"Alternative Therapies"

I follow a number of blogs to keep up with what people are writing about back pain since that is what the PulStar Multiple Impulse Therapy does, relieve back pain.  

One of the bogs I follow is Lose the Back Pain.  This blog, like many of it's kind, doesn't have one method for curing back pain but many.  They sell different products and push their "alternative therapies".  I have no issues with trying something different before deciding on medicines and surgeries.

What I do take issue with is a recent post about healing being an art and not a science.  The author gives examples of going to a chiropractor and an acupuncturist and how each of those practitioners may give different remedies each time because they are artists.  The author goes on to explain that the "healer"recognizes:

"sleep deprivation is both caused by and is also a cause of anxiety; that weight gain is due to improper diet and emotional issues; that insomnia is a result of anxiety and poor food choices and lifestyle choices and jobs that lead to stress and organ-energy imbalances.  There is something in the body 'allowing' these diseases to thrive."

There's no art to any of that, it's science.  Psychology is a science in which we find out about the symptoms and causes and cures for anxiety.  And medicine isn't always the cure.  Any doctor or nutritionist will tell you all the scientific ways that a diet full of cheeseburgers is improper, a poor lifestyle choice and will cause emotional issues when you can't fit into your jeans any more.  We all know that sitting on our couch with a remote is much less healthy than walking with a friend.  It's not art, it's a science.

Back pain relief isn't about art, it's not about "holistic healing", it isn't magic.  It's about science.  There is a reason your back hurts, there is a cause.  The PulStar will scientifically find the cause and will help cure the back pain.  It's not drugs, it's not surgery, it is scientific pain relief.  And best of all, PulStar is gentle.  It doesn't hurt, there is no twisting, cracking or popping.

The one thing from the post that I agree with is that the patient must participate.  This isn't art either, it's also science.  There is no magic pill or wand or "holistic treatment" that will make it possible for you to eat fast food every day, not exercise and still be healthy.  You need to change the way you live. That's not an artist's subjective opinion, it's scientific fact.

Dr. Brian Sharp in Springfield, TN

Dr. Brian Sharp is another veteran PulStar user whose practice, Sharp Spine Center, PLLC, is located at 2012 - Memorial Blvd, Springfield, TN 37172.  Dr. Sharp has been using the PulStar exclusively here for two years.

Dr. Sharp grew up in Atlanta, GA, graduated from Life University in Marietta, GA in 2004 and practiced in Alpharetta, GA prior to moving to Springfield.  When he's not giving PulStar treatments Dr. Sharp enjoys spending time with his family, friends and his church.  He enjoys their midwife appointments since he and his wife are expecting their first child in September (congratulations!).  And he is a fanatic hockey and soccer fan as evidenced by the Man U jersey he wore to our Pittsburgh seminar.

Dr. Sharp chose the PulStar because he was using multiple impulse therapy for two years prior to opening his own office.  He said, "I knew I needed to use the best equipment out there as my #1 priority is to give the best to my patients.  With the PulStar, I'm doing that on each and every visit without any question."

Dr. Sharp went on to say that two things separate him from other chiropractors:  

"The first thing is the PulStar.  With this amazing technology there is no fear of the traditional chiropractic adjustment which many people do not like.  Second, I focus on only recommending what's best for each patient.  Therefore, everyone receives individualized care and specific care plans to address their unique situation."

To learn more about Dr. Sharp or to schedule an appointment you can call 615-382-1411, visit his web site or send him an email at sharpspine@gmail.com.  

We wish Dr. Sharp continued success using the PulStar and look forward to hearing about the newest addition to the Sharp family in September!

Pittsburgh Seminar Wrap Up

The seminar this weekend, from my perspective seemed like a success.  It was a good opportunity for me to finally meet the people whose faces I was familiar with from the pictures in our marketing materials and whose voices I was familiar with from so many phone calls. 

Christian started the conference with the announcement of our new generation of PulStars, the PulStar G3!  This new system is smaller and more portable than previous versions and consequently more affordable.  This new system is $1,000 less than the previous generation and will be equipped with a new impulse head that offers more of a "pistol grip" handle.  Along with being more balanced and lining up more properly with the forearm of the user, the new impulse head will have additional buttons that will allow a doctor to control all the functions of the PulStar so she never has to leave the patient.  

