Whimville » whim http://www.whimville.com Life on a Whim Fri, 23 Apr 2010 19:48:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 The Dangers of Catnapping http://www.whimville.com/whim/the-dangers-of-catnapping http://www.whimville.com/whim/the-dangers-of-catnapping#comments Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:31:06 +0000 admin http://www.whimville.com/?p=38 On a whim, two-year-old Cody climbed into a partially-loaded UPS box of chiropractic traction devices. It might have seemed like a cozy spot to take a nap or a good hiding place for a game of hide-and-seek. But, as it turned out, the box became a transport unit, instead, one that took Cody from Dallas, Texas, to a chiropractic clinic in Woodstock, Illinois. Though two-year-olds are generally a whimsical group, you might have thought that a two-year-old might also have been slightly more cautious around shipping boxes, especially if that two-year-old was a cat!

The good news is that Cody’s unplanned trip to Woodstock took only 48 hours, and fortunately he was shipped UPS ground delivery and not by air. And, since the 10-pound cat was accessorized with a collar bearing his name and a phone number, he returned promptly to his owner, Marie Webster. “He’s a little skinny, but we’ll fatten him up again in no time.”

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]]> http://www.whimville.com/whim/the-dangers-of-catnapping/feed 0 Can a Chiropractor Help Scoliosis? http://www.whimville.com/whim/can-a-chiropractor-help-scoliosis http://www.whimville.com/whim/can-a-chiropractor-help-scoliosis#comments Sat, 02 May 2009 03:53:59 +0000 admin http://www.whimville.com/whim/can-a-chiropractor-help-scoliosis A normal spine is straight, without much change from side-to-side, when the body is viewed from behind.Scoliosis is an affliction that is commonly associated with a lateral, or side-to-side, curvature of the spine.This condition often gives the appearance of the patient leaning to one side but it should not be confused with poor posture. Defined by both lateral curvature and rotation of the vertebra, this complicated deformity oftentimes produces a distinctive “rib hump” in the mid or thoracic spine. This is produced by the vertebrae in the zone of the major curve rotating toward the concavity and pushing their fastened ribs posterior hence producing the characteristic rib hump seen in thoracic scoliosis. If the thoracic curve and rib rotation are severe, exceeding 70 degrees, pulmonary and cardiac function can be impeded. This intensity of curve and subsequent cardiac and pulmonary changes are frequently seen later in life in untreated severe idiopathic infantile and juvenile scoliosis patients and, as such, present a threat to life.

Anatomy

If one were to view the trunk from a side view, the spine would disclose four normal curves: the cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral. In the lower spine there is a natural “C-shaped” curve called swayback or lordosis, while the thoracic curve in the chest area has a “reverse C” called a kyphosis. Increased kyphosis in the thoracic area is called hyperkyphosis, while heightened swayback is termed, hyperlordosis. Alterations from normal that are visible from a side view frequently accompany scoliosis changes. Postural exercises can resolve some round back deformities that are simply due to bad posture. A small portion of individuals with kyphosis have more rigid deformities than the postural type, which are associated with vertebral deformity. This kind of deformity, called Scheuermann’s kyphosis, is much more difficult to treat than postural kyphosis, and it’s cause is unknown.

 

Almost anyone can help to identify a child or adult with scoliosis just by viewing the person in a standing position, preferably bare-chested and in shorts, and observing the following:

 

  • One shoulder may be more elevated than the other.
  • One scapula (shoulder blade) may be more elevated or more conspicuous than the other.
  • There may be more room between the arm and the body on one side when the arms hang relaxed at the side.
  • One hip may look to be raised or more prominent than the other.
  • The head is not in plumb with the pelvis.
  • When the person is viewed from the rear and asked to lean forward until the spine is horizontal, one side of the back seems more raised than the other.

The child or adult should be sent to a healthcare professional, such as a chiropractor, for further assessment once scoliosis is suspected. your chiropractor would be happy to help.

The most prevailing type of scoliosis is, by far, Idiopathic, and even though there are various roots and many kinds, Idiopathic Scoliosis accounts for approximately 85% of all cases. “Idiopathic” means “no known cause” and is observed with equal prevalence in boys and girls in the mild or low curve magnitudes. This affliction can be sub-classified into infantile, juvenile and adolescent categories, depending upon the age of onset. Idiopathic Scoliosis may be caused by genetic or hereditary influences as it frequently runs in families. For reasons yet to be found, girls are five to eight times more likely than boys to have their curves increase in size and require treatment. As the term “Idiopathic Scoliosis” implies, this kind of scoliosis usually develops when children are ending their last major growth spurt. Unfortunately, at this age young people are disinclined to permit their body to be seen by parents and other adults, so it is very important to have this age group examined on a regular basis.

