Back Cover

“MuscleDoctor provides a shocking, unprecedented look at the medical industry’s ignorance, negligence, and arrogance regarding muscles’ role in a healthy existence. Offering straightforward, practical, and highly effective solutions to common aches and pains, MuscleDoctor advocates recognizing muscles as medically treatable and maintainable units of the body and their effect on aches and pain, illness, or wellness.

After reading this book, you will never look at or talk to doctors, chiropractors, athletic coaches, or fitness trainers the same way. You will learn the principles of nutrition and muscle maintenance that the medical industry has ignored for too long. Only by regularly maintaining your muscles (which comprise 40 percent of your body’s mass) can you expect to live a healthier, pain-free existence.

MuscleDoctor is a must for every health-conscious person. This book will educate and entertain you and will change your life for the better.

Chapter Five: Oxygen and Our Bodies

…”The automotive industry installs expensive diagnostic equipment and computers on your car to ensure a perfect air and fuel mixture for the engine. Automobile manufacturers specify which fuel grade should be used to achieve the most efficient engine operation. Cities with high air-pollution levels mandate oxygenated fuel us in automobiles to ensure that the fuel is completely burned within the engine and to lessen the exhaust fumes’ toxic effects. Completely burning the air and fuel mixture will provide the most power and will promote longer engine life by reducing harmful deposits.

I described that in detail to help you understand the similarities with your body. If we are so concerned about the internal combustion and longevity of our cars, why are so few people talking about a well-oxygenated, clean burning, human engine? Nutritionists provide a wealth of information on the quality of fuel that we should put in our bodies, yet even the highest quality of fuel won’t burn without enough oxygen. Stored body fat can easily be converted into usable energy and burned merely by increasing the amount of oxygen. Research on aging strongly suggests that cellular cleanliness is critical for a prolonged existence. (See more about oxygen and aging in the section, “Don’t blame Oxygen,” page 55.) Oxygen is a vital element that fuels our brain and muscle cells, and eliminates their toxic deposits.

The American Heart Association emphasizes the importance of clean lungs, so that the heart, the only muscle in our bodies that never rests, can continuously receive highly oxygenated fresh blood. In return, it pumps nutrient- and oxygen-rich blood throughout the entire body. People spend billions of dollars each year on vitamins, minerals, and other energy-providing supplements, not realizing that without enough oxygen in their systems, those substances cannot assimilate properly to achieve their desired benefits. We all drink bottled water and we certainly would not bathe in polluted waters. Then why do we allow air pollution to poison our brain and muscle cells by blocking oxygen from our lungs?”…

By reading the book, learn about Oxygen and High Altitude, Oxygen and Physical Fitness, the connection between Stress and Oxygen, and Oxygen’s Benefits.

…”The word hygiene is synonymous with good health – at least with the efforts we make to achieve clean practices. There is a specific method to cleanse each part of the body. There are hygiene products for hair, nails, skin, hands, feet, nose, ears, and feminine and dental hygiene. Let’s use dental hygiene as an example. Good dental hygiene results in a healthy mouth. No one would really expect to have healthy gums and beautiful teeth without regular maintenance. Similarly, I would like to establish a concept for internal hygiene, which will make a huge difference in our quest for maintaining good health. Internal regular cleansing of the human body through oxygenation, massage, and stretching routines will maintain optimum health; in fact, they are the equivalent of regular cleaning, flossing and brushing.”…

…”Scientific research has shown the connection between longevity and healthy cellular activity. The human body is an internal combustion engine. The refined food is mixed with oxygen and burned within every cell in the body to produce heat and energy. Imagine the stomach as the body’s fuel refinery. There, the food we eat is broken down into tiny particles of nutrients and muscle sugar, which are then absorbed into the blood through the intestines. Blood is responsible for picking up and transporting oxygen, muscle sugar, and nutrients to all cells in the body. These nutrients are the building blocks of healthy new cells. The refined fuel and oxygen mixture is ignited within the mitochondria (the combustion chamber within every cell) by coenzyme Q10 (the equivalent of the spark plug in your automobile’s engine). This is how the body creates heat and energy to move its muscles, while at the same time eliminating broken down, old cells from its structure. This process is commonly known as metabolism.”…

Chapter Two: The Failure of modern Medicine

…”Despite recent tremendous achievements in medical science, a 1999 National Academy of Sciences’ study found that the leading cause of death for those in a doctor’s care is provider error (such as hospital staff, doctors, nurses, and pharmacists). This study forced Congress to deal with this issue early in 2000. Unfortunately, since then very little has been done to remedy this epidemic; even now, the news media report major (often fatal) medical mistakes on a daily or weekly basis.

