COT's HealthBeat Podcast

November 10, 2011

Show Notes for November 11, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

NYC Launches Anti-Soda Campaign
Exercise Might Help Thwart ‘Obesity Gene’
And Finally a story about Spinal Rehab and Activity of Muscles

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #331, recorded November 11, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Twitter – We are always looking to expand our interactivity with you, our loyal Health Community. If you would like to be kept up-to-date with current events about Health, Technology and ME, feel free to surf to – http://www.twitter.com/teglow and click on the Follow link.

Next, we would like to send out a big Thank You to those of you who are linking our Podcast to your home pages…. We do request that you also include a link to our main Podcast Page at www.ChiropracticRadio.com

And as always, a big thank you to our COT HealthBeat Listener community. This podcast is made available thru the generous donations we receive and greatly appreciate. If you could remember to surf to our Web Site and click on the PayPal link to make a monthly donation, even $5-$10, this would be very much welcomed.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

NYC Launches Anti-Soda Campaign

New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley recently unveiled a new Health Department education campaign that describes how drinking just one 20 ounce soda a day translates to eating 50 pounds of sugar a year.

The 30-second TV spot will air on major broadcast and cable TV stations over the next two months as a stark reminder to New Yorkers about how sugary drinks can lead to obesity, which can cause diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers.

This latest installment of the Department’s “Pouring on the Pounds” campaign was launched at an event in Times Square commemorating the nation’s first Food Day, a day modeled after the popular Earth Day, but focused on healthy food and eating.

New Yorkers are making some strides against the obesity epidemic and are beginning to turn the epidemic’s tide by consuming less sugary drinks, especially in some areas of the city. Between 2007 and 2010, the percentage of adults who reported on the Health Department’s annual telephone survey that they drank one or more sugary drinks a day fell from 36 percent to 30 percent.

Surf to NYC.gov for more information, and remember to discuss all Nutritionally related issues with your Qualified Health Care Provider.

Exercise Might Help Thwart ‘Obesity Gene’

A large international group of researchers found that the so-called “fat mass and obesity associated” (FTO) gene, which is known to increase the risk of obesity, has a 27 percent weaker effect on physically active adults compared to inactive ones.

The Author’s conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of 45 prior studies analyzing data from more than 218,000 participants.

The FTO gene harbors the strongest known susceptibility locus for obesity. While many individual studies have suggested that physical activity (PA) may attenuate the effect of FTO on obesity risk, other studies have not been able to confirm this interaction.

To confirm or refute unambiguously whether PA attenuates the association of FTO with obesity risk, the authors meta-analyzed data from 45 studies of adults and nine studies of children and adolescents.

The study concluded that the association of the FTO risk allele with the odds of obesity is attenuated by 27% in physically active adults, highlighting the importance of PA in particular in those genetically predisposed to obesity.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001116

http://www.doctorslounge.com/index.php/news/hd/24276

Spinal Rehab and Activity of the psoas major and quadratus lumborum muscles during submaximal isometric trunk efforts.

A study published back in July, in the Journal of Orthopedic Research, looked at the controversy which exists regarding the function of psoas major (PM) and quadratus lumborum (QL) at the lumbar spine.

The functions of discrete regions of psoas major and quadratus lumborum were studied during trunk loading tasks.

Twelve healthy participants performed isometric trunk loading tasks in various directions in upright sitting.

Fine-wire electromyography (EMG) electrodes were inserted under ultrasound guidance into psoas major fascicles arising from the transverse process (PM-t) and vertebral body (PM-v) and the anterior (QL-a) and posterior (QL-p) layers of QL on the right side.

Although right psoas major-transverse and psoas major-vertebral body were both active during right lateral-flexion trunk efforts, their activity was opposite in the sagittal plane, with greater psoas major-transverse towards extension and psoas major-vertebral body towards flexion. quadratus lumborum-anterior and quadratus lumborum-posterior were similarly active.

Activity of quadratus lumborum-posterior was modulated with respiratory phase during the loading tasks with trunk efforts towards the right lateral-flexion/flexion and right lateral-flexion directions.

These findings provide novel understanding of the unique activation of discrete regions of psoas major and quadratus lumborum. These differences must be considered in future EMG studies to better understand the function of these deeply situated trunk muscles in the control of the lumbar spine.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jor.21499/abstract

This podcast is made available through the generous donations from our great Listeners, such as You! If you are enjoying these HealthBeat Podcasts, Please surf to our Web Site and click on the PayPal link.

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

If you have a Web Site for your practice and you would like to add content to help attract more patients, please consider adding a Personalized HealthBeat segments to your site. Many listeners are finding this a useful content addition to an Office’s Web Site. For more information, please send me an Email at healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

While at our Web Site, please remember to consider making a donation to help keep these Podcasts airing. Listener support such as yours, via our PayPal link, does help in allowing us to bring these Podcasts to you weekly.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.”
- W. C. Fields

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

November 6, 2011

Show Notes for Nobember 4, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

Medicare Policy Regarding Chiropractic Services
Defining Essential Health Benefits
And Finally a Story about Yoga and Back Pain

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #330, recorded November 4, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

And Now for some news ….