If a scoliotic curve is observed in the growing adolescent, it is vital that the curves be monitored for development by periodic examination and from time to time standing X-rays. In ninety percent of cases, the scoliosis is mild and does not require active treatment, however increases in spinal deformity necessitate evaluation to ascertain if a brace or other management is required. In a small number of people, surgical treatment may be needed.~Surgery may be needed for a small number of individuals.

Brace therapy (orthosis) is recommended for newly-identified symptoms of moderate scoliosis or abnormal kyphosis, as well as when an increase in scoliosis or kyphosis is discovered in both juvenile and adolescent children. There are a number of kinds of braces, all designed to prevent curves from increasing through acting as a buttress for the spine during active skeletal growth. Braces will not usually make the spine entirely straight, and cannot always keep a curve from increasing. However, bracing is effective in stopping curve progression in a significant number of skeletally-immature adolescents.

Scoliosis has no simple solution. Most cases, even though frequently monitored, are not actively treated. The usual medical treatment for moderate instances is a brace, whereas severe cases in some cases are treated surgically. You may want to see your local chiropractor first.

Specialized exercise, electric stimulation of spinal muscles, nutritional programs, and chiropractic treatments are among many modalities used in addition to bracing. It appears that the best results have been supported with a multi-faceted approach to the treatment of this condition.

There are chiropractors, that have expertise managing scoliosis conditions.

 

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]]> http://www.whimville.com/whim/can-a-chiropractor-help-scoliosis/feed 3 Is the Government Catering To the Whims of the Insurers? http://www.whimville.com/whim/is-the-government-catering-to-the-whims-of-the-insurers http://www.whimville.com/whim/is-the-government-catering-to-the-whims-of-the-insurers#comments Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:36:59 +0000 admin http://www.whimville.com/uncategorized/is-the-government-catering-to-the-whims-of-the-insureres The National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association (NNOC/CNA), the nation’s largest RN union and professional association, today announces a national online advertising campaign beginning this week that calls on key Congressional leaders to protect the public -  not the profit motives of the insurance industry – through a system of guaranteed, single-payer healthcare reform.  The ads are also sponsored by the Massachusetts Nurses Association.  View the blog ad, the first phase of the campaign, www.CalNurses.org.

The ads ask supporters of reform to send a message to Sens. Max Baucus and Ted Kennedy and Reps. Henry Waxman, George Miller, and Charlie Rangel-each of whom chairs key committees with oversight on healthcare reform-urging them to support the “nurses’ plan” for guaranteed healthcare, as reflected in HR 676 by Rep. John Conyers and S. 703 by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which would expand and update Medicare to cover everyone. 

A major barrier to comprehensive reform, the ads emphasize, is healthcare industry contributions which nurses say influence the decision by some to craft proposals that cater to the whims and financial interests of the insurers. And, they say, nurses have had enough.

“We all know the incredible financial and lobbying resources that health insurance and pharmaceutical companies bring to the table in Washington,” said Malinda Markowitz, RN, co-President of NNOC/CNA, “but every voter is also a patient who deserves reform that will protect our families and heal our nation.  Healthcare reform is too important to let the insurance industry once again corrupt the democratic process that nurses and patients are relying upon.”

The campaign will continue through May 13, when hundreds of nurses from around the country will mark Nurses Week with a march and rally in Washington urging guaranteed healthcare and major patient safety improvements. The blog ads will run on national and local websites.

This effort is part of a national campaign that has seen thousands gather in recent weeks outside the six White House Forums on Healthcare to demand the single-payer, Medicare-for-all approach be at least a central part of the national debate on major reform. National systems, such as proposed in HR 676 and S. 703 are flourishing in every other industrialized democracy - the main reason why the U.S. lags far behind other nations in key healthcare barometers though it spends more than twice as much per capita than all other countries. 

A single-payer system, says NNOC/CNA, is the most effective reform to assure universal coverage, choice of doctor, and real cost controls that will end the financial and healthcare insecurity faced by American families and American businesses.

Under a single-payer system, patients choose from among competing doctors and hospitals, which are paid from a universal, non profit health coverage fund, with no co-pays and deductibles, real cost controls that eliminate waste and fraud, and comprehensive benefits for less than we and our employers pay now.

Single-payer reform would also promote economic recovery by creating 2.6 million net jobs and more than $300 billion in new business and public revenues, according to a January study by the Institute for Health and Socio-economic Policy, the CNA/NNOC research arm.

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The California Nurses Association, and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, is one of the nation’s premiere nurses’ organizations and health care unions. One of the fastest growing health care organizations in the U.S., CNA/NNOC presently has 80,000 members in 50 states, representing nurses at scores of hospitals, clinics, and home health agencies.

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