Our Blog - Helpful Tips for a Healthier Lifestyle

Managing Fibromyalgia Naturally: Digestive Health, Pain Reduction, and Nutrition

Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:40:04 +0000

Crystal –

Good talking with you. There is a lot of information here and in the recorded consult. Develop a personal plan of attack and then start.

Check back here for your recorded consult.

A lot to go over and there are a few major factors that need attention so I suggest a follow up call in a couple weeks to make sure you are on the right track.

1. Thyroid testing

Test:

TSH, T4, T3, Anti-TPO, Anti-TG
Without all these in the thyroid test, there is no way to know how your thyroid is working.
Depending on the results, you may need to supplement with Thyroid Support by Gaia and Adrenal Support Plus. Do not take Thyroid Support until you know you need it.
Need to rule this out or in.

2. Hemochromatosis

Test:

Serum Iron, Serum Ferritin, Percent of Transferrin Saturation

Information about hemochromatosis.
Need to rule this out or in.

3. Adrenal Fatigue

Directly linked to Fibromyalgia

Additional information here.

Consider supplementing with 1 capsule of Adrenal Support Plus in the AM and one in the afternoon. If, after one week, you are not noticing improvement, take 2 capsules of Adrenal Fatigue in the AM and 2 capsules at lunch. Do

Do not take Adrenal Support Plus, B Vitamins or a multivitamin within 5 hours of going to bed as they will interfere with your sleep.
You may find Adrenal Support Plus here.

4. Dietary Changes

Ideally, avoid all dairy products, including yogurt. Change to coconut based yogurt instead.
Avoid wheat if possible or as much as you can. Use 100% rye bread, rice, gluten free, and quinoa. All these are great substitutes. My family and I have been wheat free for 5 years now and dairy free for 1 year. Don’t miss it at all.
Keep avoiding tomatoes.
Eat smaller but more frequent meals. Already seems like you are doing this.
Make sure you eat a bit of protein before sleep to allow a deeper sleep

5. Sleep Improvement

Magnesium and Vitamin B6 are commonly deficient in those who do not sleep well.
Consider taking 1 capsule of Magnesium Plus in the AM, one in the afternoon and 1 at night 30 minutes before sleep.
Taking the Adrenal Support Plus in the AM and at lunch will also begin to improve your sleep.
Exercise by walking during the day. Begin with 5 minutes for a week. Then do 10 minutes, then 15 and so on. Increase as you feel energy and do not over do it.
Do not exercise at night as it is stimulating.
Do not take hot baths or hot showers before bed as they are stimulating. Rather take neutral temperature baths or showers if needed.

6. Pain Reduction

Apply Castor Oil to all areas of pain.

Do this daily
Also apply castor oil over your entire abdominal region each evening. Wear an old T-shirt to prevent the castor oil from soiling the linens. You may also apply the Castor oil 30 minutes before sleep and by bedtime, it should be nearly all but absorbed.

Obtain Magnesium sulfate or Epsom Salt (same thing) from a animal feed store.

They usually have Magnesium sulfate in 25 pound bags.
Add 1-2 pounds of Magnesium sulfate to the hot bath, stir well until it is all dissolved.
Add 500 mL of Moor Mud to your bath. This helps relieve pain significantly.
Have the temperature of your bath around 107 degrees F or as hot as you can stand.
Stay in the bath for up to 15 minutes or until you have the feeling that you have had enough.
Full instructions of how to do a Moor Mud bath are included in the package.
Do this three times a week for 3 weeks. Research shows that when hot baths are taken with moor mud and done consistently, the pain relief stays for a longer duration compared to taking a moor mud bath once a week and spaced out too long. Yuko Agishi is the Japanese researcher who discussed this in detail.

D-Ribose taken at 5 grams a day has shown to be effective at reducing pain in those suffering from fibromyalgia symptoms.

You may find Ribose here.
Consider taking 1 teaspoon three times a day mixed in a little bit of water. The taste is nice so that is not a concern.
Research on D-ribose and Fibromyalgia can be found here.

Ribose is the most common and typically the most effective single nutrient used to reduce pain in those suffering from fibromyalgia

Given your history of Hepatitis A, your liver is not functioning optimally as it likely has not received nutrients to repair itself fully.

Chronic pain is associated with liver congestion and the liver’s inability to process toxins.
As toxins build up, they cause pain.
Reducing the liver congestion improves the liver’s ability to process metabolites and toxins. This reduces pain.
Consider taking 2 capsules of Liver GI-Detox at dinner. Do this for one week. If you find little relief, then take an additional capsule at lunch time.

7. Digestive Repair from Routine Antibiotic Use

Overgrowth of non-beneficial bacteria that reside in your digestive tract cause inflammation which leads to pain.
By taking a high potency probiotic that has multiple strains, the harmful digestive bacteria should become crowded out and become much less in numbers or become extinguished altogether.
Consider taking 200 billion beneficial bacteria during dinner time. This amount is found in ½ teaspoon of ProBiota 12 Powder or 4 capsules of ProBiota 12 capsules.

I recommend the ProBiota 12 powder as it is more cost effective at higher doses.
Once the bottle of ProBiota 12 is finished, you may reduce down to 1 capsule of ProBiota 12 at dinner time. Higher doses are no longer needed after a month’s use.

Research shows that there is an extremely strong link between fibromyalgia and imbalanced digestive bacteria. This is why I am suggesting you consider ProBiota 12. One month of ProBiota 12 taken at 200 billion organisms per serving each evening at dinner should have significant benefit.

Click here to read the research which shows the connection between fibromyalgia and harmful digestive bacteria.
Click here to read more about the Lactulose breath test.

Eat fresh crushed garlic daily if you can
Limit intake of sugar as sugar feeds many harmful yeasts and pathogenic bacteria.

8. Chest Pain:

The chest pain may be a deficiency of magnesium. The Epsom salt bath, adrenal support and Magnesium Plus may help with it.
CoQ10 is another nutrient that may be beneficial here but let’s start with what has been recommended already and then move to that if needed.