Medicare Policy Regarding Chiropractic Services

A recent ChiroCode Newsletter outlined the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) document SE1101 highlights Medicare policy regarding coverage of chiropractic services for Medicare beneficiaries.

This article was revised on September 9, 2011, to clarify some of the language. No changes in policy are conveyed by these clarifications.

The “Key Points” section reviews Medicare policy for coverage of chiropractic services and emphasizes the billing and documentation requirements.

The following key points are discussed in detail:

Medicare coverage of chiropractic services.
Subluxation may be demonstrated by X-ray or physician’s examination.
Documentation requirements must be placed in the patient’s file.
Necessity for treatment.
Key billing requirements.
Beneficiary responsibility

Numerous audits of chiropractic service claims have found a significant portion of the claims to have been paid inappropriately. Correct claim payment depends largely on providers complying with Medicare requirements for coverage, coding, and documentation of services. The goal of this article is to translate published Medicare coverage and payment requirements for chiropractic services into a few practical tips for better Medicare compliance to effectively lower the frequency of improper payments (and corresponding error rates).

A recent study by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) entitled “Inappropriate Medicare Payments for Chiropractic Services” found inappropriate Medicare payments for chiropractic services.

The OIG study found that:

Claims lack initial visit dates for treatment episodes, hindering the identification of maintenance therapy; and
There is lack of compliance with the manual documentation requirements. For example, treatment plans, an important element in determining whether the chiropractic treatment was active/corrective in achieving specified goals, were either missing or lacked treatment goals, objective measures, or the recommended level of care

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.chirocode.com/Overview_of_Medicare_Policy_Regarding_Chiropractic_Services

https://www.cms.gov/MLNMattersArticles/downloads/SE1101.pdf

Defining Essential Health Benefits

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, when Congress enacted the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it mandated that a broad package of “essential health benefits” (EHBs) equivalent to that of a “typical employer plan” be offered by qualified health plans participating in newly created state-based insurance exchanges, as well as by new plans offered to individuals and small employers outside these exchanges.

Congress directed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to flesh out the details. The DHHS, in turn, asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to recommend a process for defining and updating the EHB package — but notably, not to develop a specific list of benefits.

In a report released on October 7, the IOM recommended that the initial EHB package be equivalent in scope to what could be purchased by the average premium that a small business would pay on behalf of an employee (see Key Recommendations of the IOM Committee on Defining and Revising an Essential Health Benefits Package for Qualified Health Plans).

If the DHHS endorsed a more expansive package, the IOM’s Committee on Defining and Revising an Essential Health Benefits Package for Qualified Health Plans cautioned in its report, many currently uninsured individuals and small businesses would find it unaffordable, which would undermine the overriding goal of the reform law — to make coverage both meaningful and nearly universal.

Surf to our Show Notes for the Full Article and Links to the IOM – http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1109982

http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Essential-Health-Benefits-Balancing-Coverage-and-Cost.aspx

Yoga and Back Pain

Weekly yoga classes relieve symptoms of low back pain about as well as intense, regular stretching sessions, according to a new Archives of Internal Medicine study.

The research found that yoga and stretching were equally effective in easing chronic back pain and improving function, but participants had to practice each regularly to see benefits. The subjects in both groups took weekly 75-minute classes and practiced yoga or deep stretching at home for about 20 minutes at a time at least three days a week.

The study is the largest and most thorough to date to look at whether yoga has an effect on chronic low back pain, a problem that affects millions and has no surefire long-term remedy. A number of earlier studies suggested that regular yoga classes might benefit back pain sufferers, though most were limited by small sample sizes, short study periods and other flaws.

Chronic low back pain is a common problem lacking highly effective treatment options. Small trials suggest that yoga may have benefits for this condition. This trial was designed to determine whether yoga is more effective than conventional stretching exercises or a self-care book for primary care patients with chronic low back pain.

The study concluded that Yoga classes were more effective than a self-care book, but not more effective than stretching classes, in improving function and reducing symptoms due to chronic low back pain, with benefits lasting at least several months.

Reminder to discuss all back related issues and questions with your Doctor of Chiropractic for other treatment options.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/yoga-and-stretching-equally-effective-for-back-pain/?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/archinternmed.2011.524

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“All this worldly wisdom was once the unamiable heresy of some wise man”.
- Henry David Thoreau

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

November 6, 2011

Show Notes for October 28, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

Medicare and Chronic Care
America’s Lifestyle and Related Health Costs
And Finally, A Story About America’s Eating Habits

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #329, recorded October 28, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

And Now for some news ….

Medicare and Chronic Care

On July 19 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would address concerns regarding payment for care provided to patients with chronic diseases. CMS was especially interested in addressing this issue for primary care physicians, who are most often responsible for the care and management of patients with these complex health issues.

CMS envisioned that reviewing the valuation for existing evaluation and management (E/M) visits would accomplish this goal. However, numerous national medical specialty societies were concerned that such a limited review would not address the broader objective of rewarding physicians for improved care coordination.

Consequently, the AMA’s CPT® Editorial Panel and the AMA/Specialty Society RVS Update Committee (RUC) created the Chronic Care Coordination Workgroup (C3W) to provide strategic direction to address the adequacy of coding as well as the valuation of care coordination services and management of chronic diseases.

