How can a $20 book save you thousands of dollars in medical costs that your insurance has passed on to you. What is a healthcare consumer to do? You are in pain, and the treatments you tried may have done little to help you stay out of pain, or the problem returned with a vengeance. What is more frustrating, is that with the introduction of consumer based healthcare plans, more of these costs are now your problem, since the insurer now charges you a high deductible and your employer only assumes a portion of the cost. Their newest solution to costs does not solve your pain problem, however, it does have realizing how much all those healthcare providers charge for essentially services that either give you temporary relief or simply do not work. Part of the problem is that the medical system looks at where you hurt and not why; after all, we are the sum of our parts. The other part of the problem is the culture of healthcare which is that more is better and if that does not work, more than that will work better with little accountability for the quality of the diagnosis and the work done to help you improve. Even worse; often many of the specialists you visit look at your parts that hurt, instead of looking at the mechanical reason behind the mechanisms that make you hurt. The reasons the system fails most people are in pain are as follows: Most medical providers have a 55% blind spot, including your primary physician in that their training in the musculoskeletal system and body mechanics is minimal compared to other types of providers such as chiropractors and physical therapists who study these systems extensively, yet they use this limited knowledge to make decisions on whom to send you to for help. For most pain sufferers, this is merely a dead end or they are labeled with Fibromyalgia and given a drug since the prevailing medical culture believes this is why you hurt. The second problem is that because of the way your primary doctor's role has been modified by the insurance industry, they simply cannot take the time to adequately evaluate you and many doctors have a disease mentality, primarily because they must be careful not to miss any life threatening problems. Pain is usually not considered life threatening but it does threaten the quality of your life. The third problem is the culture of Fibromyalgia, which is a classification that was created by the board of rheumatology in 1990. It's basis was that there were a number of cases they saw who were in pain and had some prevailing characteristics. The lack of sleep, tender points and chronic pain in the joints that seemed to be beyond what was found clinically on evaluation were findings that lead to the diagnostic criteria that is now used extensively to label people with Fibromyalgia and convince them, since nothing seemed to work that they have this condition that was minted in 1990. Many of these patients are placed on Lyrica by their doctors which improves their sleep and reduces their pain in many cases. None of these patients is truly understood as to why they hurt because the professionals that labeled them with the disease has little training in evaluating musculoskeletal function, which is why people who have this problem are frustrated to the point where the pain can be all consuming and affect not only their health but their personal relationships as well. The fourth problem is that consumer driven healthcare plans are increasing the amount of rationing by putting the decision on you, as well as the costs that go with those decisions. Since most healthcare consumers are performing fewer procedures due to costs, they are trying to be more careful on what they choose to help themselves. Because most doctors and medical facilities do not post their prices causing a lack of transparency, consumers have a tough time figuring out their costs and understanding why they were often charged so much for so little. In other instances, lower costs do not equate to better care. Often, an effective provider spends more time, uses more effective procedures and diagnostics and charges more per office visit, however looks can be deceiving. These same providers get better results and often cost less in time, money and frustration even though it seems they are more expensive per visit. Ineffective care, including those in managed care plans that cut corners to afford the low levels of reimbursement will take longer to get results and in the end, may have inferior skills to get you the relief you deserve. Price isn't everything. On the other hand, an MRI that costs $700 with your insurance and $299 cash (yes, this is not a misprint) is the same MRI read by a trained radiologist. In this case, why pay more. Most people would choose a different path if they knew better. The fact is that you can know better, however, most people read often misleading information on health topics that are spun by the sources they are offered by. Sources like web MD will for instance give you a medical perspective on Fibromyalgia, with many other sites echoing the same spun slightly differently. What if they are all wrong, and there is a mechanical component behind why we hurt? What if this way of looking at chronic pain was reproducible again and again, but because it is not funded by a drug interest with deep pockets who is interested in developing the next blockbuster drug never is adequately evaluated? This is the reason you need to think outside the box and take control of the situation. How else can you pick and choose those best to help you get out of and stay out of pain? The book Cheating Mother Nature, what you need to know to beat chronic pain is full of information that tells the truth about why most people hurt. The author realized that most people can understand why they hurt if they just had it explained to them in plain English. The problem is that when your healthcare provider, someone who you assume is knowledgeable in all areas of our health cannot explain this to you because they do not understand it themselves, how are you going to understand it. This results in fear which results in specialists which results in medications, rehabilitation and even procedures that have no proven long term benefit. The growing problem with healthcare costs is now part of your problem because now your insurance has a high deductible which you have to pay. Consumer plans that are becoming more commonplace are making it so you have to know the costs and pay more of them. The idea is that you will ration your own care, avoid unnecessary or ineffective care regimens, however, you may also put off care you need and do not realize it until it costs much more later on. Unfortunately, with all the misinformation, lack of transparency of what most providers charge and the fear of how your pain is affecting your lifestyle, marriage and other relationships, consumers need more ammunition to make these decisions. This is why you need to read Cheating Mother Nature, what you need to know to beat chronic pain. Available affordably for under $20 through Amazon.com and other booksellers, gives you the tools to help you and your family find the best care, for the most reasonable costs which is essential in todays healthcare environment. Find out What Fibromalgia really is (Hint, it is not what the board of Rhumatology came up with) What restless leg syndrome is (You will be surprised when you read the book). What happened to healthcare and why it became more of a business than a way to help you. Why knees hurt, and why they go bad and why it is preventable. What lower back pain is caused by and how to prevent it. The genetics of chronic back pain (most experts think it is a defective disc however the real reason can be understood by engineers and more importantly you) The reason behind your stressed shoulders and neck (It has little to do with stress but is aggravated by it. How you can find those healthcare providers who are most likely to help you. and more............ A while ago, while watching Dr. Oz speak about why back pain is a disease, and how his panel of specialists was sheepishly quiet about how their profession of pain management would charge the heck out of you with no guarantees of success, I realized the problem most of us have. Those of you in pain are trying to evaluate who would help you effectively and affordably and what you could do for yourselves to live pain free. Even though his program is really entertainment, and supported by advertisers' (drug and hospital interests), his public who watched the problem saw it as health information and may actually make decisions on the whims of what the advertisers' wanted us to see on television. Again lies the problem...who can you believe is going to help you live a more pain free productive life; the specialists who know little about chronic pain but know plenty about expensive procedures and harmful drugs or a book that explains the truth about why people hurt, how you can be in control and how you can find those who are most likely to help you. In closing, most people buy a television with more information and less emotion than they do a healthcare service. The human body has many mechanisms behind chronic pain that are understandable to the average person, however the system that claims to have the answers doesn't which results in high costs, many disappointments and people resorting to drugs they would otherwise avoid. Read Cheating Mother Nature, what you need to know to beat chronic pain. You owe it to yourself and your families health to understand why pain is unique to each person and what to do about it.