Some of the most humorous things I hear in a day come from patients. This is a true story a lady in the office told me. This story could have been named several things like, "The Trials and Tribulations of Menopause" or "Man, You Have No Idea", but, we chose to call it, "I Lost My Liver" for reasons that will become apparent shortly.
The story goes something like this. Above mentioned lady, hereafter referred to as "LML" and her husband, have recently met some new friends. These new friends, in an effort to get to know them has asked them over for a drink and some face time. All is going swimmingly.
While sitting on the near new looking "light grey" ultra-suede couch, LML gets an "odd sensation". She's had "odd sensations" before but this one is out of context. Being an astute male, her husband notices that LML has gone quiet and her skin tone has lightened......a lot. He asks if she is alright. At this moment she can hear him but her vision had tunneled and gone black and there is the sound of rushing surf. That's when as she puts it, "She lost her liver". The visual was worth a thousand words. I have seen plenty of "livers" and I can't imagine "dropping" one, anywhere.
According to this lady, menopause has been hell. Her cycle ranges from 3days to 3 months, and it's "different". Before, she would get "warning signs", like a sore lower back, headaches, stuff like that "before" her cycle would start. Now, there's no warning! It's just Go Time!! How do you plan for that?
She said the couch looked like a murder scene and her white pants weren't and although "welcome to stay", she didn't really want to. Her husband had been drinking a bit too much to drive, so she had to, but hey, all the way home he did tell her, "It will be OK". Apparently, that wasn't helpful!
The next day she phoned to say that she would pay for all the cleaning. Before the call she had prayed that she would get "the women" but alas, "the man" answered. Through her embarrassment he explained that they had managed to get it all cleaned up, no problem at all, thank you very much, keep your money.
The life span for a female in North America is about 80 and for a male about 76. I will gladly forfeit 4 years of my life so I don't have to contend with, menopause, periods, childbirth etc. I will gladly do all the heavy lifting, ugly plumbing and getting up at 3 with the sick kid so I don't have to do those things because, seriously guys, we have NO idea!
The best part of this story is, the lady that it happened to tells the story with a smile on her face and laughs right along with us as she tells it. Sometimes it's better if you just laugh at what life hands you!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Solving problems........
My youngest son is home for spring break. He brought home a pile of school work that he's completed. Mama asked that I go through it to see if there is anything there we want to keep. Keepsake kinds of things that will mark time so to speak.
I was going through it, sifting out the "usual" stuff, the stuff I consider crapola. It's little wonder we have whole societies that think very much the same. Look at your kids school work and you'll see why.
I kept one thing. Here's why. The lesson was science and the topic was "levers". For those not familiar with levers, think of a teeter-tooter in a playground. There were several pages of the usual stuff, explanations of a lever, how you could use them etc. The best part was the question at the end of the unit. The question, interestingly, was designed to test the young students ability to think outside the box, in a real world sort of way. The question read, " Read the problem below. Plan a solution and then make a drawing of your suggestion." Then, "Jon dropped his math book on the driveway and his dad drove the car over it so that it was under the wheel. By the time Johnny found the book, his dad had taken a cab to the airport. The keys were with him. Jon looked in the garage and found a long board, some bricks, a wheelbarrow, a rake and a crowbar. Can he use any of these things to free his book? How could he do it?"
A simple enough question "if" you understand levers. As I'm reading I'm solving the problem, just like any man would. Now I need to digress here for just a moment. I need to tell a story I heard many years ago, about the scientist Copernicus, while he was in school figuring out a "simple" science question. This story helped to put "learning", "thinking" and "school" into perspective for me.
