Medical over diagnosis, over treatment, poor health outcomes, escalating healthcare costs - all for nothing! Watch the documentary.

When we head to the GP most of us assume "the doctor knows best". But the truth is, many of the scans, tests and procedures ordered by medical practitioners are wasteful, unnecessary and potentially harmful.

"What do you think would be the reaction of the average person in the street if they knew what you knew?

"Well, I think they'd be quite alarmed." Health Economist

Healthy people are needlessly being turned into patients with tests and scans leading to treatments which at best have no effect, and at worst, cause harm.

"The surgery doesn't seem to affect the outcome any more than if you did a pretend surgery." Leading Clinician

"Patients are receiving care that is sometimes ineffective and sometimes unsafe." Health Economist

And it's costing us a fortune:

"You know we're just wasting hundreds of millions of dollars sending people off for unnecessary tests and exposing them to unnecessary radiation." Health Researcher

In this special edition of Four Corners, guest reporter Dr Norman Swan reveals the real story behind the malaise in the Australian health system. A malaise driven by waste, rather than a lack of money.

"Increases in health care costs have been driven a little bit by (the) ageing of the population, a little bit by increases in the costs of technologies, but the largest drivers are over diagnosis and over treatment." Health Researcher

Focusing on four common health complaints - back pain, knee pain, chest pain and prostate testing - Dr Swan shows how the cost to patients and taxpayers is escalating. Analysis by Four Corners found billions of dollars being squandered and more than a hundred inappropriate tests and procedures receiving Medicare rebates.

"We're headed for a tsunami of over diagnosis." Health Researcher

And as one interviewee explains, part of the answer lies with the public:

"If people knew that health interventions, tests and treatments were not going to deliver benefit, I think they might make different choices." Head of medical oversight body

Watch the video here:
http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/09/28/4318883.htm

 About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Conventional medicine is “the leading cause of death” in the United States

Something is wrong when regulatory agencies pretend that vitamins are dangerous, yet ignore published statistics showing that government-sanctioned medicine is the real hazard.

Death by Medicine

 About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

How do health experts continually get it so badly wrong?

As much as 90% of physicians' medical knowledge has been
found to be substantially or completely wrong

Gary:

"Wrong" by David Freeman is one of the more interesting books I have read in recent years.  

I am drawing this to your attention now, just in case you are wondering how it is that esteemed health experts can make such bad decisions, like persuading governments to purchase billions of dollars of drugs that later turn out to be next to useless?

Could it really be that the expert advice years ago to fluoridate water is actually turning out to be wrong?

Could it be that some vaccines, like the pertussis vaccine, might actually be making people more vulnerable to catching hooping cough and more severely?

But don't take this from me; get it from the expert, David Freedman, read on and consider purchasing his book.  By the way, I wonder how wrong he will turn out to be?  We can't win!

__________________________________________________

Time interview with David Freedman

To read the factoids David Freedman rattles off in his book Wrong is terrifying. He begins by writing that as much as 90% of physicians' medical knowledge has been found to be substantially or completely wrong About two-thirds of the findings published in the top medical journals are refuted within a few years. It gets worse. 

As much as 90% of physicians' medical knowledge has been found to be substantially or completely wrong. In fact, there is a 1 in 12 chance that a doctor's diagnosis will be so wrong that it causes the patient significant harm. And it's not just medicine. 

Economists have found that all studies published in economics journals are likely to be wrong. Professionally prepared tax returns are more likely to contain significant errors than self-prepared returns. Half of all newspaper articles contain at least one factual error. 

So why, then, do we blindly follow experts? Freedman has an idea, which he elaborates on in his book

Wrong: 

Why Experts Keep Failing Us — and How to Know When Not to Trust Them. 

Freedman talked to TIME about why we believe experts, how to find good advice and why we should trust him — even though he's kind of an expert.

Read the full interview here:
http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1998644,00.html

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Candida and Fungal Infections? Gary Moller recommends you explore this programme: Click Here!

Brain damage during heart surgery may be widespread

"Sadly I left Government service after discovering that during the heart surgery that I had developed brain lesions (lack of blood or oxygen during surgery).

I was being regularly tested for 8 years before my psychologist suggested a brain scan and it was then discovered I had the brain lesions.

I had been suffering from short term memory loss, anxiety attacks, and inability to multitask."

