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Functional Medicine & Chiropractic In Treatment of Concussions
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Concussions are a form of traumatic injury to the head accompanied by temporary impairment of brain function. This kind of damage is often referred to as mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or mild head injury (MHI) and is one of the most common kinds of external damage in the head and neck region.

In 2013, about 2.8 million traumatic brain injury-related visits to the emergency department took place in the United States. Modern studies reveal that the most common mechanisms of TBI are:
- Road traffic accidents
- Falls
- A hit by or against a certain object
Roughly speaking, all concussions can be divided into two major groups: sports-related and not related to sports. Although the treatment in both cases is roughly universal, patients who had received a sport-related concussion often worry about how quickly they would be able to return to their training sessions, games and tournaments. A major part of the functional treatment of TBI is in explaining the importance of complete recovery before going back to physical activities: this is crucial not only for the patient’s health but also for his or her optimal physical performance.

What Happens During A Concussion?

Regardless of the specific mechanism of the damage, a concussion happens when there is an abrupt and extreme change in speed. For example, when a goalkeeper is hit by a ball in the head, he receives a huge local acceleration – and the skull, being a solid structure, is the first to respond accordingly by moving in the direction of the blow.

The brain, on the other hand, is a “floating” structure suspended in cerebrovascular liquid in the skull, so it takes longer to change its direction and speed of movement. Thus, when a sudden blow to the head is received, the brain is smashed against the cranium, damaging the local soft tissues.

Similarly, when a person is driving a vehicle such as a car or bike, a sudden stop (such as due to a road accident) would cause an abrupt decrease in speed which initially affects the skull: for the next moments, the brain would be still moving in the initial direction thus hitting the skull.

The resulting symptoms from such damage may include:
- Physical: headache (both local and diffuse), nausea, vomiting, increased sensitivity to light and sound, dizziness, seeing flashes of light or blinking stars, blurred vision, tinnitus (ringing in the ears).
- Emotional and behavioral: depression, anxiety, sleepiness or insomnia, fatigue, irritability.
- Cognitive: impaired memory and concentration, feeling “slowed down” or “in a fog.”
But that’s just half of the problem. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, people who had suffered from a concussion have significantly increased risk of dying from other medical issues such as:
- Seizures – 50-fold increase in risk.
- Accidental drug poisoning – 11-fold increase in risk.
- Infections – 9-fold increase in risk.
- Pneumonia – 6-fold increase in risk.
This is why a holistic treatment of concussions is crucial for the long-term health of each and every patient, as it should alleviate not only the initial symptoms, but prevent the development of subsequent health problems as well.

The Conventional Approach to the Treatment of Concussions

In terms of treating concussions, most doctors focus on the principle “prevent additional brain damage.” This is done mainly through the prescription of such medications as painkillers, non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (to prevent brain swelling), antibiotics (to prevent infections during the recovery period), antidepressants, and rarely diuretics (to remove excess fluid from the body). Although such an approach is viable and brings a lot of benefits, it almost completely misses the non-brain damage from a concussion, as well as delayed long-term health issues.

Granted, it’s better than nothing but it can hardly be considered an end-to-end therapy. Although this treatment is great in alleviating immediate manifestations, it does not decrease the long-term impact of the injury. In other words, the patient who chooses conventional treatment for his or her concussion might have to resort to medical care years after the injury, often unaware that the damage could have been avoided a long time ago. Luckily, different aspects of functional treatment have been proved to be successful in treating long-term outcomes of traumatic brain injury.

Functional Medicine for the Treatment of Concussions

The human brain is attached to the spinal cord, thus sudden movement of the former inevitably affects the latter. Even if the brainstem is abruptly shifted by a fraction of a millimeter, all sorts of health problems can arise in the entire body as a result of spinal root and nerve dislocation.

This is why spinal manipulation therapy (SMT), as a form of chiropractic treatment, proves to be so effective in treating traumatic events of the cervical spine, which are often accompanied by concussions. Besides improving long-term outcome, it also decreases pain, increases the range of motion, and alleviates local muscle spasm.

