Electric current therapy:

This is a therapeutic treatment to aid in reducing pain and promotes tissue healing. Small electrical impulses intersect deep in the tissue causing the body to secrete endorphins and other natural pain killers, reducing swelling, atrophy, and increasing circulation. Ligament sprains and muscle strains often respond to this treatment.

 

Patient Benefit:

 

Ultrasound:

Ultrasound is a therapeutic modality using high frequency sound waves applied in the region of soft tissue injuries. The sound waves vibrate as fast as a million times per second and penetrate deep into the body’s soft tissue creating heat. The rise in temperature increases blood flow, relaxes muscle spasm, massages damaged tissue, and accelerates the healing process. The vibrations help break down and disperse unhealthy calcium or scar tissue accumulations. Most patients feel nothing during the session except a pleasant warming and relaxing sensation in the tissue under the skin.

 

Patient Benefit:

 

Exercises:

Patients may be instructed to do various exercises at home as an adjunct to their treatment protocol. Some of these exercises may include tubing, ball, floor, or Styrofoam roll exercises. The exercises will be custom designed for each patient.

 

Ice and Heat:

Ice and heat may be used in the office and prescribed for home use to aid in the healing process.

 

Rules of thumb:

Ice: Used mainly for acute injuries, any nerve sensations such as burning/tingling/sharp shooting pains, or inflammation. Lower back complaints almost always require ice.

 

Heat: To decrease muscle spasm and tension, such as with stress, tight shoulders, and cramps. However, it should not be used in an area that may have some inflammation.

 

Nutrition and Supplementation

“If you are going to spend the time and money on taking supplements, you may as well choose the best quality so that you actually get the benefit from it that you want.”

 

Which supplements do I carry in my offices?

I stock professional grade supplements that are only sold to physicians. These products are pure, potent and contain the highest quality ingredients. They lack the fillers and binders that are often found in over the counter store brands which can cause adverse reactions. The ingredients on the labels are tested and the amounts listed on the labels are the actual amounts found in the capsules. They are hypoallergenic and some have vegetarian capsules. The two companies that I order from are:

 

MetagenicsPure Encapsulations

 

Q. Do I need supplements?

Supplementation plays a very important role in living a healthy lifestyle. Many people think that they can get everything from eating a healthy diet, but with soil depletion, pesticides, genetic alterations, and the fact that we lose a lot of vitamins and minerals in the cooking process, it is rarely ever true. Please ask me if you have specific questions about which vitamins you should be taking and use the links and the information below to help you to understand how supplementation can help you.

 

Q: Why can't I get everything I need from my diet?

There are several reasons for this. First, remember that as a society, our dietary habits have changed over the past couple of generations. A healthy diet consists of plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Fruits and vegetables should be preferably fresh. Fresh frozen is still good, but not as good as "off the farm" fresh! Recent studies indicate that the majority of meals in the U.S. are eaten in restaurants rather than in the home. Restaurant food tends to be too high in fat and sugar. Additionally, convenience foods now make up a much higher percentage of the average diet than they did in the past. In some people well over 60% of their food is from so-called "empty" calorie foods (candy, sweets, chips, or other highly processed foods that contain very little real nutritional value other than calories). Remember that the more highly processed a food is, the more likely it is to have a low nutritional value.

 

Another factor is the high stresses found in today's fast-paced and busy life. The greater the external stresses, the higher the nutritional demands on the body. Eating a poor-quality diet robs you of the nutritional factors necessary to help you stay healthy.

 

Lastly, many people are simply unaware of how to shop for healthy foods. Convenience and taste become the major criteria for food selection, while nutritional value is given little attention, if any at all.

 

Many nutritional researchers point to the rising problems of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other diseases of modern society as evidence of the deteriorating quality of the diet most people consume. If you have questions about your diet, it is important that you discuss them with your healthcare provider on your next visit.

 

Q: Where do vitamins come from?

Vitamins are substances found in food that are required by your body to convert the food into energy. Since we cannot manufacture these substances, we need to get them from our diet. Unfortunately, the foods that many of us choose to eat have had most of the vitamins processed out. As many as thirty or forty vitamins and minerals may be taken out of our food; "enriched" foods may have a dozen added back. Generally the richest source of vitamins and minerals comes from fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. The worst sources are snack foods such as candy, chips, or highly-processed white flour bread or bakery items. While these may be okay in small quantities, they make up a significant proportion of many diets, which may put people at risk to nutritional deficiencies.

