The Dr. Oz Show
Airdate: March 14, 2012
5 Controversial Solutions To Your Biggest Complaints
- Chiropractic treatment for back pain
- Does HCG really help with weight-loss?
- Magnetic therapy for depression
- Is fibromyalgia a real disease?
- Can wine really help with stress?
Are they snake oil salesmen or alternative health care providers with real solutions? Chiropractors and magnetic therapy for complaints such as chronic pain, weight-loss, and depression. Dr. Oz discusses controversial solutions to the most common complaints he hears from patients and viewers.
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Dr. Oz: Controversial Solution for Back Pain
Surgery is the most expensive option for treating chronic back pain. Over 500,000 American's undergo back surgery each year to relieve chronic pain, says Dr. Oz, but, those surgeries have a 50% failure rate with a high possibility of nerve damage that can lead to even more pain. Are surgeons too quick to result to surgery for back pain issues?
Dr. Oz says he has a personal connection to this problem. Many doctors end their career early due to back pain. He has back pain himself and says, as a surgeon, he is against surgery for back pain. The best anecdote is time, he says, for nearly all pain issues.
Dr. Oz: Stretching and Strengthening to Alleviate Back Pain
Average back pain will respond better to physical therapy, than it will to surgery, says Dr. Oz. There are
exercises that can help the body heal and patients often need instruction in how to do these exercises. Physical therapists are trained to marry the right exercise to help a patient in their unique situation. With the right combination of stretching and strengthening, he says, people may see better results.
Dr. Oz: Chiropractic Care to Alleviate Back Pain
Can chiropractic care be a viable solution for back pain? Chiropractors have been dismissed by many in western medicine as unproven and ineffective. If you talk to the 60% of back pain sufferers who use chiropractic care, you'll get a different answer.
Dr. Oz says chiropractic care may be worth a try because so many people say they get great benefit. Dr. Steven Shoshany, DC, is a practicing chiropractor who says that pain pain killers don't address the root cause of pain; they only mask the symptoms.
During back pain, nerves become irritated. Chiropractic care deals with the positioning of bones and nerves and joints to remove the imbalances that interfere with how the body functions. Dr. Shoshany says chiropractic care is safe and effective.
With many loud cracks and pops, Dr. Shoshany adjusted an audience volunteer who has been experiencing back pain for over a year and a half. She said the adjustment felt really good [despite the sounds to the contrary!]
People suffering from back pain need to remember to exercise, get proper hydration daily, and get up and move more often throughout the day. We are a sedentary nation which contributes to bad posture. Activity and being mindful of good posture can reduce strain on the back.
Dr. Oz also recommends using the supplements glucosamine and chondroiten, in addition to physical therapy for back pain. He says when stretching the pained area, remember to stretch the surrounding muscles as well as the opposite area – if the right side hurts be sure to stretch the left side too.
Dr. Oz: Controversial Solution for Weight-Loss
An episode of The Dr. Oz Show airing last season featured the weight-loss “miracle” HCG. Since that show aired, Dr. Oz says he has never heard the end of the controversy. Hands down, he say, this was his most controversial show ever.
HCG is a hormone produced during pregnancy that has been utilized in weight-loss programs. Eating a restricted calorie diet combined with injections of the HCG hormone has resulted in people experiencing tremendous weight-loss in a short period of time. Science says it doesn't work.
The FDA has banned the homeopathic, or liquid drop, form of HCG saying it is potentially dangerous. One side of the HCG debate say its use is unethical and provides results that cannot and most often are not maintained. The other side of HCG says it's an easy way to loose a lot of weight in a short time.
Dr. Craig Primack, MD, obesity specialist of the Scottsdale Weight Loss Center, is against HCG saying that 25% of patients at his weight-loss center used HCG, losing an average of 30 then gained back that amount and more. They turn to Dr. Primack to help them lose weight and keep it off.
Dr. Lionel Bissoon, [cellulite treatment specialist and author of The Cellulite Cure], says there should be more scientific tests on HCG however he believes there are scientific methods in place the can demonstrate HCG works. Dr. Bissoon prescribes HCG to his patients.
One aspect of the controversy surrounding HCG is calorie restriction with patients not feeling hungry. To demonstrate what 500 calories a day looks like, the amount required while on HCG therapy, Dr. Oz laid out one day's worth of food.
- Breakfast is a cup coffee.
- Mid-morning snack is one apple.
- Lunch is a small piece of protein and some greens.
- Afternoon snack is two pieces of Melba toast.
- Dinner is the same as lunch, a small piece of protein and greens.
- It's all topped off with an evening snack of another apple.
Dr. Sheri Emma, prescribes HCG in her practice and says people using the drops at home are seeing a loss of muscle and not fat which sets them up to gain back all the weight.
To clarify, Dr. Oz says that injectable HCG is touted to burn fat cells in the areas of the body that holds the most fat without muscle loss. On the previous Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Oz challenged doctors to explain how HCG works. Today, Dr. Oz says, there is new, raw data that will be shared for the first time.
In the study, half of the participants were injected with HCG and the other half were injected with a saline solution. Both groups ate the same amount of restricted calories, 500, and both had results.
Participants on HCG lost a total of 13 pounds, 11 pounds of fat and 2 pounds of muscle. The placebo group was given a salt water injection and lost 15 pounds, 10 pounds of fat and 5 pounds of muscle.
Dr. Bissoon says this study looked at only a small group and further studies need to be conducted with larger groups. He gave the example that one person in the small study weighed 77 pounds more than anyone else in the saline group which contributed to a larger amount of weight loss.