Modern medicine puts very little emphasis on injury and disease prevention, and they place even less on natural remedies. Health care should include education and disease and injury prevention measures. Many medical professionals know that for every two dollars spent on curing an illness, only one penny (one half of one percent) is spent on finding preventative methods.”…

…”Back pain effects a huge segment of the population. It is one of the most painful debilitating and costliest conditions a parson can have. According to the US Census Bureau’s numbers (April 2000), eight out of 10 adults – 167 million people – have back pain. Eight out of ten people cannot rely on receiving help from modern medicine.

In an attempt to fix back problems, surgeons frequently operate, and chiropractors often crack bones, yet neither profession has proved their methods’ effectiveness. The medical industry doesn’t really know how to treat back pain. Back pain is 99 percent muscular in its origin! Cutting nerves or cracking vertebrae won’t loosen any back muscles or relieve the pain.

I know of hundreds of cases in which doctors ignored their patients’ muscular structure when determining the solution to their pain – yet the solutions were as simple as a thorough massage. Massage therapy and muscle maintenance are often not recognized as legitimate and effective medical modalities.

Is it really so impossible that neglected and overused muscles that produce and retain toxic metabolic by-products can cause back pain and other serious medical conditions? It isn’t. In fact, there is a high probability that metabolic waste that is stored in muscle tissues will become a hotbed for illness.”…

…”Modern medicine denies that massage therapy is a valid medical modality, even though by weight, muscles make up at least 40 percent of the body’s mass. Now, 40 percent of anything is no pocket change, is it? Imagine that after a doctor’s appointment, you pay 40 percent less because your doctor failed to recognize muscle tension that caused your “arthritis” or “tendonitis.” Instead of advising you to get a therapeutic massage that is safe, feels great, and is highly effective and natural, your doctor gives you a prescription for muscle relaxants that are synthetic, ineffective, and can be outright dangerous. Why is your doctor ignoring such a big part of your body?”…

…”There is no effective self-policing force within the medical community to protect the good reputation of doctors who are dedicated to their patients. Medical review boards can legally protect even the most criminally negligent doctors from serious consequences. A quick slap on the wrist and the doctor continues to practice as normal. At worst, the doctor might have to move to another state, where he can keep practicing medicine as if nothing happened. What an ultimate betrayal of the public’s trust by the medical review boards and by those law makers who allow this protection to continue unabated.”…

…”When insurance companies stop paying for chiropractic treatments or physical therapy sessions, people continue their recovery or preventive maintenance routine by seeking help from a massage therapist. For the time and work required by the therapist, massage therapy is a great value and is the most effective treatment for muscle aches and pains. These include migraine, neck, back and shoulder pains, spasms, sciatica, several repetitive motion injuries, and joint pain such as arthritis and tendonitis. The ultimate proof of a sincere and effective medical modality is when people choose to pay for it out of their own pocket, and the majority of them do so on a regular basis.”…

…”Massage therapists know that if we do not perform to your needs and expectations, and if we do not achieve the desired results, you will not come back to us. Massage has the potential of being lucrative for its practitioners, but it is a physically demanding profession and therefore it has its limits. We have no retail products to sell, and no prescriptions to write for extra income. We receive no kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies or high-tech procedure providers. We have no potential for conflict of interest and no gimmicks to offer to keep you interested. But, you can always count on our good intentions, strength, sweat, and most of all, results. No temporary relief, not symptom suppression from medication or mechanical devices, but it’s done, fixed, no-need-to-come-every-day type of results. There is no magic involved. You come to us with your pain and you leave without it. I think that eliminating pain with your two hands could be referred to as “practicing medicine” and no “MD” title is required.”…

Chapter Six: Muscles versus Bones

…”Chiropractors insist that patients should be adjusted several times a week to achieve results. For many people, cracking bones seems a bit unnatural, even scary. Yet, because they don’t know any better and want temporary relief from their pain, they keep going back. Many insurance plans pay for most chiropractic treatments, so patients feel they have little to loose.

Why doesn’t it ever occur to anyone that if your bones need to be and can be adjusted frequently, that there might be another force acting upon them that’s causing their misalignment? What happens during an adjustment? Most people feel the pinching pain at their spinal outlet points; this is where nerves are most vulnerable.

Chiropractors don’t want patients to know (or don’t even know themselves) that tight muscles twist vertebrae out of alignment and pull or rub the nerve against the vertebra’s bone tissue. This causes nerve irritation. The pain is similar to if someone grabbed your hair and started pulling on it – you would feel pain at your scalp. As soon as your hair is released, the pain disappears. If the nerve were really pinched between vertebrae, as chiropractors say they are, you would be in an emergency room and not at the chiropractor’s office. If there were such a thing that feels like a “pinched nerve,” it is caused by tired and tense muscles.

