Today is Rare Cancer Day.

 Hello, patients and friends.

Please take a few minutes to read this and share if possible. Thanks to organizations like this that raise money to fight rare cancers, people overcome fatal diseases, and live to celebrate more birthdays and more special days with friends and loved ones.

My wife is one of those people. Myofibroblastic Sarcoma didn't defeat Kim, and thanks to the work of organizations like Cycle for Survival, hundreds of other families will be spared immeasurable loss and grief.

Katie Hennemuth launched Team Kate in the spring of 2015, just nine months after her stage IV rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosis. Participating in Cycle for Survival was her way of summoning the hope and positive energy of the cancer community nationwide toward her own healing. It was also her way of fighting back. Kate got her family and friends involved with Cycle for Survival to take a stand against her disease. She knew that by funding research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering, she could do something impactful, possibly for herself but definitely to help others who would be diagnosed in the future. She kicked off her first event with an inspiring speech, demanding of the crowd to “ride your freakin’ hearts out” as they cycled for the survival of people with a rare cancer like her. Kate didn’t get many breaks in the 16 months of her battle. Yet she faced every challenge with hopeful determination, and her spirit was unbending. We lost Kate in October 2015, but she made us promise that we would keep taking part in Cycle for Survival every year. We’ve upheld that promise, and we don’t have any plans to stop.

Our family is so proud to be part of this community and to further honor Kate’s wish as members of Cycle for Survival’s Leaders Circle. We strongly believe that keeping our foot on the gas by steadily funding rare cancer research at every stage until we eventually find success is the way forward for people with rare cancer, including the patients with sarcoma cared for by Dr. Bill Tap — Katie’s oncologist — and his team at MSK. Team Kate is thrilled to have raised over $1 million toward this goal so far. Today is Rare Cancer Day, and it’s a great opportunity to take a moment and reflect on everything this community has been able to achieve for people around the world who are facing a rare cancer. But it’s also a day to consider how much work still needs to be done to make sure that every family touched by these diseases can find a cure for their loved ones. We’re so proud of what Kate started, and we’re inspired by her strength and positivity every day. We hope to see you at an event in 2022 — and every year after that. With gratitude, Kyle Reap and John, Diane, Andy, Maureen, Jake, and Rachel Hennemuth from Team Kate

Learn more about the Cycle for Survival Leaders Circle and the importance of sustained gifts. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for sharing with someone you care about. Yours in health, Christopher B. Renne, D.C. Active Medical & Chiropractic 2570 Atlantic Boulevard Jacksonville, FL 32207 904-398-4860 jaxchiro@gmail.com

I saw a Nasty Auto Accident and I thought of you...

Hello again,

I am back! Hopefully you saw my previous post which details our new office location.

I got a little sidetracked on that one, but I ultimately remembered what I intended to share with you.

A few weeks ago  I was enjoying a soccer match at my son's school. I happened to be sitting on the top row of his school's modest bleachers. All of the sudden, I hear a screeching sound, I turned my head, and then BAM!!! I witnessed a nasty rear end collision. Doing what I do, I see folks that have been injured in all kinds of crashes. But I rarely have a front row seat to them. I have to say, this was really scary.
Anyway, form my vantage point, the at fault driver had somehow lost her focus on her vehicle, possible due to cell phone use. She really plowed into the other car. Sadly, she was not wearing her seat belt, which was NO BUENO. She was ejected forward, face first into her windshield, and then she was thrust backwards into the rear seat of her vehicle. It was really horrific.

I will spare you the rest of the specifics and get to my actual point here.

First off, please wear your seat belt! They really do save lives and limit physical injury. I promise you this lady wishes she was wearing hers. She will likely be forever scarred by this accident.

Secondly, pay attention to the task of driving. Please limit distractions, and please refrain from cellphone use while driving. Recall, this accident happened in a school zone. Thankfully, there were no students crossing her path on that day.

Finally, if you happen to suffer the misfortune of a similar accident, please get checked out by an experienced healthcare provider. The sooner the better, too. Early intervention and proper treatment can mean the difference between a few months of discomfort versus a lifetime of pain, suffering and disability/impairment.

Please, take a moment to watch the following video. In this, you will gain insight as to why early intervention can make a positive difference in your life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for sharing with someone you care about.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Active Medical & Chiropractic

2570 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, FL 32207

904-398-4860

jaxchiro@gmail.com

Yikes! That was scary....

Hello, all!

I know it has been a few months since I posted anything on my Blog. Believe it or not, I have a good excuse.

WE HAVE MOVED TO A NEW OFFICE!!! 

We are now even easier to get to at 2570 Atlantic Blvd, Jacksonville, Florida 32207. This is a mere 8 tenths of a mile West of our original location. We are directly across Atlantic from Assumption Catholic School and right next to Havana Jax Cafe.

That's right. After 12 great years at our previous facility, we have made the leap to a beautiful new, state of the art facility. The good news is, the team has remained intact and things are running smoothly here in our new home.

Please come and say hi. We are really proud of this place and want to show it off!

