For Pain Sufferers: An Atlas Adjustment?

I guess I am very late to this stage of the game, considering the amount of national press that the "Atlas Oorthogonal" has already received from shows like "The Doctors" and other high profile celebrities.  This 4 ounce bone that sits at the top of our spinal column and holds our head in position, called the "Atlas" after the greek God Atlas who held the weight of the world on his shoulders, is being regarded as the only adjustment you need to properly align your entire body and relieve chronic pain, fibromyalgia, migraines, asthma, and numerous other diseases.

As I cannot endorse this from personal experience, there seems to be an enormous growing community bringing awareness to it.  Once such non-profit organization, comprised entirely of patients, is called  http://www.uppercervical.org/ which has a directory to local doctors performing this procedure.  Below is a video from one of the doctors websites.  If you are interested, there is another video with archival footage on youtube of the most aggressive and violent adjustment I have ever seen!  Apparently, their not using that technique anymore, so I won't post it to scare everyone.

This is a picture taken with one of our wonderful caregivers Sasha, at a clients grandnieces college graduation.  It was sent to us from her nephew with some very kind words that we would like to share with all of you. 

My aunt, who will reach her 103'rd birthday at the end of October, has been under the care of Hanson Services since 2007.  Thanks to the excellent care provided by Hanson caregivers, she continues to live in her apartment and to enjoy an excellent quality of life. 

Although my aunt has been fortunate to receive care from many excellent caregivers, I am writing to specifically commend the outstanding care which she has received from Sasha.  She has been my aunt's caregiver for a number of years and has developed a close relationship with her and it is clear to me and my family that she has developed a genuine affection for my aunt. 

More importantly, my aunt really likes Sasha, trusts her and looks forward to the times that Sasha spends with her. For a woman of her age who has survived her friends and all the family members of her generation, the close bond she has developed with Sasha is really important to the quality of her life.

Sasha has played a number of important roles in my aunts life, including:

• Setting up medical appointments and keeping doctors informed with regard to her health status and any issues that require their attention.
• My mom (who has also been under Hanson care for a number of years), Mae's sister, lived in the same apartment building and were extremely close.  When she passed away in March of 2011, we relied on Sasha to accompany my aunt to the funeral. To be sure, all of my Aunt's caregivers were wonderful through that difficult time, but because of the special relationship that Sasha had developed with both my aunt and with our family, her presence was especially helpful and comforting. 
• We again relied upon Sasha to accompany my aunt to the ceremony to unveil my mom's grave stone this year in early May and to the family gathering and dinner afterwards.
• Our daughter graduated from college on Memorial Day, 2011.  Having my aunt htere was really important to all of us, but we knew that, in addition to not having enough room in the car, we could not care for my aunt and, at the same time, participate in the graduation activities.  We asked Sasha to bring my aunt, knowing that my aunt would feel comfortable making the trip wiht her and thate there was no question that she would be in safe and caring hands.  It turned ou to be sunny, 95-degree day and, in spit of an hour drive each way and sitting outside for hours, my aunt had a wonderful time.  

These are just a few examples.  As you know, most of what Sasha and all of your caregivers do occurs "behind the scenes" and goes both unheralded and unnoticed by those of us who are not involved in the day-to-day care of our loved ones.  The fact that Sasha has been so consistently outstanding over the years...I would categorize it as the "Gold Standard" in caregiving...is remarkable and worthy of recognition.

A Letter from a Neighbor

We've been lucky enough to have received many unsolicited letters and thank you's over the years, from clients and friends of the family.  We love these letters.  It is a reward to know we were able to help someone, and allow them to age in a home they worked so hard to obtain.  Our most current letter was sent from a clients neighbor, who was aware of the circumstances that our client was undergoing.  

"Recently, a neighbor of mine was diagnosed with terminal cancer and wanted to spend her last days at home.  Hanson Services was contacted and a schedule of home health aids was established.  I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel and visiting with my neighbor at the Kirtland House in Lakewood several times before she passed away.  Rachel was quite competent and handled the situation very well.  Please pass along my thanks to her for a job well done and to Hanson Services for the work that you do."

We Walk Wrong

In short, this article is about how we've warped the anatomical structure of our gait (the pattern of movement in our feet) by wearing none other than modern day shoe.  Much of the information I come across to write about is quite old, this article in particular is from 2008 in New York magazine.   It covers a wide variety of documented research studies, and the authors own personal experience with a "walking coach" and shoes designed to mirror the barefoot walking pattern.

