To Trust or Not to Trust a Professional

[Guest guest]

New to the board, I am seeing some ideas I

disagree with, one of which is that it is best to place

unquestioning trust in professionals of a particular

discipline--who may have unknowingly biased eyes.<br><br>I think

it is best to learn as much as possible about your

condition independently. The Internet, used skeptically, is

a wonderful tool. A few examples of common beliefs

that I had but now regard as wrong after much

reading:<br><br>*Anti-inflammatories are good. Not necessarily, as inflammation

is a

natural part of the healing process, increasing blood

flood to the injured area to remove debris and provide

nutrtition. [see my recent post on NSAIDS].<br><br>*Ice is

better than heat. No. Heat increases blood flow and aids

healing. Ice shuts it down (although may be necessary in

extreme situations).<br><br>*Movement is bad while

injured. Quite the contrary. As the joints have few blood

vessels, they are nourished by movement. Gentle

range-of-motion exercises are much to be preferred to

immobillization (though there are times when that is

necessary).<br><br>I am saddened to read of the pain so many of you

very young people are going through. <br><br>At 55, I

urge you not to regard the professionals you see as as

all-knowing gods. They may be superb at what they do but

there are other ways to look at joint problems. Become

an expert in your affliction. You will ask better

questions and make better choices. <br><br>My own doctors,

for example, an orthopedic surgeon and an

rheumatologist, are pioneers in a non-surgical alternative

approach to joint dysfunction called prolo-therapy. They

have done wonders for a severe low back problem

(another highly respected doctor wanted to do spinal

surgery. I am so lucky an unusally good chiropractor, who

couldn't help me, referred me to my current

doctors.)<br><br>My prolo-therapy doctor team is now tackling level

II chondromalacia in a knee.<br><br>I will post

results. It will take some weeks.<br><br>A general book on

prolo-therapy, Prolo Your Pain Away, by Ross Hauser, MD, with a

preface by C. Everett Koop, former surgeon general, is

very informative. It changed my views on many joint

issues and convinced me to give prolo-therapy a try. You

may read reviews on Amazon.com.<br><br>Tom<br>CA