(name withheld)

_________________________
Gary:
During heart surgery the brain may be damaged by stroke caused by blood clots.

"In summary, the problem has been reduced to a rather simple one. Stroke, produced mostly by arterial source emboli, is the cause of heart surgery–induced cognitive failure. The clinical syndromes fall on a continuum. A few strokes (<3%) are gross and singular, producing an obvious deficit (eg, hemiplegia), but most are multiple. When the embolic burden is high (&10%), an acute encephalopathy ensues. When the burden is lower, no deficit is noted in the acute period, but if the cerebral reserve is low (ie, there is an inevident premorbid brain disease such as hypertensive cerebrovasculopathy), then the patient suffers a nonprogressive cognitive deficit (&8%). In the subgroup of patients in whom the premorbid disease is an inherently progressive disorder (eg, presymptomatic Alzheimer disease that is made manifest by the stress of cardiac surgery), the patient later undergoes a progressive cognitive decline (dementia). This continuum hypothesis explains the disparate results of many studies, because very much like the aphorism of the wise men and the elephant, each investigator was examining a separate part of the problem, but none could see the problem as a whole. All we have to do to deal with the problem of cognitive failure in cardiac surgery survivors is to reduce the burden of cerebral ischemia in those who are selected to undergo the procedure. OPCAB does not address the major issue, arterial source emboli, and thus, not surprisingly, does not address the problem. By selecting patients more carefully with preoperative cognitive and brain imaging methods and then by minimizing intraoperative cerebral emboli using methods that require less manipulation of the heart and aorta, the neurocardiologists of the future might finally save the mind of the cardiac surgery survivor."
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/113/24/2784.long 

How common is heart surgery-related cognitive decline?

Official figures are about 8% but be aware that less than 10% of adverse events ever get reported.  Here in New Zealand, cases that I have had involvement with over the last 30 years have never been successfully reported.  My impression is that cognitive decline that is uncomfortably associated with heart surgery is more common than it is not.

Why is it so difficult to report a case of cognitive decline?

I have tried and failed miserably.  For several reasons:

• Because cognitive function was not measured before the surgery, we can not prove that there was any decline after the surgery!  Measuring cognitive function is simple and cheap, by the way and employed in contact sports like rugby.  So why not surgery?
• The initial decline may be put down to post surgery depression, or a temporary reaction to the anaesthetic. By the time a family or individual is convinced something is amiss, several months may have passed and proving a link with the surgery is as good as impossible.
• The surgeon may resist any suggestion that the operation was anything less than brilliant and may even accuse the patient or the family of being ungrateful!  (Yes - really!).
• Following on from the last point, the smart surgeon may avoid recording any exchanges on paper and/or in emails, thus ensuring an absent, or incomplete paper trail for future reference. (Yes - this does happen).
• The GP is reluctant to get involved.  
• It is as good as impossible to have an adverse reaction reported without the support of the patient's doctor.

 

Can anything be done to improve cognition?

Yes, definitely and the sooner one starts the better.  Even if years have slipped by it is still a case of better late than never.  There are various herbal formulas such as bacopa, vitamins and minerals and nutrients such as omega 3 oil and ubiquinol that may improve cognitive function. To be effective it is best to employ the services of a qualified natural health practitioner with access to accurate nutrient testing.

Many heart medications may expedite cognitive decline

Yes, folks, blood pressure and cholesterol lowering drugs are among the chief culprits for rapid decline into dementia!

There are usually safe and effective healthy alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs - alternatives that nourish and vitalise the body, rather than poinsoning it into submission.

But it is not just a matter of suddenly stopping one's heart drugs - no way should you do that!  The process of weaning one off heart drugs is a slow and careful process, best done with the cooperation of your doctor with regular testing to monitor progress.  Rest assured that it can be done!

About this website 

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation. Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

The Dangers of Using Transvaginal Mesh

"I woke up with a loud roar in my head and excruciating pain through my whole pelvic area.  I was very agitated and apparently I screamed a lot.  My notes say that the caudal block given during surgery appeared not to be working.
  I remember receiving several injections in my thigh to control the pain. I remember several nurses holding my hands and shoulders and urging me to be quiet. I remember being really pissed off that I was in so much pain.  I figured that I had been tricked and that all people must feel this way really, they just don’t tell you."
(One brave New Zealand woman's story:
 http://meshdownunder.co.nz/#/about/4570217667)

Although many women may feel alone when experiencing problems like pelvic organ prolapse (POP), stress urinary incontinence (SUI), or side effects caused by the treatments for these health issues, the reality is that thousands of women are experiencing similar problems and seeking help for them. In fact, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), anywhere between 30 – 50% of women will have pelvic organ prolapse in their life and thousands more will experience stress urinary incontinence. And, in an effort to treat these health issues, thousands have sought help by having transvaginal mesh implanted. Unfortunately, the FDA has reported that problems with these implants are, in fact, not rare, but tragically cause women all over the country substantial problems.  This is not a problem restricted within the borders of the United States.

