side effects of medications, which is a leading cause of death in this country.    Did you know that greater than 80 percent of medications given to children under 18 are OFF LABEL, which means they are prescribed for reasons other than what they were researched for!  This is insane,  yet most of the parents in the country are either unaware, or are aware, but just don’t know what to do as an alternative.  Actually, drugs should be the alternative.  Every drug has a side effect, even Tylenol, so why we constantly rely on drugs and teach our kids to reach for drugs first when we have body symptoms is beyond me.  Safe, gentle, natural, regular chiropractic adjustment help restore nervous system function without side effects.

This doesn’t mean you will go through life without drugs, but you will be far less likely if its working at its best.  I have no problem what so ever bragging that my children have never had a drop of poisonous vaccines put into their bloodstream, and have also never taken a drug for any symptom ever.  It just really makes me sick to see all this sickness when being proactive IS the answer.   Many of you reading this get it, and I applaud you.   But others still come in to improve their own nervous sysem, while leaving their kids at home unchecked, waiting for symptoms to show up and when they do, just teaching the kids that drugs fix everything.  Look around…its not working…we are NOT the healthiest country on the planet by FAR.  Some of you, simply haven’t gotten your kids checked because you just haven’t explained it to your husband or wife, so they don’t get it, and that’s the end of it.  Bring them in or let me or Dr. A talk to them.  It would be easier for me to say nothing, but it flies in the face of my purpose.

JULY is free exam month for kids, and many of you are getting your kids checked for the first time.  For those of you who have been putting this off for too long, the second best time is NOW.  I can’t tell you how many kids we saw in my four days in Peru, but I can tell you there was nothing but pure gratitude from the parents that saw the results in the short time we were there.  For those of you who helped with my trip by purchasing the finger puppets hand made in Peru, thanks again for your support!  I also want to help Chicago kids, not just children from Peru!  It takes courage to be different.

Thank you for trusting us with your wellness….Dr. M

I wanted to follow-up on a couple of things.  Probably the biggest question we hear from people when we talk about having a natural birth is some variation on “Why go through that pain if you don’t have to?”.  The answer is simple:  for us, and for most people, a natural birth is the best and safest for both mom and baby.  Only in the last 50 years have we started to look at birth as a medical procedure and not as the natural, beautiful act it is.  And by looking at it as a procedure (that we can start and stop) we open ourselves up to all kinds of interventions that may and do have bad outcomes.  This is why c-section rates are sky-rocketing (more on this in a second) and the infant mortality rate in the US is actually increasing and is worse than most of our peer nations.  This is basically why the doctor in my story recommended we induce at 37 weeks – he views labor and delivery as a procedure that he performs, much as a heart surgeon does bypass surgery or a dentist does a root canal.  He can perform it at 37 weeks (as he said, the baby is completely viable) or 42 weeks – it doesn’t matter to him.  We didn’t do it because we take the opposite view – the birth process as the body was designed to have it (which may be different for everyone) is vitally important to start the baby on the track to good health.  Unless there was a life-threatening issue for Pippa or Courtney (there wasn’t) we knew that her body knew what was best for the baby;  in the end that was her being 10 days “late”.  She wasn’t meant to come out at 37 weeks – if she was Courtney would’ve started dilating, having contractions, etc.  And in the end, we have a perfect little girl who has gotten a great start on life!

Yesterday I posted a website on our Facebook page (Click here to become a fan!) that is a great resource for people who are expecting or plan to be expecting.  The choice of a doctor/midwife and associated hospital is a vitally important first step that takes place many times before many couples, especially first timers, have thought about what type of experience they would like to have.  It even happened to us – we switched providers at 32 weeks.  One very important piece of information to gather is the C-section rate for the hospital that you are using(you should also find it out for your practitioner).  The website above has links for every hospital in the United States.  Illinois specifically is a very well designed page:  it allows you to compare any hospital you want and will even give you the state averages.

Why is it important to know you hospital’s c-section rate, and why do we want to avoid them if at all possible?  C-sections are major abdominal surgery and have the same consequences and recovery.  They are not, as many portray, “walk into the hospital, go to sleep, and walk out with a baby.”  Many people who have a c-section are even lucky if they can pick up their baby up 1, 2, even 3 weeks after giving birth – the recovery is long and painful.  Not to mention the risks associated with the surgery itself.  There are even risks associated for the baby.  Babies delivered by c-section have higher rates of asthma, allergies, poorer immune function, colic, etc.

