Today pain is often associated with an accident, work related injury, arthritis, degenerative disk disease (which really isn't a disease, most of us start degeneration around 35 anyhow). Pain itself most likely start's long before something ever actually happens, lack of exercise, poor diet, poor posture, even normal daily habits.

Here are some easy ways to help with pain; Stop walking your dog (no matter the size) with the same arm all the time, switch! Don't vacuum this way either. These things may not seem simple at first but trust me you'll get it. Sit up straight in your chairs, sofa, and car. Stop sitting on your leg when you do sit on your sofa. And stop leaning on your window frame or on the center console to make tuning in the radio easier. Sit straight when in your car and in front of your PC. When driving what you know is to far, take frequent breaks.

Whether you run or walk, try and do it on an “even” surface. If you must walk on the road, please come back on the same side you walked up on, kinda like what you do at the beach. Ladies, please stop carrying your purses on your shoulders. If you insist on doing so, switch! Same goes for luggage. Mom's that carry your children on your hips, switch! You'll get used to it, and your body will love you for it.

Stop holding the phone between your ear and your neck. Granted this does not apply to everything. Most of us can not swing a hammer with both hands, or throw a ball, paint, play an instrument ...

Inflammation = Degenerative Disease

Inflammation has long been linked to both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Now, emerging research shows links to allergies, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, diabetes, digestive disorders, heart disease, hormonal imbalances and osteoporosis. Andrew Weil, holistic health M.D., Nicholas Perricone, M.D., an anti-aging expert, Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D., a biochemist and health writer Jack Challem, author of The Inflammation Syndrome, have spoken widely about the damage that inflammation causes.

Inflamed tissues result in redness, heat, swelling, pain and loss of function. When acute inflammation doesn't shut down, it becomes chronic and causes damage to the injured tissues. Bland, the nutritional biochemist, says, "Inflammatory stimuli, such as bacterial infection, trauma, ischemic events, stress-related events, toxic exposures, allergens and chronic viral infections activate the inflammatory response."

According to these health experts, the biggest culprit in causing abnormal inflammation is the pathetic "standard American diet" (SAD) of heavily processed convenience and fast foods. Perricone believes that "Inflammation equals aging. Inflammation is the reason you get wrinkles; why you forget things, why you can be irritable and depressed and why you lose the healthy bloom of youth."

Inflammation is what causes arthritic pain, stiffness when using your muscles, the wheezing of asthma and the discomfort of allergies. It is even possible that the progression of atherosclerosis is directly related to chronic inflammation in up to 50 percent of cases. Excess acid production also increases the inflammatory response leading to loss of bone and joint tissues.

To reduce degenerative disease, it's necessary to avoid pro-inflammatory foods and rely on anti-inflammatory foods...

Pro-inflammatory foods to avoid:

Perricone says sugar is one of the most serious causes of inflammation, rapid aging and weight gain. Sugary foods quickly elevate blood sugar, creating an insulin release along with free radicals that oxidize fats. When oxidized, the fats form plaque deposits in our arteries, leading to disease. Thus, a diet high in sweets, pasta, fruit juices, cereals and even rice cakes can actually lead to heart disease. Insulin release also increases stored body fat and release of pro-inflammatory chemicals causing cell damage and accelerated aging.

Anti-inflammatory foods and dietary supplements to include:

"Inflammation is a root cause of degenerative diseases." Andrew Weil, Holistic M.D.

It is time for medical schools to improve nutrition education. If physicians are trained to use "food as medicine," they may not need to rely upon drugs (and their distressing side-effects) to treat inflammation.

|Top|

Why Does It Hurt?

If you can only move your head, arm, hip, knee, elbow, foot or hand a certain degree before pain is felt, that's your bodies way of saying "Woa" that's far enough! The reason it does so is to keep you from hurting yourself any further. A simple muscle, tendon or ligament (soft-tissue) injury is usually due to something called "Micro-tears". Your bodies protective response is to keep you from creating more tears. That's also the reason that all the other muscles around the injury site tend to tighten, Protection!