Potential Consequences

When transvaginal mesh was first introduced to health providers as a treatment for POP and SUI, it was hailed as a more effective and beneficial method of treatment than other options already available. However, in more recent years, this has not only been found to not be true, but potentially the exact opposite. Sadly, transvaginal mesh implants may expose women to serious dangers, including the following:

• Infection
• Bleeding
• Erosion of the mesh
• Dyspareunia (pain experienced in intercourse)
• Perforated (punctured) organs
• Troubles urinating
• Scarring in the vagina

In addition to these extremely harmful physical repercussions of transvaginal mesh, a woman could suffer from significant emotional and psychological problems as a result.

While some of these side effects can be treated to a certain extent, the repercussions of a failed transvaginal mesh implant can be permanent and removing the failed mesh can be an extremely complicated procedure that is not always successful. Thus, many women are seeking financial compensation for the losses and pain they have endured as a result of these health problems by filing a transvaginal mesh lawsuit against the manufacturers of this dangerous medical device.  Here, in New Zealand, anybody who feels they may have been harmed by a surgical procedure or implant, can file a complaint with the Health and Disability Commissioner and make a claim for compensation with the ACC.  It would also be advisable to contact Medsafe which is charged with ensuring the safety of NZ medical services is of a high standard.

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Even more warnings about the dangers of cortisone injections

Here is an example of the damage that can happen from a single cortisone
injection for "Tennis Elbow" several months later.  This woman
is left with very thin de-pigmented skin over a diffuse area
and loss of protective fat.

I have written more than a few articles about the dangers of injecting cortisone into body parts, like tendons, ligaments, joints and muscles.  Have a read here of one of my earlier warnings about these harmful injections.  The photos look very similar to the ones in this article don't they?

And here is the search string for a whole lot of articles I have written about cortisone injections.

These injections can leave their victims suffering from visible deformities and ongoing structural weakness, including catastrophic rupture of muscles and tendons.  These are not theoretical or rare - these are common side-effects of a surgical procedure that is enthusiastically promoted as the "quick-fix" panacea of all musculo-skeletal aches and pains.

Give me a shot doc

The protective fat of the elbow has been lost, exposing the
bone, tendons, nerves and ligaments to injury from
bumping.  It is visibly unsightly.  This skin damage and loss
of protective cover will become more and more of a
problems as she gets older.

 How come?  Here is my speculation as to why (excuse me if the following comes across as being a bit cynical):

• It is a surgical procedure that wannabe surgeons who never quite made the grade can employ.
• It is cheap, quick and easy to perform with a very good rate of financial return for the administering doctor.
• It fits with the criteria for most medical procedures of today - Fast Medicine!

The adverse reactions to these injections are grossly understated.  Why?

The site of the "tennis elbow" that was injected was the wrong spot!
So, several months later, she still had elbow pain which has now
resolved with some firm deep tissue massage.

• Because the adverse effects such as deformity and tendon rupture may not be obvious, or happen until several months later.  By which time the injury may not be linked with the cortisone injection.
• The doctor who caused the harm may be reluctant to acknowledge the link and even less reluctant to report it to officials (Less than 10% of all adverse medical reactions ever get reported: Some cynics believe the true figure to be less than 1%).
• The drugs company that supplied the cortisone may dispute any attempts to link the procedure with cases of harm.
• Accident Compensation is the master at wiggling out of injury claims.  It does this by hiring medical experts who are expert at turning real injuries into fictional degenerative processes.
• The patient usually does not have the nous, the time, nor the energy to take a case through to acceptance.

This woman needs a skin graft and fat injections.  She
is hoping for a successful ACC claim to cover
these procedures.  My advice to her is not to hold
her breath!  It will be interesting to see how she gets on.

My advice if offered a cortisone injection is this:

Say "No!"

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

A surgical mesh that is the subject of international lawsuits and health warnings is still being implanted in hundreds of New Zealanders

Hundreds paid ACC compo for pain and suffering after surgery goes wrong.

Heather Anderson has been in severe pain for years after surgical mesh was implanted in her abdomen. Photo / Kellie Blizard

A surgical mesh that is the subject of international lawsuits and health warnings is still being implanted in hundreds of New Zealanders.

The mesh is often used for hernia repairs and prolapsed pelvic organs and muscles, despite ACC paying $3.1 million in treatment and compensation to people with post-surgical complications.

Heather Anderson has been in pain for eight years since the mesh was implanted in her lower abdomen.

She said it was like a cheese grater cutting through her internal organs.
Full article here: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10837440
______________________________
Gary:
When considering elective surgery the two over-riding lessons inherent in this article are:

Thoroughly exhaust the non-surgical options first

Options such as exercises, weight loss (if relevant) and even nutrition (zinc deficiency, for example leave one prone to lax connective tissue, including ligaments).  Unfortunately, these measures take time, the input of experts and a lot of effort.  Many people go with the quick and easy option - surgery.

