How can I benefit from Medical Insurance Billing?

Medical insurance billing was designed with physicians in mind. In order to utilize medical insurance billing you need to be working with a medical professional, whether it be a chiropractor, physical therapist, occupational therapist, clinical counselors or any other licensed professional through a state board of quality assurance or other licensing agency. These licensed medical professionals will be given a unique physician identification number or UPIN, which allows them to bill services rendered to a third party. There will be factors like the customary reimbursement or UCR, and geographic adjustment factor or GAF that will determine what will be charged. The three billing procedures that would apply to you as an FT or CFT would be: (1) rehabilitative exercises for specific areas, (2) stabilization of joints through progressive resistive exercises to increase functional ability and (3) also with both workers' compensation and personal injury cases as an adjunct to your given professional's (whether it be chiropractors, physical therapists etc.) modalities. Developing solid medical referrals and your knowledge of all aspects of insurance will make you more valuable in your marketing efforts as an ISSA CFT or FT.

I have a friend who is taking Clenbuterol. What is it and should I take it?

Clenbuterol, which is generally associated with steroids, is not a steroid hormone but a beta-2-symphatomimetic. Its effects, however, can be compared to those of steroids. Clenbuterol can cause a solid, highly qualitative muscle growth, which goes hand in hand with a significant strength gain. Clenbuterol, above all, has a strong anti-catabolic effect, which means it decreases the rate at which protein is reduced in the muscle cell, consequently causing an enlargement of muscle cells. For this reason, numerous athletes use Clenbuterol after steroid treatment to balance the resulting catabolic phase and thus obtain maximum strength and muscle mass. A further aspect of Clenbuterol is its distinct fat-burning effect. Clenbuterol burns fat without dieting because it increases the body temperature slightly, forcing the body to burn fat for this process. Due to the higher body temperature, Clenbuterol magnifies the effect of anabolic/androgenic steroids taken simultaneously, since the protein processing is increased. We at ISSA do not recommend or advocate the use of Clenbuterol in your fitness endeavors unless under the direct supervision of a qualified physician.

What is Guillain-Barre Syndrome?

Guillain-Barrè (ghee-yan bah-ray) syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances the weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the patient is almost totally paralyzed. In these cases the disorder is life threatening - potentially interfering with breathing and, at times, with blood pressure or heart rate - and is considered a medical emergency. Such a patient is often put on a respirator to assist with breathing and is watched closely for problems such as an abnormal heartbeat, infections, blood clots, and high or low blood pressure. Most patients, however, recover from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barrè syndrome, although some continue to have a certain degree of weakness. Guillain-Barrè syndrome can affect anybody. It can strike at any age and both sexes are equally prone to the disorder. The syndrome is rare, however, afflicting only about one person in 100,000. Usually Guillain-Barrè occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally surgery or vaccinations will trigger the syndrome. The disorder can develop over the course of hours or days, or it may take up to 3 to 4 weeks. Most people reach the stage of greatest weakness within the first 2 weeks after symptoms appear, and by the third week of the illness, 90 percent of all patients are at their weakest. This information is not intended as medical advice and should not replace the recommendations of your physician.

For additional information, please visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke http://www.ninds.nih.gov.

I recently read an article that mentioned the size principle. What is this principle?

According to the size principle, motor units are recruited in order according to their recruitment thresholds and firing rates. Since most muscles contain a range of Type I and Type II fibers, force production can be very low or very high. Therefore, to get to a high-threshold motor unit, all of the motor units below it must be sequentially recruited. Heavy resistance training recruits these high threshold motor units; therefore, all the units below it can undergo hormonal adaptations to the stress of the heavy loads.

What is Marfan Syndrome?

The Marfan syndrome is a heritable disorder of the connective tissue that affects many organ systems, including the skeleton, lungs, eyes, heart and blood vessels. The condition affects both men and women of any race or ethnic group. It is estimated that at least 200,000 people in the United States have the Marfan syndrome or a related connective tissue disorder. The Marfan syndrome is difficult to diagnose because there is no specific laboratory test for the condition. In addition, characteristics of the disorder vary greatly among affected individuals. Most affected people do not have all of the possible signs and complications of the syndrome. An accurate diagnosis of the Marfan syndrome can be assessed after a complete physical examination that focuses on the systems affected by the disorder. This includes Echocardiogram, a sound wave picture of the heart by a cardiologist, Slit-lamp eye examination by an ophthalmologist, skeletal examination by an orthopedist and a complete family history. The identification in 1991 of the chromosome, gene and component of connective tissue (fibrillin) in which the mutation for the Marfan syndrome is located offers great promise for the diagnosis of the condition. It is hoped that as a better understanding of fibrillin is gained, earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the Marfan syndrome will be possible. This is not intended as medical advice and should not replace the recommendations of your physician.

For additional information, please visit The National Marfan Foundation at http://www.marfan.org/pub/factsheet.html.