Now, here comes western medicine with its pain-killers and anti-inflammatory's. Since the injury (symptoms) feels better, you can now go about your daily business with less or no pain. Great idea right? Here's the problem. That pain that is some-what diminished or gone does not mean that you are not creating more micro-tears as you due your daily chores. You are! You just don't feel it happening. Whenever micro-tearing accures , the way the body repairs the soft-tissue is by creating scar tissue. If the injury is small, or kept small, the scar tissue buildup is small. Usually not requiring a great deal to heal and return to normal (If addressed within reasonable time). Even though you are not feeling the pain, you are now creating new added micro-tears.

You may wonder why the pain keeps coming back time and time again. But western medicine knows why. They expect you to be back, time and time again. The first time may be after ten or so years. The next may only be five to six. Then two to three... See the pattern? If you keep moving passed the bodies limitations because you can no longer feel the pain, and creating more and more scar tissue in the process, do not be surprised when the Dr. increases your dosage or changes the prescription all together. Or maybe just adding another.

No matter what it comes down to, treating the symptoms without looking for the cause is just not good medicine.

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease".
Thomas A. Edison

|Top|

Pain Cycle

First, there is PAIN. Then the body adapts beginning Pain-Spasm-Pain-Cycle.

The PSPC is the vicious spiral of poor posture and unbalanced motion causing chronic pain and recurring injury. The cycle begins with an injury. Once injured, the body moves in a way to avoid pain. Over time the body compensates and adapts to moving differently. Some muscles become chronically tight and other muscles weaken. Also, ligaments stretch to accommodate uneven body motion. This results in chronic unbalanced motion and postural changes, along with chronic fatigue due to the increased level of unwanted metabolic wastes, toxins and decreased level of oxygen & nutrients supplied to the tissues.

The PSPC is a result of moving in ways to avoid pain and keep the head, neck and eyes straight & forward in order to retain equilibrium. This leads to muscle imbalance and joint stress. Your unique Body Type, injuries and Life Habits become part of how your body moves.

LAW OF MOTION

To every action there is always an opposed equal reaction; or the mutual action of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts. This is the law that governs why people always look crooked.

|Top|

Psychosomatic, Real?

Have you ever had a pain that just seemed to disappear when another different pain appeared suddenly? You walk into something with your big toe and “BAM” that other pain just seems to have disappeared, even if only for a minute. Oh it's still there al-right, you've just forgotten all about it for the time being.

Years ago the term Psychosomatic was used quite often, too often. Today the term has been shortened to just Somatic. Well, whatever you call it, it's real. As the above paragraph reads, we've all experienced it or something very similar to it at one time or another.

Here are three very real stories, from the simple, to the extreme, but all very true.

1) As a massage therapist, I run across many that either just can't relax, can't stop thinking about a specific pain, or both. One afternoon a referral client came in. Not only was this his very first massage, but he had just found out that his therapist was me, a man. This presented a little problem, at first. But it is an easy fix. When dealing with a male, you just bring up a sporting event or team, food or drink, a pretty movie star, politics, a car ... and “viola”, tension subsides. By keeping the conversation simple and to the point, the tension seldomly returns. I just brought up a subject of interest, and his mind changed his train of thought.

2) One Saturday afternoon, my wife was suffering from one of her monthly migraines. She complained about it from the time she awoke, shades drawn, hat, and everybody be quiet. She was still miserable when I spoke with her an hour before leaving work (1 p.m.). When I came home just after 2 p.m., she was laughing and smiling, “Not” from medication, but enjoying a surprise visit from some passed neighbors whom we had not seen for a year. We sat and laughed out on our “Sunny” deck for a couple of hours, went out for dinner and laughed even more. When we left them around 8p.m. with expectations of another evening out, she was just fine. All the way home, she was in a great mood, never bringing up her headache. 15 minutes after arriving home the headache was back. From the time they arrove, she had changed her train of thought, until she had time to think about it. This is not always the case, but it does prove a very valid point.