In summary, the products I recommend are:
-    Adrenal Support Plus
-    Liver GI-Detox
-    D-Ribose
-    ProBiota 12 Powder (or capsules) – one month only and then maintenance dose of 1 capsule of ProBiota 12 a day
-    Moor Mud Bath
-    Magnesium Plus

Obtain from a drug store or animal feed store:
-    Castor Oil
-    Magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt)

I believe you mentioned you were already taking fish oil. If so, great. If not, I’d like you to consider taking an equivalent of 5 grams of EPA/DHA a day. We have a few to choose from here.

I prefer the Liquid Finest Pure Fish oil. It is the most cost effective and tastes quite good as well.

The HealthE Membership will save you 10% off on all regularly priced items for an entire year. You may find it here.

Right now the membership is on special. If you buy any Seeking Health product, you get a free HealthE Membership. That helps a bit ;)

Again, do schedule a follow up consult in a couple weeks.

With the above suggestions, you will likely experience improvement within a couple weeks if not sooner.

In health,

Dr Ben
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Disclaimer: All information relating to medical and health conditions, products and treatments, is for informational purposes only. The information provided is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician.

Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia with Candida, Adrenal Fatigue and Food Allergies

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:55:33 +0000

This article is Dr Ben's follow-up notes from a Free 15 Minute Consult with Dr Ben. Helping direct you to which products, dietary changes & lifestyle products may help you. This phone consult was in regarding: "How can I treat chronic pain with cell salts?"

The Phone Consult Podcast:
"Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia"

My follow up email to Claudia after the Phone Consult:

Claudia -

We had a very successful phone consult. You are extremely knowledgeable about your body and provided great information. The history you provided allows me to make some solid recommendations which should ease your chronic pain and Fibromyalgia.

As discussed, here are the things to consider to reduce symptoms of chronic pain in Fibromyalgia:

1. Restore the Health of Your Digestive Tract and Reduce Food Allergies
Given that you were on antibiotics for years as a youngster and got worse and worse from that point tells me your digestive system needs support. Combine this with the fact you are worse when eating sugar or refined carbohydrates tells me you have a candida overgrowth. We all have candida is our digestive system; however, when it grows out of control, symptoms such as chronic pain, fatigue and numerous food intolerances occur.

To control the candida, try to limit the intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars.
Continue eating garlic as that is an excellent natural antifungal.

For optimum effect, crush a raw clove of garlic, smash it together and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then add it to your salad or whatever meal you are to enjoy.

When garlic is crushed, mixed and allowed to sit, Allicin is made. Allicin is the key component to garlic that is strongly anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

Enhance the elimination of the chronic candida with a potent concentrated capsule of Garlic. Consider taking 1 capsule of garlic with meals three times a day.
To restore the proper digestive bacteria in your digestive system, you need a potent probiotic mixed with a prebiotic that is not grown in a base of dairy.

ProBiota 12 Powder contains 200 billion beneficial bacteria across 12 different researched strains. This is the most potent probiotic that I have seen.

It is important to avoid the toxic feeling of killing the candida too quickly. Thus, I recommend starting with 1/4 teaspoon of ProBiota 12 Powder taken at dinner time.

Do this dose for 1 week. After the first week, up the dose to 1/2 teaspoon at dinner time. Take until the bottle is gone.
Once the bottle is gone, you should switch to ProBiota 12 capsules and take 1 capsule at dinner time. 1 capsule of ProBiota 12 contains 25 billion beneficial bacteria across 12 strains and is also grown in a non-dairy medium with a prebiotic.

Many foods do not agree with you at the moment. If you ingest the Garlic and ProBiota 12, this will help; however, there is a lot of intestinal inflammation that needs to be addressed. If intestinal inflammation is not addressed, food allergies and intolerances will continue.

Intestines use L-Glutamine as fuel
Specific enzymes breakdown inflammatory cytokines which trigger food allergens
Quercetin calms down mast cells which slows food reactions

All these nutrients are found in BioInflammatory Plus capsules.

Consider taking 4 capsules of BioInflammatory Plus two times a day away from meals. I would like to see you initially take BioInflammatory Plus capsules three times a day at four capsules each time. I realize this is a lot; however, you would need to do it only for 1 week, then you could reduce down to 2 capsules three times a day or 3 capsules twice a day.

Within a few weeks, you should experience much reduced pain and more tolerance to foods.
I do recommend maintaining a Rotation Diet while keeping the ingestion of wheat and dairy at a minimum - if at all.
Take a quality concentrated form of EPA and DHA. EPA and DHA are commonly low in those experiencing chronic pain.

Consider taking 5 grams of combined EPA and DHA daily with meals.

The most concentrated EPA and DHA is found in liquid fish oils.

Finest Fish Oil has a great taste and contains 5 grams of EPA / DHA in 2 teaspoons.

If you prefer capsules, which I do not for fish oil purely because you have to take so many to get 5 grams, consider EPA DHA Essentials capsules.

2. Reduce the Chronic Pain of Fibromyalgia Immediately through a Moor Mud Bath and Epsom Salts

Given that you are in a fair amount of pain, there is no time to waste in relieving your symptoms.

Moor Mud therapy, called Balneotherapy, has been used for centuries to relieve pain.

I recommend adding 500 mL of Moor Mud to a hot bath.
The bath water should be hot yet tolerable.
Add 1 pound of Epsom salt to the bath. This may seem like a lot, and it is, but it is very therapeutic.

Locate an Animal supply store, typically one that provides items for horses, chickens, cows, and obtain a 25 lb bag of Epsom salt.

Do the Moor Mud bath three to five times a week for 3 weeks. Japanese researcher, Yuko Agishi, PhD found that pain is reduced long term if the moor mud therapy is performed in a series rather than a few sporadic treatments.

Consider purchasing 15 tubes of 500 mL Moor Mud and this will get you through the 3 week period.

Here is a research study showing the benefit of Moor Mud treatment for Fibromyalgia symptoms.
Full instructions for the Mood Mud Bath Treatment is here

3. Reduce Chronic Pain of Fibromyalgia by Reducing the Acetylaldehyde from Candida with Molybdenum

Candida release acetylaldehyde.
Acetylaldehyde is a known toxin that interferes with numerous systems in the body including the brain and kidneys.
If one is deficient in molybdenum, acetylaldehyde builds up causing pain and symptoms mimicking a hangover.

