Ricky's Riffs:

Random Thoughts on Travel, Education, Health, and the World in General


Pathologizing the Female Body: Pregnancy, Modern Medicine and Integrative Care

April 30th, 2015

Pregnancy can be one of a woman’s most beautiful life experiences; an event many have dreamed of since girlhood. Hormones surge, creating a sense of euphoria (as well as occasional nausea). The awareness slowly arises of a real human being, her child, growing inside of her.Read the rest of this entry »


From Stools to Thrones: The Chair and Its Discontents…or, How Chairs Tell Us Who We Are

March 6th, 2015

The objects with which we surround ourselves serve multiple functions. On the one hand they may be utilitarian: dressers, chairs, and desks that support our home and work lives. At the same time, they tell us and others who we are. Does our home or office convey sophistication (elegant furniture), intelligence (books) or artiness (paintings and sculpture)? Are we practical (sparely furnished rooms) or frivolous (surrounded by knick-knacks)?

These objects can also convey status and authority. A king’s throne, for example, sits squarely in the middle of the reception hall. It is likely the most ornately carved piece of furniture in the room and is placed on a platform, denoting power and proximity to God. Or take in contrast the simple stool, without frills, designating its user as a worker focused on completing a singular task.

Both “chairs” serve a function and tell a story. Like that king and those workers, we create our worlds with purpose.Read the rest of this entry »


“Sitting is the New Smoking”: “7 on Your Side” Featuring Dr. Ricky Fishman

January 29th, 2015

The utility of sit/stand desks is finally hitting the mainstream. Here is a Channel 7 segment that was on “Seven On Your Side” with Michael Finney. I am featured:)

Feel free to make comments or get in touch with me with any questions about the revolution taking place in the field of work site ergonomics.

Click below and enjoy!
 

 


Ebola, Chronic Disease and the Road to Wellness

November 23rd, 2014

The Ebola epidemic is still raging through West Africa. Thousands are dead, including many health care workers who bravely fought the disease on the front lines.

There is an urgent demand to develop the medicines needed to defeat Ebola. Experimental drugs are being rushed to field hospitals. While it is projected that large batches of drugs should arrive by January, many thousands will by then be dead–and tens of thousands will likely be infected.

Much has already been written about why the world was caught “off guard” when the Ebola epidemic struck despite warnings by infectious disease experts. We have a highly sophisticated pharmaceutical industry (Big Pharma) that produces a steady stream of “miracle” drugs. But what drives the research and development of these ubiquitous medicines is singular: profit.Read the rest of this entry »


A Meditation on the Middle East Conflict, Islamophobia and the Need for Global Healing

October 12th, 2014

The Middle East is imploding. Israel has “mowed the lawn” in Gaza, wreaking havoc on the Palestinian population. Hamas, aggressively or defensively, has launched hundreds of rockets, their goal to terrify the Israelis. Assad has slaughtered over 100,000 Syrians. ISIS pushes to establish a modern Caliphate, killing its way to the very gates of the ancient capital of Babylon. At the same time Afghanistan is collapsing, Libya has become a failed state, Egypt is under martial control once again, and the Arab Spring has given way to a cold, uncertain winter.

One major effect of these conflicts has been the worldwide rise of Islamophobia. Read the rest of this entry »


Prescription for Change: On the Construction of a True Integrative Health Model

August 22nd, 2014

In a health care environment marked by raging turf battles that pit one profession against another, positive change will require—as a start–introspection and self-criticism by providers from different disciplines.

I am trained as a chiropractor, and have practiced my craft for almost 30 years. But the dominance of the allopathic medical profession has forced me to work in isolation. Chiropractors have been excluded from hospitals, marginalized by insurance companies, and subjected to ridicule by the American Medical Associations PR wing.(1)

To survive, we have upheld a holistic philosophy and championed effective treatment. As a result, chiropractic has become the most powerful and popular of the “alternative” modalities. At the same time, the pressure to work on our own in solo practices has tended to separate us from practitioners in the other healing arts. Read the rest of this entry »


Health Care Reform: A New Way of Thinking

June 18th, 2014

Discussions about health care reform tend to focus on payment methods. Critics assert that insurance companies (in concert with pharmaceutical companies and hospitals) are the primary causes of runaway costs. While there is a relationship between payment methods and quality of care, too much time has been spent on the former part of the equation. To reform the American health care system we must begin our analysis by looking more deeply into how care is delivered. Read the rest of this entry »