Massage Warsaw- Massage Therapy – Warsaw Acupuncture

Author: Admin

  • Spinal Decompression

    Here is a news segment on CBC’s marketplace investigating the claims made by the Low Back Clinic about their spinal decompression machines.  The Low Back Clinic claims that they have an 80% success rate in treating low back pain.  The investigation makes the following allegations:

    • All claims are based on a study funded by the manufacturer of the product.
    • That study is not statistically significant or of sufficient quality to make those claims.
    • The Low Back Clinic, in their advertising,  is taking advantage of people that are vulnerable

    You can see for yourself.  Here is a link to the video:

    http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2010/stretching_the_truth/main.html

    My thoughts on the “investigation”:

    • It was fair journalism, but more than anything, it was great entertainment.  The piece targets the inner skeptic in all of us:  The desire to point a finger at a product or company and call them a bunch of crooks or snake oil peddlers.
    • Spinal decompression has been around for a long time and does have a therapeutic effect on herniated disc problems.  It has been referred to as traction for decades.  Usually you can find traction devices in the form of an apparatus that hangs you upside down.   The devices only cost a couple hundred dollars to purchase.  You can find them in many physiotherapist clinics, chiropractic clinics, and yes, I have one as well.  Many people even buy them for use at home.  They are relatively safe, but makes sure you talk to you doctor first, especially if you have a heart condition.  These are simple devices that resemble a swing set and look nothing like the Star Trek inspired machine at the Low Back Clinic (LBC).  The principle of why they work is essentially the same but they only use your body weight to perform the traction.  The most important difference is that we don’t charge $5,000 to use it.  It is included in the treatment as one of the many modalities you may receive.  And there are no straps, harnesses and hydraulics putting 100 lbs of force on your vertebrae.
    • Regarding the dangers of spinal decompression:
      • Re:  The lady with cancer that ended up with a crushed vertabrae.  It is easy to say in hind sight that it was obvious that she had cancer, but the truth is that the average client that comes in to see chiropractors or physiotherapists or RMT’s have already seen their family physician.  The average GP is so used to seeing low back pain that the last thing they might think of is cancer.  It is true that further down the line, the cancer might be discovered after further diagnosis and worsening of symptoms.  But often that discovery is after several misdiagnoses by General Practitioner’s (GP’s) about  the cause of the back pain.   A misdiagnosis by a GP does not mean that all doctors are incompetent frauds and a misdiagnosis by a chiropractor does not make him a charlatan.  (RMT’s have it easy, we’re not allowed to diagnose).  If the “investigation” pointed the finger at the chiropractor, it should also point the finger at the other medical professionals that misdiagnosed her back pain.
      • Re: the total lack of assessment done on the man that was first assessed and diagnosed by the orthopedic surgeon.    My question is if the man went in for his initial visit or if he went in for a free consultation.  In a free consultation, no assessments are done and the primary goal is to convince the patient to come in again for a paid initial visit.  In an initial visit with any chiropractor I have ever worked with, a minimum 30 minute thorough assessment is done.  It should also be noted that while an orthopedic surgeon may give a very thorough assessment, I have never received a full assessment by a GP.  Regardless, if that visit was in fact a paid initial visit it was incompetent, insufficient and irresponsible.
    • Here are my concerns about the LBC:
      • They should never advertise an 80% success rate.  That is misleading advertising, and especially dangerous when there isn’t research to back it up
      • They should have never said “virtually no side effects”.  Though technically allowable, it is not consistent with the professional standards of chiropractic.
      • The product is way overpriced as well.  $5000 for a treatment they could have included in their treatment with an RMT, chiropractor or physiotherapist?
      • The College of Chiropractors has a code of ethics which restricts these types of business practises.  Why did they let this happen?

  • Alternative Health Care at Your Neighbourhood Cuban Clinic

    Policlinico Guanabo - alternative health care in Cuba
    Policlinico Guanabo

    The following is based on interviews on January 6, 2009 with some of the staff at the Policlinico Guanabo, a state-funded physiotherapy clinic in Guanabo, a town 15km east of Havana.  Treatment at the clinic, as in all Cuban health care facilities, is free of charge to Cubans.

    After visiting the acupuncture ward at a Cuban hospital a few days earlier, I was curious how health care was provided in other environments. At the community level, the Policlinico Guanabo provides for all the health care needs of the town of Guanabo and its environs. There is a full range of medical personnel including a physiotherapy ward.

    The physiotherapist was named Reinier. He was 27 years old and licensed in physiotherapy after completion of a 5 year program.   He was also licensed in acupuncture after taking a specialization course.  He headed the department and worked primarily with electronic therapeutic devices such as laser, magnetic gamma, ultra sound, Hivamat, as well as acupuncture. The machines were all very new, in good condition and surprisingly sleek and modern, in contrast to the clinic’s rustic appearance.

    Reinier, Cuban physiotherapist
    Reinier

    Servilio was licensed in “cultura fisica” which literally translates to “physical culture”. I imagine that it means something similar to kinesiology. He is the graduate of a 3 year program with a specialization in rehabilitation. While Reinier works primarily with electronic therapeutic devices, Servilio does almost all of his work manually. He was 54 years old with 25 years of experience. He particularly enjoys working with children and was extremely proud to say that in his career, he has helped more than 15 handicapped children learn to walk. This was inspirational, but even more surprising was that the process only took a year on average. He has also helped 30 handicapped adults learn to walk. I loved how content he was in telling me this. How wonderful it must be to say that the thing they love most of their work or the thing that they are most proud of is that they helped 50 handicapped people learn to walk.