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Source by Ann Barter

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October 9, 2019
Customer Satisfaction Management
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General understanding of consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is the result of differences between consumer expectations and performance perceived by consumers. From the various definitions of consumer satisfaction that have been researched and defined by marketing experts, it can be concluded that customer satisfaction is a behavior response consumer in the form of after-purchase evaluation of an item or service that they feel (product performance) compared to consumer expectations.Consumer satisfaction is very dependent on the perceptions and expectations of consumers themselves. Factors that influence consumers’ perceptions and expectations when making purchases of goods or services are needs and desires felt by consumers when making purchases of goods or services, past experiences when consuming these goods or services and experiences of friends who have consume these goods or services and advertising.In a competitive environment, an indicator that can show customer satisfaction is whether the consumer will buy back and use the product in the future.

Customer needs are fulfilled is one of the factors forming Customer Satisfaction (Customer Satisfaction), in addition to other factors related to Customer Service. And this customer satisfaction is what we need to ensure the continuity of our business. Aspects that can affect customer satisfaction effectively [13], namely:

1. Warranty costs. Several companies deal with the warranty costs of their products / services through a percentage of sales. The company’s failure to give satisfaction to customers is usually because the company does not provide guarantees for the products they sell to customers.

2. Handling of complaints from customers. Statistically this is important to note, but it is often too late for companies to realize it. If complaints / claims from customers are not immediately resolved, customer defections cannot be prevented.

3. Market Share. It is a matter that must be measured and related to company performance. If the market share is measured, then the quantity is measured, not the quality of the company’s service.

4. Costs of poor quality. This can be of satisfactory value if costs for customer defect can be estimated.

5. Industry reports. There are many types and industry reports, as stated by J.D Power in Bhote, which is the report that is the fairest, most accurate, and most eagerly made by the company.Guiltinan [14] argues that one of the benefits of customer satisfaction is that it can increase customer loyalty, as shown in the figure below

Customer satisfaction is an emotional response to the evaluation of the consumption experience of a product or service. Kotler defines customer satisfaction as the level of one’s feelings after comparing the performance (or results) that he feels compared to his expectations (Kotler, Philip, and Garry Armstrong, 2005). Basically, customer satisfaction includes the difference between expectations and performance or the results obtained.

According to Kotler [1], satisfaction is feeling happy or disappointed someone who appears after comparing between perceptions or impressions of the performance or results of a product and expectations. So, satisfaction is a function of perception or impression of performance and hope. If the performance is below expectations, the customer is not satisfied. If the performance meets expectations, the customer will be satisfied. If the performance exceeds expectations, the customer will be very satisfied or happy. The key to generating customer loyalty is to provide high customer value.The relationship between customer satisfaction and loyal customers is disproportionate [2], for example, customer satisfaction is ranked on a 1-5 scale, namely:

1. Customer satisfaction at a very low level (level 1), most likely customers will move away from the company and speak ill of it.

2. Customer satisfaction at level 2 to level 4, customers feel somewhat satisfied, but it is still possible to move when a better offer appears.

3. Customer satisfaction at level 5, customers are very likely to buy back and even disseminate good news about the company.

High satisfaction or satisfaction creates an emotional bond with the brand or company and is not only fixated on reasonable choices.While satisfaction according to Kotler and Armstrong (2001: 9): Consumer satisfaction is the extent to which the assumption of product performance meets the expectations of buyers. If the product’s performance is lower than the customer’s expectations, the buyer is satisfied or very happy. According to Zeithaml and Bitner (2000: 75) the definition of satisfaction is: Consumer response or response regarding fulfillment of needs. Satisfaction is an assessment of the features or features of a product or service, or the product itself, which provides the level of consumer pleasure related to meeting consumer consumption needs. Consumer satisfaction can be created through quality, service and value.

Customer expectations are believed to have a large role in evaluating product quality (goods and services) and customer satisfaction. Customer expectations basically have a close relationship between determining quality and customer satisfaction. Customer expectation always exists because of four things (Kertajaya, 2004):
1. Individual Need or individual needs
If your customer already has high demands, then his expectations are definitely high too.
1. Word of Mouth
Customers can have certain expectations because of other people’s stories. Other people’s stories are often seen as references.
1. Past experience or past experience
People who already have good experience in the past will be able to receive services at least the same as they used to be. If not, he will be disappointed.
1. External communication or external communication
It is an attempt by the company to promise something to customers in order to attract customers.