While ensuring that coding and payment systems accommodate care coordination will be a long-term effort, a number of mechanisms are already in place that would allow CMS to begin rewarding such care immediately.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/solutions-managing-your-practice/coding-billing-insurance/medicare/care-coordination.page

America’s Lifestyle and Related Health Costs

Lifestyle diseases such as obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cancer and depression are costing the American economy $153 billion per year in lost productivity.

Based on data collected via the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, researchers concluded that chronic health conditions such as obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, diabetes, asthma, depression and recurring physical pain resulted in 449,847,652 days missed from work… and an estimated productivity loss of $153,398,049,221 per year.

This calculation doesn’t include productivity lost when employees show up at work but are less productive because of their poor health.

As well, the Gallup people didn’t speak with part-time workers.

Previous research which included these factors found that America’s chronic lifestyle diseases cost the nation up to $1.1 trillion per year.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.healthhabits.ca/2011/10/18/americas-lifestyle-diseases-cost-economy-153-billion-year/

America’s Eating Habits

Despite fewer super-sized meals, American’s waistlines continue to expand, according to a recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health.

According to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers who conducted the study and examined surveys of daily eating habits over a 30-year period, the number of daily meals and snacks consumed by U.S. adults rose to 4.8 in 2006 from 3.8 in 1977.

Many health professionals say that frequent eating in small doses revs up the metabolism and controls hunger, and is a healthier way of eating than three big meals. However, much consideration must also be given to what and how much you eat over the course of the day — not just how often you eat.

Epidemiologists from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio reported data showing that diet soft drink consumption is associated with increased waist circumference in humans, and a second study that found aspartame raised fasting glucose (blood sugar) in diabetes-prone mice.

As always, COTs HealthBeat recommends discussing all Dietary and Nutritional recommendations with your Qualified Healthcare provider.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/joanna-dolgoff-md/diet-soda-health_b_893625.html

http://www.uthscsa.edu/hscnews/singleformat2.asp?newID=3861

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110627183944.htm

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than he can chew.”
- Herb Caen

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

October 23, 2011

Show Notes for October 21, 2011

By teglow

•   Low Back Pain In Adolescents
•   Managing Nonspecific Low Back Pain
•   And Finally, a Story about Elevated Production of Inflammatory Mediators in Patients With Neck Pain

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #328, recorded October 21, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Twitter – We are always looking to expand our interactivity with you, our loyal Health Community. If you would like to be kept up-to-date with current events about Health, Technology and ME, feel free to surf to – http://www.twitter.com/teglow and click on the Follow link.

Next, we would like to send out a big Thank You to those of you who are linking our Podcast to your home pages…. We do request that you also include a link to our main Podcast Page at www.ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

RSS Info – In this edition of HealthBeat, we discuss Low Back Pain In Adolescents, Managing Nonspecific Low Back Pain, And Finally, a Story about Elevated Production of Inflammatory Mediators in Patients With Neck Pain.

Low Back Pain In Adolescents

Low back pain in adolescents usually has an undiagnosable source, resolves spontaneously, and warrants a minimalist approach to tests and imaging, analysis of a large clinical series suggested.

Three-fourths of 2,846 patients had undiagnosable, or nonspecific, mechanical low back pain. The most common pathology associated with low back pain was spondylolysis, which accounted for less than 7% of cases and did not change the conservative approach to follow-up.

Among patients who had x-rays, two-view films proved to be as informative as four-view radiographs. When advanced imaging was used, bone scans were significantly more likely to yield positive results compared with CT, as reported here at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting.

Note that this study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

As always, COTs HealthBeat recommends discussing back related issues with your Doctor of Chiropractic for other possible diagnostic procedures.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/AAP/29064

Managing Nonspecific Low Back Pain

A study recently published in the November 2011 issue of the journal Spine, presented information to identify how nonclinical patient factors, specifically sex, patient presentation, and socioeconomic status, influence physician treatment recommendations for assessing and treating acute nonspecific low back pain.

Adherence to evidence-based practice guidelines for nonspecific low back pain remains inconsistent. Therefore, it is important to understand what factors guide physician management of these cases.

Multivariate logistic regression showed seven significant associations of patient factors with treatment recommendations for acute nonspecific low back pain.

The study concluded that all three assessed nonclinical factors influenced physician decisions regarding diagnostic and treatment recommendations for acute nonspecific low back pain. Patient presentation, suggestive of a patient’s emotional state, was shown to be the most influential.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://journals.lww.com/spinejournal/Abstract/2011/11010/Managing_Nonspecific_Low_Back_Pain__Do_Nonclinical.14.aspx

Elevated Production of Inflammatory Mediators in Patients With Neck Pain

A recent study in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, JMPT, investigated whether the production of inflammatory mediators and chemotactic cytokines (chemokines) is altered in patients with chronic and recurrent neck pain (NP).

The levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1α or CCL3 were determined by specific immunoassays. Serum levels of nitric oxide metabolites were evaluated simultaneously.

The study concluded that production of inflammatory mediators was consistently elevated in NP patients in this study, both in vitro and in vivo, and activation of inflammatory pathways was accompanied by up-regulation of CC chemokine synthesis.