Dr. Oz's bottom line on HCG is that the drops don't work; don't buy them. There is no scientific proof that injections work and he feels there should be more studies conducted because so many people are seeking this treatment. Finally, he says, no diet should be undertaken that requires eating less than 1,200 calories a day unless under guided medical supervision.
People trying HCG need to understand that they are part of an experiment and, Dr. Oz believes, data from those patients should be collected, shared and studied so that everyone can benefit from the information.
Dr. Oz: Controversial Solution for Fibromyalgia
Tired? Worn out? Overcome by unexplained illness? Are these symptom of depression or of a real disease? Fibromyalgia is a mysterious syndrome of symptoms that effects mostly women. It's hard to diagnose and even harder to treat. No test exists to diagnose it and there is no standard of treatment.
Over 6 millions American's suffer from fibromyalgia, 80% of them are women, and are faced with the question, is fibromyalgia real? Dr. Oz says it is very real.
Dr. Holly Phillips, medical and health contributor for CBS, says is shocked by how frequently fibromyalgia shows up in patients. Some patients have pain in specific areas everyday, others have pain that is in a different part of the body each day. Main tender points are the back of head, between the shoulder blades, the chest and inner thighs.
Dr. Oz showed an image of a fibromyalgia patient's brain with blue colors indicating areas of reduced blood flow. People with fibromyalgia also experience other parts of their brain turning off. Fibromyalgia patients, across the board, experience this lack of blood flow which can better explain the pain they experience in varying areas of the body along with exhaustion, memory issues, and brain fog.
Having this new data opens a world of opportunity for those who suffer with fibromyalgia and can help relieve the shame associated with what was once a vague diagnosis.
Dr. Phillips explained options for fibromyalgia treatments:
- Over-the-counter and pharmaceutical pain relievers;
- Antidepressants to boost energy levels, not because patients necessarily have depression but the medications support fibromyalgia symptoms as well;
- The supplement D5 Ribose plays a role in metabolism and energy production; and
- Melatonin to support sleep, many fibromyalgia patients are exhausted yet can't sleep.
- Avoid wheat, dairy, and nuts.
- Reduce stress through any preferred means – music therapy, aromatherapy, etc.
[In 2010, ScienceDaily.com reported of a new criteria being proposed to base fibromyalgia diagnosis
which took into consideration both points of pain as well as fatigue, mental clarity, sleep issues, ability to participate in daily activities. This new criteria allows for more symptoms to be considered in a diagnosis score resulting in what is believed to be better treatment options. Click here to read the full article, New Criteria Proposed for Diagnosing Fibromyalgia, published on ScienceDaily.com.]
Dr. Oz: Controversial Solution for Depression
Can energy waves treat depression? Magnetic therapy is an emerging non-invasive treatment to treat depression. Susanne says she went through 20 therapists and every depression-related pharmaceutical known to medicine without any help; until she found magnetic therapy.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, or TMS, utilizes pulse mag therapy to get rid of depression. Is this hype or revolutionary?
Dr. Oz showed a brain tissue sample brain pointing out the prefrontal cortex which regulates moods and connects to the rest of brain. The prefrontal cortex is often called the eyes of the emotional system.
Dr. Tarique Perera, [founded Contemporary Care of Connecticut, where] he practices TMS treatment, explains that a focused magnetic field activates the area of brain that is responsibility for depression. This is the first biological way to treat the brain; Dr. Perera likens it to how Dr. Oz is able to treat the heart.
Susanne shares that after her third week of treatment, she felt like dark cloud lifted. She tears up telling that at dinner, during that time, her son said to her husband that she was a new person. Hearing that from her son made all the difference.
Dr. Oz showed an animation of magnets placed on the brain. Waves of energy go to the prefrontal cortex and moves around the ions that are located in the neurons and gets them talking to each other. Blood flow is then increased stimulating the neuro-pathways that allows the brain to communicate between its different parts.
Dr. Perera demonstrated the process on Susanne. He first determines positioning of the magnets by sending waves through to brain to find the area of brain responsible for moving the thumb. This involuntary movement shows that the magnets are in the correct region. How much the thumb moves tells the level of energy dose emitted, which can be changed as needed. From there, the computer finds the frontal cortex and delivers magnetic pulses.
Susanne says the waves feel like tapping on the head no pain. It sounded like the woodpeckers that tap on the trees in my yard.
Dr. Perera says patients are treated everyday, 5 days a week, from 3-6 weeks until the patient is completely well. The FDA approved the TMS device 3 years ago and treatment is spreading across country. The greatest limitation, right now, is insurance coverage. Insurance companies will sometimes cover the treatment but, will only do so after the fact. No dollar figures on treatment was provided.
Dr. Oz: Controversial Solution for Stress
One day we hear that drinking red wine is good for us and the next day it's reported to be bad. Can red wine really help to reduce stress? Dr. Oz says the benefit exists, it all depends on how you use it, how much you drink.
Ask yourself, are you hard-wired for stress? Always moving, always coping with stress, dealing with stress, juggling responsibility throughout the day every day? That's called being hard-wired for stress.
People who are hard-wired for stress, says Dr. Oz, can support stress reduction by drinking one glass of wine. That second glass of wine will bring back all that stress. So what does one glass of wind look like? Some folks have some pretty big wine glasses or just opt for a pint glass!
Dr. Oz poured and the audience voted audibly on how much wine equals one glass, or one serving. Dr. Oz says one glass of wine should be no more than 5 ounces. The audience amount was measured at about 10 ounces!
Rules for drinking wine:
- Stick with one 5 ounce glass;
- Drink with friends; and
- Always drink with food.
If you're not already drinking or don't already like to drink a glass of wine, Dr. Oz says don't start just because you think it may be healthy. There are other ways to support health.
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