> In a recent study,“Manipulation or Microdiskectomy for Sciatica?” from the October 2010 Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, researchers concluded that spinal manipulation (as performed by a chiropractor) was just as effective as microdiskectomy for patients struggling with sciatica (pain, numbness, or weakness in one or both legs), secondary to lumber disk herniation.
Overall, 60 percent of patients who received chiropractic care benefited to the same degree as those who underwent surgery. Further the 40 percent who could not be helped by chiropractic care, did go on to benefit to the same degree from the subsequent surgery as those who underwent surgery initially. “There was no detrimental effect cause by delaying their surgical treatment.”
The medical researchers concluded “our research supports spinal manipulation performed by a doctor of chiropractic is a valuable and safe treatment option for those experiencing symptomatic lumber disk herniation, failing traditional medical management. These individuals should consider spinal manipulation as a primary treatment, followed by surgery if unsuccessful.”
Separate studies that I’ve reviewed have additionally proven that cold laser, traction, core rehabilitation, and acupuncture are also effective in treating disk herniations. The Advanced Wellness Center uniquely provides expertise in, and can combine for even greater efficacy, all of these treatments, thus providing our patients the best possible results in overcoming the agony of many debilitating conditions such as disk herniation and sciatica. I’ve personally experienced this very condition and am thankful to the doctors of the Advanced Wellness Center for helping me to overcome it.
Dr. Mark deDubovay, DC, CTN
Healthy Tip: Always consider alternative medicine options first, as many of our patients do. Tell your friends that each and every one of our practitioners offers complementary consultations. During these appointments, all questions can be thoughtfully answered and appropriate care
My relationship with the Advanced Wellness Center began about five years ago when my son went to see Dr. Barbara Shur. I don’t remember who recommended her to my family, but we are grateful nonetheless.
My son had suffered from a blinding headache for days. Nothing helped. But, after just one visit with Dr. Shur, he was pain free.
I remembered this experience when, last summer, I suffered from extreme sciatica. At first, I saw both Dr. Fuhrman and Dr. Mark, then Dr. Fuhrman took over my care full time. He used a variety of chiropractic techniques and within four weeks I was pain free.
Toward the end of the year I had another bout with that deep debilitating pain, so once again I went to see Dr. Fuhrman. He worked on me and suggested that I add some sessions of acupuncture to my treatment plan.
I made an appointment with Vince and the treatments went very well. By the end of the month, I was again without any pain at all.
For months, I continued to see Dr. Fuhrman for maintenance, since my x-rays show that I have virtually no discs left in my lumbar spine. I want to make sure I take care of myself.
And I hope to go back to him within a couple of months – just as soon as this cast comes off my foot. Dr. Fuhrman doesn’t know this yet, but I broke my foot and needed surgery.
Thank goodness for the Advanced Wellness Center. I know that once I can walk without a cast and see the professionals at the AWC, I’ll be able to get back to a pain-free status once again.
When your child is sick, you typically do what your doctor tells you. When my 10-year-old daughter, Laurel, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (a digestive disorder) her doctor suggested a regimen of 16 pills a day, including strong steroids and antibiotics. We followed his orders, but nothing seemed to help. She was weak and quickly losing weight. It seemed we had no choice but to admit her to the hospital.
Luckily, a friend told me about the Advanced Wellness Center one day over lunch. Although we’d never tried “alternative” medicine, we figured it really couldn’t get any worse. We soon made an appointment for her to see Dr. Mark deDubovay.
When Dr. Mark saw Laurel, he confirmed what we had feared – she was starving to death. He began her on natural supplements and told us we should see results in the next few days. Just as he had said, her appetite returned, she could keep her food down and she began to gain weight. What prescription medications couldn’t do, Dr. Mark did with natural therapies. Laurel’s father and I decided to stop her medications and stick with Dr. Mark’s plan.
Today, five years later, Laurel is a happy, healthy teenager. She still sees Dr. Mark from time-to-time to work on her diet (sometimes she gets a little off track, as most teens do). Most recently, she’s been working with him to fine-tune her regimen of healthy eating and exercise for a trip she’s taking this summer to study with the prestigious New York City Ballet.
I am grateful to Dr. Mark for giving my daughter a naturally healthy life. For parents hesitant about getting an “alternative” opinion, I suggest you call the Advanced Wellness Center. Their team is professional and knowledgeable. Dr. Mark cured my daughter.
I initially went to Dr. Mark DeDubovay to get my foot checked out. After injuring myself on a ski trip, my sister recommended that I go to the Advanced Wellness Center. Although I was a bit skeptical about chiropractors, I decided to make an appointment.
Everyone in the building was extremely friendly, they truly made me feel like I was the only person there. So, I didn’t hesitate to make my first appointment with Dr. Mark. Three months later I was skiing again!
That was 10 years ago, and that first appointment has changed my life.
Dr. Mark took the opportunity to address other health issues and has been my health counselor ever since. He has helped me with everything from allergies to minor aches and pains. Among his most impactful recommendations, he prescribed a dog as a treatment for stress levels. Today I am stress free alongside my 8-year-old golden retriever, Sierra.
As if that was not enough, Dr. Mark did more for my Colitis than any pill or treatment ever could. Now that he has helped me identify which foods cause the inflammation, I no longer need to rely on a prescription for my illness.
