Dr. Lou has two ears and only one mouth, for a reason. Having a doctor who listens and takes the time to understand your concerns and questions is crucial for your health and wellbeing. Here are some reasons why: Accurate diagnosis: A doctor who listens to your symptoms and takes the time to understand your medical history is more likely to make an accurate diagnosis. Rushing through appointments can lead to missed or misdiagnosed conditions. Effective treatment: By taking the time to listen to your concerns, a doctor can develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your needs. This can improve the effectiveness of treatment and reduce the risk of side effects. Better communication: When a doctor takes the time to listen, it fosters better communication between you and your healthcare provider. This can lead to increased trust, better compliance with treatment plans, and improved health outcomes. Patient satisfaction: Patients who feel that their doctor is listening to them and taking their concerns seriously are more satisfied with their healthcare experience. This can lead to increased patient retention and positive word-of-mouth referrals. To boil it all down, having a doctor who listens and does not rush, is essential for accurate...

Dr. Lou had an app created for you! 2023 is already so awesome! Our office app was designed in 2022 for launch in 2023 to not only help you get better results with your care, but to make your care at our office even more exciting and fun! IF you are not an active patient at our office, no problem! The app is for you too! Everyone can start using it right away! (Detailed Instructions below) The app has a lot of features that we want you to be familiar with so that you don’t miss out on anything. Once you download the app using the QR code to get to the app, you will find the checklist below helpful in navigating the buttons at first glance. The steps below will be in order from left to right and top to bottom on the front page of the app. About us – This tab links to our website “about us” page. Learn more about our current staff at this tab. Musicians – This tab is for musicians, and those of you who want to keep tabs on Dr. Lou’s work with musicians. Whether your musician friends live locally or around...

Leg Cramps, Pain, Sleepless Nights, Startling Pain. Many years ago someone told me that leg cramps would go away if the person drinks tonic water. That’s right, Tonic Water. I did some research and found little research on the topic. I did find that the amount of quinine in tonic water is minuscule compared to that which is used for malaria treatment. I also learned that while the high doses can be dangerous, there is no danger in the fewer than 83 mg in tonic water. Despite this, some will say that tonic water is dangerous, but it seems epically unlikely that it is more dangerous than driving a car, sleeping under a tree, or walking in the rain. Over the same number of years, I have suggested to patients that they try it for their muscle cramps. There is little to no risk, and if it works, BAM! Done, just like that, and without the risk of lab made drugs prescribed by a doctor who has been told that the quinine in tonic water is dangerous. This is taken from post from Harvard University “Quinine is FDA-approved only for treating malaria and is sold with a warning against...

Drugs, Alcohol, Addiction, Chiropractic and Recovery. Pain Relief without addictive medications. For those in recovery, pain relief is limited. Any medication with potential for addiction is skipped over for what are usually simple over the counter anti inflammatory pain killers like Aleve. Surgery and subsequent medications would be risky for a recovering addict, and it’s simply not an option. Why is chiropractic such an amazing tool for those in recovery? Chiropractors make up the third largest healthcare profession after medicine and dentistry. It is a drug free form of healthcare. The entire focus is on the health and function of the nervous system and it’s relationship with your spine and body. Your body has the potential to heal itself. For patients with headaches, neck pain, back pain, joint pain, neuralgia, disc herniations and a host of other issues that cause pain, chiropractic is an effective form of treatment without the use of drugs or surgery. Additionally, by contributing to better brain and nerve control of your body, chiropractic actually makes you healthier, more adaptable, mentally more clear. While little research has been done on the topic, theoretically, chiropractic care could aid in overcoming addiction. Your health depends on staying...

Best Sleep Position For Musicians Your sleep position as a musician matters more than you think. How your head and neck are positioned, your arms, shoulders, hands, and wrists. Your low back will also suffer if your sleep position is less than ideal. Stomach Sleeping Stomach sleeping is arguably the worst position. It requires that you turn your head to one side or another. If you sleep 6-8 hours a night, this could mean that your head is turned to one side for a long time. This head position puts a strain on your neck, head, and shoulders, and may lead to headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, and even frozen shoulder. There is no ideal pillow for this position. The position, while it may feel comfortable, is too flawed to be helped by a pillow. Additionally, if you are on your stomach with a leg up, you are sleeping in the “Crime Scene Position.” The Crime Scene Position The crime scene position is halfway between stomach and side sleeping. It looks like a crime scene because it is a crime scene. The one leg up twists your low back and puts pressure on your hips and...