 

Q: Why is it necessary to take vitamin supplements to be healthy?

The simplest answer is because most people eat a poor diet. Studies show that the average diet in the U.S. consists of too much fat, too much sugar, not enough fiber, and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables. We are eating plenty of calories, but they are often "empty" calories, meaning that they have very low levels of the essential vitamins and minerals we need to stay healthy. Since the majority of meals in the U.S. are currently eaten in restaurants or "on the run" it makes good sense to take a vitamin supplement to fill in the gaps in our diet.

 

While it is important to remember the value of a nutritional supplement in maintaining health, we should never think that taking a supplement replaces a good diet. In other words, the first and most important step is to improve the quality of the diet, and then take a supplement as a nutritional insurance policy.

 

Informational websites for information on supplements, botanicals and drug interactions:

 

The questions and answers above are excerpts retrieved from the Metagenics website and there is a lot more information on nutrition and supplementation on their site. Please check out: http://www.metagenics.com/

 

Another site where you can look up which supplements are good for specific health conditions and concerns is on the Pure Encapsulations web site: http://www.purecaps.com/

 

Specifics on Metagenics and Pure Encapsulations:

 

Metagenics:

It's important to keep in mind that all products are not alike-no matter what the label or packaging may claim. Metagenics formulas are manufactured and handled in facilities that have pharmaceutical certification or are certified for good manufacturing practices (GMP) by the NPA, NSF International, or TGA. The Metagenics difference is quality. And quality can make a big difference in health outcomes.

 

What makes the quality of Metagenics products different? Your needs always come first. We are one of the few professional nutritional supplement providers that manufactures formulas in our own facility that is independently certified for Good Manufacturing Practices —the ultimate mark of quality manufacturing. We also have one of our industry’s most stringent infrastructures for quality assurance and control to ensure the purity and safety of every formula—so you’ll receive the health benefits you expect.

 

Metagenics is also the leader in nutritional scientific research. We have established the most sophisticated laboratories and research facilities in our industry—such as our MetaProteomics® Nutrigenomics Research Center and the Functional Medicine Research CenterSM. To our knowledge, we also have the largest on-site scientific staff of MDs, PhDs, RDs, DCs, NDs, and more.

 

For your present and future nutritional supplement needs, go with the choice of healthcare practitioners worldwide—Metagenics.

 

Pure Encapsulations:

Only licensed healthcare professionals may order from Pure Encapsulations. We strongly believe that nutritional supplements should be taken under the guidance of a physician or health professional. The strongest link between our high-potency supplements and consumers is the presence and guidance of a qualified health professional.

 

Who We Are

Pure Encapsulations was founded to create the highest quality hypoallergenic supplements. Since 1991, we have set the standards for providing the highest quality nutritional products available, and have established an unprecedented Quality Control program. Today, our supplements are the choice of over 36,000 health professionals in the U.S. and Europe.

 

In 2004, Pure was acquired by Atrium Biotechnologies Inc. Atrium is a leader and innovator of scientifically developed nutritional supplements and is the center of an advanced global network of specialty ingredients. To find out more about Atrium visit their website: www.atrium-bio.com.

 

Supplements for Sensitive People

Pure Encapsulations supplements are hypoallergenic. There are absolutely no hidden fillers or coatings, binders, shellacs, artificial colors, fragrance or excipients in our products that would disrupt or diminish the bioavailability of any of our ingredients. Furthermore, our products are free of wheat, yeast, gluten, corn, sugar, starch, preservatives or hydrogenated oils.

 

Ingredient Quality

Our ingredients are selected solely on the basis of quality and purity and are provided in their most potent and bioavailable forms. We purchase premium raw materials from Japan, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, and of course, the U.S. Manufacturers of ingredients must pass rigorous pharmaceutical grade analytical tests to qualify as Pure Encapsulations suppliers.

 

Manufacturing and Quality Control Excellence

We manufacture our supplements in our own state-of-the-art facility in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Our dedication to cleanliness is obvious from the moment our plant is entered. A large staff is dedicated full-time to the task of ensuring that our plant is impeccable.