Medical

weSPARK is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients and their families and friends.  As part of our mission, this summer weSPARK is tickled to announce that a fun program is scheduled for July.  Shelley Winsor, personal stylist, and our own Lenora Gutierrez, make-up artist, will be coming in to address fashion and beauty tips. 

With an increasing number of individuals living into the eighth and ninth decades of life and beyond, factors affecting the quality of life are becoming increasingly important. 

Heel and or arch pain is one of the most common foot ailments affecting millions of people on a daily basis.  Unfortunately, this affliction is left untreated by a majority of the population, figuring that it will go away, or accepting that the pain is typical with excessive standing or walking.  Eventually, this ailment becomes chronic in nature, and eventually causes other problems such as ankle, shin, knee, hip, and lower back pain due to changes in walking patterns.

What is Purification? — Purification, also known as detoxification, is merely the internal cleansing and detoxification of your body.  Think of it as spring-cleaning for your insides.  This program helps you make new, healthier choices for yourself. 

There is now a new non-surgical option!  Find out if you are a candidate for Spinal Decompression.

This new treatment for low back pain is The DRX9000™True Spinal Decompression machine.  This is a non-surgical, non-invasive procedure that was developed for the treatment of lower back pain caused by disc herniations and degenerative disc disease. 

The Cause of Back Pain – The discs in your spine provide space between each vertebrae and act as shock absorbers to give you the ability to bend and twist.  These shock absorbers undergo a significant amount of stress.  When the stress in the disc gets to high it begins to fail.  These failures are often called herniated discs and degenerative disc disease.  These changes often pinch or irritate the nerves ultimately causing pain.

Whenever I teach a course in back and neck care, someone inevitably stands up and states, “You can’t help me, I have scoliosis — my spine is curved.”  
Actually, everyone’s spine is curved, like an “S,” with two curves in (at the neck and in the lumbar area) and one curve out (at the back).  Each “in” curve is called a lordosis; the “out” curve, a kyphosis.  Scoliosis refers to a lateral curve, meaning the spine is curving to the left or right.

Think of the great things you’ve passed along to your kids: sense of humor, charm, style, wit—why, the list could go on and on, of course!

If your back hurts, you’re part of a pretty big group.  Almost 85 percent of people over age 50 have been afflicted with back pain at some time.  Pain, muscle weakness and limited activity resulting from back and neck injuries can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life and the ability to enjoy everyday activities.

More and more people are choosing “liquid lifts” instead of facelifts.  A “liquid lift” consists of using several syringes of dermal fillers (Restylane, Perlane, Juvederm, Radiesse) to increase facial volume that has been reduced over time causing loose and lax skin. 

Have you been going through physical therapy or have you been seeing your chiropractor with little or no results? Has your healthcare professional been able to see your actual spine or other problem area move? Well, maybe it is time you did.
DMX allows us to see the injury in ways you’ve never seen it before. Hidden injuries are revealed, helping us design a more effective treatment plan for our patients based on a more complete diagnosis.

Certain foods actually contribute to the development of cancer while other foods reduce the risk. Research studies consistently show that individuals with a high intake of certain foods and nutritional supplements (nutraceuticals) are significantly less likely to develop specific types of cancer. For people with a genetic tendency toward colorectal cancer, it is not just an option, it can be life saving. 

Exercise stretching, before and after exercise is just as important in body building as the exercises themselves. You’ve heard it ever since elementary school gym class that you need to warm up and stretch your muscles before you exercise or play sports and the reasons are as valid now as they were back then. The effort expended and the amounts of weight and force used during a body building workout makes it very easy to injure yourself, and it could be permanent. That should have gotten your attention.

For most of us, life is stressful.  We get caught up in our routines and mile long to-do lists.  A lot of us think, “In the future I am going to enjoy life’s ‘moments’  more often,  take better care of myself.”  Yet, life keeps throwing us curve balls and we forget to start that future life we dream about right now.  Now, add to that a cancer diagnosis for you or someone you love. 

Summer is sports season for many amateur athletes and weekend warriors in the Valencia area. It’s also ankle sprain season for one area foot and ankle surgeons.
Leslie G. Levy and Dana Lavian, DPM, FACFAS, foot and ankle surgeons with offices in Valencia and Northridge, say ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries they treat this time of year.

The news about the swine flu (H1N1 Flu) has been very disturbing.  As of Wednesday, April 29, 2009, there have been 91 laboratory confirmed cases of swine flu infection in the United States, with one death.  Thousands are infected in Mexico with hundreds of deaths.  The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday, April 29, 2009, raised the Alert Level to 5, with 6 indicating a global pandemic.  Alert Level 5 means that there is sustained human-to-human spread in at least two countries.

As a child, we believed that our father knew everything and could do no wrong.  The father is the figure we rely on to protect our family and keep it together, healthy and strong.  Young kids must blindly believe in the father, so that they can feel safe enough to take chances and grow.  As the child grows, a more realistic view of that father appears.  What reality do we want them to see?

Intermittent exposure to ultraviolet light, UVA or UVB, from sunlight accounts for 90 percent of the symptoms of premature skin aging including, wrinkles and sun damage.  With all of the anti-aging beauty remedies on the market today, sunscreen continues to be one of the most important skincare products available to prevent wrinkles.  Unfortunately, most people do not use sunscreen correctly.