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Active Medical & Chiropractic

2570 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, FL 32207

904-398-4860

jaxchiro@gmail.com

Important Warning for All Florida Drivers and Visitors

Texting while driving? It could cost you!

Hello again, everyone. I have a question for you: are you reading this while driving? If so, please stop immediately, put down the phone, and keep your eyes on the road!

I’m sure you all know by now that distracted drivers cause a lot of accidents. More and more people have smartphones and are using them to send texts, take videos, or even snap selfies while they are on the road. You probably see people doing this every day on your commute.

But you may not realize just how dangerous this is. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently released a report that includes some alarming statistics about distracted drivers. In 2015, there were 391,000 (thousand!!!) people injured in accidents that involved a driver that was distracted by their mobile device. 3,477 people were killed in such distracted driving accidents. In 2016 another 3,450 people were killed. We can be sure in 2019 still more people will lose their lives because drivers were using their smartphones instead of keeping their eyes on the road.

Because using your smartphone while driving is such a danger, most of states have passed laws against it. Up until this year, Florida was one of the few states that did not have a texting-while-driving law. But now it does, and not a moment too soon!

In 2017 a study showed that Florida was the second worst state in the US for distracted driving (Lousiana was first). Studies have shown that in our state there are about 50,000 distracted driving accidents per year. That is more than five crashes every hour in our state alone! I don’t need to tell you that that is far too many.

The new Florida ban on texting while driving law allows police officers to pull drivers over just for using their smartphone or mobile device while driving. The first offense will cost you a $30 ticket. The second offense will result in a $60 ticket. This doesn’t include things like court costs and getting points on your license. Using your smartphone while driving could get expensive fast!

Every day in my office I see patients who have been injured and are in great pain thanks to car accidents. Many of these accidents involve drivers who were paying attention to their phone and not to the road. 

Let me say it clearly: DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE! Under Florida’s new law, it could cost you money. Worse, it puts your life in danger, not to mention the lives of everyone on the road with you. If you really need to send a text, find a safe place to pull over and park. Otherwise, that text can wait until you arrive at your destination!

Stay safe out there friends!

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Active Medical & Chiropractic

4111 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, FL 32207

904-398-4860

jaxchiro@gmail.com

Just say No! to Opioids

Is there an alternative to prescribing opioids for back pain?

I am sure that I don’t need to tell you that the abuse of highly addictive prescription opioids is an epidemic in this country. Many people who become addicted started using opioids because they were dealing with real problems: acute back pain or chronic pain which needed genuine treatment. However, the unfortunate reality is that pain with opioids over the long-term can lead to dependency and addiction. Studies have shown that 36% of people who overdose on opioids were first prescribed those medications for back pain.

So what if there was an effective treatment for back pain that didn’t involve dangerously addictive medication? Guess what: there is! It’s called ‘chiropractic’!

“Sure, Dr. Renne,” you may be saying to yourself. “You are a chiropractor. Of course you are going to recommend chiropractic treatment for back pain.”

In fact, you don’t just have to take the word of this chiropractor. A new research study has shown that chiropractic is indeed an effective treatment for back pain and chronic pain, and that it keeps people from turning to opioids!

People in pain do better with chiropractic

The US Department of Veterans Affairs did a study of 14,000 veterans who had received chiropractic at least one chiropractic treatment. Many of those veterans were also prescribed an opioid for their pain. Of those that were, Veterans Affairs found that those who continued chiropractic treatment were significantly less likely to obtain further opioid prescription refills. Why? People who are able to manage their pain with chiropractic treatments are less likely to turn to addictive prescription medications.

This is not the first study to show that patients who use chiropractic to treat their pain are less likely to rely on opiates. Two other recent studies show very similar results. In one of these studies, patients who received chiropractic care were 55% less likely to use opioids. That’s less than half as likely, which is pretty incredible!

Recent research has also shown that over the long term opioids are not actually very effective for controlling chronic pain. Meanwhile, studies have also shown that a combination of chiropractic and over-the-counter drugs like Tylenol are just as effective as stronger prescription drugs in many cases.

Addictive pills are not the way to beat long term pain

If you are experiencing chronic pain or back pain, I highly recommend that you not try to use addictive prescription pain meds like opioids to try and recover. I have seen firsthand the devastating effects that opioid addiction can have on people’s lives. You do have alternatives when it comes to dealing with back pain or with chronic pain. Chiropractic is a real and effective method and has been scientifically tested.

If you’re experiencing back pain or chronic pain, get in touch with Active Medical & Chiropractic. I’d love to sit down with you and talk about how we can get you back on the road to wellness.

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.
Active Medical & Chiropractic
www.activechirocenter.com

Our team:
Sanford Z. Pollak, D.O
Richard L. Woody, D.C.
Christopher B. Renne, D.C.
Paul A. Busse, M.D.

You know I love a good cup or two of coffee.....

Coffee: Friend or Foe?

Hello, friends! Why don’t you sit down and take a load off. I was just brewing up a nice, dark pot of coffee. Let me pour you a big, steaming cup.