    Servilio

    Servilio has a standard education in cultura fisica, but he has taken courses, lectures and workshops in a wide variety of modalities. He has branched out his approach into quite a few alternative healing modalities which he regularly incorporates into his treatments. His treatments can contain any combination of massage, tai chi, reflexology, qi gong, acupressure, shiatsu, reiki, chakra healing, ear acupuncture, yoga, william technique, pilates and su jo.

    In Canada these therapies are not uncommon, but you would almost never find them in a state run physiotherapy clinic. You would also never find these courses, workshops or treatments offered free of charge. These alternative therapies are strictly operated on a for profit basis outside of Canada’s government run medical system. We have access to natural healing but only if we can afford $20 a group session or $100 for a treatment. Unfortunately, this usually means that much of the market for alternative therapy in Canada choose it only after the western medical system fails them. There is a strong growing movement of people that are adopting alternative health care as a personal preference, but wouldn’t it be grand if we didn’t have to make a choice? What if the Cuban system could be adopted to other western countries and we received prescriptions for yoga, acupuncture, massage or Aspirin from our family doctor?

  • Facial Exercise Helps You Look Younger

    These simple exercises can help you look younger. They are a completely natural way to tone and firm up the muscles that support and shape the face. When these facial muscles are well toned and firm, they lift and pull the skin tighter smoothing out wrinkles and adding body to your face. They are an excellent addition to a series of cosmetic acupuncture treatments.

    The exercises are safe if performed in private. Believe me, you do not want to do this in public, on the subway or on the street. Yes, they look a bit goofy but they are all uniquely designed to strengthen certain facial muscles that are not strengthened normally. The same way that running gives you stronger, younger looking legs, or bench presses give you a stronger pectoral muscles and lift your breasts, these exercises tone and strengthen your facial muscles making you look younger.

    The first set of facial exercises are designed to reduce eye wrinkles:

    This set of facial exercises are designed to tone and lift cheeks:

    This set of yoga facial exercises help to give you full lips:

    This last set of yoga facial exercises help to firm your neck:

  • South Philadelphia High School Hides Racist Attacks against Asian Students

    This post has absolutely nothing to do with the regular themes of my blog, but as an Asain, I feel the need to help give issues like this some visibility.  It is a story that will likely be buried by the media.  That no one will ever hear about.

    The administration of South Philadelphia High School has been hiding reports of racial violence for years.  In the past 2 years 45 attacks against Asian students have been ignored.  None of the attackers were disciplined.  During an attack on December 9 2009, 7 Asian students ended up in the hospital.  In protest, 50 Asian students staged a 7 day boycott.  Even more unbelievably, 19 of the protesters were suspended and 14 were transferred to other schools.

    A formal investigation was launched recently headed by retired judge James Giles.  There have been numerous complaints from the witnesses interviewed that their testimony was cut short or the facts manipulated.

    The original article can be found here.

    Some news coverage here:

  • Eddie Izzard, the Marathon Man. Part 2

    Here is the second episode of the series. I’m still amazed by this man. It is hard to believe that he just decided to do this out of the blue in the middle of his pampered life. Also surprising is how this man is tougher and more determined than anyone would ever suspect. It was almost painful to watch the soap opera of his toes, blisters and cramps but then to see him skip across finish line after finish line with a smile on his face was truly impressive.

    His progress was quite good. His first marathon, he clocked in at 10 hours after stopping to look at geese, get ice cream, chat with the locals and enjoy the scenery. For his last marathon, the victory lap back into London, where it all started, he made the 26.2 miles in a respectable 5 hours. This test of human endurance and human spirit ended up being a training program: from the couch to a 5 hour marathon in 2 months. Remember that the 5 hour time was after completing 43 marathons in 51 days. I’m sure that after some real rest and recuperation he could shave off considerable time. You can literally see in episodes 1 and 2, which trace his progress from marathon 1 to marathon XX how solid and strong his muscles were becoming, how his face was slimming and how his beer belly was shrinking day after day. The Eddy Izzard on the last day of the marathon was quite different from the Eddy Izzard from the first.

    Here is episode 2 in 6 parts. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Beware the show does have some foul language.  You can find episode 1 here.

    Part 1

    Part 2

    Part 3

    Part 4

    Part 5

    Part 6

  • Eddie Izzard, the Marathon Man

    In North America, Eddie Izzard isn’t exactly a household name, but in the UK he’s a bit of a legend.  A stand-up comic that can still sell out Radio City Music Hall for 4 nights, the 47 year old not only has staying power but is still growing professionally.  I had seen a few of his bits on Youtube and was looking for another when I came across a slew of articles on his try at running.   As he is portly with a sedentary lifestyle, I would’ve been impressed if he ran a marathon or half marathon, but it turns out he didn’t just run a marathon, he ran 43 marathons in 51 days.  That is something that most elite athletes couldn’t even dream of doing.  The average runner might only do 1 or 2 marathons a year and spend the rest of the time training, but Eddie who hadn’t really run since he was a kid, spent only 5 weeks of training before he set out on his mammoth task.  Oh, and in the process, he raised $400,000 for Sports Relief.  Truly inspirational.

    Here are some articles and videos:

    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23744688-eddie-izzard-on-becoming-a-marathon-man.do

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1213682/Eddie-Izzard-completes-mega-seven-week-marathon-blisters-blisters.html

    Here is a youtube clip of the first episode from the documentary series on the run. There is some colourful language, consider yourself warned. Be sure to watch episode 2.

    Part 1

    Part 2

    Part 3

    Part 4

    Part 5

    Part 6