Consider taking 6 drops of liquid Molybdenum a day for one month to reduce acetylaldehyde and relieve chronic pain. After one month, cease the use of molybdenum if symptoms of pain are gone. If not, maintain a dose of 2 to 3 drops a day until pain subsides.
Research shows that if one takes 200 mcg of Molybdenum daily, pain will reduce in those experiencing it.

4. Reducing Chronic Pain of Fibromyalgia using Cell Salts

The cell salt, Ferr Phos 6x, is the indicated cell salt for inflammation and pain.
Consider placing 25 tablets of Ferr Phos 6x in a liter of water. Sip throughout the day.
Do daily for one month or as you experience symptoms of inflammation and pain.

5. Improving Energy

Your energy should begin to come back once your pain decreases, inflammation decreases and your digestive system heals.
On the phone, I recommended adrenal support and it is still a very valid recommendation given the importance of how it relates to improper sleep, low blood pressure and fibromyalgia pain.

Adrenal Support Plus will improve your blood pressure, reduce your dizziness upon standing, improve your energy, memory, reduce stress and reduce reactions to foods.
Those suffering from chronic pain also have weakened adrenals.
Individuals with fibromyalgia demonstrate low cortisol levels. Low cortisol levels are directly related to poorly functioning adrenal glands.
Improper sleep is also associated with weak adrenals. Usually what happens is those with weak adrenals are more awake at night and fatigued in the morning. They cannot get out of bed.
As we age, our adrenals become fatigued as well.
Consider taking 2 capsules of Adrenal Support Plus in the morning and at lunch. I find it works best to take away from food and then eat 15 minutes afterwards. This allows better absorption of the tyrosine found in Adrenal Support Plus.

If you are not taking an effective multivitamin for women over 40 years of age, I recommend Women's Nutrients.

Women's Nutrients is designed to support healthy estrogen balance, vision, memory, cardiovascular, and urinary systems.

Consider taking 2 to 3 capsules at breakfast and 2 to 3 capsules at lunch.
Do not take adrenal support or a multivitamin within 5 hours of going to sleep as they will keep you awake.
Do not start taking Women's Nutrients until you have stopped or nearly stopped the BioInflammatory Plus capsules.

I don't want you taking so many capsules in a day. There is no need for that. Your body can handle only so much and the key supplements in the beginning provide a number of nutrients.
If you want to start on Women's Nutrients while on the other products, simply take 1 capsule at breakfast and 1 at lunch.

In summary, the main supplements you should consider to improve symptoms of candida, chronic pain, fibromyalgia and food allergies are:

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of ProBiota 12 Powder for one month and then move to 1 capsule of ProBiota 12 taken at dinner time as a long term maintenance dose.
Garlic capsules during meals. This is a short term recommendation - for 2 months or so.
BioInflammatory capsules: best to take 4 capsules 4 times a day initially and then down to 2 capsules 3 times a day or 3 capsules twice a day. You may find you are able to diminish all the way down to 1 capsule twice a day and then cease taking it altogether after a few months time.
EPA and DHA: Take a combined amount of 5 grams with meals. You may take it all at once or spread out twice a day. This is a long term required nutrient and at this amount as well.
Molybdenum: take 6 drops any time of day for one month and then down to 2 to 3 drops a day until symptoms of pain diminish. I foresee you taking this for a couple months and then stopping.
Adrenal Support Plus: take 2 capsules 15 minutes before breakfast and 2 15 minutes before lunch. I foresee you taking this supplement long term.
Women's Nutrients: as a general health supplement. Begin taking it in low amounts while on the other supplements. Once you stop or nearly stop BioInflammatory Plus, Molybdenum and Garlic, then you may consider taking 3 capsules of Women's Nutrients at breakfast and 3 at lunch.

Lifestyle Things to Reduce Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia symptoms

Take the Moor Mud Baths with Epsom salt 3 to 5 days a week for three weeks. Once this is done, you likely only need to do one Moor Mud bath a week or once per month for maintenance.
Apply Castor Oil to your abdominal area each evening. This is fantastic at reducing inflammation and systemic pain. Do nightly approximately 30 minutes before sleep. This way, by the time bedtime rolls around, most of the castor oil will be absorbed through your skin.
Maintain avoidance of wheat and dairy products.
Limit intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Go for walks. Start out for 5 minutes a day and then move up 5 minute increments as you feel comfortable. Don't push it. Start easy and work up easy. Motion is great for chronic pain but not over exertion.
Drink filtered water - around 8 glasses a day or so.

With the above changes in supplementation and lifestyle/dietary changes, you will notice significant improvement likely in one to two weeks.

Do follow up with me in 2 weeks to one month. I like to hear you are doing with the implemented suggestions. This way we can also modify the suggestions if needed.

The HealthE Membership is free with the purchase of any Seeking Health supplement. ProBiota 12 Powder by Seeking Health will qualify you for a free HealthE Membership. The HealthE Membership provides you 10% off regularly marked items for one year. The discount is applied immediately during checkout.

A recording of the entire phone consult may be found here.

In health,

Dr Ben
Keep HealthE. Stay in touch!
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Disclaimer: All information relating to medical and health conditions, products and treatments, is for informational purposes only. The information provided is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her physician.

Underactive Thyroid, Overweight and Intermittent Nerve Pain

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:28:54 +0000

This article is Dr Ben's notes from a Free 15 Minute Consult with Dr Ben. Helping direct you to which products, dietary changes & lifestyle products may help you.

Here was the submitted question:

Thyroid tests don't show problem my body feels underactive, I’m 70lbs overweight and lost 15lbs but it stopped there. Not sure if candida is part of it although the spit test in a glass shows small spots. I have herniated disks c3-6 and L4-7 with intermittent nerve pain. Thank you in advance for this consult.

I appreciate the gifting of wisdom and time Dr Ben is giving to others. I love his blog and have been wanting to do this myself although am not a MD and those credentials are best fit as I have 31 years as holistic Medical Massage Therapist working with thousands of bodies and stories.. [deleted name]

My response:

Good talking with you today. It sounds like you know what you need. It is simply a matter of finding the right doctors to get you on the path.

