What do you think?

We x-rayed his neck to see what the biomechanics looked like, and it clearly showed the neck was doing everything possible to get stress off the back portion of the discs, where the swelling was greatest. 

In severe pain with discs highly acute

Reduced disc swelling now allows the patient to assume an improved postural position with much less pain.

John Drabik, senior at Colonie High School near Albany, N.Y., shown here after coming in second in the nationals held at the Armory in New York City this past weekend.  John excels in the 55 meter run.

John has had difficulties in the past with shin splints and hamstring pulls, but has dedicated himself to biomechanical improvements and hard work, thus leading to this tremendous achievement.  Great job John!

Her treatment is ibuprofen, an over the counter anti-inflammatory.  The ortho who recommended it said he now knew the problem (MRI showed bulging discs) and that in most cases, her discs will heal and she only needs the ibuprofen to help reduce inflammation along the way.

The flaw in this story is that no one, at any point, asked “Why does an 18 year old girl have 2 bulging discs in her low back?”.  If this question were asked, then the biomechanics of the athlete would have to be considered, as the cause of the disc injuries is a biomechanical cause.  Unfortunately, most docs out there are totally unfamiliar with biomechanics (norms and abnormals) and therefore, would only show their ignorance if they ever asked the question.  Also, in our “I haven’t got time for the pain” society we live in, ibuprofen and “it will heal on it’s own” is the solution we’d all want to hear.

What disturbs me is, this girl doesn’t understand how long life is, and that at her present state, this is the best she’ll ever be unless she’s willing to begin the process of “fixing” this condition.  Which takes work.  It takes time.  There are ups and downs, but great improvement lies ahead for those willing to fix their problems rather than mask them.

It always goes back to the same thing; our healthcare crisis in this country will never be fixed as long as our healthcare providers stay nearsighted.  We need to stop making healthcare a profit industry for many, and make it a guide book to a longer and better life for the individual who wants to participate and be proactive. 

When that day arrives, this girl will have a chance at a better and more active future, and the crisis we now know will begin it’s long journey back to “healthy”.

Unfortunately, this approach is short sighted, as the causes of these injuries are rarely addressed, making a recurrence highly probable. 

There recently was a report on the internet that listed 11 ways to slash your healthcare expenses.  With great interest, I printed the report out to learn what pearls of wisdom would be listed.

I’ve wondered if our government can ever spearhead a movement that will actually “fix” the broken healthcare system, as those who are consulting and recommending are actually a big part of the problem.  We don’t have a broken healthcare system, we have a healthcare system set up for profit, not health. 

The laws for health have never changed.  Sleep well, eat well, exercise, help others, have good energy and good spirit.  Somewhere along the way, pharmaceuticals and crisis care took the steering wheel, and here we are, $2.3 trillion a year.

In order to “fix” the problem, we must rid the roundtable of consultants who are looking for profit rather than solutions.  We must promote the “alternatives”, such as massage, nutrition, accupuncture, chiropractic, etc.  Or any other “effort” that makes sense.

Taking drugs as a primary treatment never makes sense.  Drugs should be a last resort.  But, the consultants to the “system” write prescriptions.  They don’t know what the alternatives can do.  We need the alternative people to be the consultants.  We need the public to get more active and to begin pro-actively getting involved in their health. 

The 11 steps to slashing healthcare costs never mentioned anything to do with getting healthier.  They all had to do with money and health insurance issues.  The answer cannot get away from people getting healthier.  We’re a country of lazy, comfortable people who don’t know the laws of health.

This blog could go on forever.  So, I’ll stop here, and continue sometime in the near future.  Thanks for stopping, and please kick into helping out to change the way business is being done.

We exceeded 100 runners, and for a first time race, and one taking place the day before the famed Boilermaker, this was a great success.

The goal for the YMCA–to get more people active, family oriented and enjoying the beauties around us.  The goal for Structural Management–to raise the awareness of sports biomechanics, and to let everyone know that their life will be influenced by the biomechanical work they do, or don’t do.  Not only the injuries they will deal with today, but the speed of the degeneration in their bodies in years to come.

I then went to the Induction ceremonies yesterday afternoon of 3 new inductees into the Road Racing Hall of Fame.  As an introduction, Larry Rausen called up on stage Nina Kuscik and Katherine Switzer.  These 2 women, through persistence and passion, were instrumental in forcing the IOC to ultimately include women’s racing into the Olympics, starting with the 1984 women’s marathon.

This gives me hope that the mission of Structural Management, as slow as it seems to be moving at times, will one day make sports biomechanics as readily available as pharmaceuticals and surgeries are. 

We carry on.

My position; the industry wants me, and all others, to follow the guidelines of The American Academy of Radiology, which governs what and when to x-ray.  The major flaw in this situation is that we, all Drs., are only supposed to take x-rays when we suspect disease.  As in pathology.  As in bone tumors. 

This narrowed vision eliminates all possibilities for x-raying and understanding biomechanical issues.  Now, for those who haven’t read my work or listened to my message, I’m once again loudly saying, each and every human being has a unique set of biomechanics, and the standing x-ray is the number one tool to determine what those findings are.  These findings will allow the trained eye to develop a corrective program, which will then reduce the likelihood of injuries and defer, to some degree, the onset of osteoarthritis.

This would save society billions of dollars.  Every year.  Not to mention the quality of life.  So, you may ask, why isn’t it being done?  We live with a medical model health care industry, which waits for you to break, only treats the site of injury, and only sets as it’s goal the elimination of symptoms.  This is like sweeping the dirt under the carpet.  Eventually, the floor underneath rots out, and the future is defined.

So, these two other articles talk about why chiropractors are preferred when examinations are done for low back pain, as we look for all kinds of things, and the only way we can look for these all kinds of things is with x-rays.  On every patient.  The next article writes about a chiropractor who was negligent in the care of a young man, as he never took the necessary x-rays to determine the details of his injury.  The case settled for $125,000. prior to the trial.

And these are the two latest endorsements for my proclamation; everyone would do well to be fully examined, including at least 4 standing biomechanical x-rays, at some point in their lifetime.  Especially if they want a clearer understanding of what to do to preserve their structure over the course of their future.

That usually includes just about everyone.  Thanks.

While Bill was here, visiting from Boston, I’d hoped he could meet my dad, Will Maggs, who continues to work full time at the age of 84.  Yes, Bill Rodgers is a legend in this country and has won Boston 4 times and New York 4 times, but I wanted Bill to meet my father more than I wanted my father to meet Bill.

Values, respect, discipline, caring.  This is what my father has taught me.  Bill, although successful by everyone’s standards, has not yet reached the success level of my father.  So, it didn’t happen this time, but hopefully will happen next time.  Bill will be a better person if he gets to know my dad.

And, I’m blessed to call Will my dad.  May I do half as much good in my life as he has in his.  But, Bill, thanks so much for coming.  In time, you, too, will be the best.  But, it’s because of your love for your daughters in addition to your running.  Once they reach a certain age, they, too, will realize what a great dad you’ve been. 

And, once you turn 84, you’ll have the priviledge of being the best dad in the world.  I’m sure your daughters will agree.