This suggests that, in neck pain patients, CC chemokines may be involved in regulation of local inflammatory response through recruitment of immune cells to the inflamed tissue and exert pro-nociceptive effects.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.jmptonline.org/article/S0161-4754%2811%2900193-X/abstract

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

If you have a Web Site for your practice and you would like to add content to help attract more patients, please consider adding a Personalized HealthBeat segments to your site. Many listeners are finding this a useful content addition to an Office’s Web Site. For more information, please send me an Email at healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

While at our Web Site, please remember to consider making a donation to help keep these Podcasts airing. Listener support such as yours, via our PayPal link, does help in allowing us to bring these Podcasts to you weekly.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.” — David Brinkley

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

October 18, 2011

ShowNotes for October 14, 2011

By teglow

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of HealthBeat, Chiropractic OnLine Today’s Health, News and Informational Podcast, and Proud to be the #1 Search Result for Chiropractic Podcasts in the iTunes Podcast Directory.
In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –
•   Update to Show Notes
•   Arthritis and Aging Workforce
•   And Finally, a recap of the week in studies released about Dietary Supplements

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #327, recorded October 14, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

RSS Info – In this edition of HealthBeat, we discuss Update to Show Notes, Arthritis and Aging Workforce, And Finally, a recap of the week in studies released about Dietary Supplements.

Update to Show Notes

Hi Everyone.

Just a quick update to our Show Notes pages. We are now using Word Press to present our Weekly Show Notes. Please continue to surf to www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Show Notes links to access these notes. They can also be accessed on your iPad in a friendly design.

Arthritis and Aging Workforce

A study recently reviewed on the Medscape.com web site, looked at how the working poor sometimes delay retirement to survive.

However, their higher risk of disease and disability threatens both their financial survival and their ability to work through the retirement years. We used the burden of disease attributable to arthritis by occupational class to illustrate the challenges faced by the older poor.

The Authors merged data from the National Health Interview Survey, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, and the National Death Index into a single database. We then calculated and compared age- and occupational class–specific quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) between workers with and without arthritis by using unabridged life tables.

In the United States, people aged 65 years and older are the fastest growing demographic group. The percentage of people aged 65 years and older is projected to almost double between the present day and 2050, rising from 6% to 11%, and about 1 in 5 of these elderly are poor.[

The study concluded that to meet the needs of the aging workforce, more extensive health and disability insurance will be needed.

Surf to our Show Notes for more the full study – http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/750935?src=nl_topic

Bad Week for Dietary Supplements

The week of October 10th has not been a good one for studies related to usage Nutritional Supplements.

The OrthoSupersite web site released an article titled – “Herbal supplements may cause dangerous drug interactions in orthopedic surgery patients”.

The study, published in the October, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons stated – The use of complementary and alternative medicine is widespread and popular with the lay public.

Although prevalence of use varies among specific patient populations, complementary and alternative medicine, in particular herbal remedies, are widely marketed and used by orthopedic patients. Herbal supplements can have a negative impact on the perioperative period and may interact with conventional medicines used to manage chronic conditions.

Physician-patient communication often does not include the subject of alternative medicines, leading to underreporting of use. Orthopaedic surgeons should adopt methods to routinely elicit from their patients the use of complementary and alternative medicine and should monitor and counsel patients on potential side effects and drug-herb interactions. Preoperative instructions should include cessation of the use of herbal supplements.

Earlier in the week, the Journal for the American Medical Association, JAMA, released a study related to Vitamin E and the Risk of Prostate Cancer.

The initial report of the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT) found no reduction in risk of prostate cancer with either selenium or vitamin E supplements but a statistically non-significant increase in prostate cancer risk with vitamin E.

Longer follow-up and more prostate cancer events provide further insight into the relationship of vitamin E and prostate cancer. A total of 35 533 men from 427 study sites in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico were randomized between August 22, 2001, and June 24, 2004.

The study concluded that Dietary supplementation with vitamin E significantly increased the risk of prostate cancer among healthy men.

Finally, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at the relationship between Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rate in Older Women.

Although dietary supplements are commonly taken to prevent chronic disease, the long-term health consequences of many compounds are unknown. The Authors of the study assessed the use of vitamin and mineral supplements in relation to total mortality in 38 772 older women in the Iowa Women’s Health Study.

The Study concluded that in older women, several commonly used
Dietary vitamin and mineral supplements may be associated with increased total mortality risk; this association is strongest with supplemental iron. In contrast to the findings of many studies, calcium is associated with decreased risk.

With the confusion generated by these studies, COT’s HealthBeat again recommends discussing all Nutritionally related questions with your Qualified Health Care Provider.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links and various opinions – http://www.jaaos.org/content/19/10/634.abstract

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=88471

http://junksciencecom.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/aim-multivitamin-older-women-mortality.pdf

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/14/1549.full.pdf

http://www.anh-usa.org/shame-on-ama-archives-of-internal-medicine/

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s day to day living that wears you out.”
- Anton Chekhov

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

October 6, 2011

ShowNotes for October 7, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

•   Prehypertension and Risk of Stroke
•   Adjustments to Common Shoulder Exercise
•   And Finally, a Story about Exercise and Insulin Resistance

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #326, recorded October 7, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Twitter – We are always looking to expand our interactivity with you, our loyal Health Community. If you would like to be kept up-to-date with current events about Health, Technology and ME, feel free to surf to – http://www.twitter.com/teglow and click on the Follow link.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

RSS Info – In this edition of HealthBeat, we discuss Prehypertension and Risk of Stroke, Adjustments to Common Shoulder Exercise, And Finally, a Story about Exercise and Insulin Resistance.