For starters, I recommend you find a holistic minded physician for long term care:

The women’s clinic we were discussing is Women to Women, which is located in Maine.

I recommend you test your adrenal hormones and full thyroid hormones:
-    TSH, T4, T3, anti-TPO, anti-TG
-    Salivary Cortisol
-    Urinary Iodine 24 Hour collection
-    Basal Body Temperature Test

IMPORTANT TIP: An effective test to see if your thyroid is underactive, consider the Basal Body Temperature Test.

For Nutritional Support:
I believe supporting your adrenals and your digestive system are essential as they are safe, help with energy and typically provided an improved sense of well being quite quickly.

Adrenal Support Plus contains a blend of B vitamins and specialty nutrients which may reduce your fatigue, stress while increasing energy and positive outlook.

Consider taking 1 capsule of Adrenal Support Plus with your breakfast in the AM and one at lunch in the afternoon. Do not take Adrenal Support Plus past 2 pm or within 6 hours of going to sleep. If you take Adrenal Support Plus within 6 hours of going to sleep, it will keep you awake.

You may find after 1 week of taking Adrenal Support Plus that it is easier to get out of bed in the morning, deeper sleep at night and having more energy.

Sleeping:
In terms of sleeping well, having less stress, having the right tools to make the neurotransmitters, I recommend a combination of a highly absorbable form of magnesium combined with vitamin B6. Combined, these two nutrients work on over 500 biochemical pathways. Without magnesium or Vitamin B6, these biochemical pathways will not function; thus causing countless symptoms.

I recommend you consider taking 1 capsule of Magnesium Plus on rising from bed and one capsule before going to sleep.

For the herniated discs, consider:

Releaf Neck Rest: This is great to support the cervical vertebrae while working at a desk all day or simply resting and holding your head up. The Releaf Neck Rest relieves tension on the vertebrae thereby relieving pinched nerves.
Neck Pro:This is useful to gently stretch the neck muscles which helps decompress the vertebral discs and relieve nerve compression.
BodyBridge:This is used to gently stretch the neck and back muscles which helps decompress most, if not all, the vertebral discs which relieves nerve compression. I personally use this in my own home and have been for over 10 years. I also have it in our main office in Bellingham, WA so our HealthE Goods team remains limber from sitting all day.

High dose fish oil has shown to reduce pain associated with herniated discs.

Read this study abstract about fish oil reducing pain.

We have quite a few of fish oils and EPA/DHA to choose from

I recommend a liquid EPA/DHA or liquid fish oil as they are the most concentrated in EPA/DHA per serving and they are the least expensive per serving. My favorite is the Pharmax Finest Pure Fish Oil as it is potent, pure and tastes very good.

If you prefer capsules, then I recommend Ultra EPA/DHA by Pure Encapsulations and it is on sale now as well:

For Digestive Support and Candida Relief:
In terms of healing the digestive system and restoring healthy digestive bacteria which will push out the candida, I recommend ProBiota 12 capsules. ProBiota 12 contains 12 active probiotic strains at 25 billion bacteria per capsule. In order to effectively get rid of candida, diet must change but also the gut environment must be inhospitable to them. Taking high amounts of beneficial bacteria in numerous strains creates an inhospitable home to the candida and they get pushed out.

ProBiota 12 capsules: consider taking 4 capsules at dinner time for 2 weeks and then take 1 capsule at dinner as a maintenance dose for another 2 months. Taking probiotics at dinnertime is the best time to take them according to research.

Overweight is likely tied to your suspected underactive thyroid, increased stress, pain causing you to not be mobile and active and potentially diet as well. Once the adrenals begin working properly, sleep gets on schedule and blood sugar gets regulated by the adrenals, weight should begin to slough off. Once the adrenals begin working well, the thyroid gland may begin to function better as well. Once that happens, your metabolism will speed up and slough off calories while you sleep.

One big tip I always tell people is found in this article: Lose Weight by One Simple Step

Should you have further questions, please do ask.

Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

In health,

Dr Ben
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PAIN Relief: Treatment and Management of the Two Types of Pain

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:42:35 +0000

Physiological pain and Functional pain are two major types of pain defined recently by a resident doc of mine. It is a great way to figure out the cause of pain rather quickly. The definitions and possible treatments below are my thoughts on them. Do not treat yourself without seeking the advice of a physician. Simply take some notes from this post and bring it to your doc or tell them what you 'found on the internet'. They love that.

Enjoy the information - it took some time writing this and it is jam packed with information so you may have to read and re-read to make heads or tails of some areas.

Physiological Pain

No wound or trauma occurred.
After long hours of being semi-still - as sleeping - pain gets worse.
Increased movement helps the pain go away.
Occurs in many ill health states - like arthritis, maldigestion, diabetes, malnutrition, dehydration, migraines, and headaches.
Inflammation in the body is what is causing the pain.
Reduce the body's inflammation and likely the pain will go away.
Taking pain killers such as aspirin, motrin, PainB Gone, what-have-you may help but does not address the cause of the pain - so it is, in my mind, not ideal.

Steps to Reduce Physiological Pain

Exercise.
Drink water.
Improve digestive function.
Take a supplement to reduce systemic body inflammation.
Sleep your 8 hrs so growth hormone gets released and repairs tissues.
Limit inflammatory foods such as sugar and known food allergens - common ones are dairy, wheat, egg, peanut butter.
Discuss with your physician and discover what the causative factors may be.

Functional Pain

This is more anatomically an issue within joints, tendons and ligaments.
Tends to feel better with rest, relaxation.
Gets worse with motion in the problem area.
Occurs with trauma or injury to the area.
Found after intense exercise, falls, car accidents or any incident which the body takes a blow.
Taking pain killers such as ibuprofen, aspirin and tylenol may seem to help short term but long-term not a great idea.
Treat the underlying anatomical and functional insufficiency and pain will ease.