"Natural gait is biomechanically impossible for any shoe-wearing person" wrote Dr. William A. Rossi in a 1999 article in Podiatry Management.  For decades, the guiding principle of shoe design has been to compensate for the perceived deficiencies of the human foot; extra padding on the heel, arch supports, etc.. While rheumatologist's have advised patients with osteoarthritis of the knees to wear padded walking shoes to reduce the stress on their joints, a study at Rush Medical College in Chicago found that the impact on the knees was 12 percent less when people walked barefoot than it was when people wore padded shoes!

Another study found that we actually compensate for more padding by unconsciously landing harder on our heels when there is more padding present.  They found this not only in walking and running shoes, but in gymnasts who will land harder on mats that are more padded than others. We now know there are over 200,000 nerve endings in the bottom of our feet; a sensory perception that is overlooked and numbed by wearing padded shoes.

Quite a few shoe companies have been developing and releasing shoes to compensate for the hindrance the modern day shoe has put on the function of our feet.  You may have seen the shoes that look identical to the human feet?  Individual toes and all?  Reebok and Adidas have even been releasing their version of the shoe.   While an heir to the Clark shoe company has been providing more functional and fashionable shoes called Vivo Barefoot, and a quite popular golf shoe company, True Linkswear, is even being worn by PGA Tour players.  Being an avid golfer, and after reading this article, I think I may find myself walking in a pair of True's sometime soon.

The original article can be read HERE

Epigenetics

This a video that aired on PBS explaining how our diet and lifestyle can change the expression of our genes.  By influencing a network of chemical switches in our genes, known as epigenomes, doctors are polishing off the ability to manipulate the epigonome; cancer therapy being one of them.

The oldest recorded person in modern history

"I dream, I think, I go over my life.        I never get bored"

Recently I've noticed a trend in the topics I've been blogging about on here.  Much of it to do with living longer and healthier, linking stress and alzheimers, taking care of yourself better, and tips on "living to 100."  In all the searching I have been doing on the subject, I started to think "Who is the oldest person that ever lived?"

Let me introduce you to Jeanne Calment, who bucks about every nutritional trend that has been on the forefront of media for many years now.  I've even posted things that she rebuffs.

Jeanne was born in Arles, France in 1875 to a modest family, before the advent of the light bulb, phonograph, automobile, and 14 years before Alexandre Gustave Eiffel built his tower.


She married a wealthy store owner at the age of 21 which allowed her to lead a more leisurely lifestyle based upon tennis, cycling, swimming, rollerskating, piano, and opera.  As a teenager, she would meet Van Gogh at her future in-laws art supply store where he bought canvases.  She would later describe him in an interview as "Very ugly, impolite, ungracious, sick...we called him a madman."

"If you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it"

Some doctors have theorized that she was impervious to stress, based on her quotes such as above and her well known unflappability.  Others believed it was genetic, based on her lineage of relatives that lived fairly long lives.  But it's the French that believe it was her lifestyle, based on being - French.  Calment rode her bike every day up to her 100th birthday, smoked 2 cigarettes a day until she was 117, and subsisted on a diet of port wine and two pounds of chocolate a week.  

We have had the pleasure of taking care of more than a few centenarians at Hanson Services, and they all have had remarkable stories.  My great grandpa lived to just under 100 and looked pretty much the same to me as he did at 60, with a full head of hair that I used to cut every so often.  I asked him once what he ate to stay so healthy all these years, and he replied "Well...I sure ate a lot of hot dogs."  

Monkey helpers for the disabled

Yes, you are reading this correct.: Monkeys as full time caregivers, or "butlers."  A specific, smaller
version, called the capuchan monkey, that you may recognize from Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones, is raised in a human home as an infant.  When old enough, the monkeys attend Monkey College in Boston for 18-24 months where they learn to preform simple tasks, such as setting up a drink of water, fetching an out of reach object, and turning the pages of a book.  Probably the most beneficial of all the tasks it can provide, to the usually isolated and home bound recipient, is companionship.

Originally developed in 1979 by a doctor looking to aid quadriplegic's in their every day lives, Helping Hands has grown into a thriving national non-profit that has received support from The National Science Foundation, the Veterans Administration, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the US Government.   Through the support of generous donors and volunteers, Helping Hands has been able to provide these specially trained service animals and their lifetime support free of charge to their recipients.

This is a wonderful program to look into if you or someone you know are in need.  Some of the videos on their website are quite touching.  Below is a video by Helping Hands with their little monkey helpers.