Listen to this week’s Podcast in Web Browser – http://www.chiropracticradio.com/healthbeat/healthbeat0326.mp3

Prehypertension and Risk of Stroke

A recent report has implicated Prehypertension – Systolic between 120-139/Diastolic between 80-89 – independently raises the risk for stroke by about 50%, according to results of a new review of relevant research.

“Importantly,” the authors say, the risk for stroke appeared more strongly driven by higher systolic or diastolic BP values within the prehypertensive range.

It’s appropriate to “recommend and monitor therapeutic lifestyle changes” in patients who have a BP that falls within the higher range of prehypertension (ie, systolic BP, 130 – 139 mm Hg; or diastolic BP, 85 – 89 mm Hg), first author Bruce Ovbiagele, MD, from the University of California, San Diego, told Medscape Medical News.

In most studies reviewed, baseline BP was obtained by a single-day measurement, which may lead to misclassification of BP levels and a dilution bias, the authors note. In contrast, previous epidemiologic evidence suggests that BP measurements taken on a single day may be adequate, they point out.

However, a single-day measurement is not sufficient to characterize BP variability, and data on BP variability were not available in the studies analyzed.

Despite these and other potential limitations, “the results of this systematic review probably represent the most precise and accurate estimate of the strength of the relation between prehypertension and incident stroke currently available,” the authors conclude.

On the basis of their findings, they suggest that randomized trials to evaluate the efficacy of lowering BP levels in those with higher values within the prehypertension range are warranted.

COT’s Healthbeat recommends discussing your blood pressure results with your Qualified Health Care Provider.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://goo.gl/FJqZp

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/750592

Adjustments to Common Shoulder Exercise

For gym goers looking to build strength and fill out their T-shirts, poor form or technique can turn shoulder workouts into a fast track to physical therapy.

About a third of all resistance training injuries involve the deltoids, the muscles that form the rounded contour of the shoulder, making them one of the most common injuries that occur in the weight room.

But many of these injuries can be prevented with small changes in technique, a fact highlighted by new research published in the latest issue of Strength & Conditioning Journal.

The research focuses on one of the most popular shoulder exercises for men and women: the upright row.

The study found that three simple steps can reduce the risk of injury.

“You increase the chances of impingement when you bring your elbows up beyond 90 degrees — basically when they’re past parallel to your shoulders.”

The same rule holds for another popular exercise called the lateral raise, which develops the medial deltoids. Exercising the medial deltoids carries a number of aesthetic and practical benefits. The exercises can also build strength for everyday activities like carrying groceries, lifting heavy objects or hoisting small children.

COTs HealthBeat recommends discussing all Exercise routines and questions with your Qualified Health Care Provider.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Abstract/2011/10000/The_Upright_Row__Implications_for_Preventing.2.aspx

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/29/a-safer-shoulder-workout/?hp

Exercise and Insulin Resistance

Insulin Resistance is a growing problem in the United States.

People with insulin resistance, also known as impaired insulin sensitivity, have built up a tolerance to insulin, making the hormone less effective. As a result, more insulin is needed to persuade fat and muscle cells to take up glucose and the liver to continue to store it.

Normally, food is absorbed into the bloodstream in the form of sugars such as glucose and other basic substances. The increase in sugar in the bloodstream signals the pancreas (an organ located behind the stomach) to increase the secretion of a hormone called insulin. This hormone attaches to cells, removing sugar from the bloodstream so that it can be used for energy.

In insulin resistance, the body’s cells have a diminished ability to respond to the action of the insulin hormone. To compensate for the insulin resistance, the pancreas secretes more insulin.

Over time people with insulin resistance can develop high sugars or diabetes as the high insulin levels can no longer compensate for elevated sugars.

A recent study published in the journal Strength and Conditioning, found that Exercise is an effective treatment in the management of Insulin Resistance through:

•   Enhanced Insulin Sensitivity
•   Increased Skeletal Muscle Glucose Uptake
•   Improved B-Cell function

Additionally, Exercise may positively modify comorbidities often associated with Insulin Resistance.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Abstract/2011/10000/Exercise_and_Insulin_Resistance.4.aspx

http://diabetesmanagement.insulitelabs.com/index.php?q=understanding-insulin-resistance.php

http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/insulin-resistance-syndrome

http://www.jillianmichaels.com/fitness-and-diet-tips/insulin-resistance

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.”
- John Ruskin

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

October 3, 2011

Show Notes for September 30, 2011

By teglow

Chiropractic and Maintenance Care
Medicare to Release Another Chiropractic Comparative Billing Report
And Finally, a Story about Symptomatic Disc Herniation and Serum Lipid Levels

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #325, recorded September 30, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

Chiropractic and Maintenance Care
A 1999 study from the Journal of Manipulative and Physiologic Therapeutics, looked at Maintenance care.

