Our Newsletter! Phone: (715) 877 2880 Mickelson - Christmas 2005 Isaiah 9:6 Unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Dear Friends and Family, Please excuse the politically incorrect opening to our ‘holiday’ letter, but we are taking the chance of offending some of you by beginning with the words of a Jewish prophet, Isaiah, written some 2400 years ago, foretelling of the birth of a child who was to be the Savior of the world. The birth of that child, Jesus, is the reason for the season. We realize that this version may differ slightly from what you may have heard on the Simpsons, South Park, or the evening news. Last year we got rushed and didn’t send out a letter, thanks to all of you that sent us one anyway. It has been an interesting year in Lake Wobegone... oops I mean Fall Creek. Heather is home from Bolivia and has been back home with us since December 15. We are planning on enjoying her compay for the next 6 months before she goes back to Santa Cruz. This summer we spent 10 days in Santa Cruz, Bolivia with Heather visiting orphanages and providing Chiropractic care with her. At a street home for girls called El Jordon, Cindy spent several days teaching some quilting techniques and connecting with the young ladies who came there to learn life skills. Cindy is busy in the office and at home holding true to the saying, a women’s work is never done. She is very much appreciated by her husband and children and patients. Steve is also busy in the office (and helping out at home occasionally) and with his other hobbies: Golf, flying, and his latest foray, deer hunting (with Todd). Kayleen, our senior in high school, is active in school (a stellar student and leader) and deciding on a college to attend next year. Lindsey, our freshmen in high school, is continuing with voice lessons, was in a musical, and is excited about Heather being home. She is still totally into country music. We also have a foreign exchange student living with us named Mariam. She is from Sucre, Bolivia. She is learning English (and Japanese) and is getting used to the snow and cold, which she had never experienced. Todd and Nicole and the twins, Teagan, and Madeline, 18 months, are all doing well. The little girls are so much fun and growing and learning so fast. They have started a new adventure as Todd is now selling real estate for ReMax in Chetek. We took the enclosed picture the day Heather got home from Bolivia. Lutefisk, our cute little Dachshund, is up against Lindsey’s black sweater. Love to all of you and have a Merry Christmas, The Mickelsons Dr. Steve speaks with students at job fair in Augusta. Students from Fall Creek, Altoona, Osseo, and Augusta attended a job fair at the Augusta Community Center on Thursday December 1, 2005. Many of them stopped by the Fall Creek Chiropractic booth and visited with Dr. Steve. Dr. Steve was impressed with the good questions and interest shown by all students. Many of those attending got funny pens with wobble heads and suction cups. Unfortunately the supply ran out. If you were a student who didn't get one, stop by the office in Fall Creek or Email us at DrSteve@fcchiro.com and we will send you one. Thanks to all for stopping by. 30 Years of Service It seems like Yesterday that we opened our little office in Fall Creek. But now it has been 30 years. We have grown to love this small community and think of it as our home. We have made so many wonderful friends and seen so many wonderful patients over the years. The exciting part is that we feel like we are just getting warmed up. We have learned so much in the last couple of years that we are excited to be able to help more and more people with new, more efficient chirorpactic techniques.. Guess who showed up on halloween at our office. Chiropractic Helps Child With Seizures - A Case Study In the Volume 6, No. 3, 2005 issue of the peer reviewed Journal of Clinical Chiropractic Pediatrics is a scientifically reported case study of an infant suffering from seizures who was helped by chiropractic. The child in this case study was a 5 month old boy who, according to his parents, cried continuously, slept minimally, and experienced up to 8 seizures per day. Additionally, the child recently had surgery to close sutures on the left side of his head. The mother also noted that her son had a constant head tilt to the left and could not rotate his head and neck to the right. The chiropractic examination on the child was difficult as it was noted that the infant was in severe distress and cried during the entire procedure. However, it was determined that there were problems (subluxations) in various areas of the neck, mid back and lower spine. Regular chiropractic adjustments were started and continued for several weeks, followed by periodic follow ups. The outcome of the care was immediately positive as the number of seizures started decreasing after the first adjustment. Several weeks into the care the child seemed to have a regression for one day as he experienced five seizures in that day. However, following this episode he was seizure free for the next week. This was the first week of his life that he was seizure free. By the sixth week of care the child`s life had been drastically changed for the better. He was having no seizures between adjustments, he was sleeping all night and he was eating properly for a child his age. The case study noted that these improvements represented a significant improvement to the child`s quality of life. The author of the study, Nancy Brown, D.C., notes that each year approximately 150,000 children and adolescents have a seizure. She points out that seizures are a sudden onset of abnormal electrical discharges within the brain. She further points out that the medical approach is to medicate in order to suppress the abnormal electrical impulses. However, she points out that there is no way to suppress the abnormal impulses without suppressing the normal ones