From one doctor to another....

I recently listened to an inspiring interview of a physician on the radio. It was one of those "highway moments" where you want to pull over because what you are listening to is so insightful and calls for all your attention.


Dr. David Loxtercamp , or simply "the country doctor" as he likes to call himself shared his inspirations and experiences which I see deeply resonate with myself in my clinical practice and I'm sure my colleagues can relate to as well.  You can listen to his interview and discussion here.


I have shared some of the quotable quotes that I carry with me now, since his conversations.  I have even taken the liberty and borrow it for my patients, but always try and reference him.

• "Health is not a commodity. Risk factors are not disease. Aging is not an illness."
•  "To fix a problem is easy, to sit with another suffering is hard."

• "Patients cannot see outside their pain, we cannot see in, relationship is the only bridge between. Time is precious; we spend it on what we value."

And two of my most favorite quotes:

• "The most common condition we treat is unhappiness. And the greatest obstacle to treating a patient’s unhappiness is our own." 
• "The foundation of medicine is friendship, conversation and hope.”

For anyone interested in knowing more, I recommend his book, "A Measure of Days: The Journal of a Country Doctor". Its definitely biographical as the title suggests, so be prepared for a slow, but interesting read.

Softer food, smaller bite-size - but of course follow the new USDA food plate guideline!

Summer is the time for corn-on-the-cob, but for someone with recurrent jaw pain and jaw locking symptoms, the thought of biting into corn-on-the-cob can be unpleasant and at time fear-invoking due to the risks associated with a painful jaw locking. 

To our Temporomandibular joints (TMJs) , activities such as yawning, taking a bite off a sandwich, can be extremely demanding in joint stability, integrity and conditioning. Also, chewing movements that are complex, whether it is chewing gum, meat or crunchy foods like carrots, can be demanding in terms of the musculoskeletal endurance.

The common advice that facial pain clinicians give for painful jaw symptoms is the recommendation to eat softer foods in smaller bite-size. Why softer food and not soft-soft food or hard foods? - The chewing system of TMJs and muscles need to stay active to the right extent avoiding fatiguing risks as well as avoidance-related muscle guarding and/or disuse risks. Why smaller bite-sizes? - For smaller bite-sizes, the range of motion of these ball-and-socket joints is limited to a mostly symmetrical hinge movement which facilitates stability thus avoiding a risk for locking with unstable extremes of range of motion.

So, with the new USDA plate replacing the food pyramid, which I'm all in favor of by the way, keep in mind to not take for granted, those well oiled biomechanical powerhouses in your face that help you enjoy your fruits, vegetables, grains and protein, one small soft bite at a time!