Wow. I just had a conversation with a personal injury attorney. He helped one of my patients and also confirmed for me the big, ugly, giant flaws in the medical system, the things I rant about, the stuff that drives me nuts.
Naomi had migraines for 20 years. One day last year, she passed out in a gym. She is in her 60's and the DMV threatened to take her driver's license away. She had to go to the doctors to figure out why she passed out. The neurologist said it was not seizures and left it at that. The cardiologist said her heart was perfectly fine. No one explained why she passed out. I can.
She found me quite accidentally. Found my brochure in the lobby while waiting for her cardiology appointment (I sublease space to them). She was willing to give O.M.T a try. Needless to say, it took 11 visits and her years of migraines, fibromyalgia, back pain were much improved, without needing meds. Then, one day after a good, productive visit, she was waiting at a stop sign and another car hit her from behind. This accident set us back so far, it took another 11 visits just to get her back to where she was with me as she was getting better.
The 'wow' that I learned from my quick tutorial on injury from this lawyer was the built in flaws of the medical system. I mentioned my other new patient had numbness in one hand and went to her PCP. Generally numbness and tingling are neurologic signs and should be evaluated/worked up. Instead she was sent straight to P.T. (physical therapy) After traction, she developed numbness and tingling in BOTH arms and hands. Clearly the physical therapy caused her new symptom on the other side. When she went back to her PCP, then she got an x-ray - which turned out hideous.
Apparently from the legal side, doctors are allowed "best guesses." Man, that is a lot of leeway. Is that what other non-medical people think we are doing? No wonder there is increasing disrespect for doctors. What if that 'best guess' sucked? and you were hurt by a lousy guess. Too bad. That does not constitute a problem. It is simply a bad guess.
Here, we have two medical professionals who did not take heed of neurologic signs and proceed with caution. Now, it is my job to clean this up.
I complained to the lawyer that I see this all the time! I see so many people hurt by what is considered an acceptable treatment modality. I told him that if my patients had not been touched previously (another rant and blog), what I call, pure, unadulterated physical/mechanical strains, they would be so much easier for me to treat - they would think that I'm a miracle worker. Do you know what he said to me?
He said of course! After 25 years of working in personal injury and dealing with different types of doctors; clearly this guy is one of the good guys and a real decent lawyer. He stated that this is "built into the system." that this is how it is done and there is no way to change it.
WOW. All you people out there better be careful. Take caution. Do your research. Do not put yourself, or your body into the hands of fakes, frauds or wannabes (another blog for another time). Even with physicians, listen to their words and explanations. All of it better make sense and listen to your instincts. Anyone who is going to help you better get you lasting, sustainable results.
Good luck and always proceed with caution.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
They Think You Are Crazy
I hear this all the time and it drives me nuts. You are hurting. All the tests are negative. All the specialists are perplexed. They don't know what to do for you. Most of them think, maybe it is all in your head, only they don't say it to your face. Some might think that it may be real . Because you are anxious and scared, this loops and feeds in to your pain, they suggest you take an anti-depressant. finally they suggest that you will live with this pain for the rest of your life and you need help coping so they send you to a psychiatrist or psychologist or even worse, send you into a support group.
I have a very simple, rational approach. why not be open to non-invasive, non-offensive, non-traumatic means of relief? Of course I'm biased. I love practicing O.M.T. I'm very good at what I do. It is powerful. I get results. But if you are skeptical and don't want to try, at least I can attest to acupuncture. It is generally innocuous. It does not impart additional traumatic strain on the body. Homeopathic and naturopathic treatments are also generally OK too.
General NO-NO's. No deep tissue massage, no traction, and no chiropractic cracking.
I have a very simple, rational approach. why not be open to non-invasive, non-offensive, non-traumatic means of relief? Of course I'm biased. I love practicing O.M.T. I'm very good at what I do. It is powerful. I get results. But if you are skeptical and don't want to try, at least I can attest to acupuncture. It is generally innocuous. It does not impart additional traumatic strain on the body. Homeopathic and naturopathic treatments are also generally OK too.
General NO-NO's. No deep tissue massage, no traction, and no chiropractic cracking.
Traction is BAD, BAD, BAD!
I have a new patient who drove in from another county to see me. She was injured by a physical therapist 1 month ago. All she complained about was neck pain and tension. This was a previously relatively healthy individual. She comes in and you can see on the x-ray how messed up she is (anyone peripherally involved in medicine can tell) - who even needs the radiologists report. The report says she has spondylolysis of 1 vertebrae and compression and disc narrowing of the lower three. A certain physical therapist put her in a contraption and applied traction to her head, neck, and lower back. She is so distraught and wracked with regret that she continually perseverates about how she should have clued in when the therapist kept pushing on spots on her neck that caused her pain. That was a sure warning sign that this person did not know what she was doing.
Two warnings to all who suffer with pain.
1) Anyone who causes you immediate pain, even with the slightest touch, run away. Forget that you already paid. Forget that they made you sign up for a "series of treatments." You do not want to be damaged further.
2) any muscle in spasm does not want to be yanked. Traction is BAD, BAD, BAD.
I don't believe that there is any clinical reason for anyone to do traction.There is a secret to unlocking a muscle in acute spasm. I have never met a non-D.O. who knew how to do it. Even a large percentage of D.O.'s don't know.
I am quite pleased to say that it is a propriety secret of the profession given to those who seek that knowledge. Needless to say, I spent the entire session with my new patient and I was able to get her some relief, hope, and convinced her that I know what I am doing. She will be returning next week to continue her recovery. good luck to you all in your search. Remember to run the other way, fast, if you have the faintest signal of doubt when you give your body over to someone who claims to know what they are doing.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
My Mission
Hello all!