The story goes something like this. Copernicus was in his science class. The problem posed to the class was how tall is the Leaning Tower of Pisa? The class was given a barometer, an instrument that measures air pressure. Copernicus took his barometer to the top of the tower and dropped it off, timing its descent to the ground. He then calculated the height based on time and the acceleration due to gravity. He handed in his paper. He gets his paper back and the answer is marked "wrong" even though when comparing it to others in the class the answer is the same as those that have been marked "right". He approaches the teacher who says he did it "wrong" and if he would like to get the marks he would allow him to do it again, properly. Copernicus agrees, taking said barometer out to the tower and holding it at arms length while backing up so that said tower is the same height as the barometer. Then doing some algebra, he calculates the height of the tower, and hands in his paper. His teacher is furious, sends him to the principals office. The principal reams him out but gives him another chance to solve the problem the "right" way. Copernicus agrees, takes the barometer out the the tower, ties a string to it and lowers it over the side until it touches the ground. He then measures the string and voila! he has the height of the tower. Hands in his paper. Straight to the principals office where the principal asks him why he keeps doing the problem the "wrong" way. His answer I loved. "Science is about "thinking". There are many ways to solve any problem and we must resist the temptation to believe there is only one way to solve any problem." Thankfully, they listened to what he said. (Later in his life he would pay a heavy price when they wouldn't.)
My son's solution was equally elegant and just for the record he comes by it honestly because his mom armed with an understanding of levers and the same question came to the same conclusion. Here's what he said, and I quote, " He could take a brick and smash it on the window, crawling inside and then switch the car and back it up then get the book. Then he could break the wood and fix the broken window." How thoughtful! There is a fantastic picture to illustrate this as you can see. I case you're wondering. He got it marked "wrong".
My one male friend once said, "If you get to the end of your life and you say "you wouldn't change anything" that means you haven't learned anything. Learning is making mistakes, realizing the mistake and doing it differently. We don't learn much by being "right" we learn lots by being "wrong"".
Amen to that,
I was going through it, sifting out the "usual" stuff, the stuff I consider crapola. It's little wonder we have whole societies that think very much the same. Look at your kids school work and you'll see why.
I kept one thing. Here's why. The lesson was science and the topic was "levers". For those not familiar with levers, think of a teeter-tooter in a playground. There were several pages of the usual stuff, explanations of a lever, how you could use them etc. The best part was the question at the end of the unit. The question, interestingly, was designed to test the young students ability to think outside the box, in a real world sort of way. The question read, " Read the problem below. Plan a solution and then make a drawing of your suggestion." Then, "Jon dropped his math book on the driveway and his dad drove the car over it so that it was under the wheel. By the time Johnny found the book, his dad had taken a cab to the airport. The keys were with him. Jon looked in the garage and found a long board, some bricks, a wheelbarrow, a rake and a crowbar. Can he use any of these things to free his book? How could he do it?"
A simple enough question "if" you understand levers. As I'm reading I'm solving the problem, just like any man would. Now I need to digress here for just a moment. I need to tell a story I heard many years ago, about the scientist Copernicus, while he was in school figuring out a "simple" science question. This story helped to put "learning", "thinking" and "school" into perspective for me.
The story goes something like this. Copernicus was in his science class. The problem posed to the class was how tall is the Leaning Tower of Pisa? The class was given a barometer, an instrument that measures air pressure. Copernicus took his barometer to the top of the tower and dropped it off, timing its descent to the ground. He then calculated the height based on time and the acceleration due to gravity. He handed in his paper. He gets his paper back and the answer is marked "wrong" even though when comparing it to others in the class the answer is the same as those that have been marked "right". He approaches the teacher who says he did it "wrong" and if he would like to get the marks he would allow him to do it again, properly. Copernicus agrees, taking said barometer out to the tower and holding it at arms length while backing up so that said tower is the same height as the barometer. Then doing some algebra, he calculates the height of the tower, and hands in his paper. His teacher is furious, sends him to the principals office. The principal reams him out but gives him another chance to solve the problem the "right" way. Copernicus agrees, takes the barometer out the the tower, ties a string to it and lowers it over the side until it touches the ground. He then measures the string and voila! he has the height of the tower. Hands in his paper. Straight to the principals office where the principal asks him why he keeps doing the problem the "wrong" way. His answer I loved. "Science is about "thinking". There are many ways to solve any problem and we must resist the temptation to believe there is only one way to solve any problem." Thankfully, they listened to what he said. (Later in his life he would pay a heavy price when they wouldn't.)