Steps to reduce functional pain

Limit aggravating factors.
If you hurt your shoulder, don't help your friend move, pitch a baseball game that weekend, or lift objects without thinking.
Increase nutrients to the area via hydrotherapy.
This can be done using hot/cold contrast water. Hot water brings in the nutrients from the blood and then a burst of cold pushes all the inflammation and metabolites out of the area. Heat the area with water as hot as you stand for 1 minute and then ice cold water for 10 seconds. Repeat this 3 times and end with cold. Very important that one ends with cold as this draws blood back into the area after a few seconds of being frozen. The body intends to warm the area that is cold - so if ending with cold, the blood will come rushing back in providing intense warmth to the point of sweating. Ask your doctor if you can do this - it may aggravate arthritis, autoimmune disease, asthma and other conditions. Also cannot do contrast therapy if the injury or trauma has been less than 3 days duration.
[Many docs state that a person should do 3 minutes hot and 30 seconds cold -this is ideal, but more ideal is getting the person to do it. Time is limited this day in age so if you are one of many with limited spare time, at least do 1 minute/10 seconds 3x. If you have more time, excellent, do 3 min hot, 30 sec cold 3x.]
Take joint supplement with glucosamine sulfate - 500mg three times a day for 8 weeks minimum
- This is what the studies have shown effective. Glucosamine HCl is garbage. Glucosamine sulfate is what has been used is human studies and proven effective - not the HCl or other types of glucosamine. Spend your money wisely.
Stretch, swim and seek physical therapy and the advice of a sports medicine doctor.
An excellent book is Dr David Musnick's Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness: Functional Exercise and Nutrition for Everybody. Dr Musnick was my sports medicine professor and he flat out is impressive.
Many injuries are due to overtight muscles - such as shoulder rotator cuff injuries due to a tight supraspinatus muscle pulling itself from the rotator cuff. Relax, stretch and ultrasound the supraspinatus muscle and likely your injury will improve much faster.
A podiatrist told me a vast majority of his patients with foot and ankle problems have a tight achilles tendon. Stretch it. Don't wear high heels.

Bottom line:
Taking a pill to relieve pain may be a great thing temporarily. However, if done long-term, irreversible damage may occur and hinder your physical and mental capacity for the rest of your life. Seek out the cause of the problem and get it worked on. Take the simple guidelines above and discuss them with your doctor.

Think about the pain next time instead of blindly popping a pain killer. Address it.

Your body is speaking to you.

Listen.

In health,

Dr Ben
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Naturally Subdue Pain and Inflammation

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:07:30 +0000

Q: I am interested in taking ArthroGenX for my inflammation. Can you take this supplement with ibuprofen? I am currently taking 8+ ibuprofen per day for a frozen shoulder and a sprained foot.

Thanks for your help!

A: I would cease the ibuprofen if you can, it appears you are trying to do so.

ArthroGenX by Biogenesis in capsule form may be taken with Ibuprofen. This is not a concern. You may likely find that the ArthroGenX capsules alone will handle the pain relief.

For the sprained foot, I recommend you consider Ligament Restore by Pure Encapsulations. The nutrients in Ligament Restore are specific to ligament health which may speed your recovery.

There are repeating ingredients between ArthroGenX capsules and Ligament Restore, but given the intensity of pain you are having, both Ligament Restore and ArthroGenX are useful to take in higher amounts.

Consider taking 3 capsules of ArthroGenX on rising, 3 capsules 30 minutes after lunch and 3 more at bedtime. Away from food is ideal as this allows the nutrients to work more to reduce inflammation and pain rather than digestive aids. The nutrients in ArthroGenX may support digestion if taken during meals or support pain and inflammation if taken away from meals. Interesting how herbs work.

Consider taking 3 capsules of Ligament Restore with breakfast and 2 capsules at lunch.

Other things you should consider:
- Boswellia AKBA by Pure Encapsulations: this product contains potent amounts of boswellia which is known to reduce inflammation, scarring and swelling. Consider taking 1 capsule at breakfast, 1 at lunch and 1 at dinner for the first couple weeks. Then consider reducing to 1 a day once you experience pain relief.

- For your sprained foot, I suggest what is called Contrast Hydrotherapy.

1. Get two buckets which will fit your feet and be filled up to mid calf height.

    2. Fill one with as hot as you can that is comfortable and add 5 cups of Epsom salts. Epsom salts are inexpensive if you buy them at a Feed Store in 25 pound bags. There they are called usually Magnesium sulfate.
    For added benefit, add 1/4 liter of Torf Moor Mud to encourage greater healing capacity through humic acids, fulvic acids and deeper penetration of heat.

    3. Fill the other bucket with very cold water. Not ice but very cold.

    4. Place the sprained foot in the hot bucket with the epsom salts and moor mud for 3 minutes. Then remove and place in the cold bucket for 30 seconds. Do this three times. End with cold. Dry your foot off.

    5. Apply Castor Oil or a Castor oil mix liberally to your sprained foot.
    I recommend mixing MSM by Douglas Labs with the Castor oil. Think about adding 2 tablespoons of MSM, 2 tablespoons of Epsom salt, 5 drops of Camphor essential oil, 5 drops of Lavender Essential Oil, 5 drops of Peppermint essential oil, 1 ounce of Emu Oil to 5 ounces of Castor Oil. Add the Castor Oil to the 5 oz or so bottle size after you have added and shaken the other ingredients very well.

    Also apply this Castor Oil mixture to your shoulder numerous times a day.

    Do the Contrast Hydrotherapy twice a day for best results. AM and PM. It just takes minutes.

    If you can do it to your shoulder as well, you'll notice significant improvement. Instead of buckets, you will use hand towels soaked in hot water and soaked in cold water. Apply the Castor Oil mix prior to the Contrast Hydrotherapy for added benefit.

    Do not sleep on your frozen shoulder. Sleep on your back, stomach or opposite side.

    Locate a great physical therapist. They are hard to find though.

    Should you have any questions about any of the above, do ask.

    I suspect significant improvement in the frozen shoulder and sprained foot should you follow the above suggestions.

    Keep me updated on how you do! You'll speed right along in recovery!

In health,

Dr Ben
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"If the pain wanders, do not waste your time with doctors." - Mignon McLaughlin

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 20:43:00 +0000

"If the pain wanders, do not waste your time with doctors." - Mignon McLaughlin

This quote comes from The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 and even today is highly relevant.

If pain wanders from one location to another, then doctors are not able to label you with a standard disease. Instead, the doctors will either state that it is in your head or a syndrome.

