1.) How did the Newsletter
come to be in existence?
The
Newsletter is the direct result of Dr.
Gulfo's desire to make as many people as
possible aware of the issues surrounding neck
and back pain. A large part of his practice
is geared toward education. He found that
once educated, patients began to feel better,
needed less medication and became more
productive. He noticed that almost everyone
lacks a basic understanding of these
important issues. He also saw that if changes
were made early in the pain process, the
severity and duration of the pain was less.
He
has spent his entire career making patients
more aware of these basic issues and putting
them back in control of their problem. He
places very little emphasis on medication and
stresses education and instruction in his
clinical practice. He wanted to reach as many
people as possible with this information. The
Newsletter affords him the ability to respond
to questions from the readers. It is quite
obvious that someone who asks a question is
actually ready and eager to learn. He
formulates the response in such a way as to
satisfy that hunger for knowledge and spark
the interest into other areas. The Newsletter
demonstrates his committment to his goal of
educating the largest number of people
possible so they too can get their Life Back!
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2.) Who is the Newsletter
geared for?
The
LifeBack Newsletter is intended for teens
through adulthood. Many changes take place in
the early and late teens that have a profound
effect on the functioning of the spine
throughout the remainder of a person's
lifetime. Poor mechanics in the early years
can be corrected rather easily in most cases
and it is on this basis that future neck and
back pain will be avoided. Left uncorrected,
chronic neck and back pain will probably
develop as it has since the beginning of
time.
In
the middle-aged patient, abnormalities can be
corrected and we deal very often with the
beginning of chronic neck and back pain. In
this age group, early arthritis of the spine
poses a problem and this can lead to a very
painful old age. This population is very
often affected by accidents and acute abrupt
trauma to the spine. These are also the wage
earners and caretakers. Back pain in this
population causes severe socioeconomic
problems that we address in the Newsletter.
In
the elderly, arthritis and other medical
conditions create a more difficult (but not
impossible) problem. Here, the ability to
change habits and tolerate light exercise may
be met with some resistance. Even so, the
benefit of the body mechanics education and
discussion regarding treatment options
clearly benefit the elderly when seeking
medical attention for their condition.
3.) How do I submit a
question for consideration in the Newsletter?
We
receive numerous questions from our readers.
We expect this number to grow. In the
Newsletter we attempt to touch on many areas
of concern. As we prepare for an issue, we
review the submitted questions to see if
their is a recurrent theme or a consistent
problem. When this is identified a response
is formulated. The answer will always attempt
to educate and increase the awareness of all
readers.
To
submit a question for consideration, you must
be a subscriber. Subscribers are given a
special E-Mail address here at LifeBack where
they can submit questions. The question
format is quite flexible and informal. As
stated above, we are looking for a common
theme or common problem to address.
4.) When is
the Newsletter published?
The
Newsletter is published 20 times per year.
Two times monthly for all months except for
May, June, July and August which will have
one issue per month. The reason for this is
that a more concentrated educational effort
is needed in the fall and winter months. With
more severe weather we see an increase in
falls, motor vehicle accidents and in the
pain level of most patients. Having twice
monthly issues for these harder times seems
appropriate.
5.) Will the discussion in
the Newsletter go beyond neck and back pain?
Absolutely!
If you think about it, you can not isolate
your neck and back. Doesn't a knee pain
affect how you walk? Wouldn't that affect the
low back muscles and cause pain? Similarly,
pain of the shoulders, heels, ankles, hips
and almost anywhere else will change the way
you use your neck and back and may contribute
to your pain level. Driving, working at a
desk, washing dishes and how you perform all
activities affects how your neck and back
function. Discussions must include these
areas when appropriate!
6.) Will the Newsletter
discuss medication and other treatment?
Medication,
various treatment options and diagnostic
testing will all be discussed. It is our goal
to educate you to the point that you can
actively participate in the management of
your condition. Knowing the purpose of a
diagnostic test and how to understand the
results allows you to have a clearer
understanding of the severity of your
problem. Likewise, knowing risk and benefit
of certain medication will help you to make
an informned decision with your doctor as to
the length of time you may be willing to take
that medication.
7.) Can I review the
Newsletter to see if I want to Subscribe?
Recently,
to expose a greater number of people to the
content within the newsletter, a sample has
been made available, free of charge accessed
through this Web Site. If you haven't already
reviewed this free sample, you can view it by
clicking here Sample
Newsletter.
8.) Are there any sponsors
or advertisers for the Newsletter?
There
are no sponsors or advertisers for this
Newsletter. It is our intent to remain as
objective as possible. The discussions and
conclusions are based solely on Dr. Gulfo's
experience and unbiased consideration. This
is YOUR Newsletter and we plan to keep it
that way! No outside influence will ever be
able to have any effect on the content of
this Newsletter.
9.) May I copy the
Newsletter and give it to a friend?
The
information contained in these pages as well
as the Newsletter itself are Copyrighted.
Unauthorized reproduction and distribution
are prohibited. If you review #7 above, there
is a mechanism whereby everyone can have a
sample of the Newsletter for free! At present
this is the only authorized method of
distribution of the LifeBack Newsletter.
Instead of copying the Newsletter, just give
your friend our Web Site Address http://www.alifeback.com and they will then be
able to view their own sample copy.
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