My son's solution was equally elegant and just for the record he comes by it honestly because his mom armed with an understanding of levers and the same question came to the same conclusion. Here's what he said, and I quote, " He could take a brick and smash it on the window, crawling inside and then switch the car and back it up then get the book. Then he could break the wood and fix the broken window." How thoughtful! There is a fantastic picture to illustrate this as you can see. I case you're wondering. He got it marked "wrong".
My one male friend once said, "If you get to the end of your life and you say "you wouldn't change anything" that means you haven't learned anything. Learning is making mistakes, realizing the mistake and doing it differently. We don't learn much by being "right" we learn lots by being "wrong"".
Amen to that,
Dr. Mike
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Dieting, Longevity and Exercise...........
Dan Gable. I've never met him. I'd never even heard of him. Most people I know, probably don't know him. But, the story goes like this.
I went to school with a fellow who was a twin. He and his twin brother went to school in the US and were both All Americans. The brother was an All American running back, that's football and my friend was an All American wrestler. My friend wanted to go to this particular US university because it had "the best" wrestling program in the US and was coached by the legendary, Dan Gable.
His first day of try-outs goes like this. Show up, get into your gear, weigh in, get evaluated. Its all going swimmingly. He's looking good, he's feeling great, he's kicking ass! He finishes the evaluation, Dan Gable says something like this, "That was great, you'll be perfect in the 130 lb class." No small feat being praised by the legendary Dan Gable, except, my friend weighs 150. So, my friend spends the next month eating lettuce, drinking water and wearing a glad garbage bag so he can bust his weight.
I was talking to a lady at the gym the other day. She is dieting to get to her competition weight. I had asked her in what class she would be competing. she told me that last year she had been a middle weight but this year she would be a lightweight. I looked it up and the lightweight class is 118 pounds or lighter. She normally weighs about 150. She has been dieting for four months.
I then asked myself, "Do body builders, wrestlers, nay, ALL athletes live longer?" The answer, in a word is "yes" and "no". Most studies I have seen show increased longevity with some exercise. There are couple of factors that make a big difference in how much longer you live. The type of exercise and the intensity of the exercise makes a big difference in longevity. Running, cycling, cross-country skiing, swimming all add about 6 years to your life. Basketball, hockey or soccer adds about 4 years and weight lifting sprinting adds about 2 years.
Also, increasing the amount of vigorous exercise extended lifespan but increasing non-vigorous exercise did not. For example a runner who added interval training to their work out would get more benefit than a walker who added more miles to their workout. In fact, there is some evidence that the walker gets absolutely NO benefit from the extra miles!
Something else that I feel is VERY important regarding exercise. There is loads of evidence that if you start your exercise program AFTER the age of 50 you will still obtain the extra years! It's NEVER too late.
Ralph Paffenbarger, M.D., summarises the benefits of exercise with a neat formula: For each hour that a person exercises, he/she gets roughly two extra hours of life! This is probably only true for reasonable amounts of exercise, up to 30 weekly miles of running, otherwise, you buy back your mortality for a meager 12 hours a day.
So what's the point? Exercise is GOOD! Vigorous exercise is better. That's a lot of weight to loose in a short period of time. Immortality cam be purchased for 12 hours of exercise a day, and Dan Gable is a famous wrestling coach. Who knew? When your body's busted, exercise, then get it adjusted.
Dr. Mike
I went to school with a fellow who was a twin. He and his twin brother went to school in the US and were both All Americans. The brother was an All American running back, that's football and my friend was an All American wrestler. My friend wanted to go to this particular US university because it had "the best" wrestling program in the US and was coached by the legendary, Dan Gable.
His first day of try-outs goes like this. Show up, get into your gear, weigh in, get evaluated. Its all going swimmingly. He's looking good, he's feeling great, he's kicking ass! He finishes the evaluation, Dan Gable says something like this, "That was great, you'll be perfect in the 130 lb class." No small feat being praised by the legendary Dan Gable, except, my friend weighs 150. So, my friend spends the next month eating lettuce, drinking water and wearing a glad garbage bag so he can bust his weight.