It took 2 painless visits, each session only 45 minutes, 1 month apart for the neck. He called me for the 3rd visit to clean up the right shoulder which had been frozen for 8 years. This dated back 10 years from playing collegiate sports. Three years after his initial treatment he called me up and ask if I remembered that he had a bad knee. "Of course I remember" I said. It was the knee he would not let me touch because, at the time, he did not trust me. It had been operated on 3 times (3 seems to be the magic number of patients with pain - they allow surgeons to cut into them, somehow believing these surgeons that cutting and the subsequent scarring is miraculously going to resolve their pain [yes, another post for another time]). Needless to say, Scott and I now have a very good understanding of his knee. We agree now that the first surgery may have been necessary; but the 2nd and 3rd probably did not. How did we reach that conclusion? Very easily. It's common sense. When he comes in with knee pain and swelling, I work locally at the knee. If no changes occur then the problem is not in the knee. On multiple occasions, just treating and stabilizing the ankle results in immediate resolution of swelling and pain. When Scott comes in, I never let him leave without checking the ankle. Always.
It has been quite a journey for the both of us. Thanks Scott for your persistence.
For those of you still searching, keep searching, and keep reading. I will continue to blog my experiences and insights, which a good portion of the world suffering will recognize and yet common doctors will not acknowledge.
Let's get started. I wanted to do this blog to let those suffering in pain know, as a physician, I know what they are going through. After 10 years of treating and meeting all kinds of people hurting and desperate for results, I feel that I have a huge understanding of the great big fat holes and cracks in the medical system that patients fall through. They have become major pet peeves that those other doctors (M.D.'s) so locked and bound by narrow training do not see. There are some who genuinely care and help their patients search for results, but I am sorely disappointed by the vast, unbounded lack of intellectual honesty in a great proportion of the physicians I meet. After all, looking from their perspective, after 4 years of college, 4 years medical school, between 3-4 years of training and 1-3 years of additional subspecialty training, (Not to mention a greater than $200K in school debt, financial, personal and family delays), it is very hard to give up what you know (even though in the back of your head, that nagging feeling is that it is flawed).
I was trained as a pediatrician. In my last year in training, I was so excited. I was going to do things differently, get results, and write about my pediatrics experience. One day someone stopped me and asked for help by the name of Scott. He was in a car accident 1 month prior and was in pain. While stopped at an intersection, a drunk driver plowed into his car. Immediately he got the police report then went to the ER, luckily no broken bones. Eventually he wakes up to find that he cannot turn his head more then 45 degrees in either direction. Scott worked with my husband and he knew that I was a physician. He had seen his Primary Care Provider (PCP),with no help there. This person did not want to go to physical therapy (which had previously yanked on his legs to rehabilitate a bad left knee under the code of "no pain, no gain." [this is another major pet peeve, to be saved for a later post]). He did not trust chiropractors (another future lengthy post). I told him, find a D.O., call and ask if they did 100% Osteopathic Manipulation Treatment (OMT = future post). He refused. He wanted a direct referral; it was a trust issue with him. At the time I did not operate in this system and did not know anyone directly. After enough haranguing, I finally said, "OK, fine, I'll see you, but if I can't help you I won't charge you, if I do help you, then I'm really going to charge you!"
I was trained as a pediatrician. In my last year in training, I was so excited. I was going to do things differently, get results, and write about my pediatrics experience. One day someone stopped me and asked for help by the name of Scott. He was in a car accident 1 month prior and was in pain. While stopped at an intersection, a drunk driver plowed into his car. Immediately he got the police report then went to the ER, luckily no broken bones. Eventually he wakes up to find that he cannot turn his head more then 45 degrees in either direction. Scott worked with my husband and he knew that I was a physician. He had seen his Primary Care Provider (PCP),with no help there. This person did not want to go to physical therapy (which had previously yanked on his legs to rehabilitate a bad left knee under the code of "no pain, no gain." [this is another major pet peeve, to be saved for a later post]). He did not trust chiropractors (another future lengthy post). I told him, find a D.O., call and ask if they did 100% Osteopathic Manipulation Treatment (OMT = future post). He refused. He wanted a direct referral; it was a trust issue with him. At the time I did not operate in this system and did not know anyone directly. After enough haranguing, I finally said, "OK, fine, I'll see you, but if I can't help you I won't charge you, if I do help you, then I'm really going to charge you!"
It took 2 painless visits, each session only 45 minutes, 1 month apart for the neck. He called me for the 3rd visit to clean up the right shoulder which had been frozen for 8 years. This dated back 10 years from playing collegiate sports. Three years after his initial treatment he called me up and ask if I remembered that he had a bad knee. "Of course I remember" I said. It was the knee he would not let me touch because, at the time, he did not trust me. It had been operated on 3 times (3 seems to be the magic number of patients with pain - they allow surgeons to cut into them, somehow believing these surgeons that cutting and the subsequent scarring is miraculously going to resolve their pain [yes, another post for another time]). Needless to say, Scott and I now have a very good understanding of his knee. We agree now that the first surgery may have been necessary; but the 2nd and 3rd probably did not. How did we reach that conclusion? Very easily. It's common sense. When he comes in with knee pain and swelling, I work locally at the knee. If no changes occur then the problem is not in the knee. On multiple occasions, just treating and stabilizing the ankle results in immediate resolution of swelling and pain. When Scott comes in, I never let him leave without checking the ankle. Always.
It has been quite a journey for the both of us. Thanks Scott for your persistence.
For those of you still searching, keep searching, and keep reading. I will continue to blog my experiences and insights, which a good portion of the world suffering will recognize and yet common doctors will not acknowledge.
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