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Source by Yufi Priyo

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October 8, 2019
How To Prevent Alcohol And Drug Addiction

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Drug addiction is a serious disorder. If not treated, it can lead to crises like loss of employment, living quarters and important relationships. And as if this weren’t enough, this kind of addiction can cause illness and even death. Drug addiction is multi-layered and has a variety of causes as well as contributing factors. With the knowledge we have today, Simplistic anti-drug campaigns, such as the “Just Say No” program back in the 1980’s, and even more complex programs like “War on Drugs” is not very effective. The reason for this is that these campaigns do not address the root causes of drug addiction but battles the symptoms not the causes of drug addiction.

When most people consider a drug addiction problem, their minds go automatically to old movies or TV-series. A junkie trembling on a street corner, selling her own body for her next fix, or a tragic, pale old man lying in a gutter with a needle in his arm, or even a college girl snorting a line of crystal meth in a frat house bathroom during a wild party. These images are powerful indeed, but drug addiction generally creeps up in a slow but determined pace. Months or years are passing, during which time the addicted person is still able to function in a job, maintain a place to live as well as keeping relationships going. A drug or alcohol addiction problem generally passes slowly through several phases. Just because someone you know has not lost everything he or she owns to drugs does not have to mean that he or she does not have a drug addiction problem.

One of the most insidious drug addiction is prescription drug addiction, followed closely by alcohol addiction. Let’s face it; we are a nation of pill poppers and alcohol beverage drinkers. Since we were children we learned that if something hurts, we should take a pill to make the pain disappear. We also see that children are being prescribed drugs such as Ritalin in increasing amounts, as parents and doctors smudge the line between active, healthy kids and kids with a true Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). All the time we are bombarded with advertising for pain relievers, sleep medication and a lot of other remedies; prescribed and over the counter. Seen from this point of view, prescription drug addiction is not hard to understand. We hardly question the doctor thoroughly about the risk of dependency on any medication, since using medicine for almost any problem is so widely accepted. It’s so easy to take the drug without question and before we know it, we may have developed a prescription drug addiction.

Alcohol addiction is almost as easy to develop for much the same reason. We live in a culture of drinking. We often go out for cocktails after work or drinking beer with friends during a sports event slowly gives way to having one, two, three, even six or eight beers every night. It feels normal to continually re-visit the bar during a night at a pub. Next thing we identify is a full-blown alcohol drug addiction.

How harsh (or maybe great) it may sound, you are the only person that can prevent alcohol or drug addiction, due to the choices or decisions you make. Although addiction is classified as a disease, it may well be one of the few diseases that people choose to get. Each drug or alcohol addicted person started their life as an addict by making a choice. You are free to make the same choice or you can choose to not allow drug addiction to be your disease. It’s your choice and whether you like it or not, it is the price you have to pay for being a human with a free will.addiction a seat in your life. It’s up to you.

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Source by David Richards

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October 8, 2019
What Is Regenerative Medicine?

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When Adrienne Shapiro’s daughter Marissa was diagnosed with sickle cell disease, the doctors said that she would not live till her first birthday. However, when Marissa managed to live past that benchmark, it did not mean the end of Adrienne’s worries. In fact, it was the beginning of many painful years of blood transfusions and immunological disorders. When an improperly matched blood transfusion caused a severe reaction leading to the removal of Marissa’s gall bladder and temporary kidney failure, she was unable to receive further blood transfusions.

However, luckily for Marissa a project sponsored by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), headed by Don Kohn, MD at UCLA, was starting a clinical trial. The objective of the project was ‘to remove bone marrow from the patient and fix the genetic defect in the blood-forming stem cells. Then those cells can be reintroduced into the patient to create a new, healthy blood system.’The success of this clinical trial has given hope to Adrienne that with the help regenerative medicine her daughter will be able to lead a healthy and pain-free life.

The Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison describes ‘Regenerative Medicine’ as ‘a new scientific and medical discipline focused on harnessing the power of stem cells and the body’s own regenerative capabilities to restore function to damaged cells, tissues and organs.’

