I’ve got another quick post from my buddy, Mason McClellan, at The MN Clinic of Integrated Medicine.  Today, he shares a very scary statistic and a little bit of wisdom.  Check it out…

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 1998, a report finds that prescription drugs kill about 106,000 Americans each year – that’s three times as many as are killed by automobiles—making prescription drug death the fourth leading killer after heart disease, cancer and stroke.

I would say that is a bit frightening for a statistic. I am sure 12 years later in 2010 those number of deaths are higher.  The good news is that most of those are preventable by following a healthy diet and regular exercise.  (Since we as a nation have become a society of the “chronically diseased” which the vast majority is a self-induced combination of modern life, improper diet and poor habits).

So, what is the moral of the story?

If you keep yourself healthy you can avoid a majority of the cancers, and most all the cardiac/diabetic/prescription drug-induced deaths.  But, to further this thought process the idea is not to avoid death for that is an exercise in futility; the notion is to enjoy life and improve the quality of your time on Earth.

The solution is simple.  There is nothing like exercise and sunshine to make you feel better, look better, and be more fit.  And, that is were the enjoyment comes from – having your health, so that you can spend the time enjoying what is important to you.

So, if you want to regain your life, get off the drugs, and improve the quality of your life so you don’t end up leaving this earth prematurely from a preventable disease keep taking care of yourself and stay drug-free. Stay healthy and be your best with the exercise, good nutrition, and “alternative” medicines like acupuncture, massage and chiropractic care.

Stay healthy!

Mason McClellan

Mason McClellan LAc, is founder of the Minnesota Clinic of Integrated Medicine in Chanhassen MN.  For questions, comments, speaking engagements, or inquires please visit www.mnacupuncture.com.

P.S. – Check us out every Monday from 4:00pm – 6:00pm for our “Happy Hour” Special – a $20 treatment!

I just had to share this guest post from Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie with you today.  It’s mind-boggling.

An April 17, 2005 Associated Press (AP) story printed in many publications reports that Americans are the most medicated population in the world. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 130 million Americans swallow, inject, inhale, infuse, spray and pat on prescription medications every month.

According to IMS Health, a pharmaceutical consulting company, over the past decade the usage of prescription drugs by Americans has increased by 66% to an incredible 3.5 billion prescriptions per year. Additionally, IMS Health reports that their polling finds that Americans devour even more nonprescription drugs.

The AP story notes that the consequences to this large usage are grave. The article points out that landmark medical studies of the 1990s suggest that well over 125,000 people die from drug reactions and mistakes each year. They note that pharmaceuticals are the fourth-leading national cause of death after heart disease, cancer and stroke. Keep in mind that these statistics are from the 90’s, and this number doesn’t take into account the people who die from taking prescribed medications, where there are no “mistakes” involved. (Although, we would argue that taking any drug to cover a symptom, while ignoring the cause of the symptom, is a mistake!)

When placed in perspective, the volume of medication usage in the US becomes more evident. The article notes Americans spent as much on drugs last year as they did for gasoline. According to drug industry consultants the pharmaceutical industry makes more than $250 billion per year, the vast majority in prescription medications. That translated into $850 for every American.

Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine and author of “The Truth About the Drug Companies”, commented, “We are taking way too many drugs for dubious or exaggerated ailments.” He continued, “What the drug companies are doing now is promoting drugs for long-term use to essentially healthy people. Why? Because it’s the biggest market.”

It is no wonder that 5 out of 6 Americans are dying of heart disease or cancer. This is the danger of treating the symptoms of dysfunction with the use of surgery and/or drugs (prescribed or otherwise) opposed to correcting the dysfunction. As a society, we are conditioned to put all of our time, energy and financial resources into getting rid of that pesky “check engine” light, instead of simply taking the time to check the engine! This approach makes no sense. However, it does make the drug companies a lot of dollars.

We applaud you on your efforts of restoring health and life to your body, through our natural, gentle, and scientifically proven chiropractic technique.

Here’s to raising the next generation of healthy, drug-free families!

In health,

Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

I have been fortunate enought to watch many of my personal training and boot camp clients reduce and even completely get off their medications.  Take the healthy approach.  Get your body moving, watch what you put into your mouth and take preventative measures like quality chiropractic treatments.

Have Faith & Take Action!