Chiropractors believe unobstructed nerve flow will help heal injuries and eliminate aches and pain. We’ve all heard of people who suffered severe spinal injuries and became paralyzed, so we know that nerve tissue cannot repair itself. How then can unobstructed nerve flow alone possibly heal muscle injuries or vital organs? It is just as ludicrous as if a computer technician tries to correct a printer, scanner, or monitor problem by merely repositioning the connective cables.”…

In the book read about several case studies pointing out the superior effectiveness of a properly executed therapeutic massage over chiropractic treatments.

Chapter Seven: All Massages Are not Created Equal

…”Massage therapy is not about touching, rubbing, or nurturing, and is much more than simply oiling the skin and doing a “fluff and buff” service. For some people, a light massage offers therapeutic value. However, most people need deep tissue work. While I am a firm believer in deep, therapeutic treatments, at the same time I am against modalities that promote or allow inflection of intense pain onto the client in the name of therapy. Pain is counterproductive. As my practical experience has shown, people seek therapists who eliminate, not intensify, pain.”…

…”When it comes to the best treatment for you, it can only come from a therapist who focuses on the body’s muscular structure. Your therapist cannot be afraid to “dig in” to identify which muscles are causing pain and discomfort. He or she should loosen the trouble spots with great efficiency, choosing from various techniques and applying appropriate levels of pressure while you relax and stay comfortable. Your therapist must eliminate pain and discomfort while restoring muscle elasticity and increasing greater mobility to previously stiff body parts. The results must speak for themselves.”…

…”Whether you are physically active and athletic or cooped up in an office all day because of your business or career, sooner or later muscle tension will adversely affect your life. Stretching holds the greatest potential to prevent or eliminate muscle tension. Your body will warn you that an impending tension is developing into a potentially chronic, painful condition. But you must be able to understand what your body is telling you. Listen to your body.

Regular stretching will help you become more aware of your muscles’ elasticity and joints’ flexibility. With stretching, your body parts will have a greater range of motion. Your physical and mental energy level will increase as you maintain unrestricted blood circulation. Your body’s ability to resist and fight off disease will increase as you maintain clean muscles. Elastic muscles will let the body flex, while tight, rigid muscles will strain, tear, injure joints, and let bones break. Stretching will give you confidence and the knowledge to live a pain-free life, no matter how much you demand from your body – and that is true fitness. Muscles that are regularly exercised respond to massage and stretching more quickly. Well-toned muscles regain elasticity and flexibility much quicker because they don’t have tension and lactic acid in their tissues.”…

Chapter four: Massage – Cure and Prevention

…”Humans have over 600 skeletal muscles that give structure and support to the skeleton. Muscles help us breathe, circulate blood, move food through the digestive system, eliminate waste products from the body, and perform basic motor skills. One of the most critical roles for our muscles is that of auxiliary blood pumps for the heart. Without them, the heart would be severely overloaded and blood circulation would slow to a dangerous level, causing clotting and creating a potentially deadly situation.

Unfortunately, muscles are also responsible for the majority of neck, shoulder, and back aches, as well as migraine and sciatica. Tendonitis, tennis, elbow, and carpal tunnel syndrome conditions also result from extreme muscle tension caused by repetitive motion. However effortless a movement seems to be, constant repetition will cause the active muscles to tighten and become tense. Tense muscles irritate the joints, intensifying pain. If the affected muscle is treated properly, by eliminating tension by massage or stretching, the painful conditions will decrease or cease. Pain, even severe, stabbing pain, is usually muscular in origin and with the proper approach this pain will literally melt away.

Because the aforementioned conditions are the direct result of tight and tense muscles from metabolic waste products or spasms from injury, the most obvious remedy is muscle therapy and massage. No other mainstream or alternative modality can eliminate waste from muscle tissues and restore elasticity with such speed and effectiveness. Only movement can restore elasticity and flexibility; immobilizing the affected muscle will lead to more pain, further aggravation of the injury, and further deterioration of muscle function. Muscle relaxants won’t cure the problem either; instead they will make you groggy and sleepy – a potentially dangerous situation. Having your bones cracked at a chiropractor’s office will not relieve muscle tension either, but it will aggravate the existing tension into a more painful spasm. Tight and tense muscles even cause misaligned joints and vertebrae. Muscles move bones – bones don’t move muscles!”…

Within Chapter Four you’ll be able to read about numerous case studies. Also you can compare so called “alternative” versus conventional views on common ailments, such as Migraine and Cluster Headaches, Neck and Shoulder Pain, Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ), Back Pain, Herniated Disk, Sciatica, Osteoarthritis, Tendonitis, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Repetitive Stress injury, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Growing Pains as well as the Pains of Growing Old.