Plantar fascitis, a condition that affects more than 2 million Americans, is the medical term for pain in the heel. While "fascitis" implies an inflammatory process, studies have proven this entity to be a degenerative process, where overuse causes the breakdown of the plantar fascia, a supportive band of fibers in the bottom of the foot.  Heel spurs are formed by the body when the plantar fascia is chronically injured.

Conventional therapy for plantar fascitis or heel spurs includes anti-inflammatory drugs, orthotics, stretching, cortisone injections, and surgery.   While these treatments may offer benefit to some, many who suffer from plantar fascitis will develop chronic pain.

You may have seen advertisements for a sound wave therapy treatment for plantar fascitis and heel spurs. This treatment, costing from $2000 - $3000, is thought to provide pain relief by breaking up the heel spur.  But does it work?

No, it does not, according to Australian researchers who studied 160 patients. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the researchers proved the sound wave therapy no more effective than a placebo treatment. 

So, what is a heel pain sufferer to do?  Prolotherapy has the unique ability to stimulate the immune system to rebuild the plantar fascia.  Additionally, many cases of heel pain are not from bone spurs, and may result from defects in the arch.  If you suffer from heel pain, contact Dr. Greenberg to see if prolotherapy can help you. For more information, please see the prolotherapy web page and video.
 

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Use of Aromatherapy Found to Have Calming Effect 
on Alzheimer's Patients 

Alzheimer's disease causes a slow death to the brain.  In its early stages, forgetfulness is apparent, but often overlooked by family members.  The disease can progress over a number of years, causing confusion, isolation, and agitation.  The pain from this disease process strikes not only the afflicted, but also the family and caretakers, as the demented individual loses independence, relying solely on others. 

Agitated Alzheimer's patients are traditionally treated with antipsychotic medicines, tranquilizers, and by physical restraints.  The side effects from these therapies can be drastic.

A report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry indicates that it may be possible to calm agitated dementia patients and improve their quality of life with aromatherapy -- a simple treatment, free of side effects.  Over 70 patients were entered into the study to receive either placebo oil or the essential oil Melissa, placed on the face and hands.

Quality of life improved significantly among those receiving Melissa essential oil aromatherapy, with less time spent socially withdrawn and more time spent in constructive activity.  Additionally, there were no reported adverse reactions of the aromatherapy treatment.  Such results seem to indicate that Melissa aromatherapy can be offered as a safer, yet effective alternative to psychotropic medication in patients with severe dementia.

We have found aromatherapy to be an effective tool in treating a number of other conditions as well, such as infections, stress, pain, and even high blood pressure

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As you are probably aware, chelation therapy for vascular disease is under attack in the state of New Jersey. However, we believe that the current standard selection of medications, angioplasty, and surgery present significant risk to a patient's health, and chelation should be offered as an alternative.  While there are many proposed mechanisms to explain how chelation works, it is quite evident that the combination of EDTA with vitamin C serves as a one-two antioxidant punch. Numerous scientific studies have concluded that free radical damage contributes to vascular disease. Therefore, antioxidant treatments such as chelation therapy can plausibly help to reduce circulatory damage.

There are many potent antioxidant treatments,  such as chelation therapy, that may offer a safer alternative to drugs, angioplasty, and bypass surgery.  Recently, in Mayo Clinic proceedings, an antioxidant known as glutathione was tested in patients suffering from peripheral vascular disease, a disease that limits circulation to the legs and feet, causing cramping, pain, and an inability to walk long distances.

In this study, 40 patients were randomized to receive intravenous infusions of glutathione or saline, twice daily for five days.  Over the course of the study, those who received intravenous glutathione were able to walk twice their initial walking distance, while  those in the placebo group showed no improvement.  Furthermore, following treadmill exercise testing, blood flow in the glutathione group was three times greater than that of the placebo group.  The researchers concluded that antioxidant treatment is beneficial to those who suffer from vascular disease.

If you believe in the power of antioxidants, chelation therapy, and health freedom, please contact your local state senator and inform him or her that you would like a choice in health care.  For more information on the status of chelation therapy in New Jersey, please visit the www.faim.org web site. 

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Breast cancer is always foremost in women's health issues.  The disease not only can be life-threatening, but also can have psychological effects and a negative impact on a patient’s self-image.   A significant number of breast cancer sufferers will seek alternative therapies, one of the most common being the use of green tea.

Researchers at M.D. Anderson Hospital in Texas have taken green tea to the lab bench, evaluating its effects. These scientists have validated that the green tea extract, epigallocate chin-3 gallate (EGCG) can act to prevent a very important step in tumor growth known as angiogenesis.  Rapidly dividing tumors can only grow when provided with an adequate blood-vessel supply. Cancer cells signal the process of angiogenesis to form new blood vessels, providing nourishment for the tumor, while stealing nutrients from the rest of the body. 

In human breast cancer cells, it was found that green tea inhibits vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a major factor of angiogenesis.  Many pharmaceutical companies are attempting to develop angiogenesis inhibitors, and other agents such as shark cartilage have been promoted, but not proven to inhibit cancer growth.  The impeding of angiogenesis may be the very reason why green tea can help in both the treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

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Last year, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showed the combination of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 can reduce the redevelopment of plaque, known as restenosis, in patients who undergo angioplasty by a whopping 48% over six months.  While this information has not yet been incorporated into the "standard of care," its impact on pubic health is monumental. 

A follow-up to this study was published in a recent issue of JAMA.  This study not only tracked those who had angioplasty, but also those who had heart bypass surgery.  After one year, it was determined that taking the B vitamins reduced the development of plaque by 38% over one year, concluding that the vitamin combination not only delayed the onset of plaque formation, but prevented it from forming. 

Folic acid, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 are thought to prevent plaque formation by lowering the levels of a protein known as homocysteine. Besides being implicated in heart attacks, homocysteine can contribute to miscarriages, strokes and Alzheimer's disease.  If you or a family member has had any of the above-mentioned conditions, we urge you to have your homocysteine level checked, an ideal reading being under 10 mg/dl.

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