July 07 Newsletter

Many patients come into to our office with neck pain—often a result of the dreaded computer, carrying children, or recent car accident. Whatever the cause, it’s important to determine the underlying cause of the problem. This requires a thorough evaluation and a good knowledge of orthopedics.

The first thing I do, is rule out neurological issues to make sure there is no risk of permanent nerve damage. Here’s what you should do if you have neck pain

If you have numbness or tingling in your shoulders, arms, or hands or if you have loss of grip strength (can’t hold a coffee cup, or open a door), you should probably see an orthopedic specialist for an evaluation. Progressive loss of strength is a major red flag and should be addressed immediately.

An x-ray is the diagnostic image of choice because it rules out fractures and degenerative disc disease. If you don’t find out anything from that test, an MRI will tell you what’s happening in the joint space. A good radiologist can identify if there is any nerve impingement and your doctor can give you treatment options

If you have ruled a need for surgery, acupuncture is always a great first option. It is safe and often provides immediate results. If your pain is more severe or if acupuncture doesn’t work for you, your doctor may recommend an epidural cortisone injection. If you have neck pain, please feel free to contact us for more information.

March of this year marked our 5^th year anniversary, so I thought I would share a bit about what I’ve learned in my first 5 years in practice. When I started, I thought it was all about the acupuncture. Get patients better, and the practice will grow. What I’ve learned, however, is that people choose acupuncture (and alternative medicine as a whole) for a much broader set of reasons.

People want to be heard and that can’t be done in five minutes or less. They want diagnosis and don’t want to be told that they should “just live with it”—whatever their condition may be. Here’s more about what I’ve learned…

1. Pay attention: Listen to what people need and provide them the choices to help solve their problem. That often includes referrals to healthcare and business professionals.
2. Keep your word: Be professional and have integrity.. If you say you’re going to do it, do it. People are acutely aware if you say you are going to do something and you don’t.
3. Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face: I have made many mistakes including holding firm to rates instead of accommodating a patient need. Now I look at every situation in context.
4. Be present: Only by being present can you identify a need, understand the situation, and provide the best care.
5. Be grateful: Every day I express gratitude for my practice and for the opportunity to be of assistance to others. This helps me to stay on purpose and really enjoy working in my practice on a daily basis.

Let me conclude this section by saying thank you to all of my patients for putting their trust in me. I look forward to being of continued service to you.

Many of you know I’ve been working overtime since February to launch a new company, Ted’s Tinctures, and our first product, FlyRight Anti-Jet Lag Formula. With so many of my patients traveling internationally for business, I noticed a growing demand for my jet lag formula. So, I took this idea and bottled it. But can you really cure jet lag? We think you can with the right herbs taken correctly. After many months of long, hard work, product development and testing, we are ready to launch FlyRight to the general public.

We are excited about this 100% organic product, but the old adage “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to the internet. We expect a very gradual acceptance of the product over the next several years.

I encourage you to visit this new website at www.jetlagformula.com. This product is brand new, so we could really use your help in promoting it. Thanks to Wayne Wright, Mike Chen- freelance writer, and Philippe Alexis of No Diamonds Web Services for all their help on this project

If you know of anyone that travels from coast-to-coast or internationally on a regular basis, please send them to this site or have them send me an email for more information. Thanks!