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Alternative Health News

Essential Oils for Pain Relief, Part 2
Essential oils that treat the nervous system and bring down swelling may be only part of the picture when dealing with pain relief. Joint pain and muscle injury or chronic stiffness may also require bringing more circulation into the area and removing toxins.

Selling You: Your Most Important Product
As a doctor, it's very easy to dislike selling or even the idea of having to sell. When you decided to become a chiropractor, the last thing on your mind was the notion of having to sell it to others. Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but all of life is about selling.

A Few Shameless Self-Promoting Tips to Build Your Practice
Promoting your business does not need to be a huge task weighed down with labor and expense. Often, all you need is a groundswell of ideas, and then follow with a little effort.

UHC Fined $536,000, Reopens 50,000 Claims
The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration has levied fines totaling $536,000 against UnitedHealthcare (UHC) of the Midwest, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, and ordered them to re-examine 50,000-plus chiropractic claims dating back to November 2004.

Lag Signs Are Important in Diagnosing Shoulder Lesions
Two primary ways of testing for rotator cuff ruptures is to determine whether the shoulder has enough strength to maintain a position against resistance, and by passive testing whereby the examiner attempts to determine if a passive position can be maintained in space (Lag sign).

Manageable Fitness Solutions
A lot has changed in the world of massage therapy since I first started practicing more than 25 years ago. While massage has been used for healing in East Asia for a long time, our attitude towards it in the U.S. has evolved from a practice that simply feels good, into a necessary part of professional sports, and a respected form of alternative healing.

Farewell: Keep Sharing the Love
After nearly nine years of contributing as a columnist for Massage Today, Dr. John Upledger tells his readers farewell and leaves us with inspiring insight to this special field of work.

Fixing Achy Hips
Structurally oriented therapists are keenly aware of the crucial role proper iliosacral alignment plays in preventing compensatory low back and SI joint pain.

Not in My Hospital!
The chiropractors at our hospital here in New Jersey have been serving on-call for over eight years and have assisted in the care of more than 3,000 patients. It is a successful program because it is based upon a foundation of ethics.

Clients Who Are Reluctant to See a Physician
Whenever a client comes to me with an injury or pain condition, I make sure the person goes to see a physician if they have not already. I recommend this policy to all the practitioners I have trained around the country, and believe it is one of the most important steps we can take to protect our clients, our profession, and ourselves.

AMTA Board of Directors Disbands Council of Schools
After months of evaluation, the AMTA's Governance Committee recommended the association's board of directors (BOD) vote to remove sections of the bylaws that refer to the COS, effectively dissolving the COS as an AMTA organization.

Tips From the Field: Creating a Supply Kit
"What supplies should I take with me?" I've been asked this question a lot over the years by massage therapists anticipating work in eldercare or hospice settings. This situation is far different from having an office space with all your supplies conveniently available.

An Alternative Approach to Stretching
Clinicians, athletes and rehabilitation specialists advocate stretching as a means for injury prevention and treatment. The primary purpose of any stretching technique is to enhance pliability and flexibility in the soft tissues.

Massage Today T-Shirt Photo Contest Extended
Due to the recent availability of the Massage Today T-shirt for purchase, we have extended the deadline of our Massage Today T-shirt photo contest.

Government-Defined Meaningful Use Results in Meaningful Dollars
Say it once, they hear you. Say it twice, they understand you. Say it three times, they take action. That's precisely what the government is doing regarding meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR), and each time they communicate, they get more specific.

Why Public Health Matters
It's time for some straight talk. Did you ever wonder why chiropractic students have to take board exams in public health? Does public health ever matter to chiropractic practice? For that matter, does public health matter at all?

Research Abstracts From the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics
Research Abstracts From the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics. Sept. 2009 Abstracts Volume 32, Issue 7.

The Silent Progression of Kidney Infections and Stone Formation
There is a strong possibility that the chronic or semi-acute somatic complaints of your clients may have a deeper origin than biomechanical strain. In fact, their somatic difficulties may be associated with the progressing development of kidney stones or infections.

A Comprehensive Program for the Osteoporotic Patient
It hasn't been that long since the arthritis drug Vioxx was taken off the shelves for producing adverse side effects. Merck stopped selling Vioxx in September 2004 after a clinical trial showed it increased the risk of strokes and heart attacks in some patients.

What Are You Doing About Muscle Weakness?
Chiropractic treatment for extremity dysfunctions has a long history. Extremity dysfunction has also been correlated with muscle weakness extensively in the research literature. Dysfunctions in the foot, ankle, knee, wrist, elbow and temporomandibular joint consistently correlate with muscle weakness.

Back Pain in a Child
History and examination: The patient is a pleasant 17-year-old male referred by an orthopedic center. Patient history is remarkable for a chest wall congenital finding, and patient complains of tenderness in the chest wall region during exercise.

