Dr. Gerard Jarvis

08/24/2026

🚨 What if getting rid of your back pain could come with a hidden cost?

This is a conversation we believe deserves much more attention.

We see many patients after radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and we commonly see increased atrophy in the small but vital muscles that support and stabilize the spine.

RFA can reduce pain by disrupting the nerves that carry pain signals. Sounds great, right?

But here’s the concern: those same nerves may also play a role in activating the muscles that help stabilize your spine. Over time, reduced activation may contribute to muscle weakness and atrophy.

If you have a chronic back condition and undergo denervation of muscles that are essential for movement and spinal stability, you may further compromise the structural support that helps protect the spinal cord and sensitive nerve roots. Over time, inadequate stability can contribute to worsening neurological signs and symptoms, potentially progressing to the point where a neurosurgical consultation is necessary and stabilization procedures, such as spinal fusion, may be considered.

As Kevin Pho, MD, recently highlighted:

“Nobody designed that outcome, and nobody owns it.”
The question shouldn’t only be:
“How do we reduce pain?”

It should also be:

“How do we reduce pain while protecting strength, function, and long-term spinal stability?”

Pain relief matters.
But so does keeping your body strong and supported as you age.

If you’ve had RFA or you’re considering it- take a closer look at the bigger picture. Your MRI may tell an important part of the story.

📞 Call today to schedule a consultation and MRI review.

08/23/2026

kidneys deserve more attention.

We often think of medication as harmless because it’s prescribed or available over the counter. But taking medications like they’re candy, using them too often, at high doses, or for too long can have consequences for the kidneys, liver, and gut.

Here’s a number worth knowing: in a large study of adults 66 and older, new NSAID use was associated with a 41% higher relative risk of acute kidney injury within 30 days compared with non-use. The absolute risk was 0.82% versus 0.59%. {"fallbackMarkdown":"(PubMed)","reference":{"matched_text":"","prefix":null,"start_idx":578,"end_idx":597,"safe_urls"😞"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31264694/","https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31264694/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"refs":[],"alt":"(PubMed)","prompt_text":null,"type":"grouped_webpages","style":null,"fallback_items":null,"status":"done","error":null,"items":[{"title":"Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and risk of acute kidney injury and hyperkalemia in older adults: a population-based study - PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31264694/?utm_source=chatgpt.com","attribution":"PubMed","pub_date":1561939200,"snippet":"","attribution_segments":null,"supporting_websites":[],"refs":[{"turn_index":0,"ref_type":"search","ref_index":0}],"hue":null,"attributions":null}]},"showLoginRequiredCard":false}

That doesn’t mean everyone who takes an NSAID will develop kidney problems. But it does mean “over the counter” doesn’t mean risk-free.

The takeaway? Know what you’re taking, how often you’re taking it, and whether you actually need it. Lifestyle approaches that support overall health movement, nutrition, sleep, stress management and mindfulness can also play an important role.

The goal isn’t to fear medication. It’s to use it wisely and protect your kidneys along the way.

08/21/2026

The Monopoly You Don’t See

How do you monopolize medicine?

You don’t have to control every doctor.

You control the pipeline that creates doctors.

Influence what gets taught in medical schools.

Shape what research gets funded.

Reward certain behaviors.

Influence the journals that determine what becomes “evidence.”

Repeat the narrative until questioning it seems irrational.

A recent study reportedly found that 42% of medical journal editors receive industry payments annually, averaging more than $55,000.

The question isn’t simply whether those payments are legal.

The uncomfortable question is:

What happens when the people deciding which evidence gets published have financial relationships with the industries that benefit from that evidence?

This doesn’t mean every doctor is corrupt. Most physicians genuinely want to help their patients.

But good people can still operate inside a system with distorted incentives.

So ask yourself:

How much of what a doctor believes was independently discovered- and how much was shaped by the system that educated, funded, rewarded, and informed them?

Because if you influence the education, research, journals, guidelines, and incentives, you may not need to control every doctor.

You control the environment in which medical truth is defined.

And perhaps the most important question isn't “Who is corrupt?”

It’s:

“Who benefits from the way we define medical truth?”

Here’s an example that should make us stop and think.

Three major pharmaceutical companies and some of their documented settlement payouts:

Johnson & Johnson: $5 BILLION
GSK: $3 BILLION
Pfizer: $2.3 BILLION

These aren’t conspiracy theories.
They’re documented settlements involving allegations of misconduct.

The uncomfortable question isn’t whether pharmaceutical companies have influence.

It’s how much influence money has over what medicine teaches, what research gets funded, what gets published- and ultimately what we call “evidence.”

When billions are at stake, shouldn’t we be asking who influences the system - and who benefits from it?

08/20/2026

A heartbreaking reminder of just how serious medical errors can be.

A woman was left paralyzed following a medication error during what was supposed to be routine knee surgery at a Nashville hospital and sadly, she is not alone.

Potassium chloride (KCl) is a medication used routinely in healthcare, but it should never be injected into the intrathecal space around the spinal cord. When concentrated potassium comes into contact with neural tissue, it can cause sustained depolarization, disrupt nerve conduction, and result in severe neurotoxicity and tissue injury. The consequences can include excruciating pain, muscle spasms, ascending paralysis, autonomic instability, permanent neurological damage, and, in the most severe cases, respiratory failure.