I was talking to a lady at the gym the other day. She is dieting to get to her competition weight. I had asked her in what class she would be competing. she told me that last year she had been a middle weight but this year she would be a lightweight. I looked it up and the lightweight class is 118 pounds or lighter. She normally weighs about 150. She has been dieting for four months.
I then asked myself, "Do body builders, wrestlers, nay, ALL athletes live longer?" The answer, in a word is "yes" and "no". Most studies I have seen show increased longevity with some exercise. There are couple of factors that make a big difference in how much longer you live. The type of exercise and the intensity of the exercise makes a big difference in longevity. Running, cycling, cross-country skiing, swimming all add about 6 years to your life. Basketball, hockey or soccer adds about 4 years and weight lifting sprinting adds about 2 years.
Also, increasing the amount of vigorous exercise extended lifespan but increasing non-vigorous exercise did not. For example a runner who added interval training to their work out would get more benefit than a walker who added more miles to their workout. In fact, there is some evidence that the walker gets absolutely NO benefit from the extra miles!
Something else that I feel is VERY important regarding exercise. There is loads of evidence that if you start your exercise program AFTER the age of 50 you will still obtain the extra years! It's NEVER too late.
Ralph Paffenbarger, M.D., summarises the benefits of exercise with a neat formula: For each hour that a person exercises, he/she gets roughly two extra hours of life! This is probably only true for reasonable amounts of exercise, up to 30 weekly miles of running, otherwise, you buy back your mortality for a meager 12 hours a day.
So what's the point? Exercise is GOOD! Vigorous exercise is better. That's a lot of weight to loose in a short period of time. Immortality cam be purchased for 12 hours of exercise a day, and Dan Gable is a famous wrestling coach. Who knew? When your body's busted, exercise, then get it adjusted.
Dr. Mike
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Why do you think you have all those joints?
I just finish adjusting my brother-in-law and as he is standing there I said to him, "Get up and move around more, Don't do so much sitting." He says, "Thanks a lot!" My sister-in-law, lying face down on the table said to him, "Why do you think you have all those joints?" I laughed, visualizing him, joint-less, all the while thinking, "What a great thought!" Why indeed? The conversation deteriorated from there into the definition of "joint". My brother-in-law, pointed out, correctly so, that there are several different kinds of "joints". My sister in law gave him the look!
Think about it. No, no, not the several different kinds of joints argument, but the "all those (body) joints", joints. What is the point of all those joints? Well, in a word, "MOVEMENT! There is NO "movement" without joints! There is no muscle without joints, heck there is no skeleton without joints! My job disintegrates to an ten hour shift of "poking protoplasm". That's just a disgusting thought.
I have been advocating exercise/movement for years. It goes something like this in the office. Me - "Some kind of regular exercise would help you to feel better and not see me so much." They say, "Why do I have to exercise?" Me - "Uh, it's good for you. You'll live longer. You'll feel better. You'll sleep better. You'll look better. You won't get hurt as easily. You'll recover faster". Good arguments all, but somehow lacking that something, that nugget that seals the deal, that thing that drives people to lace up their Nikes. Until now!
Cue the office, Me - "Some kind of regular exercise will be beneficial". Them - "What kind of exercise should I do?" Me - "Doesn't matter as long as it's regular." Them - "Why do I need to exercise?" Are you ready for it? Me - " Why do you think you have all those joints?" Them - dumbfounded, knowledge of the universe, uh-huh, holy @#%&* moment. Question answered, enlightenment bestowed. You get the idea. It's brilliant!
Remember, "When your body's busted, get it adjusted and Exercise is good! After all, why do you think you have all those joints?
Dr. Mike
Think about it. No, no, not the several different kinds of joints argument, but the "all those (body) joints", joints. What is the point of all those joints? Well, in a word, "MOVEMENT! There is NO "movement" without joints! There is no muscle without joints, heck there is no skeleton without joints! My job disintegrates to an ten hour shift of "poking protoplasm". That's just a disgusting thought.
