March 16, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

The March edition of the Alternative Healthpod is now available. If you are not a subscriber, you can listen to it here, or as always subscribe to it by clicking on this feed. You can also subscribe via iTunes.

Show Notes:

Two new studies published last week show that long-term use of oral drugs prescribed to prevent osteoporosis may be associated with unusual fractures of the thigh bone — in other words, they are weakening the bone they are supposed to strengthen.

The research is not the first to link the drugs, known as bisphosphonates, with fractures. Other research has found that these drugs also increasing the risk bone death in the jaw.

Dr. Melvin Rosenwasser, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, and co-author of the study, said that when bisphosponates are “used beyond a certain point…they may actually be bad.”

A second study looked at bone biopsies taken from the thigh bones of 21 women, all past menopause, who had suffered fractures at the site. Nine had not taken the drugs, while 12 had, for an average of 8.5 years.

The women on the bisphosphonates, researchers found, had 90% “old” bone, meaning that new bone was not being created in the women taking the osteoporosis drugs.

Source: American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting, 2010.

If you are taking osteoporosis drugs, or are concerned about your risk of fracture, please contact me immediately at 860-567-5727, or email me at alj@docaltmed.com.

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March 15, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

I usually try to keep things at least moderately professional on this blog, but sometimes the personal part just comes busting through.

Like today. This news release just hit the wires:

LITCHFIELD, CT – Sixteen-year-old Shayna Jenkins captured both the silver and the bronze medals in two national indoor archery championships, while simultaneously bringing home dual gold medals in the New England region of these tournaments.

With a score of 1064 out of a possible 1200, Jenkins placed second in the nation in her division at the 41^st National Archery Indoor Nationals. She also took third place nationally in the Junior Olympic Nationals with a score of 533 out of a possible 600. Nationwide, Jenkins was the only competitor in her division to medal in both tournaments.

Jenkins, a junior at Litchfield High School, is no stranger to the podium. In previous years, she has placed both regionally and nationally, as well as winning the Connecticut state archery championship and the Nutmeg State Games.

On the shooting line, Jenkins is known for her cool demeanor under pressure, often shooting off the last of her arrows with only a few seconds left on the shot clock. She is a member of both the New Hartford Junior Olympic Archery Development (JOAD) team and the Harwinton Rod & Gun JOAD team.

Jenkins is now beginning preparations for what she hopes will be an equally successful outdoor competition season.

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March 13, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

Yesterday’s event was a tremendous success! Rebecca from Foot Levelers was booked all day long, and we were able to start bringing relief to a lot of people with foot, knee, and back problems.

Sportsmens of Litchfield also came through in a big way, providing not only discounts at the store for people who came to get their feet scanned, but also some very nice swag for everyone. Water bottles, bags and t-shirts — many thanks to Jay and Michael at Sportsmens, for being such good sports!

Teresa did her usual fine job of managing things from the front desk, unsnarling bottlenecks and being everywhere for everyone simultaneously.

As for me, one of the things that I really enjoyed about the day was that it brought in some patients whom I haven’t seen in a while. It was a real treat to catch up with people, and reminded me once again what it is that I really like about what I do.

Sure, I enjoy the detective work of being a good diagnostician, unraveling the myriad causes of a patient’s health problems. And practicing the physical skills required of my profession, manipulating joints, inserting acupuncture needles, or doing hands-on soft tissue work, is a pleasure as well.

But above it all are the relationships I have with my patients: The give and take, hearing my patients’ amazing stories, and telling a few of my own.

That, more than anything else, is what I look forward to when I unlock the door to the office every morning.

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February 22, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

I just sent out my latest issue of the DocAltMed newsletter. If you aren’t a subscriber, click on this link to read it. If you want to subscribe, just register on this blog or at www.docaltmed.com, and we’ll put you on the mailing list.

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February 21, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

My new podcast is up, you can download it here, or even better, subscribe to the podcast by clicking on this feed. Or, as usual, you can always go to iTunes and subscribe there.

For more information about the March 12 Free Digital Foot Scan, go here.

The laboratory website is www.footlevelers.com.

Read the rest of this entry »

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February 19, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

A reader brought to my attention the growing trend of barefoot running, given fuel recently by this study:

Read the rest of this entry »

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February 16, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

I’m very happy to be able to do this.

For 15 years, I’ve been putting my patients into custom orthotics for a variety of reasons, most typically chronic low back or knee pain. I have also used them quite frequently on my athlete patients, as the research has found that custom orthotics can curtail the risk of training injuries.

And in the case of at least one sport — golf — there is research that shows that using custom orthotics actually increases performance! Yep, you read it right. Slip these things in your golf cleats and strip a couple of strokes off your game. Can’t beat that with a stick (so to speak).

Having made a short story longer, here’s the point: I’ve arranged for the orthotics lab that I’ve been using for the past 15 years, Foot Levelers, to bring in one of their technicians. She will be spending the day on Friday, March 12, doing digital scans of people’s feet to see if you need orthotics. Did I mention that this is free?If it turns out that you do need orthotics and you order them that day, I’ll give you 15% off.If you order two pairs, you get 30% off. Sweet.

Here’s a linky that takes you to a pretty web page about it.

You can always check out my website to read much of what you’ve read here, only with more formal wording.And, as always, if you have questions, email me, or call me at (860)567-5727.