Would I have rather delivered Pippa in a place without c-sections?  Absolutely not – they are vital in the case of an emergency.  The problem is that the majority performed in the US are not as a result of an emergency but done for convenience or as a consequence of unneeded intervention.  The World Health Organization reports that 5-10% of all births are emergency situations where c-sections are warranted.  They also state that at rates over 15% more women are being harmed than actually helped!  In some areas of the US rates are over 40% and rising; Illinois is at 27%!

As I said the website I linked above gives breakdowns of all hospitals across the US.  I took a look at the three hospitals here in Chicago that we have or are using:  Northwestern(Dr.M), Swedish(Sarah), and Evanston(Dr. A).  The website give two different rates to look at:  the Primary C-section rate (this is C-sections for women who have never had one before, and the overall C-section rate).  Here is the breakdown:

Northwestern

• Primary:  17%
• Total:  25%

Swedish

• 12%
• 21%

Evanston

• 14%
• 23%

So in looking at them the good news is that all three are beating the Illinois average, yet they are still higher than what should be acceptable.  In addition to the hospital c-section you will also want to know your Dr/midwife’s rate, as well as their percentage of natural birth.  This info may be harder to find – there is no database.  I do know that our midwife’s c-section rate is under 5% and their natural birth rate is over 60%.  For comparison’s sake Northwestern’s natural birth rate is 2%.  Be sure to ask your doctor/midwife these questions.

In the end I hope this answered some of the questions people may have had about our birth.  We truly believe that the birth experience is a personal decision and that while natural birth is the healthiest option, depending on circumstances it may not be possible for everyone.  We love working with pregnant women from the start of their pregnancy to help support and guide them in order to have the best experience possible.  If you are pregnant or know someone who is pregnant be sure to check out our blog and our Facebook feed for more info, and make an appointment to see want kind of help we may provide throughout the pregnancy (and after!).

Thanks Again

Dr. Arthur

It is so prevalent that it has worked its way into all aspects of our culture.

Asthma (or the diagnosis of asthma) is an exploding epidemic in this country and in the developed world.  Since 1980 asthma rates in the U.S. have almost quadrupled.  There are a number of reasons for this:  vaccine recommendations per child in the US has tripled in the same time frame (vaccines change the way our immune system works, leading to sensitization of and inflammation in airways), lack of exposure to bacteria due to antibiotics and antibacterial soaps, pollution, the increase of pro-infammatory foods such as grains, sugars, and milk in our diets, the increasing lack of activity and exercise in our lifestyles, and poor posture related to the increase in TV, video game, computers, and other sitting activites in both children and adults.  (A comparison between asthma rates in the US (very high) and under-developed countries (very low) demonstrate these reasons nicely.  Underdeveloped countries (and even developed countries such as those in Europe and Japan) don’t mandate nearly as many vaccines as the US, live a much more active lifestyle, don’t each nearly as many processed foods, and are typically exposed to bacteria and dirt in much more natural ways.)

There are good news though.  Both research and our clinical experience have demonstrated that it is possible to help people with asthma throw away their inhalers and take back their lives naturally.  Its for this reason that we have decided to declare March Asthma Awareness Month here in our office.  We have set a goal of helping at least 25 people overcome their asthma and start living their lives again, start running, and playing, and stop living in fear.

We need your help!  Each and everyone of us knows someone with asthma who could benefit from our help.  Simply give them our information, or even better yet, make them an appointment with Sarah or Monica.  There are no prizes, gifts, or giveways for doing so.  Just the joy in knowing that you have helped someone change their life!

The answer depends on your view of what health is.  If your view of health involves feeling good then obviously they were a bad thing.  I felt like crap!  But if you view health, as I do, as the optimum functioning of the body, then my symptoms were a very good thing.  They were signs that my body was doing what it needed to to fight off infection.  Lets take a look at each symptom and what positive effect they had on my body:

• fever – raising the body’s temperature in order to kill whatever organism was invading my body
• congestion and runny nose – the by products of the white blood cells attacking the improper organism as well as my body trapping them in the mucous membranes so as not to let them infect deeper
• headache, dizziness, and low energy – my body’s way of making me stay and bed, rest, and allow it to do its thing.
• My lingering cough – breaking up and expelling the products left over in my lungs from the body fighting the infection

Look, it sucks to get sick.  Believe me I would have much rather been in the office working, not lying in bed.  But over the long haul I am better off going through what I just went through – I know that my body can fight something off in a relatively short amount of time, the next time I’m exposed to it I have developed natural immunity to it, and I’m back in the office today rested and relaxed.  Getting sick was a good thing!!!

