The Activator Methods technique has been used in chiropractic care for over 40 years, and has helped thousands of people improve spinal health and enjoy a healthier lifestyle without drugs or surgery. The technique was introduced in the late 1960s, and is a systematic, low-intensity approach for restoring spinal balance.
If you suffer from frequent migraines, upper or lower back pain, or have poor posture, your chiropractic doctor may use Activator Methods to restore spinal health and functioning. Here’s a close look at how the Activator Methods technique is used in chiropractic treatments, and the different types of benefits it offers.
What is the Activator Technique?
The Activator Technique was designed to address spinal joint dysfunction. If you are experiencing headaches, anxiety, depression or other health problems associated with the nervous system, your spine may not be aligned properly. Spinal dysfunction can also be the primary cause of back pain, leg pain, and problems with your circulation.
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If you’re suffering from back pain, neck pain or spinal problems, your chiropractor may use the diversified technique as part of the treatment. The diversified technique is the most commonly used chiropractic treatment; it involves the manipulation and adjustment of the spinal column. Your chiropractic doctor will use a low amplitude thrust to adjust the spine and correct any joint dysfunction, and it continues to be one of the most effective treatments for patients of all ages and health histories. Here’s a close look at how the diversified technique works:
Key Characteristics of the Diversified Technique
The diversified technique is applied very quickly and usually results in a ‘popping’ sound as the spine and joints are pushed back into alignment. It is one of the most widely used forms of manipulation in the chiropractic field, and consists solely of manual adjustments – no tools or devices are used to perform the adjustment, and you will only feel the sensation of the chiropractor’s hands throughout the treatment process.
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If you have a BMI of 30 or above, you may be a good candidate for weight loss surgery, otherwise known as bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery is often a last resort for obese or extremely overweight individuals who are not able to achieve weight loss with diet and exercise alone. Today’s innovative bariatric surgery procedures allow a surgeon to ‘shrink’ the stomach so that less food can be consumed and absorbed at any given time. Some of today’s most popular bariatric surgery procedures include gastric bypass surgery, gastric banding and lapband surgery.
Bariatric Surgery – What Are the Options?
The American Society for Bariatric Surgery defines two main types of weight loss surgery: restrictive and malabsorptive. Restrictive procedures are designed to create a feeling of fullness immediately after meals, naturally decreasing food intake or the desire for food. Malabsorptive procedures reduce the amount of food the body can naturally absorb; these types of procedures involve intercepting the natural digestion and absorption process so that the body simply cannot take in more calories.
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While your food choices will be limited after a gastric bypass procedure, you do have some options during the recovery and maintenance phases.
Bariatric surgery alters the shape and size of the stomach pouch, and many foods you enjoyed before the procedure will no longer be appropriate for your new body. Most doctors recommend you don’t eat anything for at least 48 hours after surgery, and you will slowly introduce pureed and soft foods for up to a month after that.
If you’ve recently had a gastric bypass procedure or are planning for treatment, here are the foods and eating habits to introduce into your daily routine:
Foods to Eat After Weight Loss Surgery
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Pureed foods right after surgery. Pureed food is especially important right after weight loss surgery when your stomach is particularly sensitive. Pureed foods require very little effort to digest and can be absorbed easily. Your bariatric surgeon may recommend a strictly pureed food diet for up to four weeks after surgery, so start stocking up on recipes and brands of baby food that suit your palate.
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Option 5: Mesotherapy continued…
While a reported 5,000 U.S. doctors now offer mesotherapy for cellulite (since it uses pre-approved medicines; the treatment doesn’t require FDA approval), a recent report published in the journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery cautions physicians not to experiment with this treatment until more is known. The report also questions the safety of the drugs when used in the injected cocktails, and questions their power to dissolve cellulite. Also of concern is what happens to the fat that melts — and whether it may end up in the liver.
In an accompanying editorial, Rod J. Rohrich, MD, a plastic surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas writes: “It is mind boggling to think that a physician would inject patients — or that patients would allow [it] — with unknown, unproven substances based on hearsay and unsubstantiated clinical findings.”
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3 experts take a look at the latest treatments (continued)
Option 3: Light Devices continued…
Katz, who tested the device, says: “It works by first cooling the skin so the laser can penetrate deep without harming the top layer, then a combination of suction and laser beams treat the cellulite.”
He says the device works because it increases circulation on a cellular level, removing fluids and putting pressure on fat cells, while the suction aspect loosens the septa bands to diminish the dimpling effect.
In a study presented by Kathryn Frew, MD, at the 2004 annual meeting of the European Academy of Dermatology, the TriActive laser removed cellulite in 83% of patients. So far, a three-month follow-up has shown that the results last. TriActive is a nonmedical device, and is available in both doctor’s offices and skin care centers.
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3 experts take a look at the latest treatments
Option 1: Creams and Lotions continued…
“Caffeine creams work great to pull fluids out of the spaces between cells and induce lipolysis — fat burning in the layer just below the skin’s surface,” says Newburger.
In a study published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery in 1999, researchers found that methylxanthine creams reduced fat cells in skin, with visible results in about eight weeks. The higher the concentration of methylxanthine, the better the cream worked.
Newburger says a good delivery system to drive the creams into the cells, like liposome technology, is also important.
Among the hottest-selling caffeine cellulite creams are Neutrogena’s Anti-Cellulite Treatment (about $18.49 for 5 ounces) and CelluSculpt Anti-Cellulite Slimming Treatment by Avon (about $16 for 6.7 ounces).
Option 2: The Cellulite Diet
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Perhaps nothing is cuter than a pair of dimples accentuating your smile. But it’s not so cute when dimples turn up on your thighs, buttocks, tummy, and upper arm.
The problem is cellulite, fatty deposits of dimpled skin that can appear on even the most fabulously thin body.
“That’s because cellulite is not a fat problem, it’s a skin problem. It has nothing to do with what you weigh, or how much weight you lose,” says Hollywood dermatologist Howard Murad, MD, author of The Cellulite Solution.
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LISA MORRISON has always considered herself a pillar of health. She ate only organic food, exercised often and meditated. The only glitch in her otherwise exemplary existence was the pack of Marlboros that she had inhaled daily since age 18.
By the time Ms. Morrison, now 50, went to see Dr. Vincent Giampapa, a board-certified plastic surgeon in Montclair, N.J., she had tried everything to quit for the sake of her health. ”Acupuncture, the patch, hypnosis,” she said. ”Nothing worked.”
Nothing, that is, until 2007, when Dr. Giampapa told her she would have to toss her beloved cigarettes if she wanted a neck- and eye-lift. ”The doctor strongly suggested that if I wanted to heal properly I needed to quit,” Ms. Morrison said. ”When you start talking about your face, it becomes motivating.”
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SEVERAL dozen would-be cosmetic-surgery patients gathered at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan recently to hear a lecture on the latest procedures by a prominent plastic surgeon.
But the surgeon, Dr. Gerald Pitman spent the first 20 minutes of his talk trying to discourage the audience from having cosmetic operations in the first place.
”Ask yourself ‘Can you avoid it?’ ” Dr. Pitman said to the audience last month. ”What kind of lifestyle changes can you make?”
Dr. Pitman often asks the same questions during initial consultations with patients at his Upper East Side office, to find out whether they have tried diet and exercise to improve satisfaction with their appearance before choosing surgery.
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