Under Dr. Mark’s treatment and supervision, the quality of my health and of my life has improved more than I ever could have imagined.
I have been playing squash for over 30 years. Squash has not only been a means to exercise, but has brought me in contact with a lot of very interesting and dynamic people that I enjoy getting together with. As a result, I’ve played a lot of squash. But, I’ve paid the price — three arthroscopic knee surgeries. After the last surgery, the doctor said I should stop playing squash and take up another form of exercise, because continuing to play squash could result in further injury to my knees that may require more radical surgery to repair.
I continued to play squash.
But, about three years ago I reinjured my right knee. I was in a lot of pain. I couldn’t sleep or drive long distances. I went back to my orthopedic surgeon. He recommended knee replacement surgery to get rid of the pain in my knees. I was not ready to make this decision in his office. He gave me a prescription for painkillers and scheduled me to come back in two weeks to see what I wanted to do. If I had the knee replacement surgery, I would not be able to play squash or any other competitive sport again. I was told I could ride a bike, swim or walk (not run) for exercise after the surgery.
I went back in two weeks, but could not commit to having the knee replacement surgery. I would be making a lifestyle change that seemed, at the time, to be a huge step to take. I was not ready to make this change: limited to riding a bike, swimming or walking to get my daily exercise. I renewed the painkiller prescription and told the doctor I would let him know if I decided to have the surgery.
Needless to say, I put off making a decision as long as I possibly could. But, after another week of intense pain and double doses of pain medication, I finally decided to seek alternative treatment.
Like many others, I had never seen a chiropractor, but my wife insisted that I visit the doctor she had been seeing. So, I made an appointment with Dr. Mark deDubovay at the Advanced Wellness Center. During my initial exam, Dr. Mark told me he had never seen knees in worse condition than mine, but he was confident that a low-level laser treatment would provide the healing needed to get rid of my pain.
I saw Dr. Mark three times a week for low-level, cold laser therapy. The treatment seemed to be stimulating cartilage growth in my knees. Within two months I was no longer suffering from the excruciating bone-on-bone pain in my knee.
Within four months, I was up and once again leading an active life. Nine months after my first visit with Dr. Mark, I was back on the court hitting and dodging 100 mph squash balls.
I recently passed the third anniversary of the day the orthopedic surgeon told me I needed to replace both knees. Now I am in a “maintenance” mode at the Advanced Wellness Center. I play squash two times a week and I see Dr. Mark monthly. What a blessing it has been to have found Dr. Mark and his alternative treatment for my knees! I could have gone through a knee replacement surgery, a painful postoperative recuperation and a traumatic lifestyle change. Instead, my life has been replenished, I am playing the sport I love and I continue to enjoy all those little things I realize would have been lost if I would have had the surgery.
Learn more about Dr. Mark deDubovay and his road to founding the Advanced Wellness Center. Layla Ali, PharmD, founder of The Butterfly Guide – an online holistic directory – sits down with Dr. Mark as he discusses natural approaches to treating the root cause of maladies. In this in-depth radio interview, you will learn about:
What your blood pressure indicates within your body
The impact of your genes on your health
How changing your circumstances can improve your health
Seeing past “one size fits all” symptom relief and moving toward personalized care
Have you had the functioning of your brain evaluated? Healthy brain function not only prevents memory, concentration and focus challenges but also issues such as depression, anxiety and insomnia, just to name a few. In fact, two of the most common and misdiagnosed signs of declining brain function, or neurodegeneration, are fatigue and a range of digestive troubles.
Did you know that brain cells (and heart cells) are the only cells in our bodies that don’t regenerate themselves? From the time we’re born, we are all losing brain cells by the thousands, every hour of every day, proportionate to lifestyle stresses. This means, for some of us, this loss is at a much faster pace than others. The factors that accelerate this loss and lead to dysfunction are many and common, due to today’s plethora of lifestyle stresses. This accelerated loss of brain function not only affects the elderly but also children and adults of any age. In addition to neurodegeneration, compromised brain firing is what affects children’s learning and contributes to behavior disorders (such as autism, ADD and ADHD). In fact, one of every eight children is affected by some behavioral disorder. Adults of any age can be affected as well.
The good news is that natural medicine offers lifestyle and nutritional therapies that can provide helpful, and sometimes dramatic, improvements of many neurodegenerative conditions. Further, in a healthy-firing brain, although you’re slowly losing brain cells, your brain can more than compensate by proper stimulation which builds plasticity. Plasticity is the building or reinforcing of connections between remaining brain cells, so you can continue to stay mentally sharp at any age.
So don’t let brain dysfunction unnecessarily depreciate your quality of life and aging. Speak with your wellness practitioner if you feel you are experiencing any signs of neurodegeneration. He or she may recommend you start with a Brain Health Questionnaire or other important testing. With your practitioner’s guidance, you can discover answers that can lead to better preserving your precious mind and memories and even restore the spark of happiness and motivation that makes life so rewarding.
Healing Tip of the Week
Egg yolks are great brain food! Maligned and misunderstood, eggs are a rich source of choline, which is a vital building block of brain transmission. And, the lecithin found in egg yolks efficiently helps the liver to easily eliminate the cholesterol that comes with the egg.