The Bass Guitar & Injuries Tools to fight arm and hand injuries. You are today, the sum of all your experiences, practices, gigs, accidents, stressors, and jobs. One of the biggest mistakes when working to prevent or resolve playing injuries is sometimes focusing too much on the instrument, it’s balance and position, and not enough on your day to day activities. “Good practices” are not as simple as warming up, taking breaks, and cooling down after play!!!” PRMD’s or “playing-related musculoskeletal disorders” are common among guitarists of all types. In bass players, repetitive stress injuries of the forearm, shoulder, neck, elbow, wrist, and hand are especially common. The length of the neck, string tension, and action, the weight of the guitar, arm and hand position, fingering techniques all make the bass guitar a moderate to high-risk instrument. From Carpal tunnel syndrome, and trigger fingers, to tennis elbow, there are many controllable factors and methods for reducing your risk of injury that you may not be aware of. Thinking beyond warming up, taking breaks, and cooling down after play. Warming up, taking regular and restful breaks, as well as cooling down after playing, much like in an athlete, have great...

Lateral Epicondylitis – Guitar Elbow – Tennis Elbow Cause. Solution. Healing Plan Execution. Much like tennis players who put tremendous repetitive strain on their elbows, musicians often suffer from “tennis elbow.” Musicians who play guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele, merlin, lute, or other stringed instruments, push their strumming elbow and connecting ligaments, tendons, and muscles to the limit, often leading to painful inflammation, restriction, and inability to play. If caught early, understood, and strategically addressed, the dysfunction that causes the inflammation and pain can be addressed, getting you back to playing while getting stronger and more resilient. PRMD’s or playing-related musculoskeletal disorders are common in string players of all kinds. They tend to build over a long period of time with repetitive stress, and then, seemingly out of nowhere, a “straw” breaks the camel’s back and you are unable to play comfortably, or at all. If this type of injury gets out of control, injections, medications, and even surgery may be recommended. Most musicians I work with can neither spare the recovery time nor risk their futures as musicians if something goes wrong or gets worse. It’s often a life or death of the music situation. The first thing to...

You are not alone. Sometimes results are just as meaningful to your loved ones as they are to you. Your health impacts the lives of others.  Here is a true story… Car Accidents and Lyme Disease. “I have been bringing my fiancé to this practice for almost two years. I can’t say enough positive things about it. We started coming here together after another driver on the road hit my fiancé’s car at an intersection and caused her many issues. Because of the nature of her injuries along with her underlying condition of having Lyme disease, she was in a great deal of discomfort and almost constant pain. After only a couple of months, Dr. Lou got her back in good shape. A few months later, disaster struck again in nearly the same type of situation with a driver running a red light and striking my fiancé’s vehicle and causing her further injury. We came to Lou again and within a matter of mere months, he got her back to even better shape than she was in before the first accident! Coming to the office for an extended amount of time and so often, the entire staff became like...

Maine nurses are the superglue of Maine’s healthcare system. I am forever grateful for all that you do. I want to care for you the same way you care for your patients. With love, empathy, experience, strategy, and the attention that you deserve. In 2010 and 2011, I lost my mum to Inflammatory Breast Cancer, then my father to Leukemia. When my parents were hospitalized at the end of their lives, I’ll never, ever, forget the attention, compassion, and professionalism the nurses that cared for them displayed. I value the work that nurses do at the very top of the healthcare food chain. Out of appreciation for Maine nurses, and to honor my mum’s love of cooking, our office will be doubling down on our welcome jar gift of my marinara sauce. All nurses who become new patients between now and July 31, will receive 2 jars of my spicy marinara sauce at their first visit. Twice as much sauce for 100x more stress and hard working conditions they’ve been exposed to the past few months (and always). Nurses are the hearts, minds, and muscles of the hospitals. They deserve our respect and support. They deserve to eat well...

Uber Driver With Back Pain & Headaches 5 Prevention Strategies And Solutions Dear Dr. Lou, I drive for Uber and Lyft full time, it’s a great job, but my back is killing me and I have recently started having headaches. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, Andrew T.  Dr. Lou’s Solution Andrew’s problem of back pain and headaches while driving for a living is more common than most people think. Historically truck drivers and cab drivers have had a lot of back and nerve pain, sometimes so severe that it forces a career change. From the standpoint of prevention and self-care, there is a lot that can be done in a short period of time, without causing much disruption to your busy driving schedule. Take regular breaks – Short ones.  Get out of the car, walk and jump around, get back in the car, get back to work. Sitting still for too long is bad. If your car is empty and stopped, get out for 1-2 minutes and move. This is great for prevention and relief. Heat your seat. If you have heated seats, use them! Heat relaxes muscle and your mind and is a good preventive and relief...