Justin Yule, B.S., CPT

Your friendly neighborhood Chaska / Chanhassen boot camp instructor and online personal trainer.

Burn 9x more fat at a fraction of the cost of other personal training programs.

I’ve got another great guest post from my chiropractors at Discover Chiropractic in Chaska, MN.  We’re also announcing an amazing deal they’re giving to the members of my local Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp in Chanhassen, MN.

Here’s Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie:

Do you trust yourself that you have the power to be well?

Your innate intelligence is in?nite in its knowledge of what is best for your body. It knows how to best live in your body…it knows how to be well.

With this knowledge comes trust. Do you trust your instincts, your intuition, your innate intelligence?

Do you feel like your body needs rest? It does.

Feel like you need to eat? You do.

Feel like you need more activity or exercise? Right again!

When that wee small voice within speaks…listen to it. Your instincts will guide you, if you listen.

With knowledge and trust comes a relationship.

Develop a relationship with this inner power by learning to dialogue with it. Most people will dialogue with their inner power with the hope of getting rid of a problem that they have and do not want. It is useful, with the power of your imagination, to look inside at a part of your body that concerns you and ask it, “what purpose do you serve in my life?” You will, however, be served best by getting into communion with this inner wisdom to seek how to gain the health that you may no longer have. Take this information and accept it as “right” for you. You can never lose by working to acquire greater health. Next comes acceptance by knowing and understanding that even illness can be a blessing in one’s life if it leads you to a greater understanding and appreciation of God’s greatest creation…you!

After acceptance comes change. Instead of focusing on what you do not have…focus on what you do have. And, what you do have is the power to change. You can change the habits and lifestyles that may have caused your health to deteriorate and substitute healthy habits that will cause health to develop rather than diminish.

In health,
Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer and staff

PS – Next week Dr. Jeff & Dr. Katie will have a blot post on Health as a Process.  It doesn’t happen over night, but when you follow the process the end result is the healthy body you desire.

OK.  Now for the big savings announcement.

Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp members are automatically enrolled into the Look Great Rewards Program where they receive special discounts from local providers.  Discover Chiropractic has joined that list of providers and is offering our members a Complete Nerve Scan which normally retails for $267 for only $67! That’s a $200 discount! That’s worth a whole month of boot camp!!!  It pays to be a member   See the special ad by clicking HERE.

Mason McClellan from the MN Clinic of Integrated Medicine is back with Part 2 of Acupuncture and Weight Loss.

So what pattern are you?

In the previous post I gave a quick intro to acupuncture and how it regards to weight loss.

When a patient comes in to the clinic he/she presents us with signs and symptoms – a combination of how you look, feel, and exhibit.  We look at objective findings, subjective observation and the most important factor, feedback/information from you, the patient.

When all of this “data” is put together we in Chinese Medicine come up with a pattern diagnosis.  These patterns then become our basis for treatment and the protocols we follow to re-balance your body.  Your body is usually either too hot, too cold, too dry, or too damp to “properly” function.  These imbalances are what cause the signs and symptoms that brought you to the clinic in the first place.  We use acupuncture and herbal therapy to put you back on the right track.

Alright, back to weight loss and the patterns.

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Today’s guest blog post comes from Mason McClellan, an accupuncturist friend of mine.  He and his wife Sandra own and operate the Minnesota Clinic of Integrated Medicine in Chanhassen, MN.

He’s going to have a pretty fascinating series for you.  Check it out:

What the heck is acupuncture anyway?

Better, what does it have to do with weight loss?

And, most importantly, does it actually work?

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The last couple weeks I turned over the Monday blog post to one of my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp clients and my massage therapist, Amanda Mazzocchi.  Amanda is the owner of Restore Therapuetic Massage in Eden Prairie, MN.  In parts one and two of her post, 3 BIG Reasons You Need to Get a Massage, she focused on the fact that massage is very effective in treating overuse syndromes—reducing and preventing injury and massage increases joint flexibility and range of motion, thus reducing and preventing injury.

Here she is with Part 3…

Massage Restores Balance in a Body—Reducing and Preventing Injury

What causes pain and dysfunction in a body?  There is only one answer—a lack of balance.

When the muscles of a body are out of balance, either front to back, side to side, or top to bottom, the result is dysfunction. For example, our most common complaint among clients is tight and sore upper backs and shoulders. While a back rub will feel good, the relief is temporary.