Do this. It’s free, and it will make you so happy.

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February 3, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

That’s the name of this year’s first podcast, and it is up and available now. The feed for all my podcasts is here.

And, as promised, here are the show notes:

Br J Community Nurs. 2009 Oct;14(10):422, 424-6.
Dietary factors and depression in older people.

Williamson C. British Nutrition Foundation, London. c.williamson@nutrition.org.uk

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions and can affect people of all ages, but it is becoming more common among the older population with increasing life expectancy. Observational studies have found poor micronutrient status (particularly folate and vitamin B12) to be associated with an increased risk of depression in older people. Supplementation with folic acid has been shown to enhance anti-depressant drug treatment and there is preliminary evidence that supplementation with certain micronutrients may help improve depressive symptoms in older patients. There has also been a lot of interest in the role of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids in depression.

Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age.

Akbaraly TN, Brunner EJ, Ferrie JE, Marmot MG, Kivimaki M, Singh-Manoux A. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK. tasnime.akbaraly@inserm.fr

 BACKGROUND: Studies of diet and depression have focused primarily on individual nutrients. AIMS: To examine the association between dietary patterns and depression using an overall diet approach. METHOD: Analyses were carried on data from 3486 participants (26.2% women, mean age 55.6 years) from the Whitehall II prospective cohort, in which two dietary patterns were identified: ‘whole food’ (heavily loaded by vegetables, fruits and fish) and ‘processed food’ (heavily loaded by sweetened desserts, fried food, processed meat, refined grains and high-fat dairy products). CONCLUSIONS: In middle-aged participants, a processed food dietary pattern is a risk factor for CES-D depression 5 years later, whereas a whole food pattern is protective. 

If you are interested in more information about diet and depression, contact me by clicking here.

Thanks for listening, and as always, your feedback and comments are very much appreciated!

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January 29, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

One of the things I like about being the type of doctor that I am is that patients feel free to speak their mind to me.

As happened today, while I was performing trigger point therapy (a highly effective but admittedly somewhat painful technique for some muscle problems), my patient said to me:

Patient: “Doc, that #$%^&! hurts!

Me: “Yeah, I know, sorry about that.”

Patient: “That’s your bike out front, right?”

Me: “Yeah. Rode it in this morning.”

Patient: “Yeah, well, when you’re done with me, I’m taking care of it. You’re walking home tonight.”

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January 19, 2010 by Avery Jenkins.

There is some very good news today for parents of special needs children in the Litchfield area. I received an email today from Krizta Moon, a very talented musician, music teacher and musical therapist, which said that she will be offering a music therapy program at the Litchfield community center.

If you are unfamiliar with music therapy, it is  “the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program,” according to the American Music Therapy Association website.

Anyone who has fallen in love, lost a loved one, grieved or celebrated — that is, all of us — knows the power that music has to influence our mood and our minds. Amazing, isn’t it, how a few bars from a half-forgotten song bring back to us in 3D living color the gestalt of a period in our lives?

Well, music is capable of far more than that. In the right hands, music therapy can not only help children cope with pain and stress, but also speed their progress in physical therapy programs. Music therapy can reach out and touch the untouchable, engage the unengaged.  In fact, a recent Cochrane Review, largely considered the gold standard of evidence-based medicine, found that “music therapy may help children with autistic spectrum disorder to improve their communicative skills.”

Ms. Moon said that she will be having an introductory “meet and greet” session open to everyone on Sat., January 23 at the Litchfield Community Center.

Music therapy sessions are specifically designed around the child’s age and developmental abilities, Ms. Moon said. Sessions will be held each Saturday between the hours of 9am-1pm. Each session runs for 45 minutes, starting on February 20th and will conclude on April 10th for a total of 8 sessions. Total cost is $150.00. Sign-up for this event will begin at 10am at the Litchfield Community Center. From 11-11:45, be there to participate in a large group session for parents and special needs children ages 4-18.

“An advantage of music therapy,” Ms. Moon’s email said, “is that it is an inherently nonthreatening and inviting medium. It offers a child a safe haven from which to explore feelings, behaviors and issues ranging from self-esteem to severe emotional dysregulation. Music therapy techniques can be designed to address more complex issues such as grief, abandonment or deeply conflicted emotions. As a medium, music therapy has enormous range and scope in targeting multiple clinical needs across the gamut of childhood developmental stages. It can set the occasion for a child to establish a meaningful relationship with an adult through musical play and interaction. Music therapy can also facilitate the development of pro-social skills, trust and feelings of positive attachment. Developmentally, almost all children respond to music. This greatly assists in laying a strong foundation for engaging in deeper therapeutic work. A child’s natural interest in music is enhanced by the fact that they are occupied in stimulating motor and auditory activities more associated with play or fun than work or therapy. The careful and repetitious orchestration of such multi-sensory experiences, in the context of a skillful and nurturing relationship, has a remarkable range of clinical benefits.”

On a personal note, I would just like to add that Krizta Moon has been my daughter’s singing teacher for several years. I know whereof I speak when I say that she is an extraordinarily talented, caring and skilled teacher, and I am glad that she has extended her talents into the realm of music therapy. I have no doubt that she will be of great benefit to many children here.

If you would like to attend, please call 860-484-9080 to confirm. You can also contact Ms. Moon via email, at lunazsoul (at) hotmail.com.

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