We Get Letters & E-Mail
I recently read a letter to the editor titled "Chiropractors Eating Their Own" [Aug. 12 DC]. I am glad I did and would like to add to the doctor's comments. Here in Utah, we have a managed care group owned by chiropractors who have done just what she was talking about.

World Massage Conference, Nov. 12-17
Join thousands of massage therapists in the largest event in the history of massage for a live conference without ever leaving your home. The World Massage Conference is a live, web-based massage conference that will be held November 12-17, 2009.

News in Brief
Turning Veterans Into Chiropractors. Life Gets $3 Million Donation From the Harris Foundation. Have-a-Heart Campaign Right Around the Corner. Recognizing Quality at NYCC.

The Power of Teamwork
Are doctors of chiropractic team players in the health care system? Are we even in the game? As you ponder these questions, consider how you represent yourself to patients, other health care professionals, third-party payers, the media, government officials and the general public.

Ethical Purchasing and Selling by DCs
"Ethical purchasing put simply is buying things that are made ethically by companies that act ethically..." We would like to suggest another way of looking at ethical purchasing - from a chiropractic professional viewpoint.

Shining a Positive Spotlight on Chiropractic
All it takes is a bright spotlight to show the world that chiropractic is an amazing healing profession. Creating that spotlight is the sole focus of the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (FCP).

Core Stiffness and Cross Fitness
In this third installment in our series on cross-fitness, let's discuss the importance of core muscle activation during cross-fitness exercise.

Active Isolated Stretching: Empowerment through Flexibility
Massage therapists are expected to alleviate stress, help with relaxation, and relieve pain caused by injuries, repetitive use and physical limitations. A therapist's success in doing so often leads clients to view their massage therapist as a "cure-all."

Educating Older Patients About Good Health
Aging is an unavoidable fact of life, and our country as a whole is getting older as more and more baby boomers approach retirement age. How can we chiropractors reach out to the middle-aged population and explain how chiropractic care can help them continue to lead active, healthy lives as they get older?

Snow-Shoveling Safety Tips
As I sit down to write this article, it is still warm and sunny, but by the time it shows up in print, late fall will be upon us, with winter not too far behind. A fresh snow is one of the most beautiful and peaceful things to witness, but shoveling snow can be very stressful.

Practice Building: Taking Your Massage Practice to the Next Level
Many massage therapists are frustrated by how the current economic situation has affected their practice. They are having difficulty making ends meet while trying to find or maintain continuous employment.

DC PracticeINSIGHTS: A Forum for Success
As participants each contribute their ideas, the challenge becomes better defined. Ultimately, a synthesis of the best ideas emerges as the solution. This is precisely the concept behind our newest publication, Dynamic Chiropractic PracticeINSIGHTS.

AMTA Convention: Largest Attendance Ever
The 2009 American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA) national convention held September 23-26 in Orlando welcomed more than 1,800 attendees and nearly 100 vendors, making it the largest annual AMTA convention ever.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Rethinks DC Designation
Doctors of chiropractic are once again "physicians" in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP), a designation stripped earlier this year when BCBS classified chiropractors as "other covered health care professionals."

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Support for First Professional Doctorate Increasing

By Tina Beychok, Associate Editor

There seems to be no doubt that one of the major issues facing the acupuncture and Oriental medicine profession is that of first professional doctorate (FPD), which would be a doctorate degree that prepares a graduate for working in the AOM field, by emphasizing competency skills along with theory and analysis. A new survey conducted by the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) has found the scales tipping toward favoring the first professional doctorate degree for AOM.

Refunding for Incorrect Coding

By Samuel A. Collins

Question: I have gotten a request for a refund of money from Blue Cross, stating that I coded my acupuncture services improperly. I am not sure they are accurate about my coding having an error and that any refund is due. I coded for my acupuncture services with 97810 (manual acupuncture, initial set) and 97813 (electro-acupuncture, initial set). As a general protocol I perform both manual and electroacupuncture on each visit. Is this not the correct way to code for that type of service?

Examining the Flow of Qi Through the Organ Systems

By Martha Lucas, PhD, LAc

The flow of qi is one of the basic constituents of the human body and its functions; our body's ability to make quality qi is essential to good health. We know that qi is the product of the activities of, and communication between, the zang and fu organs. Therefore, it makes sense that having the ability to examine that flow in the pulses would be key to making an accurate diagnosis.

Spinal Hua Tuo Points

By John Amaro, LAc, Dipl. Ac. (NCCAOM), FIAMA, DC

Without question, some of the most dynamic acupuncture points on the human body are known as the Hua Tuo Jia Ji points. These points, philosophically and clinically, may effectively treat every condition of the human system. They are extremely easy to locate and use. They respond not only to the acupuncture needle but through any type of percussion such as a neurological reflex hammer, Wartenberg pin wheel, tuning fork, green and red laser, percussive instrument, gua sha, tei shein (noninvasive needle) or firm digital pressure. Any form of stimulation works absolute wonders in clinical practice.

All Rights Reserved, Acupuncture Today, 2009.

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