Straight Shot Health Talk

New Report Says Up To 25% of ALL American’s Have Arthritis!!!! Give me a break. This isn’t a catastrophe or even something to be significantly concerned about…unless you don’t understand pain.  

A video for this episode is available at straightshothealth.com  

Healthcare providers go to conferences for continuing education and one of the biggest topics now is the prescription opioid epidemic. Yet these conferences, usually labeled as ‘pain conferences,’ RARELY (if ever) focus on pain. Instead, they talk around pain (addiction, medical treatments for addiction, how to write opioids and put patients on ‘medication agreements.’) But they...Read More »

Note:  See straightshothealth.com for triangle diagrams of acute vs. chronic pain. Our healthcare system loves to talk about ‘acute’ pain and ‘chronic’ pain like they’re completely different things. But guess what?  They aren’t. What’s different is how the components that create pain are put together. Understanding this is critical (especially for healthcare providers).    

Firewood is used to start a fire but you wouldn’t take a piece of firewood and try to roast a marshmallow over it.  Unfortunately, in medicine, we commonly mistake the ‘firewood of pain’ AS PAIN. And if you think that causes some problems… you’re right!

A few notes for this episode:  1)  There’s a visual of the ‘Pain Triangle’ available at Straightshothealth.com.  2)  I get…passionate…when talking about pain and when I’m passionate I talk fast.  3)  The first 8 minutes of this episode are in ‘mono (one speaker).’  The rest of the episode is in ‘stereo (both speakers).  Why?  I...Read More »

A little while back I attended a pain workshop put on by my friend, Howard Schubiner, M.D. In the workshop, Howard presented (& taught) his approach towards treating his chronic pain patients. An approach Howard has used for years to help his patients become well. Well. Not ‘managed.‘ And when I say, ‘well’ we’re not...Read More »

What if you had severe back pain for six years but couldn’t explain why?  And what if what you thought or were told about pain didn’t add up or make sense? Well, our guest had those personal experiences and guess what he did? He got his Ph.D. and started producing some of the best, most...Read More »

  Today’s guest on Straight Shot Health Talk is Dr. Janna Friedly. Dr. Friedly is a Rehabilitation Medicine specialist and an amazing researcher with a special interest in the treatment of back pain. Her publications on back pain and back pain treatments are some of the best around…and generate a fair amount of controversy. Probably...Read More »

  Pain Killers, Profit, & Pain. A massive mess of misinformation and misfortune.

  Healthcare is dysfunctional. That’s a given and (almost) everyone recognizes this. But what’s it like on the inside and what does it do to those who work within the system? (And why are so many physicians killing themselves?) Links:  Ideal Medical Care Articles by Dr. Wible on KevinMD

We sleep roughly 1/3 of our lives. Yet why is it that something that should be so easy can be so hard? And does it matter? (Hint:  Yes) An interview with Sleep Specialist,  Dr. Jess Payne. Links:  Somni Jessica Payne, Ph.D.

Quick Warning:  This episode has some great (and important) information in here.  It does have a few *gasp* four letter words. If you’re easily (very easily) offended, you might consider not listening to this episode. However, I wouldn’t recommend it. This is, truly, one of the most important concepts to ‘get’ if you want to...Read More »

Pseudoaddiction is a term used in “Pain Medicine” quite a bit…. Widely published, talked about, and even taught to other physicians the impact of pseudoaddiction is felt everywhere in the pain world. But how did pseudoaddiction become so ingrained in the chronic pain paradigm?  And how much evidence supports it? Would you believe… virtually none? Andrew...Read More »

A quick update on Straight Shot Health. (No, we’re not going anywhere and good things are coming!)

Atrial Fibrillation is the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm. Basically, if you have it, your heart beats like a drunken drummer, and it puts you at risk of having a stroke (blood clot in the brain). Treatments recommendations generally are to drug it or shock it (i.e. get your heart to play ‘in...Read More »

There are five beliefs you need to have in order to improve your health. However, these beliefs aren’t just for your health…They’re for your life as well. What are they? Well here are the first three: 1) Do you believe in (& want) the result? The result being something like weight loss, running 3 miles,...Read More »

If you’ve been listening to Straight Shot Health Talk for any amount of time you know that eating right and exercise are two of the Fundamental Four for wellness. Most of us also know that being “in shape” feels better than being “out of shape.” Still we struggle to get started. Often we say it’s because we’re...Read More »

My mother is one of the healthiest people I know.   She stays active and moves daily. She pays attention to what she eats. She has a strong social life with friends and family (good relationships are important for health). Most of the time, we see eye-to-eye on health and wellness.  I often hold her...Read More »

What does the future of healthcare hold? Is it bleak or promising? Will you be able to get the care you need when you’re sick? Will you have to choose between affordability and satisfaction? Will it help you when you’re sick or, better yet, keep you healthy to begin with?   Or will ‘bandaids’ be...Read More »