I have been advocating exercise/movement for years. It goes something like this in the office. Me - "Some kind of regular exercise would help you to feel better and not see me so much." They say, "Why do I have to exercise?" Me - "Uh, it's good for you. You'll live longer. You'll feel better. You'll sleep better. You'll look better. You won't get hurt as easily. You'll recover faster". Good arguments all, but somehow lacking that something, that nugget that seals the deal, that thing that drives people to lace up their Nikes. Until now!
Cue the office, Me - "Some kind of regular exercise will be beneficial". Them - "What kind of exercise should I do?" Me - "Doesn't matter as long as it's regular." Them - "Why do I need to exercise?" Are you ready for it? Me - " Why do you think you have all those joints?" Them - dumbfounded, knowledge of the universe, uh-huh, holy @#%&* moment. Question answered, enlightenment bestowed. You get the idea. It's brilliant!
Remember, "When your body's busted, get it adjusted and Exercise is good! After all, why do you think you have all those joints?
Dr. Mike
Thursday, March 17, 2011
When your body's busted......
Many years ago I was kidding around with a friend of mine and we were telling stories about our youth. It became apparent in the conversation that he felt he had been "gypped" out of some of his life because there were things he hadn't done because he didn't want to get hurt. I have heard this same scenario in the office many times, where a person will, after having been adjusted and much improved, say how much they didn't do while they were growing up because they didn't want to get a "headache" or "back pain". This "thing" kept them from living life to the fullest. If they'd have known how easy it was to "fix" they'd have been able to do a lot more stuff.
I remember growing up thinking the opposite! I remember telling myself, "I'm going to do this, if I mess up and get hurt, I can just go to the chiropractor and he'll fix me up". (I went to the chiropractor a lot!) I had an idyllic childhood, in a time of few TVs and no video games or computers. Our entertainment was the great outdoors. A "crash" was a "Crash", we had less than thirteen channels, all switched manually, and the only thing that would "freeze", was you, in the winter! A different paradigm to be sure.
The point is this. This is not just a chiropractic phenomenon. How much stuff do we "miss out on" just because we are scared/worried about getting hurt? There is a poster in the window of my sons school, facing the parking lot oddly enough, as if the class is pointing this out to the people parking. It says, "How many things would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" The answer for most people, I'm guessing, is "everything"! My dad says, "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might gain by fearing to attempt". Really, how bad is failure? Really.
So figure it out, that "thing" that will "fix" you and then go out there and live. Don't get to the far end of your life and feel gypped. Don't be standing at the gate and feel ripped off. Think of life this way, "The object of life is not to arrive at the grave intact and in a well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, broken down and well used, screaming "Holy shit! What a ride!" OOrah to that!
And remember, when your body's busted, get it adjusted!
Dr. Mike
I remember growing up thinking the opposite! I remember telling myself, "I'm going to do this, if I mess up and get hurt, I can just go to the chiropractor and he'll fix me up". (I went to the chiropractor a lot!) I had an idyllic childhood, in a time of few TVs and no video games or computers. Our entertainment was the great outdoors. A "crash" was a "Crash", we had less than thirteen channels, all switched manually, and the only thing that would "freeze", was you, in the winter! A different paradigm to be sure.
The point is this. This is not just a chiropractic phenomenon. How much stuff do we "miss out on" just because we are scared/worried about getting hurt? There is a poster in the window of my sons school, facing the parking lot oddly enough, as if the class is pointing this out to the people parking. It says, "How many things would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" The answer for most people, I'm guessing, is "everything"! My dad says, "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might gain by fearing to attempt". Really, how bad is failure? Really.
So figure it out, that "thing" that will "fix" you and then go out there and live. Don't get to the far end of your life and feel gypped. Don't be standing at the gate and feel ripped off. Think of life this way, "The object of life is not to arrive at the grave intact and in a well preserved body; but rather to skid in sideways, broken down and well used, screaming "Holy shit! What a ride!" OOrah to that!
And remember, when your body's busted, get it adjusted!
Dr. Mike
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