Health promotion and prevention services provided by the chiropractic profession historically have been referred to as maintenance care (MC).

The primary objective of this investigation was to obtain information regarding multiple health issues of patients age 65 years and over who have had a long-term regimen of chiropractic health promotion and preventive care. The study also sought to explore the nature of the interventions and methods that were most commonly used by chiropractors when administering MC and to determine whether there were differences between patients who have had long-term exposure to these preventive services versus those who have not.

A total of 73 chiropractors participated in this investigation from the 6 study sites. In addition to an average 1.9 manual procedures used per patient, it was common to recommend stretching exercises (68.2%), aerobic exercises (55.6%), dietary advice (45.3%), and a host of other prevention strategies, including vitamins and relaxation. The patients investigated in this study reported making only half the annual number of visits to medical providers (4.76 visits per year) compared with the national average (9 visits per year) for individuals age 65 years and over.

The study concluded that on the basis of the response of participating chiropractors, this study describes the therapeutic components of MC for the elderly patient. For these patients, MC does not simply consist solely of periodic visits for joint manipulation, but it involves an eclectic host of interventions (eg, exercise, nutrition, relaxation, physical therapy, and manipulation) that are directed at both musculoskeletal and visceral conditions.

Surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161475400901088

Medicare to Release Another Chiropractic Comparative Billing Report

On Sept. 26, 2011 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a national provider Comparative Billing Report (CBR) aimed at the chiropractic profession — again.

This is the second year in a row that chiropractors across the country have received a CBR. The latest round is a similar analysis equivalent to the one distributed last fall except this current study will focus on 2010 data.

The 2011 CBR will be sent to 5,000 different chiropractors around the country from the DC’s who may have received a CBR in the last round. The intent of the second transmission, however, is still the same as the CBRs contains actual data-driven tables and graphs with an explanation of findings that compare provider’s billing and payment patterns to those of their peers located in the state and across the nation.

According to the press release on Medicare’s website, “CMS has received feedback from a number of providers that this kind of data is very helpful to them and encouraged us to produce more CBRs and make them available to providers.”

Tom Necela, DC, of the Strategic Chiropractor, is the nation’s first chiropractor who achieved certification as a Professional Medical Auditor, but he is not so sure about the “positive feedback” Medicare proclaims.

Necela recommends that those who do receive a CBR, use it as a wake-up call to improve upon their billing, coding, or documentation procedures which may not be up to standard or that are significantly outside the norm. Although the CBR is not punitive and although there is not a direct correlation between those receiving the CBR and those who will be audited, most experts would agree that chiropractors should use this as an opportunity to be proactive — before the auditor comes knocking.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.chirocode.com/Medicare_to_Release_Another_Chiropractic_Comparative_Billing_Report

Symptomatic Disc Herniation and Serum Lipid Levels

Insufficient blood supply to the intervertebral disc (IVD) has been proposed to play a role as causative factor in IVD degeneration.
A study in the European Spine Journal found that there is an association between IVD diseases and increased risk of dying of ischemic heart disease.

Obesity and tobacco are potential risk factors for degenerative IVD disease. High blood cholesterol and triglycerides serum levels are risk factors for atherosclerosis, and could be responsible for a decreased in the blood supply to the already poor vascularized IVD.

When comparing the two groups, patients with symptomatic herniated lumbar disc showed statistically significant higher triglyceride concentration (P = 0.02) and total cholesterol concentration (P = 0.01).

Serum lipid levels may be a risk factor for intervertebral disc pathology. An enhanced understanding of these factors holds the promise of new approaches to the prevention and management of IVD pathology.

Surf to our Show Notes for details – http://www.springerlink.com/content/28426n2063486693/

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“Nothing recedes like success.”
- Walter Winchell

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

September 27, 2011

Show Notes for September 23, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

• Health Reform and Prevention
• Athletes and Performance
• And Finally, a Story about the Affordable Care Act and Chiropractic Inclusion

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #324, recorded September 23, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

And

as always, a big thank you to our COT HealthBeat Listener community. This podcast is made available thru the generous donations we receive and greatly appreciate. If you could remember to surf to our Web Site and click on the PayPal link to make a monthly donation, even $5-$10, this would be very much welcomed.

Finally, Chiropractic OnLine Today has always provided our news and education content for free and plan on continuing this policy. However, we do request that if you are enjoying these podcasts, that you surf to ChiropracticRadio.com and consider clicking on our PayPal link to make a donation to keep these Podcasts airing. We thank everyone for their continued support.

And Now for some news ….

RSS Info – In this edition of HealthBeat, we discuss Health Reform and Prevention, Athletes and Performance, And Finally, a Story about the Affordable Care Act and Chiropractic Inclusion.

Health Reform and Prevention

An article published in the September 20th edition of the NY Times, looked at how Prevention will be incorporated into the new Accountable Care Act Health Reform legislation.

Prevention has never been the cornerstone of American medicine. In this country, we tend to go to the doctor only when something is wrong, a habit long bemoaned by researchers and medical groups.

