I have finally found a bit of time to update the blog. I was off to a torrid pace but the duty of work and family must take priority over my blog. However, it has given me a chance to take some notes on some interesting things I have learned over the past month.
Starting with a drug with the common side effect of spontaneous tendon rupture. In more common terms, torn muscle tendons that happen randomly for no particular reason.
The drug is ciprofloxacin, which most people known as Cipro.
The first time I heard about Cipro was as the first line response to anthrax contamination. However, it is not only used for this, as it is a drug designed to fight other bacterial infections.
Recently I had a practice member come into the office who I have known for over 8 years. Her health has been fantastic ever since she began receiving chiropractic adjustments, and had been battling a hamstring issue she attributed to either biking or horseback riding.
Approximately a month later she comes into the office and lets me know that she had detached tendons of her pelvic floor, and they were causing the discomfort.
Not only is this completely bizarre for a young healthy woman, but the doctors had no answers for her. She decided to look into the possibilities of a drug she was taking 4 months prior for a bladder infection, in this case Cipro.
Guess what the most common side effect of Cipro use is. Spontaneous tendon rupture, typically seen in the Achilles tendon. So at least in that case she was luck as this type of injury would have set her back even longer.
From WEBMD.com:
This medication may rarely cause tendon damage (e.g., tendonitis, tendon rupture) during or after treatment.
I question the comment on the rarity of this symptom, since it went undiagnosed for over month with my patient, until she found out the problem herself.
Since the spontaneous tendon rupture happens 2-3 months following the usage of Cipro, there is a very good chance a person might attribute a tendon rupture to a certain activity and not to the drug. This would only lower the reporting incidence, and as we have seen for many years, drug companies do their best to downplay any potential side effects.
This story also reminded me of an incident where a friend of mine had a very rare tendon rupture of his quadriceps muscle. The reason he came to mind is I remember him talking about stocking up on Cipro as many people were 10 years ago.
I remember that no professional had an answer to why it happened, as they had never seen a 30 year old healthy male with a spontaneous tendon rupture. I am thinking about giving him a call to ask if he had taken Cipro that year.
Dr. Graeme Gibson, D.C.Seattle Chiropractor
http://www.queenannechiro.com
Queen Anne Chiropractic Center
1905 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-8275
Filed under Pharmaceuticals by 
I feel lucky that I was able to get in so many blog posts already for 2010, as my time and energy levels have been dwindling since Maggie arrived.
I realized today that it has been a month or so since my initial Shout Out to Queen Anne Businesses, which I still intend to do on a weekly basis.
This week the Seattle business on Queen Anne Hill I want to give a shout out to is Stuhlbergs.
It seems like yesterday when Megan Stuhlberg first opened her store, but it has actually been on Upper Queen Anne since 2002. I remember this exactly, since I had just started working at Queen Anne Chiropractic Center with my family, and moved into my first condo in 2002. So, I wandered in one day, and walked out with some great pictures to hang on my wall, and an amazing leather chair that I still get compliments on.
My family exclusively shops at Stuhlbergs for wedding and baby showers, as you cannot beat the quality and unique selection of items that Megan continues to bring into her store.
The majority of the newborn clothing that Gordon received from my mother was from Stuhlbergs, and the first day Maggie was born my father arrived with a large selection of items for her from there. Gordon, to this day, still needs his special doggy blankets that we purchased a few years back.
Stuhlberg's is a store that makes living on Queen Anne great, and even if you live elsewhere in Seattle, it is worth the trip. She deserves our patronage. 
Seattle Chiropractor
http://www.queenannechiro.com
Queen Anne Chiropractic Center
1905 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-8275
Filed under queen anne by
Chiropractors have known about the connection between subluxations and blood pressure for many years, but people continue to be in prescription medications for this diagnosis. This video does a fantastic job explaining and illustrating the important connection between the nervous system, high blood pressure, and the effect a chiropractic adjustment can have in reducing the symptoms naturally.
Even though I don't always love the seeing a medical doctor giving his opinion on the effects of chiropractic, as it seems to be a way of validating or invalidating the information being presented, the M.D. does a reasonable job at be impartial and agreeing with the findings. Kudos to him.
Dr. Graeme Gibson, D.C.Seattle Chiropractor
http://www.queenannechiro.com
Queen Anne Chiropractic Center
1905 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-8275
Filed under Video by
Mike Adams, of The Natural News, is becoming one of my favorite sources for original, succinct, health articles.
This most recent article is one that broaches a variety of subjects from vaccines to personal health accountability. The 10 Biggest Health Care Lies in America, is to the point, and professes much of what every chiropractor I pay attention to has been saying for years. Many of his points are based around the tenets of chiropractic philosophy.
One of my favorites:
Lie #2) Pharmaceuticals prevent disease
The big push by Big Pharma is now focused on treating healthy people with drugs as if pharmaceuticals were nutrients that could somehow prevent disease. This is the new push with cholesterol drugs: Give 'em to everyone, whether they have high cholesterol or not!But pharmaceuticals don't prevent disease, and medications are not vitamins. Your body has no biological need for any pharmaceuticals at all. People who believe they need pharmaceuticals have simply been the victims of "fabricated consent" engineered by Big Pharma's clever advertising and P.R. spin.
I couldn't have said it better myself. The biggest question is when will we wake up and demand that the unscrupulous, dishonest, and unsafe advertising practices stop. Usually by the time we have realized the harm of most of these medications, the public attitude has already moved onto the next wonder drug. It disappoints me when these companies continue to be held unaccountable for the harm caused, as it seems the multi-million and multi-billion dollar judgments have no effect on companies that are profiting so much, that the judgments are just a cost of doing business.
It really makes me happy when someone is paying attention to this information who isn't a chiropractor, for what is right, and is speaking for what is currently the minority of people who are sticking up for our health.
Kudos again to Mike Adams.
Dr. Graeme Gibson, D.C.Seattle Chiropractor
http://www.queenannechiro.com
Queen Anne Chiropractic Center
1905 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-8275
Filed under In the News by
Boy I was going good for a while, but will have to restart the progress in the P90X Seattle Chiropractor Challange on Monday, at the earliest.
I remember being, what I recognize now, an extremely overconfident 18 year old, at home on the couch wondering why everyone doesn't take that midday 3 hour break to workout, eat, sleep, and watch television.
Fast forward to the present, being a full time chiropractor and dad, I am reminded everyday that it takes serious commitment and dedication to live a healthy lifestyle on top of the regular ever expanding duties.
With our most recent addition, it has been hard enough to find time to get into work, let alone train. However, some of the tougher obstacles are over, and this is a mere blip on the radar.
For the rest of the week I am going to work, eat when I can, and watch the rest of the playoffs in my downtime. This past weekend gave me zero rest, and a breather is in order.
Pause It!
Dr. Graeme Gibson, D.C.Seattle Chiropractor
http://www.queenannechiro.com
Queen Anne Chiropractic Center
1905 Queen Anne Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 282-8275
Filed under Exercise by