There are no standard medications for wandering pain.

Syndromes are frowned upon by insurance companies and are not reimbursed well.

From my experience, wandering pain signifies environmental exposures, food sensitivities, food allergies, and/or chemical sensitivities.

In order to get to the bottom of wandering pain, one must evaluate. Having a chart to do this with is handy.

I have created a sample chart for you below:

Date & Time	Energy Level	Pain Level	Location of Pain	Foods & Drinks Eaten	Emotion	Stool & Urine Description	Tongue Coating & Color	Thoughts	Medications or Vitamins
June 5, 7 am	4	8	neck, low back, stomach	none	flat	urine dark yellow	yellow coating	didnt drink much water before bed	thyroid
8 am	6	6	neck, shoulder, bladder	orange juice, waffles	nervous	gray stool & light yellow urine	scraped off yellow coating. gone for now	gray stool? what is that?	ibuprofen, Liver Cleanse Pro - 2 caps
9 am	3	9	neck, stomach, knees	1 liter of filtered water	anxious	--	--	feel terrible. breakfast cause it?	Calm Ease - 2 caps
noon	6	7	neck	lamb, wild rice, water, salad with olive oil/lemon dressing	flat	urine clear	before lunch a bit yellow again	feeling a bit better. productive day	multivitamin - 2 caps
1 pm	8	4	neck	shot of wheat grass	happy	urine bright yellow, stool gray still	yellow coating	concerned about gray stool and yellow coating	--

Copy the Daily Journal Chart down in a small notebook
Fill it out right when you wake up.
Keep it with you at all times.
After you get a few days journal entries down, you will be able to see some patterns.
Typical food causes of Wandering Pain are:

Egg whites
Wheat
Gluten
Dairy products especially milk and cheese
Citrus like Strawberries and Oranges

Typical environmental causes of Wandering Pain are:

Air fresheners
Scents in dryer sheets, laundry soaps, shampoos, soaps
Car exhaust
Gas appliances
Mold
Paint fumes
Formaldehyde
Pesticides
Insecticides
Chlorine in shower, pool and bath water
any other chemicals
Printers
Occupational hazards: solvents, grease, gases, inks...

Other causes of Wandering Pain may be related to:

Medications
Supplements
Herbs
Stress
Traveling
Airplanes
Hobbies

Clinical experience has shown me the best way to combat these wandering pains is to:

Identify the cause which is pretty easy to do with the Daily Journal
Remove the cause
Sauna
Supplement with specific nutrients designed to support the detoxification pathways.

Be careful here as each person has genetic differences in their detoxification pathways.
If you supplement with incorrect nutrients, pains can get worse and other symptoms may appear as well.
Testing your detoxification pathways using a laboratory test is a good idea. This way you know which nutrients you need and which ones you need to avoid.

Ask me for further details if you are interested. I can provide the laboratory test, interpret the results, share the results with your doctor and then proceed to recommend which nutrient, lifestyle and dietary changes you may need.

Questions? Comments? State below.

In health,

Dr Ben

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Manuka Honey and Oral Pain Relief

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:47:47 +0000

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Manuka Honey & Oral Pain Relief"][/caption]

Hello Dr.Ben,

I just recently had laser surgery to remove a leukoplakia area on the lateral side of my tongue extending down to the floor of the mouth. it is very red and painful, and my dr. has recommended hydrogen/water rinses 2xdaily. i have been researching ys organic bee company, a company that you offer, and am considering applying the manuka honey 15 strength that they offer applied on a dressing within the mouth for healing and pain relief. any opinions?

Stomach Pain in Children | Tummy Aches | Common Causes

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000

As a father, I get concerned when my boys complain of 'tummy aches'

As a physician, I am trained to think of the worst case scenario and then rule it out.

This mix as a parent can be unsettling at times.

For parents out there who wonder what some of the common 'tummy aches' are - read on.

Early morning stomach pain:
Feed the rascals. They've been up all night and their stomach is crying for food. It is common that they won't want to eat but find something for them to get in. A protein powder, energy bar, almond butter on celery, bite of some whole fruit - something.

Tell them: "Do you want your tummy ache to go away?" Wait for an answer. Once you get confirmation, tell them how eating something will make it go away.

Random stomach pain:
Think - when was the last time they went #2?

Children think few things:
play, where's Mom and Dad and where are we going. They do not fully understand that they have to go #2 every day so talk with them about it.

Simply say: "If you feel tummy aches, I'd like you to tell me and we will grab a book and sit on the potty."

They will deny that they have to go but gently encourage them to try for you. Tell them that it may make the tummy ache go away. Tell them it will just take a moment. Grab a book or two.

They will put up some resistance but mark my words, once they understand the stomach pain goes away, you've got 'em hooked. My son now knows and heads straight for the toilet.

After eating stomach pain:
Consider food intolerances.

We are blasted daily with how good milk is for our kids but for many, milk does not do the body good. Instead, dairy products provide indigestible protein which rots causing bloating and gas. Bloating and gas is followed by diarrhea alternating with constipation.

If they get frequent ear pain or ear infections, that is another positive sign that dairy products likely are the culprit. Remove dairy from the diet. My kids don't eat dairy products unless it is kefir.

Gluten foods are another big one - especially wheat. My oldest got red rashes around his bum and tummy aches when he ate wheat. After treating his gut with healthy bacteria like acidophilus, flavonoids like quercetin, and intestinal repair nutrients like glutamine, he is doing much better. We now limit how much wheat he eats and he is fine.

Also watch that they don't mix bananas, pine nuts, kidney beans, jello, milk, cheese, cereal, and apricots all together. I get a stomach ache just typing that. So watch that they don't mix too many foods together.

Don't let them drink too much while eating as that dilutes their digestive enzymes. If digestive enzymes and stomach acid get too dilute, the foods will not digest well causing gas and bloating. They can drink some but some kids really go nuts with fluids and meals. Don't let your kids go nuts.