The federal government aims to change that, and soon. Starting this year, insurers will be required under the Affordable Care Act to completely cover such services as annual physicals, childhood vaccinations and dozens of screening tests for everything from high blood pressure to abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Just last month, the Department of Health and Human Services released additional guidelines specifying fully covered preventive services for women. Mammograms, cervical cancer screening and other services already had been mandated; the new recommendations expand that list to include screenings for human papillomavirus (which causes cervical cancer) and domestic abuse, and reimbursement and counseling for contraceptives. These services are to be fully covered by most insurance plans beginning in August 2012.

Despite these new regulations, there’s still a lot of ambiguity — and not just among consumers — about what qualifies as preventive care and what insurers are obligated to pay for. “I’ve seen so much confusion among patients and doctors alike trying to figure out what’s paid for and what isn’t,” said Dr. John Santa, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center and a primary care doctor.

The federal government is still defining the preventive care guidelines. At the moment, at what age tests should be given, and how often, is often left to physicians to decide in individual cases.

For the full article and potential pitfalls, surf to our Show Notes for links – http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2010/07/preventive-services-list.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/health/policy/20consumer.html?_r=1&ref=health

Athletes and Performance

A recent study n the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, investigated whether it was possible to reduce the time taken to complete a 4,000-m cycling time trial by misleading participants into believing they were racing against a previous trial, when in fact the power output was 2% greater.

The study had the cyclists race against an avatar, a figure of a cyclist on a computer screen in front them. Each rider was shown two avatars. One was himself, moving along a virtual course at the rate he was actually pedaling the stationary bicycle. The other figure was moving at the pace of the cyclist’s own best effort — or so the cyclists were told.

In fact, the second avatar was programmed to ride faster than the cyclist ever had — using 2 percent more power, which translates into a 1 percent increase in speed.

Nine trained male cyclists each completed four, 4,000-m time trials. The first trial was a habituation and the data from the second trial was used to form a baseline (BL). During trials three and four, participants raced against an avatar which they were informed represented their baseline performance. However whilst one of these trials was an accurate (ACC) representation of baseline , the power output in the other trial was set at 102% of baseline and formed the deception condition (DEC). Oxygen uptake and respiratory exchange ratio were measured continuously and used to determine aerobic and anaerobic contributions to power output.

The study concluded that the provision of surreptitiously augmented feedback derived from a previous performance reduces time taken for cyclists to accomplish a time trial of known duration. This suggests that cyclists operate with a metabolic reserve even during maximal time trials and that this reserve can be accessed following deception.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/health/nutrition/20best.html?ref=science

http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/Effects_of_Deception_on_Exercise_Performance_.98845.aspx

Affordable Care Act and Chiropractic Inclusion

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that everyone in the United States have health insurance beginning in 2014.

Health insurance may be purchased through state-based health insurance exchanges designed to provide enrollees with a selection of health insurance plans from which to choose, many of whom will be eligible for Federal subsidies.

Plans for individuals and small businesses, both in the exchange and outside of the exchange, will include essential health benefits (EHB), which fall under 10 general categories including emergency services, behavioral health treatment, and preventive services and chronic disease management.

The exchanges will have to determine whether health plans developed by insurers are qualified health plans, covering the EHB and meeting other Affordable Care Act requirements.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requested that the Institute of Medicine recommend the criteria and methods for determining and regularly updating the EHB package. The IOM will release a final report with recommendations on these processes in the early fall of 2011.

The public had an opportunity to submit comments online or to present their opinions at public workshops held in Washington, DC (January 13-14, 2011), and in Costa Mesa, CA (March 2, 2011). The workshops brought together experts from federal and state governments, employers, insurers, healthcare providers, consumers, and healthcare researchers.

Speakers discussed topics such as the need to balance the generosity of EHB with affordability of insurance products, in consideration of how insurers design benefits, and incorporating evidence into benefit priority decisions, among other issues. This document summarizes the workshops.

COT’s HealthBeat recommends staying in touch with your State and National organizations to see updates for inclusion of Chiropractic Services into the above mentioned benefits – http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2011/Perspectives-on-Essential-Health-Benefits-Workshop-Report.aspx

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And

remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s Healthbeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

We also would appreciate your votes both at Podcastalley.com. If you are enjoying these podcasts, please surf to our HealthBeat homepage and click on the Podcast Alley link and Yahoo links.

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.”
- Max Lucado

For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

September 17, 2011

Show Notes for September 16, 2011

By teglow

In this week’s news: We’ll Be Looking At –

Neck Ultrasound and Prediction of Stroke
MRI techniques may detect early osteoarthritis
And Finally, a story about the Updated Medicare ABN Form

For HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow!

Welcome to HealthBeat Podcast #322, recorded September 9, 2011.

HealthBeat is Chiropractic OnLine Today’s radio program, providing current news and commentary about Chiropractic and Health.

This week’s Episode is sponsored by DaVinci Laboratories. Please surf to our web site at www.ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the DaVinci link for your Health and Nutritional needs.

We also would appreciate your passing the word of our Podcasts to your friends and colleagues. Please let everyone know how easy it is to subscribe via the Apple iTunes directory.