Another good thing is Dr. M’s Birthday Bash this Friday at Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Bistro!  Everyone who has RSVP’d thank you, if they haven’t already, you will be receiving a call from Monica or Sarah confirming you and your guests.  We still have a few seats left for anyone else who wants to attend.  Please call us today with your name and your number of guests so we can seat you.  It’s gonna be a great time!!!

At this last conference there was a break from normal arrangement of speakers, typically doctors, health and wellness experts, motivational gurus, researchers, etc.  In the midst of all the science, technology, health and wellness came out a gentleman who had never even been in a chiropractic office.  He was visibly nervous, he wasn’t a professional speaker.  Yet for the next hour he held the audience captive as he told the tragic story of his son, Wyatt.

Wyatt’s story sums up the reason that we come to the office everyday.  Every day thousands of kids and millions of adults are prescribed medications that are unnecessary.  In Wyatt’s case, the use of an antibiotic goes against the American Academy of Pediatric’s recommendation for ear infections.  (In fact, the chiropractic adjustment is a better, safer alternative to antibiotics! (Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics 1997 (Oct);   2 (2):   167–183).)  It is the nature of drugs that we don’t know when a reaction like Wyatt’s will occur.  The FDA, the CDC, and the drug companies themselves give us stats as to the safety of medications.  Why they don’t say is that, due to the bottom line and the almight dollar, they are willing to live with 1%, 5%, even 10% adverse reaction rates.  They call these drugs safe.

Unfortunately knowing that amoxicillin is “safe” is no comfort to Wyatt’s family.  When, as a society, we condone and prescribe millions upon millions of drugs every year, the shear numbers, even with only a 1% “bad” reaction rate, ensure that we have thousands of cases like Wyatt’s every year.  We don’t hear about them, they’re not published in the media or in the official stats.  Reactions to prescription drugs (not overdoses or accidents) are the 3rd leading cause of death in this country.  The only things that kills more people are heart attacks and cancer.  Yet we have no pink ribbons, or weekend walks, or yellow bracelets for it.  In the eyes of the medical/pharmaceutical industries it is simply the cost of doing business. 

I don’t want to live in a world that doesn’t have medications.  Yet I never want to have to take a medication and I never want any of my patients to have to take them either.  This is why we do what we do!  It is life or death!  Please, the next time you think about popping a little pill for a head ache, or a back pain, or a runny nose…..think about the consequences.  It is vitally important.  If you are on a medication, don’t stop.  Come talk to us about how we can work with your doctor to put together a plan for you to safely stop.

We know that this wouldn’t be possible without you!  That’s why next week, November 1st-5th, we will be hosting a Patient Appreciation Week.  This is a chance for us to say a big THANK YOU to each and every one of you!  There will be a lot of suprises throughout the week, but here are a couple of things that we wanted you to be aware of:

• Thursday:  Name Your Supplement!!!  We are very proud of the supplement brands that we carry.  Our suppliers, Standard Process and Innate Choice, are industry leaders when it comes to all natural, non-synthetic, whole food supplements.  This is why we personally use them and recommend them to our patients.  Many of you have made them your supplement of choice as well.  As our gift to you for making us your supplement supplier, any patient who has previously purchased a supplement through us can purchase their supplements of choice today for 50% off! (limit one bottle per supplement, excludes detox packages).
• Friday:  Kid’s Day:  Kids need chiropractic too!  All kids adjustments today (under 16) are completely free!  Is your child not already under care?  Bring them in today for an exam and we will do it at no charge!  It’s a win-win….your child’s nervous system function improves and you save money!

Of course this isn’t everything so make sure you are scheduled (or if you are not due for an adjustment, just stop in and say hi!) for this week!