Use a surgeon or surgical team that specialises in the procedure

If you have the latest Mercedes and it needs repairs would you go to a mechanic that works on Japanese and Chinese cars?

A good example of what I am talking about is endometriosis, a condition that afflicts thousands of women.  Yes, you can go get the job done by a general surgeon; but you are risking things going horribly wrong.  The surgical removal of endometriosis is best done by a specialist surgical team and there are not many of these in New Zealand.

The difference between your body and the Mercedes, is one can not be traded in for a new one if the repair job is botched!

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.

Auckland University Study finds steroid treatment beneficial - Updated

Steroid treatment for osteoarthritis knee suffers was thought to progress the disease, but that belief has been overturned following a review of the literature by researchers at The University of Auckland.
Associate-Professor Bruce Arroll, from the School of Population Health at the University, says that osteoarthritic knee pain is one of the leading causes of disability amongst older people.

Photo: Example of the devastation that can be caused by cortisone injections

"Previously it was thought that you could give sufferers about 20 mgs of the steroid cortisone (prednisone) for a couple of weeks, but that it promotes disease progression if it is used any longer."

"From reviewing all the hospital-based research, we have found that there was no evidence that cortisone progresses the disease. In fact, it provides an effective pain relief for up to five months particularly if the dose is increased to between 40 and 120mgs," Dr Arroll says.

There is no cure, other than surgical joint replacement, for knee osteoarthritis, but Dr Arroll says the study gives hope of pain relief for sufferers.

"Our finding that giving steroids is effective for longer periods means that knee replacements won’t be needed so urgently. The injections will enable people to walk, be more comfortable and have less trouble from their knees," he says.

The study, commissioned by the Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance Corporation, was co-authored by Dr Arroll and Dr Felicity Goodyear-Smith from The University of Auckland and was published this month in the British Medical Journal.

Dr Arroll says surgeons and doctors are already showing an interest in the work.

"Another concern that was raised in the past by surgeons is that treatment could weaken the joints and therefore make joint replacement surgery less effective. But none of the research supports that, so it seems that cortisone will not have a negative effect on later surgery," he says.

Dr Arroll says it is the first time a review of research into cortisone treatment for osteoarthritis of the knee has been undertaken. He says future research into the area is needed, which would include longer studies that look at the impact of higher doses of cortisone.

Please read this article below from Complete Fitness
"How do cortisone injections work?
Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory medication that occurs naturally in the body to controls and assists normal body functions. When therapists use cortisone to treat tendonitis, bursitis, and arthritis it acts as a potent local anti-inflammatory drug. Cortisone is useful in suppressing inflammation in the short term, and in the long term, dissolving scar tissue, stabilizing the body's defenses, speeding the healing process, and is very effective in causing certain cysts to disappear.Cortisone is not directly a pain relieving medication, as it only treats the cause or site of inflammation. Your pain is decreased by a cortisone treatment because the inflammation is diminished and this is turn reduces the pain. By injecting the cortisone into a particular area of inflammation, very high concentrations of the medication can be given while keeping potential side-effects to a minimum.
What is cortisone?Cortisone is a type of steroid that is produced naturally by a gland in your body called the adrenal gland. Cortisone is released from the adrenal gland when your body is under stress, and natural cortisone is released into the blood stream and is relatively short-acting. The absence of cortisone in the body is called Addison's Disease.Injectible cortisone is synthetically produced but is a close derivative of your body's natural product. The most significant differences are that synthetic cortisone is not injected into the blood stream, but into a particular area of inflammation. Also, the synthetic cortisone is designed to act more potently and for a longer period of time (days instead of minutes).
Are there side effects to a cortisone injection?Unfortunately yes. Probably the most common side-effect is a 'cortisone flare,' a condition where the injected cortisone crystalizes and can cause a brief period of pain worse than before the shot. This usually lasts a day or two and is best treated by icing the injected area. Another common side-effect is whitening of the skin where the injection is given. This is only a concern in people with darker skin, and is not harmful, but patients should be aware of this. Other side-effects of cortisone injections, although rare, can be quite serious. The most concerning is infection, especially if the injection is given into a joint. The best prevention is careful injection technique, with sterilization of the skin using iodine and/or alcohol. Also, patients with diabetes may have a transient increase in their blood sugar which they should watch for closely. Because cortisone is a naturally occurring substance, true allergic responses to the injected substance do not occur. However, it is possible to be allergic to other aspects of the injection, most commonly the betadine many physicians use to sterilize the skin."

___________________________


Gary Moller comments:
These articles completely underplay the dangers of cortisone injections while overplaying their benefits.
While there may be some benefit for advanced cases of osteoarthritis, I do not think there is any place at all for mild cases and definitely not for young people.