If you are interested in creating personalized Healthbeat podcasts for your office or website, to help attract new patients, please surf to our web site and send us an Email ….

…. or Skype us by typing in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

And Now for some news ….

RSS Info – In this edition of HealthBeat, we discuss Neck Ultrasound and Prediction of Stroke, MRI techniques may detect early osteoarthritis, And Finally, a story about the Updated Medicare ABN Form.

Neck Ultrasound and Prediction of Stroke

A recent study in the journal Neurology, looked at the relationship of Cervical Ultrasound and predicting stroke.

Two noninvasive imaging tests may help determine which people with a narrowing of arteries in the neck will need surgery to reduce their future risk of stroke, a study suggests.

A narrowing of the carotid arteries in the neck is known as asymptomatic carotid stenosis (ACS). “Asymptomatic” means the patient does not experience any symptoms.

Carotid arteries in the neck deliver blood to the brain. They typically become narrowed when plaques build up in the inner lining of the arteries.

There is some uncertainty within the medical community on how to best identify people with ACS who are at high risk for stroke and need surgery or stenting to open their carotid arteries as opposed to treatment with medication.

In a two-year study of 435 people with severe ACS, researchers used ultrasound to assess the quality and composition of the plaque in the carotid arteries and a Doppler ultrasound test to look for the presence of tiny blood clots or particles called microemboli that may break off from the arteries and travel to the brain, causing stroke.

Surf to our Show Notes for links and a multimedia presentation of understanding strokes – http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2011/08/17/WNL.0b013e31822b00a6.abstract

http://www.webmd.com/stroke/slideshow-stroke-overview

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/748153

MRI techniques may detect early osteoarthritis

Researchers from the New York University Langone Medical Center have found that advanced MRI techniques could be used to detect subtle changes in joint cartilage microstructure and provide physicians with a diagnostic tool for locating key markers of early osteoarthritis.

Using these techniques during patient exams to facilitate earlier identification of osteoarthritis (OA) can shift the focus of management from eventual joint reconstruction to long-term preservation, according to the review article — published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

“Imaging technology is now sensitive and powerful enough to enable detection of subtle changes in the intricate balance of water, chondrocytes and the collagen fibers and protein molecules that make up our joint cartilage — which we know can point to future [OA],” lead author Laith Jazrawi, MD, stated in a press release from the NYU Langone Medical Center.

Damaged cartilage shows distinct changes in the concentration of water and collagen molecules, the micro- and macrostructure of collagen and glycosoaminoglycan concentrations.

The authors noted that these techniques have yet to be used to any significant extent in the clinical field, but added that the potential for their clinical use is evident.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links -

http://www.jaaos.org/content/19/7/420.abstract

http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=86655

Updated Medicare ABN Form

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a revised Advanced Beneficiary Notice of Non-Coverage (ABN) CMS-R-131 form. The ABN is issued by providers in situations where Medicare payment is expected to be denied.

The revised ABN replaces the ABN-G (Form CMS-R-131G), ABN-L (Form CMS-R-131L), and NEMB (Form CMS-20007).The mandatory use date is November 1, 2011.

The changes to the revised ABN form and instructions are very minor:

The new form can be distinguished from the current form by reviewing the release date located in the lower left corner of the form. Revised forms list a date of 03/11. ABN forms issued on or after November 1, 2011 with a release date of 03/08 or prior will be considered invalid.

CMS also recently released a new ABN booklet containing instructions for issuing these forms for both Medicare Part A and Part B.

Read more about the ABN and download the new version from the CMS website.

Surf to our Show Notes for Links – http://www.chirocode.com/Advanced_Beneficiary_Notice_Revised

http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/downloads/ABN_Booklet_ICN006266.pdf

http://www.cms.gov/BNI/02_ABN.asp#TopOfPage

For information about adding Personalized HealthBeat Podcasts to your office’s Web Site, to help you attract new patients, please Email us at – healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And remember to surf to our Show Notes, located at http://www.ChiropracticRadio.com

As always, please surf to our Podcast Show Notes at ChiropracticRadio.com for a full listing of web references mentioned in today’s show.

And remember – COT’s HealthBeat always recommends discussing any nutritional or exercise lifestyle modifications with a qualified healthcare professional.

Thank you for listening…. As always, We Want to hear from you. Please send us emails…. Simply surf to our Web Site at ChiropracticRadio.com and click on the Email link.

You can also leave us Voice Mail…. Simply open up your Skype and type in “healthbeat”, all in small letters.

If you have an idea for a future Health Segment, please feel free to contact me directly via email …. The address is:

healthbeat@chiropracticradio.com

And please remember to support our sponsors by clicking their links located at ChiropracticRadio.com

Finally, I leave you with the following quote:

“Nobody can think straight who does not work. Idleness warps the mind.”
- Henry Ford
For Chiropractic OnLine Today’s HealthBeat, This is Dr. Todd Eglow.

Leave a comment | posted in Chiropractic

September 17, 2011

Welcome to COT’s HealthBeat Podcast

By teglow

Hello everyone.

We’ll be using Word Press to update your Podcast Show Notes. Feel free to add our direct link to your iPad HomePage:

http://cothealthbeat.wordpress.com

1 comment | posted in Chiropractic

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