Why?  More than likely, the client has really tight and shortened chest muscles which are pulling their shoulders forward, and the back is simply straining to keep the shoulders back where they belong.  This imbalance causes poor posture and can even cause numbness and tingling in the hands.

Shortened pecs happen to anyone who drives or works on a computer!  Ironically, the pecs aren’t usually where symptoms are felt.  But, if the pecs are elongated through massage and stretching, the strain across the upper back will be removed, eliminating the symptoms that are causing pain.  Then, the back musculature can be relaxed with lasting results.

This front-to-back imbalance is one of many that massage can address and correct.  Here are a few others that we typically treat:

Knee Pain: This is very frequently caused by an imbalance in strength and tension among the quadriceps.  Often, the outer quad is pulling harder than the inner quad.  This causes a torque on the kneecap, causing it to track improperly.  So many knee injuries are simply this—very painful, but completely correctable through massage.

Low back/ Hip Pain: Most commonly, this occurs from a lack of balance in the musculature which attaches to the pelvis.  Many of us spend so much of our lives in a seated position that our hip flexors become shortened.  The result is that when we extend our hips (i.e. stand up) we experience pain in either the low back or down the outer hip.  To counter this, hamstrings should be stimulated and hip flexors should be elongated.  Again—very painful and completely treatable through sports massage.

Achilles and Shin Pain: Most often, this is also a muscle imbalance.  Unsupportive footwear (like flipflops!) often starts this cycle off.  There are two muscles which run from the knee to the arch of the foot, similar to a stirrup.  These two muscles provide you with ankle stability.  When one is working harder than the other, the result is pain—either in the shins, the Achilles tendon, the top of the foot, foot cramps in the arch.  And, you guessed it—painful and treatable with sports massage.

A knowledgeable Sports Therapist can properly assess and specifically treat imbalance syndromes. This is why it is critical to find a therapist with proper experience and training.

At Restore Therapeutic Massage, we specialize in Deep Tissue, Sports Massage, and Injury Rehabilitation.  Our highly skilled and experienced therapists will help you stay on the road to wellness and fitness.

More information and convenient online scheduling are available at www.restoremassagetherapy.com.

For continued education on sports massage, please follow the link on our homepage to sign up for future newsletters and special offers. Or, please call 952.393.8000 for assistance.

In health,

Amanda Mazzocchi

Restore Therapeutic Massage — Real Therapy with Real Results

P.S. – We’re offering a FAST ACTION BONUS! Look Great at the Lake Boot Campers already receive $20 off every massage.  Also, new comers receive $20 off their first massage.  TODAY ONLY, if you book online you will receive $30 OFF your massage! Note:  the massage doesn’t have to be today, you just need to book it today.  The price will not be reflected on the website.  Just be sure to mention this special and it will be taken care of at the time of billing.

Here she is with Part 2…

Massage increases joint flexibility and range of motion, thus reducing and preventing injury.

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Janell is out of town reliving her glory days today.  It’s her 10-year reunion with her volleyball team that went to the state championship!  She’s pretty excited.  Congratulations babe!

But, have no fear, we’ve still got a great nutrition post for you today.  If you’ve been following Janell’s post you know she’s dedicating October to superfoods.  To take care of that today, we’ve got a post from Dr. Jeff and Dr. Katie Algajer from Discover Chiropractic in Chaska, MN.  Katie is a Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp member, and I’m going to be working with Jeff on some in-home personal training.  They’re a great couple and AWESOME chiropractors.  See what they have to say about superfoods…

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For the next few weeks I have the pleasure of turning over the Monday blog post to one of my Look Great at the Lake Boot Camp clients and my massage therapist, Amanda Mazzocchi.  Amanda is the owner of Restore Therapuetic Massage in Eden Prairie, MN.

There are countless health benefits to receiving therapeutic massage, both preventative and curative.  Since you, like me, are boot-campers, I will narrow the focus and explain how therapeutic massage can help people who work out regularly and vigorously.  I’ve chosen three—all with a common theme of keeping injury from interfering with your fitness results. These will be presented as a three-part series.

Today, I will focus on the fact that massage is very effective in treating overuse syndromes—reducing and preventing injury.

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