I am always wary of research that comes out with results that confirm the status quo while going against what I see happening in the field. Please read my earlier articles on this subject.

Photo: another example of the permanent damage and disability that can be caused by cortisone injection (These injections were done by experienced sports medicine physicians)
The mechanism of cortisone is not adequately explained in most articles on the topic. Cortisone is a form of chemical excision and this can be more indiscriminate than a scapel. The side effect of skin blanching (whitening) that is described shows what is happening deep in the area that was injected: the blood flow to the area is shut off, causing tissue death. This is why there is the risk of tendon, ligament or muscle rupture following these injections. That these terrible side effects are not officially reported as often as they are known to happen is par for the course. Adverse medical reactions are seldom recorded with the reported rate being less than 10% by some estimates.
Why is there such a paranoia about inflammation? Have you ever wondered why the body in its wisdom invented inflammation? Inflammation is a natural healing process that one is advised not to interfere with, either by drugs or by excessive use of cold. Inflammation happens when the body pumps blood and nutrients to the damaged area and the cells that remove the damage and rebuild healthy tissue proliferate. If we interfere with this natural process, we do so at the cost of proper healing. We end up with weak tissue that will tear with the first application of strain. Such is the consequence of the ignorant application of drugs and other misguided therapies.

What these articles fail to tell you is that there are excellent alternatives. But these alternatives are unpopular. Is it because these are non-drugs therapies which take time and for which there is no profitability for the professionals being consulted?

The alternatives are remedial exercises, nutrition and deep tissue massage. Done correctly and given time, these encourage natural healing processes, including supporting the natural healing powers of inflammation, rather than suppressing it.

If you are considering cortisone injections for a chronic injury and want to better explore the possible alternatives, contact me.

Beware of quick-fix remedies, including cortisone injections - Updated

Hi Gary
As promised ages ago the following is a blurb about my ankle injury.

Photo One: Permanent damage from loss of tissue to the Tibilais Posterior tendon caused by cortisone injection. She is compensating for loss of muscle function with overuse of other muscles which shows as an unusually contoured foot.



I originally contacted you back in early September of 2006 to get a second opinion about an ankle injury that had been an ongoing issue for me for close on a year. I first became aware of a problem whilst training for the Kepler Challenge last year (2005), it started out as niggling pain on the inner side of the left calf and I initially assumed it was my Achilles reacting to a running load that was heavier and faster than usual. I had been training with guys and as a result was pushing myself harder and faster and training runs were tending to become all out races. When easing back, reducing the load and rest did not seem to help I went to a local physio for advice.




Photo Two: The loss of tiabialis posterior function is compensated for by excessive use of the tibialis anterior (That is the tense-looking tendon on top of her foot)

The physio initially treated me for a strained soleus but then arranged an ultrasound which showed tendinitis in the Tibialis Posterior tendon just above the left ankle. The doctor who reviewed the ultra sound offered to "whack in some cortisone" there and then as a cure. The physio also recommended cortisone and referred me to a sports specialist who arranged for a cortisone injection under ultra sound. The specialist said that usually he recommends a two week break to let the cortisone work but that as I was training for an impending race to take two days rest before getting back into training.
The cortisone gave a fairly instant result - within a couple of days there was no sign of the injury left. All pain and swelling had disappeared. I went on to train and run not only the Kepler Race but several others over the ensuing months with seemingly no injury issues - BUT.. about six weeks after the injection I was left with an obvious hollow at the injection site and what was clearly a more seriously damaged tendon than I'd started out with.
I went back to the sports specialist who advised to take 3 months absolute rest from weight bearing exercise - which I did. But by the end of that rest period there were still obvious lumps along the tendon line below the ankle and the ankle bone itself was still nearly hidden by swelling. On returning to the sports specialist I was sent for a second ultra sound which showed that the synovial sheath of the tendon showed degeneration with 'ganglionic lumps' along it in an area below the ankle bone and the tendon above the ankle bone showed fluid and swelling with secondary scar tissue.
The original injury had been exacerbated by the cortisone injection and the consequences of it enabling me to run through the injury for too long.

The specialist arranged a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon. When I got to see the surgeon around 8 weeks later the Surgeon stated that surgery was the best solution but that it had to be my decision and should be done once I was sure that I could not run without it as being able to run after surgery was not guaranteed. The surgeon said that the operation would involve scraping down the tendon and if necessary - using a neighbouring tendon to help bear the load.
He advised and arranged for for orthotics to be made up and for me to go from neutral running shoes to Nike Gel Kayanos with the goal of starting to run on a treadmill - 3 x a week - building up by no more than 10% each week and starting from around 5 minutes at a time.