This is why medication preparation, labeling, storage, and verification systems matter so much. In healthcare, safety protocols aren't simply boxes to check they are critical layers of protection designed to prevent human error from becoming a life-altering tragedy.

No procedure should ever be considered “routine” when a patient's life and well-being are in our hands. Medical errors can have devastating consequences, and every safeguard matters.

My heart goes out to the patients and families whose lives have been forever changed by preventable medical errors.:::

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08/17/2026

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You don’t need to be extraordinary. You just need to be consistent.

The Rule of 100 is a simple reminder that small amounts of focused effort can become surprisingly powerful over time.

Spend 100 hours in a year getting better at something you care about.

That sounds like a lot until you break it down.

It’s roughly 18 minutes a day.

Imagine spending just 18 minutes every day learning a language, writing, reading, coding, drawing, exercising, or developing a professional skill.

You probably won’t become the best in the world.

But you’ll be far ahead of the version of yourself who spent those 18 minutes scrolling.

The biggest advantage isn’t talent.

It’s showing up when you don’t feel motivated.

Because while someone is waiting for the perfect time to start, someone else is quietly putting in 18 minutes today.

Then another 18 minutes tomorrow.

And another the day after.

That’s how tiny actions become big results.

You don’t need to transform your life overnight.

Pick one skill. Give it 18 focused minutes a day. Do it for a year.

Consistency may look boring in the beginning.

But give it enough time, and the results become impossible to ignore.

Your future self will thank you for the small things you do consistently today.

Follow Mindset Reading for your daily content.

08/15/2026

I sometimes see “TikTok doctors” dismiss anything outside the traditional playbook for pain and health.

Nutrition? “That doesn’t matter.”

Vitamins? “You don’t need those.”

Regenerative technologies? “There’s no evidence.”

Light therapy? “That’s just hype.”

But history tells a different story.
Niels Ryberg Finsen won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903 for his work using concentrated light therapy to treat lupus vulgaris, a painful and disfiguring form of tuberculosis affecting the skin.

Light wasn’t a gimmick. It was science.
The truth is simple: you know what you know, and you don’t know what you don’t know.

That applies to all of us - doctors
Included.

The problem comes when ego and closed-minded thinking limit the conversation to only two options: pharmaceuticals and surgery. Those tools can be life-changing when needed, but they shouldn’t be the only tools we’re willing to explore.

Your body responds to the basics we often overlook:
☀️ Light
🥗 Nutrition
🏃 Movement
😴 Sleep
🧬 Cellular health

Light isn’t just something we see - it’s a signal our body uses.

The future of healthcare shouldn’t be about choosing sides. It should be about understanding every tool available and using the right one for the right person at the right time.

Sometimes the answer isn’t another prescription.

Sometimes it starts with looking at what we’ve forgotten.



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08/15/2026

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THE BRAIN’S GLYMPHATIC SYSTEM 🧠🌙

Your brain has its own waste-clearance system.
During sleep, cerebrospinal fluid moves through spaces around brain tissue and helps clear metabolic waste. This process is associated with the brain’s glymphatic system and is especially active during sleep.
Your brain doesn’t simply “switch off” at night.
While you sleep, it’s still working, maintaining, processing, and clearing waste.
Sleep isn’t just rest.
It’s part of your brain’s maintenance system.
How many hours of sleep do you usually get? 👇

08/14/2026

Healthcare: Ask Questions. Know the Risks.

Not every test, procedure, prescription, or immunization is automatically “good for you” simply because it’s recommended.

Medical decisions deserve informed consent - not blind trust.

Research can be influenced by financial interests. Studies are funded by companies that stand to profit from a product. And sometimes, years later, serious problems emerge and a drug, device, or treatment is restricted or withdrawn.

That doesn’t mean “all medicine is bad.” It means we should ask better questions.

Before saying yes, ask:

• What is the actual benefit for me?
• What are the known risks—and how likely are they?
• What does the independent evidence say?
• Who funded the research?
• Are there reasonable alternatives?
• What happens if I wait or do nothing?
• Is this recommendation based on my individual risk- or simply the average patient?

Your healthcare provider should be a partner, not an unquestionable authority. Being your own advocate doesn’t mean rejecting medicine- it means understanding what you’re agreeing to.

When economics, incentives, and ethics become blurred, patients can pay the price.

Be informed. Ask questions. Look at the evidence. Know your options. Your health deserves nothing less.



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08/14/2026

Mark Wahlberg’s story is a powerful reminder that surgery isn’t always the first or only answer. Despite significant shoulder and back injuries and being told he needed surgery, he chose to focus on strengthening his body, optimizing nutrition, and improving overall function.

One surgery often leads to another like dominoes so when appropriate, conservative care should be fully explored first. There are important exceptions, especially acute trauma or serious neurological conditions such as cauda equina syndrome/saddle anesthesia, where urgent surgery may be necessary.

For pain, tingling, numbness, and many musculoskeletal issues, a thoughtful, evidence-based conservative approach with modern technologies can often help people avoid unnecessary surgery.





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