3) This is one of the best. While working with a new client, I noticed that she could not keep her right leg still. When I brought it up, she had no clue she was doing so. She then told me that that leg had a knee replacement about 8 years prior, and had since givin her a fit, as she put it. To put a stop to the leg movement, I brought up grandchildren (she was 71, easy question) At the very second she said yes, the leg stopped. We spoke of their ages, sex, locations, hair, eyes etc. About 40 minutes later when the conversation was becoming stale, the leg started again. So I asked what was on her mind. She told me with huge concern that a big family reunion had been planned for next week. In Disney. She was extremely worried that she was going to be a burden for the whole family because of all the walking involved. I told her that if she made me a solum promise before I told her how, I would be able to aleaviate her knee pain during her trip. Of course she said yes. I noticed she was still wearing her watch during her massage. She stated that she seldom ever took it off. I then informed her that her watch was the key to having “No” pain during her trip. If the watch was “battery” operated, she must un-clasp it every hour on the hour, spin it around once, and clasp it again. If she arrove at the park at 9:05, she needed to wait until 10:00. If she forgot at any time, she was to wait until the next hour. When I saw her again 2 weeks later, she informed me with great confusion that their vacation was the first time in 8 years that she had absolutely no pain of any kind and was able to enjoy the reunion. Basically I gave her a “Placebo”, which some say is a phony cure. But there was nothing phony about her response! The watch battery? Just something I thought of at that time. Since her last visit, I have not seen nor heard from her at all. I wonder?

|Top|

Muscle Memory

That nagging “old” injury.

Im not gonna get into all the technical jargon, but everyone is somewhat familiar with the concept of “Muscle Memory”. It's simple really, the body and mind work together in the hope of either keeping you from re-injuring yourself, or by allowing you to return to an old or passed function/exercise by embedding memory into the muscles themselves. Guy's are best known for the old “Oh!, that dang old football injury”. The first time may be 10, 12, or maybe even 15 years later. Then maybe 5, 6 or 7 years. Now it seems to be every 2 or 3 years.

But, good memory exists also. Some of us following a lifestyle change, or just after many years of “loafin” around decide that it's time to get back into the swing of things (whatever that may be) and “Wow” beyond our wildest expectations, it was easier than we thought. We are actually amazed as to how well we re-adapt. That's the good side of muscle memory.

Now, the big question. Can muscle memory be changed or re-taught. The answer is yes, but not without challenge and determination. Always remember, it took you how long to get to where you are. Things, whatever they may be do not change over-night. Although we would like to think they do. Or hope they would.

|Top|

Now, if that same pitcher only pitches 1 inning, you still see him covered in ice. Owners, trainers and sports doctors all seem to know the importance of ice (Cryotherapy) when dealing with injuries and rehab. Even if a player feels no pain what-so-ever, they know that enough was done however to create even a small amount of inflammation. If “that” inflammation is dealt with immediately, no further damage, inflammation or pain can be caused.

I've seen ice used in all sorts of sports from grade school to pro. What do they know that we do not. Nothing. I remember my grandmother telling me, Ok Stevie, lay down, lets get an ice pack on that right-away. We've become so reliant on pain-killers, we've forgot about the simple things, that by the way, work better and have virtually no harmfull side effects. Besides, drugs just diminish your awareness of the pain and allow you to continue with the same activity that injured you in the first place. For myself, that's not good medicine.

Since about 80% of pain is due to inflammation, and since ice reduces inflammation, you see where this is going. In my Orthopedic Massage practice I use Cryotherapy early and often, with phenomenal results. Check out a truly remarkable shoulder surgery story, where Cryotherapy was used to speed recovery from 9+ months to just 9 weeks. (click here)

|Top|