https://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/2000.cfm ** Feel free to use this article on your website. Compliments from Functional Medicine University . ** Read my past articles: http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/public/department88.cfm ===================== View Rick Bramos Fitness YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x4I27Z0DfYkfcroXxAhcA/videos Here is Rick's New Video of the Week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W__EwtXJkyY Rick is now offering phone consultations for those wanting to lose weight or simply to improve their fitness. Rick can be reached at 2days2fitness@gmail.com for more details. ===================== ATTENTION DOCTORS AND ALL HEALTHCARE PRACTITIONERS Tell your friends and colleagues about Clinical Rounds. This is a great introduction to the field of functional medicine. Here is the webpage to subscribe: http://www.clinicalrounds.com Take care, Ron P.S. Please visit our facebook page and "Like It" Of course if you really like it. :) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Functional-Medicine-University/161486170671332

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic gut-brain disorder that can cause a variety of uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain and diarrhea, constipation, or a mix of the two. IBS can reduce quality of life, often results in missed school or work, and can have a substantial economic impact.

Opioids are the one of the most prescribed pain-relief for people with low back and neck pain. In Australia, around 40 percent of people with low back and neck pain who present to their GP and 70 percent of people with low back pain who visit a hospital emergency department are prescribed opioids such as oxycodone. But our new study, published today in the Lancet medical journal, found opioids do not relieve "acute" low back or neck pain (lasting up to 12 weeks) and can result in worse pain. Prescribing opioids for low back and neck pain can also cause harms ranging from common side effects – such as nausea, constipation and dizziness – to misuse, dependency, poisoning, and death. Our findings show opioids should not be recommended for acute low back pain or neck pain. A change in prescribing for low back pain and neck pain is urgently needed in Australia and globally to reduce opioid-related harms. Comparing opioids to a placebo In our trial, we randomly allocated 347 people with acute low back pain and neck pain to take either an opioid (oxycodone plus naloxone) or placebo (a tablet that looked the same but had no active ingredients).  Oxycodone is an opioid pain medicine which can be given orally. Naloxone, an opioid-reversal drug, reduces the severity of constipation while not disrupting the pain relieving effects of oxycodone. Participants took the opioid or placebo for a maximum of six weeks. People in the both groups also received education and advice from their treating doctor. This could be, for example, advice on returning to their normal activities and avoiding bed rest. We assessed their outcomes over a one-year period. What did we find? After six weeks of treatment, taking opioids did not result in better pain relief compared to the placebo. Nor were there benefits to other outcomes such as physical function, quality of life, recovery time, or work absenteeism. More people in the group treated with opioids experienced nausea, constipation, and dizziness than in the placebo group. Results at one year highlight the potential long-term harm of opioids even with short-term use. Compared to the placebo group, people in the opioid group experienced slightly worse pain, and reported a higher risk of opioid misuse (problems with their thinking, mood or behavior, or using opioids differently from how the medicines were prescribed). More people in the opioid group reported pain at one year: 66 people compared to 50 in the placebo group. What will this mean for opioid prescribing? In recent years, international low back pain guidelines have shifted the focus of treatment from drug to non-drug treatment due to evidence of limited treatment benefits and concern of medication-related harm. For acute low back pain, guidelines recommend patient education and advice, and if required, anti-inflammatory pain medicines such as ibuprofen. Opioids are recommended only when other treatments haven't worked or aren't appropriate. Guidelines for neck pain similarly discourage the use of opioids. Our latest research clearly demonstrates the benefits of opioids do not outweigh possible harms in people with acute low back pain and neck pain. Instead of advising opioid use for these conditions in selected circumstances, opioids should be discouraged without qualification. Change is possible Complex problems such as opioid use need smart solutions, and another study we recently conducted provides convincing data opioid prescribing can be successfully reduced. The study involved four hospital emergency departments, 269 clinicians and 4,625 patients with low back pain. The intervention comprised of: clinician education about evidence-based management of low back pain patient education using posters and handouts to highlight the benefits and harms of opioids providing heat packs and anti-inflammatory pain medicines as alternative pain-management treatments fast-tracking referrals to outpatient clinics to avoid long waiting lists audits and feedback to clinicians on information about opioid prescribing rates. This intervention reduced opioid prescribing from 63 percent to 51 percent of low back pain presentations. The reduction was sustained for 30 months. Key to this successful approach is that we worked with clinicians to develop suitable pain-management treatments without opioids that were feasible in their setting. More work is needed to evaluate this and other interventions aimed at reducing opioid prescribing in other settings including GP clinics. A nuanced approach is often necessary to avoid causing unintended consequences in reducing opioid use. If people with low back pain or neck pain are using opioids, especially at higher doses over an extended period of time, it's important they seek advice from their doctor or pharmacist before stopping these medicines to avoid unwanted effects when the medicines are abruptly stopped. Our research provides compelling evidence opioids have a limited role in the management of acute low back and neck pain. The challenge is getting this new information to clinicians and the general public, and to implement this evidence into practice.

The Amazing Benefits of Olive Oil (Be Aware of Fake Olive Oil) | Functional Medicine University - The Leader in Online Training in Functional Diagnostic Medicine

By CELL PRESS

by Holly Lookabaugh-Deur, PT, DSc, GCS Undetected Post Concussion Symptoms In Older Adults Over the years, I have treated many older patients following a fall or fracture, and a recent case is a prime inspiration for this article. The importance of treating the WHOLE person and advocating for yourself and those you love is so very important. My story is about an 84-year-old woman who lives alone, fell changing a light bulb, and fractured her hip. Following surgery, she struggled ...