The official blog of Mitchell Yass, PT and PT2. http://www.mitchellyass.com/ en-us Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/10 FACT: The number one area in which healthcare dollars are being spent is in the diagnosis and treatment of pain. FACT: 100 billion dollars alone is spent a year relating to neck and back pain. There is no other area of the healthcare industry where more people are being treated. FACT: It is estimated that 75 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. In the next ten years the number is expected to double to 150 million. FACT: This alarming rise in the number of people suffering from chronic pain is the result of just one factor pivotal to proper treatment: achieving the right diagnosis. THE EXISTING SCENARIO: When suffering from pain, a person enters the medical system to determine the cause. If one is in back pain, they might see an orthopedist, a neurologist, a chiropractor, a physical therapist or even an acupuncturist or nutritionist. The problem is that each one of these medical practitioners nearly always focuses on just their specialty and fails to perform what is known as a differential diagnosis to prove the exact cause of pain and rule out all of other issues that might cause pain. Thus, diagnostic tests such as x-rays or MRIs are taken, and present abnormal findings such as herniated discs, arthritis, stenosis or meniscal tears. These findings become the diagnosis for the pain and the bases of a treatment protocol. The treatment typically includes medications such as anti-Inflammatories, muscle relaxants, addictive narcotic pain killers, epidural nerve blocks and if all else fails, surgery. The surgery is performed not because a differential diagnosis indicated this was the proper procedure to resolve the pain but because nothing else worked. The individual is given the option of surgery or a life of pain. THE PROBLEM: Studies have confirmed that the findings being found on x-rays and MRIs have no correlation to the pain being experienced. As many people with absolutely no pain have the very same findings as those with pain. Thus, there is no way that a medical practitioner should be able to say that the findings such as herniated discs, stenosis or arthritis are causing pain just because they show up on x-rays or MRIs. The studies are clearly indicating that the diagnoses being established in this manner are false. THE RESOLUTION: It lies in the discovery and solution created by New York-based physical therapist, Mitchell Yass. The proof? The thousands of people he has freed from pain indefinitely by identifying the true cause of their pain. Yass has kept scores of patients from undergoing unnecessary surgeries and and taking addictive medications. He has proved that in nearly all cases, the true cause of pain is the result of muscle weakness or imbalance, not a structural abnormality. Yass steadfastly believes that the health care crisis can be averted by simply stopping the unnecessary diagnostic tests, medications, surgeries and physician's visits associated with the treatment of pain. CASE STUDIES: One patient Yass is treating right now exemplifies the flaws of the medical system when it comes to treating pain. In 2003, this young man was playing soccer when he went to kick a ball and had to raise his leg higher than anticipated because an opponent kicked him. He experienced pain at the right gluteal region and was soon told it was a fracture of the pelvis and that it just needed to heal. Time passed and the pain did not resolve. He went to various medical practitioners; none of whom were able to help resolve his pain. The pain continued to intensify. He found it harder to stand on the right leg which made him lean to the other side. This continued for years. He eventually began experiencing back pain, and then neck pain. Then his jaw began to hurt and he was told he had TMJ. He was given a bite plate. The pain throughout his whole body was so severe that at night he was biting through the bite plate and waking up with plastic in his mouth. His mother saw Yass on a local talk show and booked an appointment. During the initial evaluation his mother revealed that a neurologist told her son that his pain was in his head. Within minutes, Yass established that his pain was due to a strained muscle in the gluteal region and hip region. This was why he couldn't stand up correctly and everything had spiraled from there. Today, after just a few treatments, this patient is almost pain-free and sees a light at the end of the tunnel. His mother has been terrified that he would take too much of the pain killers he became dependent on. Now, her fears are alleviated. This is our healthcare crisis: six years of pain and improper treatment for something that could be resolved in just a few months. Another patient of Yass' is a woman with sciatic systems that she has had for over a year and a half. She has been told the cause is a herniated disc and has seen several medical practitioners with no reduction in symptoms. Her doctors suggested surgery. The pain is so bad that she only leaves her house to go to and from work. She has developed panic attacks out of fearing that if she is out and pain increases, she won't be able to handle it. Now that she is under Yass' care, her pain will be completely resolved in a few weeks. Sciatica is the result of a muscle that strained and impinges on the sciatic nerve. It is and never will be the result of a herniated disc. The surgery she was anticipating would have failed and she would most likely have searched for an answer, in pain, for years. She is our healthcare crisis. Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:30:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/9 Another sad story of a superstar addicted to prescription pain killers. It is thought that Michael Jackson's use of morphine and Demerol may have played a role in his death. Last week, Regis Philbin discussed his need for cortisone shots every five weeks just to control the intensity of his lower back pain. Wake up America! If such high-profile personalities are unable to get the proper treatment to identify the cause of their pain and resolve it, then what chance do you have? Pain medication is the medical establishment's answer to an individual suffering with chronic pain. I am here to tell you that in most cases chronic pain is nothing more than misdiagnosed acute pain. Diagnoses are typically created through x-rays and MRIs. Yet, studies are increasingly showing that exams of as many people without pain present reflect the same findings (such as herniated discs, stenosis, arthritis and meniscal tears) as those with pain symptoms. The conclusion of these studies is that there is very little correlation between the diagnostic findings and pain. This should be a red flag to the medical establishment - but instead the same, flawed system for establishing the cause of pain continues. I am a physical therapist and employ a different method for identifying the cause of pain. I have resolved the cause of pain for thousands of patients. Every cause creates certain symptoms and every set of symptoms represents a specific cause. By understanding this premise and by performing a complete evaluation, I have been able to identify the cause of pain recognizing that the diagnostic findings of arthritis or herniated discs may simply show that these entities exist but have nothing to do with the pain being experienced. In 90% to 95% of the patients I have treated, the cause of the pain was muscle weakness or imbalance. Even when the pain was experienced in a joint, this was due to misalignment of the joint surfaces creating abnormal rubbing and pain. The arthritis found at the joint through an x-ray had nothing to do with causing the pain. Any treatment protocol designed to address arthritis, herniated discs, stenosis or meniscal tears when the symptoms do not identify these entities as the cause of pain, are destined to fail. This premise presents a scenario where different medications can be utilized to resolve pain starting with anti-inflammatories to muscle relaxants and finally pain killers. Surgeries are performed routinely because "nothing else worked". This is not the way the system is designed to operate. Treatment protocols should be designed based on a full understanding of what is causing pain. How many more people have to die or have their lives ruined due to a lack of understanding of the cause of pain. Someone has to stand up to the medical establishment and say the system is broken. The healthcare crisis is the result of too many people being kept in a system with no answers for treating pain. The answer is identifying the cause of pain and then treating the cause. I have proven that in most cases the cause of pain is muscle weakness including strains or muscle imbalance. Understanding this as the cause with a legitimate means of resolving pain in a short period of time without the use of pain medication will change the culture of the medical establishment and allow people to receive the treatment they need. Thu, 2 Jul 2009 02:39:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/11 Another sad story of a superstar addicted to prescription pain killers. It is thought that Michael Jackson’s use of morphine and Demerol may have played a role in his death. Last week, Regis Philbin discussed his need for cortisone shots every five weeks just to control the intensity of his lower back pain. Wake up America! If such high-profile personalities are unable to get the proper treatment to identify the cause of their pain and resolve it, then what chance do you have? Pain medication is the medical establishment’s answer to an individual suffering with chronic pain. I am here to tell you that in most cases chronic pain is nothing more than misdiagnosed acute pain. Diagnoses are typically created through x-rays and MRIs. Yet, studies are increasingly showing that exams of as many people without pain present reflect the same findings (such as herniated discs, stenosis, arthritis and meniscal tears) as those with pain symptoms. The conclusion of these studies is that there is very little correlation between the diagnostic findings and pain. This should be a red flag to the medical establishment - but instead the same, flawed system for establishing the cause of pain continues. I am a physical therapist and employ a different method for identifying the cause of pain. I have resolved the cause of pain for thousands of patients. Every cause creates certain symptoms and every set of symptoms represents a specific cause. By understanding this premise and by performing a complete evaluation, I have been able to identify the cause of pain recognizing that the diagnostic findings of arthritis or herniated discs may simply show that these entities exist but have nothing to do with the pain being experienced. In 90% to 95% of the patients I have treated, the cause of the pain was muscle weakness or imbalance. Even when the pain was experienced in a joint, this was due to misalignment of the joint surfaces creating abnormal rubbing and pain. The arthritis found at the joint through an x-ray had nothing to do with causing the pain. Any treatment protocol designed to address arthritis, herniated discs, stenosis or meniscal tears when the symptoms do not identify these entities as the cause of pain, are destined to fail. This premise presents a scenario where different medications can be utilized to resolve pain starting with anti-inflammatories to muscle relaxants and finally pain killers. Surgeries are performed routinely because “nothing else worked”. This is not the way the system is designed to operate. Treatment protocols should be designed based on a full understanding of what is causing pain. How many more people have to die or have their lives ruined due to a lack of understanding of the cause of pain. Someone has to stand up to the medical establishment and say the system is broken. The healthcare crisis is the result of too many people being kept in a system with no answers for treating pain. The answer is identifying the cause of pain and then treating the cause. I have proven