What you don’t hear from big pharma or the media is that while these are great marketing strategies that make a ton of money for those involved – they don’t actually stop you from getting sick or getting the flu.  And this isn’t me talking, and this isn’t new, breaking research, we’ve known this for a while.  Take a look at some different groups and try to see who it helps:

• Not babies: In a review of more than 51 studies involving more than 294,000 children it was found there was “no evidence that injecting children 6-24 months of age with a flu shotwas any more effective than placebo. In children over 2 yrs, it was only effective 33% of the time in preventing the flu. Reference: ”Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy children.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2 (2008).
• Not children: A study 800 children with asthma, where one half were vaccinated and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for asthma. CONCLUSION: This study failed to provide evidence that the influenza vaccine prevents pediatric asthma exacerbations.  Reference: “Effectiveness of influenza vaccine for the prevention of asthma exacerbations.” Christly, C. et al. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Aug;89(8):734-5.
• Not children again:   “The inactivated flu vaccine, Flumist, does not prevent influenza-related hospitalizations in children, especially the ones with asthma…In fact, children who get the flu vaccine are more at risk for hospitalization than children who do not get the vaccine.“ Reference: The American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference, May 15-20, 2009, San Diego.
• Not adults:   In a review of 48 reports including more than 66,000 adults, “Vaccination of healthy adults only reduced risk of influenza by 6% and reduced the number of missed work days by less than one day (0.16) days. It did not change the number of people needing to go to hospital or take time off work.“ Reference: ”Vaccines for preventing influenza in healthy adults.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 1 (2006).
• Not the Elderly:   In a review of 64 studies in 98 flu seasons, For elderly living in nursing homes, flu shots were non-significant for preventing the flu. For elderly living in the community, vaccines were not (significantly) effective against influenza, ILI or pneumonia.  Reference: ”Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.3 (2006).

The crazy thing is that there are safer, more effective ways to prevent the flu.  For example, a recent study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that Vitamin D supplements are more effective than vaccines for preventing the flu in children.  Yet we continue to push unproven, possibly unsafe vaccines for kids!

Don’t be a wimp.  You’re body has the tools and ability to fight the flu – you just have to train it to be strong.  Vitamin D is one way, there are others.  We are the personal trainer for your immune system.  Talk to us today about what you can do to make you and your family strong!

Another day, another drug company covering up deadly side effects caused by its precription drug.

An FDA panel (comprised of doctors and researchers, many of whom have financial ties to drug companies) is deciding today on whether to pull the diabetes drug, Avandia off the market due to concerns that it causes heart attacks.  Avandia is not a new drug – it has been on the market for decades (its patent will expire in a few years).  In fact this isn’t a case of drug manufacturers rushing the drug untested to market, or promoting off-label, untested uses for it.  Avandia has undergone numerous human clinical trials.  In this case, its maker, GlaxoSmithKline, knew that it increased the risk of heart disease but they covered up the data.  Documents released by a Senate Financial Committee include several emails that record GlaxoSmithKline officials suggesting that certain unfavorable studies concerning the drug “never see the light of day to anyone outside of GSK.”

Avandia’s safety was first publically called into question in 2007 when an analysis by Nissen found that those on the drug had a 43 percent higher risk of heart attacks and a 64 percent higher risk of dying from heart disease.  Though the drug has lost more than half of its sales since the 2007 study (as doctors try to switch to other “safer” medications), it still generated more than $1 billion in revenue and was prescribed to 2.6 million Americans in 2009.

While this story isn’t new, it’s just another example of why better health through better chemistry doesn’t work!  Type II diabetes is a completely preventable disease.  No one has to get it and no one needs to subject themselves or their loved ones to the risk of taking these medications.  If you are currently taking this or any other medication that is for a lifestyle disease please talk to us about how to make a change so you can get off these medications.  You have the power to be health, you are born with it, you just have to do something about it.  Remember, if we don’t change our behaviors we can’t expect our lives to change.  Start today!!!

This year’s theme is “Challenge Yourself to Accomplish Something BIG this Summer!”

We’ve designed this bootcamp to help you do just that.  It will start August 9th and run through Sept 3rd.  Each week we will challenge you with three workouts (2 strength, 1 cardio) designed by McKinley Chiropractic and Windy City Crossfit to kick your butt!  In addition you’ll be able to choose up to 4 Yoga sessions provided by Om on the Range Yoga Studio to help you stretch out and recover.  We also add a little healthy fun with a kayaking excursion on the Chicago River.  Finally, for those of you who want to take it up even another level, we’re doing a second round of “Detox with Dr. Arthur” and giving all bootcamp participants $75 off a detox program.

This will be an unbelievable experience, but we do have to limit it to 30 participants. So please ask yourself if you want to accomplish something BIG this summer, and if the answer is yes – sign-up today!

The cost is only $40 (detox is seperate) and all proceeds  benefit the Non-Profit Chiropractic Organization who raises money to build wellness clinics in impoverished countries.

Reserve your spot today by clicking here!