Not happy with trying to build up running on a still injured ankle I went to a different (recommended) physio and a massage therapist to see if I could avoid surgery and get some improvement. Regular massage treatment & acupuncture helped to a point that the ankle was visibly much less swollen and much of the scar tissue had been broken down. But the tendon was no longer doing the job it should be able to do and walking bare foot was uncomfortable. The sports specialist then made a call that he didn't think that the injury was is realistically going to improve enough on its own to allow me to run comfortably again so sent me back to the surgeon as he thought that the surgery track was the likely solution.

At that stage I felt as though I was just being passed from one specialist to the next. The physio who I had been making slow progress with suggested getting a second opinion before going to the drastic measure of surgery, and your name came up as a possible person to contact.
After an appointment with you and dutifully following your exercise instructions I feel that I've gained some strength and am feeling a lot more positive about running again than I was before talking to you.

Though the injury is by no means better, It has improved significantly since I was first sent to the surgeon and that improvement has come form strengthening exercised that you prescribed and from shear damn determination to do everything possible to strengthen and get back to at least being able to run with enjoyment again. In the process I have learnt that there is rarely a single solution to an injury and that you really need to educate yourself and question advice given even if it is from professionals who know more than you.

I am now at a point where I can run fairly comfortably for about 30 minutes (abet at a slower pace than I'd like) and where I can still see improvement week to week in strength and the visible look of the ankle. I've taken up mountain biking and spin classes to help get a good level of fitness back and have even partaken in a couple of bike races. Hard task is going to be holding of from getting out on the road running again to soon.
Debra

Feedback from the runner with the ankle pain

Here is some feedback from a runner with the ankle pain.

“I'm great... I've been back runnning for about 7 weeks...

“When you told me to start back , you will probably remember I still had the throbbing scenario - after that the ankle was giving me pain in the first few weeks of running. I've crept up slowly in kms and have had to go at a slower pace than I want ... but it's now not throbbing at all and only the very rare day do I feel familiar scary pains here and there.in the ankle... if that happens I get as much rest before the next session or swap sessions around.

So to answer your question yes your intervention did work for me, I was going backwards for many months (9 in total ) with the rehab exercises which I reckon were aggravating it more.

Before I ate healthily but now am using protein (just after a session which I never did before), calcium, minerals and flax will keep going and will keep the joint powder going for a good while yet.

Yes looked at the blog, and that is a great article, I hope it helps others make the right decision, all you need is a perceptive experienced advisor.You are the only person that I saw that wanted the entire background to my running habits and history.... and thank you ! “
___________________________

Gary Moller comments:
This very fit woman has made a remarkable return to running training. What she shows is the value of looking at the total person, including her health and exercise history, training programme, diet, physique and biomechanics - and let's not underplay the role of her determination to get back into running!

When attempting to understand how such injuries develop in the first place, it is essential to understand the constant balancing act that is going on inside the body between anabolism and catabolism. If an athlete is in a state of chronic catabolism, there is no way that any kind of medical treatment is going to "cure" her.

Although this dedicated runner has made a quick and remarkable recovery, healing and repair should be regarded as a slow and gradual process, taking several months, if not years to fully run their course. Too much therapy is on the basis of a 1/2 dozen visits and, if there is no cure, then more drastic action is recommended like surgery, or cortisone. Of course, these don't work and can leave the athlete with much worse problems over the longterm.

Central to modifying her training and diet and her doing some special exercises, is the moto "Body, heal thyself". This is a phrase all health professionals should constantly mutter away to themselves as a constant reminder that they never heal or cure - it is the patient's body that does that!
______________________________________

If you have a chronic injury or illness that you are getting nowhere with fast, and if you are in Wellington, I run a private clinic in the central city. Get hold of me to arrange a consultation - I really do enjoy the challenge of working with people like you!

A fresh warning about the dangers of cortisone injections

I continue to receive inquiries from people who have had cortisone injections to treat injuries to joints, tendons and ligaments, or have recommended that they undergo such treatment. This type of treatment remains disturbingly common and the consequences can be catastrophic.

Photo: Example of chemical excision by cortisone injection causing permanent damage to the ankle joint (note the large indentation where the lateral ligaments of the ankle once were). Only one injection is required to cripple the recipient.

Cortisone is a form of chemical excision. It kills living cells, dissolving living tissue, killing off everything it has contact with. While the relief from pain may be immediate and lasting, the adverse consequences may not appear for weeks or months or even years later. The consequences may be the catastrophic snapping of a tendon or muscle, loss of protective ligaments or the loss of protective cushioning tissue, such as that found in the heel pad. While many people get away without apparent long term consequences, I can tell you that many people definitely are not so fortunate.

Why is it that cortisone continues to be used to widely and for so many different musculoskeletal problems?