Speaking of the previous models, Christian also announced that we have an inventory of the G2 models which will be sold at a steep discount to make room for the new generation.  A couple of the doctors in attendance expressed interest in these systems so I imagine they will go quickly.  If your doctor has considered a PulStar (even if he hasn't), make sure he knows not to miss this opportunity.

Dr. Evans then took some time to outline the evolution of the PulStar from inception to the G3.  It is stunning how much has changed and improved since Dr. Evans decided to try and add technology to the field of chiropractic.  Dr. Jennifer Westcott, one of our trainers and contributors to PulStar's ongoing development, went through basic protocols.  She made it clear to everyone that these basic protocols are effective in relieving most issues patients have.  Finally, Dr. Dan Collins, our lead trainer and researcher, went through advanced protocols and adjusted everyone in the room.  Even veteran PulStar users learned something new from Dr. Collins' presentation.  Saturday was a long day and we covered a lot of information, don't let these 6 sentences fool you.

Sunday was a shorter day which started with Dr. Collins' lecture on extremities.  Dr. Stephen Savoie, our documentation and compliance expert, talked about the soft tissue work he does and some new attachments he is learning to use for this purpose.  The balance of the day was spent on advanced protocols and some hands on training of the attendees.

Judging by the involvement of and interaction among the attendees, I think they all enjoyed the seminar as well.  Hopefully I will be in touch with those that attendee and I'll get to hear first hand how much their patients benefitted from the lessons learned at the seminar.  Rest assured that I'll be sharing that info when I get it.

Interesting Diet Information

I try to follow the "Well" blog on the New York Times website which generally covers many interesting topics dealing with health and well being.  The author, Tara Parker-Pope, doesn't focus solely on food or exercise but rather every aspect of a person's life that might cause them not to be "well".  My opinion is that you'll find something there that will help or benefit you.

I wrote about about my experiences with diet and weight loss at the beginning of the year (hard to believe it is March already) and over the last week, Ms. Parker-Pope has written two interesting posts that I think are worth mentioning.

The first interesting post was the release of The New England Journal of Medicine's findings that it doesn't matter what type of diet you subscribe to, so long as you subscribe to something.  Apparently they took a group of people and assigned them one of four diet plans that had some similarities to popular plans out there like The Atkins Diet et al.  All of the groups lost similar amounts of weight and gained similar amounts of weight back during the two year study.  This means that no one diet plan is better than another.  As long as you watch what you eat in some manner, you can lose weight successfully.  The key to not gaining it back is to maintain that vigilance and not slip back into old habits (I learned that the hard way).

The second interesting post was about a colleague of hers that writes a food column at The Times.  His doctor suggested that he switch to a vegan diet to help with his health problems but given his profession and his enjoyment of food, he didn't feel like that was an option.  He decided to compromise and came up with the idea that he would be "vegan till 6".  His plans was to eat fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes all day and then have whatever he wants for his dinner.  He says he had dramatic results from this compromise and sticks with this plan today.

The point is that there is no magic pill, silver bullet or fad diet that will get you the results of simply choosing to eat healthier foods and fewer calories more often than eating bad food and lots of calories.  Simply looking at the amount of calories you take in can help.  Many people don't realize that a bag of chips, a bottle of soda or a packet of cookies is more than one serving but often times the label only tells you the calories in one serving.  You maybe consuming 2, 3 or 4 servings every time.  Many people probably don't realize that one fast food meal may contain 50-75% of their recommended calorie intake for an entire day!  Between burgers, fries, sodas, snacks and dessert, I was consuming 2 or 3 days worth of calories in just three meals and a snack without realizing it.

Changing your diet doesn't have to be as painful as we all make it out to be.  Change is always uncomfortable and you need to change your diet in order to lose weight but it doesn't need to be demoralizing.  The post about "vegan till 6" is a great example.  He made the sacrifice of eating differently during the day but maintains the comfort and familiarity of eating what he wants at night.  Change something and stick with it and you will get results, the first post showed that.  Getting the results will help you stick with the plan you choose, the second post showed that.

Go pick a plan and get those results!