Some, not all, Not So Good Symptoms of Stomach Pain
Call their doctor if any of these are happening:

Bent over double crying in pain
Very tight stomach/abdomen and in pain
Cannot poo for days
Fever with Stomach Pain
Diarrhea that won't stop
You touch their tummy and they cry out

If you have any doubts or wondering if you should call their doctor, call. It is better to be safe than not. Next time you visit their doc, ask them about common causes of stomach pain and tummy aches. Also ask them about warning signs and what you should be looking for in case of emergency.

Do understand that this is information only and not treatment advice.

Next time your kid has a tummy ache, think about the common causes and act appropriately.

In health,
Dr Ben, ND

Stomach Pain for 6 years | Gone in 2 weeks

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000

A 14 yr old honor student came to our clinic with him mom and dad. He has been ill for over 6 years and recently has been missing school for over a month due to pain and too-frequent bowel movements.

He reports worsening intense stomach pain waking him up at night. His rightfully-concerned mom, who is a registered nurse (RN), tried everything under the sun to no avail. It seemed as we were his mom's last hope.

His current treatment was Prilosec as he had really intense acid burning in his stomach area. It was not working and in fact was making it worse.

I began taking his history from as far back as he could remember.

8 years ago, he went to Mexico with his parents. There he got bad diarrhea which resolved with antiobiotics and flagyl.

2 years after that incident, he began having severe food allergies and couldn't eat much of anything without reacting.

The food allergies only became worse allowing him only to eat rice, water and sometimes some raw vegetables.

Then the intense stomach pain came which began slowly and got to the point where he was waking up at night from it.

Basically, he had severe depletion of beneficial bacteria in his gut. This leads to long term inflammation, recurring illnesses, and food sensitivities. If kept untreated, he likely would have developed colon cancer secondary to all the intestinal inflammation he had.

His case is a classic presentation of what is known as gastroenteritis post-antiobiotics. This is a known medical condition which gets missed time after time after time. Standard medicine has nothing to treat this.

There are no drugs which can repair the gut after being destroyed by medications. His gut needed repair - not meds.

His recommended treatment:

Continue avoiding known food intolerances
Eat steamed vegetables for 1 week - do not eat raw vegetables as they are very hard to digest.
Cook brown rice or oatmeal in 3 times the normal amount of water. Let it cook. Then sip only the water slowly. Do this for a week along with the steamed vegetables.
Take 1 HLC Synbiotic Intensive Sachet in a glass of water before dinner. Do this for 14 nights and then stop. This is designed to completely overwhelm the harmful gut bacteria with beneficial gut bacteria.
Twice a day, in a nutrient-rich smoothie, blend:

2-3 cups of filtered water
small handful of overnight-soaked raw almonds (well rinsed)
1 tablespoon of cod liver oil (lemon flavored by Nordic Naturals or Carlson's)

1/2 scoop of Bio-Inflammatory Functional Food Powder for 1 week. After one week go to 1 full scoop.
4 tsp of Intestinal Repair Complex for 1 week and then down to 2 tsp after that.
1-2 cups of frozen blueberries or other frozen fruit of your choice

Drink 8-10 glasses of filtered water a day
Talk with your doctor about stopping Prilosec. It is likely worsening his symptoms as it is taking his acid production down to nill. He need the stomach acid in order to digest his food, kill harmful bacteria and stimulate the other digestive enzymes

After the initial week of treatment, I phoned him and he reported no more night pain and he has stopped the Prilosec. He is no longer going to the bathroom 6 or more times a day. He did report that he was a bit constipated. I told him that this is normal as his gut is adjusting and the nutrients we are giving him are highly concentrated so he needs to make sure he is drinking enough water.

After 2 weeks of this protocol, he and his mom came in to see us. His mom said, "It is magic." He is going back to school and he feels like a normal kid again.

Something to consider:
His mom took him around to MD after MD, year after year without result. We naturopathic physicians are the last ones she takes him to.

It is typical that people try surgery, intense medications and expensive testing first before considering a naturopathic doc.

Don't wait that long people. It may be too late at that point.

Luckily, for this boy, it wasn't.

Research about Healthy Gut Bacteria and Probiotics:

Detoxing and In Pain? A connection...

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A patient presenting with intense constant full body pain came in last week to the clinic.

She was about 54 years old, a bit overweight, medium height and had an absolute flat dull depressed appearance - which one sees in someone in chronic pain. She explained that it takes her 20 minutes to get out of bed as she has to lift each limb carefully and slowly due to the pain. She wakes every 2 hours in pain and has to get up and move about otherwise she would not be able to get up at all later. She walked in pain as both her knee joints were in pain. She was constantly shifting in her chair during the patient interview trying to find a comfortable position.

I asked her when the pain began - she said it began about 2 years ago. Ok - what happened around two years ago? She thought about that for awhile and said she began a detox and yeast cleanse that was pretty strict. The 'doctor' who prescribed this for her was a naturopath in Colorado. Now - I am going to be a naturopathic physician myself but I will be licensed. I have a feeling that this 'naturopath' was an unlicensed online course graduating nd. Super dangerous.

Anyhow - this 'doc' never saw the patient - it was all done over the phone. Now that is bad medicine and I have a feeling it happens all the time. This 'doc' told her that she had to take this and that and avoid this and that. She racked up a huge supplement bill.

Well - it caused this patient to have a full body flare up. We checked autoimmune panels for lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, raynauds, and others. Looked for fibromyalgia tendor points, asked and examed for chronic underlying infections, took a UA, CBC, TSH and ESR. All fine - the ESR was a tad elevated at 28.

I looked at the supplements she was taking and pulled her off of all cleansing supplements, gave her a natural herbal pain relieving formula and instructed her to come in 2 times this week for a full immersion peat bath. We also referred her to a rheumatologist to examine her to see if we missed anything.

I saw her on Friday with a big smile on her face. She had just finished the second full immersion peat bath and was still sweating from it. She told me she has not been this pain-free for about 10 months. She could get out of bed with only a bit of stiffness and soreness, walk around pain free and sleep longer. She explained that she wanted to begin exercising again! The supervising physician cautioned her on this and tried calming her excitement as it may be only temporary. She said, "I don't care if it is temporary because I have not felt this well in a long long time."

I smiled and held out my hand asking for her to 'give me 5.' She let her hand smash against mine and I returned the favor.