• It is cheap, quick and easy and can be done in any medical consulting room
• Relief from pain is instant and it tends to lastJust 1-4 injections seem to do the job which is usually much better and quicker than one would get than other therapies like physio
• If there are any catastrophic consequences, the association with the cortisone injections may never be known and the injecting Dr will never be any the wiser

When a Dr tells you the "risk is 1/1000" bear in mind that this estimation may be based on worthless stats that do not take account the dozens and dozens of unreported adverse side effects that run parallel to each reported case!

If you have an injury that fails to respond to rest and/or medical treatment, or are bothered by chronic pain and treatment with cortisone has been recommended, you are welcome to write to me and I will do my best to assist with helping you with deciding on what is the best course of action to take.

Failure by doctors to acknowledge adverse drug side effects is a widespread problem

"It has been shown that doctors rarely bother to warn patients about common side effects of medications. And they frequently fail to recognize obvious medication reactions. For example, in a study in which patients with obvious adverse reactions from statin drugs were sent to doctors for evaluations, more than 75 percent of the doctors failed to identify the side effects as related to the statins. Instead, they blamed the symptoms on patients' age or over concern, or simply ignored the question and changed the subject."
Jay S Cohen (MD)
_________________________________
Gary:
Nowadays, it is standard practice, when a person writes to me seeking advice about, say, leg cramps, I will question them about prescription medicines. More often than not, it turns out that they have been placed on some kind of medication, such as an anti-depressant or cholesterol lowering drug.

Often, the grounds for prescribing the drug in the first place are dubious and should only be the measure of last resort - not first resort!

My usual advice is to request they return to their doctor and request a review of their medication.  I do so with some reluctance because, as Dr Cohen explains in his article above, there is a prevailing denial of medication side effects amongst the medical fraternity and the patient concerned is more likely than not to exit the consultation no better off and sometimes with an additional prescription to boot!

I find this situation quite frustrating at times.  I am not "anti doctor" but I must admit my exasperation does sometimes get the better of me.  We are dealing with people's lives after all.  Their health and safety is paramount.

"FIRST DO NO HARM"

Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that means "First, do no harm". The phrase is sometimes recorded as primum nil nocere.[1]

Nonmaleficence, which derives from the maxim, is one of the principal precepts of medical ethics that all medical students are taught in medical school and is a fundamental principle for emergency medical services around the world. Another way to state it is that "given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good." It reminds the physician and other health care providers that they must consider the possible harm that any intervention might do. It is invoked when debating the use of an intervention that carries an obvious risk of harm but a less certain chance of benefit. Since at least 1860, the phrase has been for physicians a hallowed expression of hope, intention, humility, and recognition that human acts with good intentions may have unwanted consequences.

Wikidedia

_______________________________________

About this website

The advice in these articles is given freely without promise or obligation.  Its all about giving you and your family the tools and information to take control of your health and fitness.  Please give me your support by subscribing to my free email updates. Please shop at my Online Store. Please encourage your family and friends to do the same. While we may not always be able to compete with the big operators on price, we aim to more than compensate through personal service!

Your email address:

Powered by FeedBlitz

Do you have a question?  Email Gary: gary@myotec.co.nz. Include any relevant background information to your question.  Please be patient and be aware that I may not be able to answer every inquiry in detail, depending on workloads (My paying clients take precedence!). I will either reply by email or, most likely, by way of an article (Personal identifying details will be removed before publication).

"Medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States" - Report

"The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million. The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million. The total number of iatrogenic deaths shown in the following table is 783,936. It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States. The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death rate, 553,251."
Go here for the complete article
_________________________
Gary Moller comments:

As the years pass by, it is interesting to reflect on trends. One trend apparent in correspondence received from around the world, is the increasing overuse of powerful pharmaceuticals for treating conditions for which there are healthy natural remedies. There are three aspects about this trend that I find disturbing: That the health professionals doing the prescribing seldom, if ever, consider natural therapies before resorting to potentially harmful drugs; that it is common for people to be on up to a dozen different pills and potions at a time; and the growing acceptance from age 30 years on that popping prescription pills is to be the norm.

By all impressions the USA takes the award for being the most over-medicated country on the planet. The US is closely followed by Canada which does a roaring trade selling cheap drugs into the the USA. Sadly; where America goes - we go and so it is that New Zealand is heading down the path to chemicalised entrapment. We must resist this disturbing loss of independence and consequent ill health. So, whether it is buspar, botox or betaloc, please think twice before you take it - Do you really need it? Ask your health professional about natural alternatives for treating that dodgy prostate, feelings of doom and gloom or high blood pressure (There are several good ones). Of course there is a place for medication - don't get me wrong - but its all about balance and right now, I think we are badly off balance. Commercial gain is taking precedence over what may be best for the individual consumer.