Does that sound pretty good? I’ll bet for most of you reading this, it does! Often it seems like we have more to do than there are hours in a day, and the one thing that helps us power through is that our cuppa Joe! According to the National Coffee Association, 64% of Americans over 18 drink at least one cup of coffee a day. The average person drinks about 3.2 cups. But you have to wonder – how much coffee is too much? Is all that coffee good for your heart?

Well, I have great news for my fellow java-enthusiasts: current scientific research suggests that drinking plenty of coffee is in fact good for you! According to recent studies, drinking about four cups of coffee a day improves heart health. And now a new study from Germany suggests the reason why: a protein called p27.

Researchers in the German study studied mice. First they gave the each of the mice the mouse-sized equivalent of four cups of coffee a day. Then, after a week of mousey coffee consumption, they induced heart attacks in the mice. The mice that had been drinking their coffee recovered much better from the heart attacks than mice that had been caffeine-free.

It appears that the caffeine in coffee activates the p27 protein, causing it migrate into the mitochondria of certain types cells in the heart. This in turn allowed those cells to migrate more effectively to where they were needed, such as lining blood vessels or turning into heart muscle fibers. It also sped recovery after heart attacks.

In other words, the protein p27 is really good for your heart, and it loves caffeine!

One of the really interesting things that this and other studies have found is that the heart-boosting power of coffee really gets unlocked at around four cups a day. So if you are an ‘average American’ drinks about three cups a day, you might actually want to start drinking an extra cup!

Research shows that coffee drinkers are 19% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. It also shows that drinking coffee reduces your risk of heart-attack and stroke.

Now, it’s important to remember that when these studies talk about ‘one cup of coffee’ they mean one measuring cup’s worth, not just however much coffee fits inside your giant-sized travel mug!

The good news is that for most people there probably is very little risk from drinking lots of coffee. The only exception is pregnant women: more than one or two cups of coffee a day may increase the risk of miscarriage, so if you are pregnant or think you might become pregnant you may want to slow down a little on your coffee habit.

Another thing that all of us need to keep in mind is that coffee by itself isn’t a miracle cure. If you really want to help your heart, you need to combine your coffee habit with exercise and a healthy diet.

But it’s nice to know that, for most of us, we can stop feeling guilty about our coffee addiction. So brew up another pot and enjoy!

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

4111 Atlantic Boulevard

Jacksonville, FL 32207

www.activechirocenter.com

Important safety bulletin: if you are getting an MRI, don’t wear yoga pants!

It’s a Stretch: Yoga Pants Don’t Belong in MRI Machines!

Important bulletin: if you are getting an MRI, don’t wear yoga pants!

Yes, that’s right – wearing certain types of spandex yoga pants into an MRI machine can be hazardous to your health!

As a chiropractor, I frequently order MRIs for my patients. It is a powerful tool because it allows me to examine a patient’s spine in much more detail for injury or other problems than an x-ray is able to reveal. Of course, an MRI machine is much more powerful than x-ray machine. We have an x-ray machine here at the office, and it barely takes it a second for it to do its job. If you need an MRI we will send you to a special imaging lab for a scan that will take 20-30 minutes in a large and very noisy machine.

An MRI machine works by using incredibly powerful magnets. These magnets remain active even when the machine isn’t operating. That’s why technicians require patients to remove all items from their person that may contain metal, such as car keys, cell phones, and belt buckles. But recently it has been discovered that there is a certain article of clothing that may contain metal that you might not expect – yoga pants!

Some yoga pants, and other athletic leisure garments, have strands of metal (usually silver) woven into them. These threads prevent bacteria-causing odor from building up in your yoga pants while you’re working up a good sweat. Unfortunately, they also have electromagnetic properties. There have been reports of these garments heating up during an MRI and causing painful burning. In one case, an eleven-year-old girl received second degree burns.

One brand of yoga pants that some MRI labs are specifically warning against is Lululemon. If you own Lululemon athletic attire that you are planning to wear to an MRI appointment, you can check on the tat to see if the product contains silver microfibers. However, Lululemon is not the only manufacturer that incorporates metal woven into their clothing.

Any clothes that feature ‘anti-bacterial’ or ‘anti-microbial’ technology should be avoided, as it is likely to include metallic microfibers. When in doubt, don’t take the risk – wear something else! Ordinary, everyday clothing such as a t-shirt and a pair of jeans should fare just fine inside an MRI machine. If the lab technicians have concerns about what you are wearing, they can ask you to change into a gown.

In the remote chance that you should ever find yourself inside an MRI machine and in pain or discomfort, you should notify the technician at once. You may need to shout – it’s loud in there! – but the technician will be nearby at all times. All MRI machines have emergency shutoff devices to allow for the swift and safe removal of the patient if necessary.

An MRI of your spine can be a powerful tool to getting on the road to speedy recovery. But think twice before you go into an MRI machine wearing your favorite pair of yoga pants!

Yours in health,

Christopher B. Renne, D.C.

Chiropractic Physician

Board Certified Integrative Medicine

www.activechirocenter.com