Stem cells that are found in the umbilical cord blood of new born children have the ability to renew and regenerate themselves. A stem cell, through the process of mitosis, can divide itself to either become a specialized cell like a brain cell or muscle cell, or remain a stem cell. They are also able to repair internal damage caused by any type of disease, disorder or trauma. Stem cell transplantation, stem cell grafting and regenerative medicine are some of the ways in which these cells are used to cure disorders and illnesses.

Regenerative medicine includes a wide range of scientific disciplines, such as biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology and immunology. Scientists from these fields have been conducting research and studies in this domain and have identified three methods of using regenerative medicine. They are cellular therapies, tissue engineering and medical devices and artificial organs.

Cellular Therapies – In this method, cellular materials, in most cases adult stem cells, are extracted and stored and then injected into the site of injury, tissue damage or disease. These cells, thereafter, repair the damaged cells or regenerate new cells to replace the damaged ones.

Tissue Engineering – This method is related to the field of biomaterials development and utilizes a combination of functioning tissues, cells and scaffolds to engineer a fully functioning organ which is then implanted into the body of the receiver in place of a damaged organ or tissue.

Medical Devices and Artificial Organs – When a body organ fails, the most common method of treatment is to replace it with a donor organ. Donor organs are not easily available and can pose as a hindrance in such cases. Even if a donor is available, he or she may need to take immunosuppressant drugs before the transplant and these drugs have been known to cause side-effects. In such circumstances, medical devices that imitate the function of the failed organ can be used, instead of transplantation. An example of one such device is the ventricular assist device (VAD) that is used in place of heart transplants.

Since regenerative medicine deals with the use of stem cells, it occasionally requires embryonic stem cells for research purposes. This use of embryonic stem cells can often give rise to questions regarding ethics and legality. The laws and regulations concerning regenerative medicine are different in different countries. Creation of human embryos for research is only legally permitted in three countries. Majority of the countries only allow extraction of cells from surplus IVF embryos. A recent study, related to human embryonic stem cells (hECS) research policy, was conducted which revealed that UK, Sweden and Belgium were very permissive in authorizing the creation of human embryos for research, whereas, Luxembourg, Austria, Poland and Ireland had no laws regarding hECS. The legislations regarding hESC in most other countries range between being mildly restrictive to very restrictive.

Regenerative medicine is the future of modern medical treatments. Scientists are conducting clinical trials and studies every day to further enhance and improve in this area of medicine.

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Source by Richa Verma

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October 8, 2019
Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services

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When an entrepreneur is starting a business he or she is faced with the requirement of several functions in which they might not be experts. They may know, for example, all there is to know about wholesale distribution but have no idea how to build a website.

Since most companies are started with very limited funds, many entrepreneurs are reluctant to set money aside to pay for consulting services to fill in their knowledge gaps. For example, many create a website from the many templates available. Some are even free.

Where the company website is concerned I feel that the use of existing templates is a false economy. The website functions as an online calling card and needs to put your best foot forward. For site visitors, seeing a format that they have seen before can reflect badly on you.

The amount of time required for the entrepreneur to become proficient enough to develop a quality website takes time away from tending to functions relating to product knowledge, operations and management. Contracting with a website development company could be the solution.

Websites, to be noticed, must go through the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) process. The purpose of SEO is to improve your website’s chances of ranking high in a search. The mechanism for doing this is complex and dynamic. This again is a very specialized function that is often beyond the capability of the business owner.

There are functions which may be grouped under the heading Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services that will present the company at its best. In addition to the website and SEO examples these can include Business Strategy Planning and Business Valuation Services.

Entrepreneurship Knowledge Services is a rich term covering what one needs to know to be a successful entrepreneur. There are other issues to be considered besides knowledge however. Do you have the right temperament? Do you have enough tolerance for risk? Can you acquire the funds to be a success?

My recent experience is that the cost of business services for the self-employed is going down. One of the reasons is the quality and economy of services from Indian consultants. My experience with two firms in India has been positive. This is simply my experience, and yours can be vastly different, but I got a substantial amount of website design for about $4,000 and SEO for about $2,000.

Your reaction may be that adding $6,000 to your startup expenses is prohibitive, but by farming this out the entrepreneur should find a quicker path to profitability.

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Source by John Vinturella

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October 8, 2019