which would be needed for normal function and development. She states, "A chiropractic approach may therefore be of more benefit as it will correct the abnormal impulses not just suppress them." Recent Study Names Chiropractic Care As Being Most Effective In a study published recently, June 2005,in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Patients suffering from severe neurological diseases and experiencing pain in the back, leg, shoulder, neck, buttock and hip, feet, arms, and hands reported the most significant relief with Chiropractic treatment. Quoting the article, no treatment appeared to be effective for all participants, and some of the treatments reported as most effective, for example, chiropractic care, was not utilized by as many in the group”. Chiropractic is a valuable treatment for severe and chronic pain. All of the other treatments utilized, drugs, nerve blocks, muscle relaxants, all have serious and potentially deadly side effects on top of the fact that they are not as effective. An experience Chiropractor with a background in neurology can be your best source for care in chronic conditions. However, even more important, is the aspect of Chiropractic care to prevent and maintain your current good health. Dr. Steven Mickelson is a Board Eligible Chiropractic Neurologist with 30 years of experience in the practice of Chiropractic. Chiropractic neurology marries the biomechanic/orthopedic aspect of chiropractic care with the latest techniques of assessment and rehabilitation of the central nervous system. The result is a model of diagnosis and care that incorporates all of the patient’s symptoms into one complete treatment plan. This is accomplished via an intimate knowledge of clinical/physiologic neurology as well as pathologic neurology and how the different systems (visual, olfactory, proprioception, etc.) can afferentate (stimulate) the central nervous system specifically (for rehabilitation purposes) and how the central nervous system can affect function of any or all of these systems in turn. Introducing Generation Rx (As seen in our newsleter) by Donald M. Petersen Jr., BS, HCD (hc), FICC (h) An annual national study of teen drug abuse commissioned by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America reports the disturbing move by U.S. teens toward prescription drugs as their choice for drug abuse.1,2 The 25-page report (available at www.drugfree.org3) reveals that Vicodin, OxyContin, Ritalin/Adderall, and cough medicine are tried more often by teens abusing drugs than cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, heroin and most other street drugs. Only marijuana and inhalants have been tried more often than this list of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. The numbers are a bit frightening. Almost one out of every five teenagers has used a prescription painkiller to get "high." Approximately one in 11 has used an OTC medication such as cough syrup. According to the survey, this is what our youth are taking: • Vicodin - 18% of those polled said they have abused this drug at least once. Vicodin is one of several opioids or narcotics used to treat pain. They give the abuser a rush similar to heroin. • OxyContin - 10% of teens have abused this drug. OxyContin is another opiod painkiller. • Ritalin/Adderall - 10% of teens have abused these drugs, which are stimulants used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). • OTC cough medicines - 9% of teens have abused cough medications, many of which contain the drug dextromethorphan or "DXM." When taken in larger-than-recommended doses, DXM causes a range of hallucinogenic effects. One reason America's teens are turning to the prescription drugs is their assumed safety. If their medical doctor readily prescribes them, how harmful can they be? Another reason has to be accessibility. Buying drugs off the street from someone you don't know has some pretty obvious risks. Raiding your mother's medicine cabinet has the appearance of greater safety. But at the end of the day, drug abuse is still drug abuse. Only these days, it isn't a Columbian cartel or an underground meth lab. The people producing the drugs our children are abusing are the same drug manufacturers that spend billions of dollars each year, convincing consumers that their drugs are the answer to any and all ailments. Take another look at the numbers. If you have five teenage patients, chances are at least one of them is abusing prescription or OTC drugs. If you have five parents of teenagers, the problems may be going on right under their noses. The parents (or their children) may be "misplacing" medications, and the parents might not even realize what is happening. The chiropractic profession has stood alone against the drug industries and the why cope, take dope attitudes that is so prevalent in our country. We need to stand up and let our voices be heard when it comes to over medicating and over prescribing drugs that can be easily abused. We owe it to our children and their children to make this a safer world by changing the perception that our problems can be solve by more and more expensive drugs. There is a natural, drug free way to health that more and more people are using . It is called chiropractic and it works! References 1. The Partnership Attitude Tracking Survey (PATS): Teens 2004. Released April 21, 2005. Conducted by Roper Public Affairs and Media for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America; a survey of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. Total sample: 7,314 teenagers nationwide. 2. Generation Rx: National Study Reveals New Category of Substance Abuse Emerging: Teens Abusing Rx and OTC Medications Intentionally to Get High. Synopsis of findings from the PATS 2004 Study. 3. The survey and the synopsis of findings (references 1 and 2, respectively) are available on the Partnership for a Drug-Free America Web site (www.drugfree.org).