that in most cases the cause of pain is muscle weakness including strains or muscle imbalance. Understanding this as the cause with a legitimate means of resolving pain in a short period of time without the use of pain medication will change the culture of the medical establishment and allow people to receive the treatment they need. Wed, 1 Jul 2009 18:33:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/8 Today President Obama spoke to the American Medical Association about how to solve the health care crisis. Discussions about updating medical records technology and reducing the costs of medicine by pressuring groups to negotiate, continue to lead in this frantic attempt to curb the escalating costs of America's healthcare system. Debates about limiting malpractice awards and other cost cutting attempts do little in comparison to the one issue that would resolve the crisis almost single handedly: eliminating the unnecessary diagnostic tests, medications, surgeries and physician's visits associated with the treatment of pain. Pain is an epidemic in America. It currently affects the lives of more than 75 million people and that number is estimated to double in the next 10 years. 20 billion dollars alone is spent each year on pain medication. 1.2 million back surgeries are performed each year. 980,000 knee surgeries are performed each year. Costs associated with pain account for the largest segment of heathcare dollars being spent. This unnecessary and wasted expense is the result of a lack of understanding of the cause of pain. Studies continue to show that there is no correlation between MRI findings and the incidence of pain. Findings reveal that more people are having more intense pain for longer periods of time. Physicians openly discuss their lack of ability to address pain, yet continue to practice as if they were achieving high levels of success. I have proven that the cause of pain in most cases is muscle weakness or imbalance, including muscle strains. I have stopped thousands of people from undergoing unnecessary surgeries and taking medications that could never have resolved the cause of their pain. I have proven that in most cases, chronic pain was the result of improperly diagnosed acute pain. The majority of diagnostic tests, medications, surgeries and physician visits are unnecessary. Eliminating these unnecessary costs from the money being spent through healthcare, could free up hundreds of billions of dollars to provide healthcare insurance for those without it. A call for an examination of this wasteful spending must be requested of politicians before any decision is made about how to alter the existing healthcare system. Allowing individuals with absolutely no healthcare experience to make decisions about how this system should work is dangerous and irresponsible. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:19:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/7 In the July/August 2009 issue of AARP, the magazine, a story called "the back story" was presented. It discusses the writer's quandary in dealing with their lower back pain. It is mentioned that in bending to tie his shoes, this created severe lower back pain. A discussion ensued about the extensive research that was performed to understand how such a simply act could create such severe pain. The result of the writer's research concluded that the cause of their pain was due to a degenerative disc. In fact, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons stated that 90 percent of herniated discs can be effectively treated with conservative therapies such as limited bed rest, exercise, and anti-inflammatory medications. Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:07:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/3 If you are over the age of sixty I am sure you have seen your physician for some ache or pain you have noticed slowly growing in your neck back or other joint. An x-ray is performed and you are diagnosed with arthritis. If your complaint is at your hip or shoulder a cursory evaluation may provide you the diagnosis of bursitis or tendonitis. With the diagnosis in hand an anti-inflammatory is prescribed and you are told this should resolve the problem. Wed, 13 May 2009 17:09:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/2 *Put The Curves Back Where They Belong* In my twelve-year career as a physical therapist and personal trainer, I am still amazed about the lack of understanding women have regarding strength training. Women are still not aware that strength training builds muscles that result in a subsequent increase in metabolic rate. This causes the body to increase its fat burning to create the energy necessary for the increased metabolic rate. This is the missing component to every diet regiment. Without this, dieting alone will not work. Then there are the fears that if I do work out, I am going to get big and muscular like a man. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Women are not aware that strength training can build bone density. It is not necessary for postmenopausal women to take hormone replacement therapy to prevent hip fractures and other bone abnormalities. Strength training affects every part of the body besides the muscular system including the cardiovascular system, pulmonary system, gastrointestinal system, immune system and even affects your brain chemistry. Tue, 12 May 2009 00:10:00 -0800 Mitchell Yass, PT http://www.mitchellyass.com/blog/1 As a physical therapist and fitness enthusiast, I am often asked questions regarding the best ways to maintain and achieve proper fitness. Recently, I was queried about the 30 minute workout facilities that have sprung up on every corner of every city boasting that this is the most efficient way to gain strength and lose weight. The target for this claim has been women. To my surprise, some inventive individuals have decided to now target men with locations specially designed for men. The whole catch to these facilities is that you need only 30 minutes to complete a full body workout. Sun, 10 May 2009 13:19:00 -0800