You deserve the best of health care - insist on it!

Why is there so much over-prescribing of medicine and why is there so much unnecessary medicine?

"You did ask why “perfectly healthy” patients with osteopenia are given medications like Fosamax.

From a primary care perspective, many relatively healthy patients are placed on preventative medications if they have even the slightest indication and no obvious contraindications because

1.) This is what primary care physicians do these days.
2.) It’s expensive for the patient but costs the doctor nothing.
3.) Many of our patients EXPECT us to do something when there is an abnormal test.
4.)We try to do everything to reduce the risk of a lawsuit (defensive medicine)."

(Cynical comments in correspondence with a US-based Dr)
________________________________
Gary Moller comments:
While I love modern emergency medicine, I am much less a fan of medicine's role in the management of the diseases of modern living, including those associated with ageing. I think medicine's track record is appalling. I think our impressive life expectancies have little to do with modern medicine as one sees practiced in surgeries and hospitals and more to do with wonderful public health measures such as sewage and water projects and road and industrial safety programmes.

I would not like to be a Dr nowadays; especially one in the USA. It is a thankless task and has nothing to do with the practice of medicine and more to do with bland processes that may, by chance, have a positive health outcome. This Dr's comments pretty much sum up how a Dr is between a rock and a hard place - they must choose the path of least risk and that means following the trail of "Best Practice Medicine" and ensuring that the patient leaves the consulting room with a script for a prescription drug or further tests. So long as they stick to best practice guidelines, the chances of being sued are minimal even if the patient is severely maimed by that practice.

A further constraint on the practice of good medicine is the fees structure. Good medicine requires time - up to an hour per patient. The way medical practices are structured, a Dr must process patients at the rate of about one patient per 15 minutes at the longest. If not, the practice is in financial trouble. The sad fact is that 10-15 minutes are just long enough for a quick chat and examination and just enough time to enter the details in the computer and to print out a prescrtiption script. This simply adds up to poor medicine. Sadly, this is the status quo and the solutions are not easy. Nor are they cheap and we would sure need a lot more doctors. But; then again, would we? If Drs spent more time with their patients and practiced real medicine, we might all be healthier; needing fewer visits to the Dr, less need for surgery and less need for drugs that often debilitate and finally kill!

Commissioner slams Wellington Hospital over man's death

"The Health and Disability Commissioner has slammed Wellington Hospital over the standard of care given to a 50-year-old man who died of pneumonia.

Ron Paterson was investigating a complaint from the man’s family after he was found dead, 40 hours after being admitted to hospital in September 2004.

The patient's chest X-ray and blood tests were not reviewed for almost 30 hours.

Mr Paterson says what happened was inexcusable, that staff provided a poor standard of care and the man was deprived of simple interventions that may have saved his life."
______________________________________________
Gary Moller comments:
This report hardly comes as a surprise and is yet another of a string of awful cases over the years at Wellington Hospital causing unnecessary death and disability.

Reading between the lines of this case, it would appear that this man's bipolar disorder, chronic addiction to smoking and serious chest condition made him a difficult and stroppy patient from the momeent he arrived and the hospital staff took a collective dislike to him. The result was grossly inadequate treatment, bordering on deliberate neglect, that saw him dead in next to no time. It reminds me of a case in Dunedin Hospital many years ago that was never reported:

She was elderly, overweight and demented. She was admitted to hospital to lose weight. Her diet consisted of a glass of water and a piece of white bread with a dollop of Marmite. When she objected to her treatment and peed in her bed, she was isolated in a private room with no sensory stimulation. She did not eat or drink. Within a few days of sensory deprivation, starvation and dehydration she was going ga-ga. The treatment and the isolation continued. By the fifth day, she was dead.

Now this was homicide by willful neglect. Nobody intervened. Everybody just did what they were told and that was to administer the treatment and to do nothing else. The fact the patient died was irrelevant and nobody within the medical team felt responsible - or guilty for that matter. They all knew what was going on and nobody cared a damn about her or the horrific way she died.

I have written about this sort of thing in the past and the advice that I always come back to is this: You must ensure that you always have a strong, informed advocate by your side when you enter hospital; especially if you are elderly, cantankerous by nature or have a mental health condition that affects your behaviour. If the hospital staff take a dislike for you, your life may be at risk.

Confusion between pathology and symptoms

When it comes to medical treatment, the most common failing I see is the confusion between the true cause (pathology) and the symptoms of an ailment. This is most frequently the case when medicines are prescribed for conditions like heart and circulation disease, depression, overweight, osteoporosis and sexual dysfunction.

A medical professional from overseas recently sent me the following animated parody that illustrates this common treatment failing in an amusing but powerful way.

Click here and enjoy the presentation! The town of allopath