She's on her way back to health. I don't think it is a temporary fix at all. I also think it is beneficial to support the patient in how they feel and not take the momentum away. Unfortunately, the supervising physician took the gas out a bit but luckily, the patient was so strong and excited that the information he passed on to her was in one ear and out the other.

Lesson is this:
If one detoxifies too quickly, the body cannot process the highly toxic metabolites. They circulate around the body instead of being excreted in the feces or passed through the urine or sweated out or breathed out. I have a feeling that this patient has been improperly detoxing for so long that the level of circulating metabolites is insane. With nowhere to go, the metabolites head for the muscles, joints and other soft tissue. This causes intense inflammation, stiffness and soreness.

With my recommendation of removing the cleansing supplements, the added addition of more toxic metabolites was stopped. With the recommendation of a full body peat bath, the muscles, adipose and other soft tissues were able to sweat out the toxic metabolites out through the body's largest detoxifying organ: the skin. The supplement to decrease pain was temporary and will be stopped soon.

She will continue the peat baths and we will continue to see if there is another underlying cause of her pain and stiffness. I believe there is not - I believe it is purely detoxifying too long and too fast with deposited metabolites all throughout her body. We remove all those metabolites with sauna and full body peat immersion baths, and she will be exercising pain free once again.

Don't take aspirin to relieve the pain all the time. Think. Why do I have the pain? Address it. Remove the cause.

Severe Pain in Low Back. Gone in 20 minutes.

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0000

A 92 year old gentleman came into the clinic today with a walker - going about as fast as a sloth. He was in a fair amount of back pain - 8/10 with 10 worst pain ever.

His history was negative for signs of cancer, kidney disease, etc so I relaxed a bit and focused on the physical trauma if there was any. Yep. Trying to open a car door 2 months ago and in doing so it landed him square on his buttocks full force full speed. He said if he had fake teeth - which he made clear he did not :) - they would have flown out due to the impact his butt made with the driveway.

A fast assessment showed me his pelvis was way out of whack (see top left pelvic tilt). His right pelvis was 1" higher than the left and fixated while his left pelvis glided freely.

It took him about 10 minutes to lay down on the table - one he had accomplished that, We put a hot pack on his back and put special wedge blocking (see image below right) under his front pelvis on both sides - what we call the ASIS - anterior superior iliac spine. Actually we put one block on the right ASIS and the other on the left below the ASIS.

I checked his pelvic level at the PSIS (see image right) and discovered that his pelvis is now level. We let him sit there for about 20 minutes letting his body adjust around the blocks.

After he woke up from his cat nap, we helped him sit up. He cautiously began to stand up reaching for his walker. I asked how it felt - he reported no pain! I asked him to walk down the hall and asked how he was doing - no pain!

He said we had good mojo and worked miracles!

What a pleasure that visit was. He'll be back in a week to follow up as I'm pretty sure the pelvis will shift again until we get his muscles situated. I let him know this.

Point is this:
Severe pain can go away quite quickly if assessed properly. We are ordering an x-ray to ensure that there are no fractures as well. Hips, sacroiliac joints, shoulders, wrists, and other major joints are great examples of this. Trauma or impact moves these joints and properly trained docs can work wonders quickly and inexpensively.

Don't let pain fester. If this gentleman waited longer, further deterioration would occur making treatment and recovery much more difficult.

Chiropractors are not quacks either. They are good at what they do. They are not cure-all docs as some think they are. Yet if you go see them for bone issues - they may just really treat you right.

Careful with those sticky car doors - and if you have extra padding on your buttocks, consider that a perk when you land hard...

Best
Ben

PAIN Relief: Treatment and Management of the Two Types of Pain

Thu, 09 Feb 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Enjoy the information - it took some time writing this and it is jam packed with information so you may have to read and re-read to make heads or tails of some areas.

Physiological Pain

No wound or trauma occurred.
After long hours of being semi-still - as sleeping - pain gets worse.
Increased movement helps the pain go away.
Occurs in many ill health states - like arthritis, maldigestion, diabetes, malnutrition, dehydration, migraines, and headaches.
Inflammation in the body is what is causing the pain.
Reduce the body's inflammation and likely the pain will go away.
Taking pain killers such as aspirin, motrin, PainB Gone, what-have-you may help but does not address the cause of the pain - so it is, in my mind, not ideal.

Steps to Reduce Physiological Pain

Exercise.
Drink water.
Improve digestive function.
Take a supplement to reduce systemic body inflammation.
Sleep your 8 hrs so growth hormone gets released and repairs tissues.
Limit inflammatory foods such as sugar and known food allergens - common ones are dairy, wheat, egg, peanut butter.
Discuss with your physician and discover what the causative factors may be.

Functional Pain

This is more anatomically an issue within joints, tendons and ligaments.
Tends to feel better with rest, relaxation.
Gets worse with motion in the problem area.
Occurs with trauma or injury to the area.
Found after intense exercise, falls, car accidents or any incident which the body takes a blow.
Taking pain killers such as ibuprofen, aspirin and tylenol may seem to help short term but long-term not a great idea.
Treat the underlying anatomical and functional insufficiency and pain will ease.

Steps to reduce functional pain

Limit aggravating factors.
If you hurt your shoulder, don't help your friend move, pitch a baseball game that weekend, or lift objects without thinking.
Increase nutrients to the area via hydrotherapy.
This can be done using hot/cold contrast water. Hot water brings in the nutrients from the blood and then a burst of cold pushes all the inflammation and metabolites out of the area. Heat the area with water as hot as you stand for 1 minute and then ice cold water for 10 seconds. Repeat this 3 times and end with cold. Very important that one ends with cold as this draws blood back into the area after a few seconds of being frozen. The body intends to warm the area that is cold - so if ending with cold, the blood will come rushing back in providing intense warmth to the point of sweating. Ask your doctor if you can do this - it may aggravate arthritis, autoimmune disease, asthma and other conditions. Also cannot do contrast therapy if the injury or trauma has been less than 3 days duration.
[Many docs state that a person should do 3 minutes hot and 30 seconds cold -this is ideal, but more ideal is getting the person to do it. Time is limited this day in age so if you are one of many with limited spare time, at least do 1 minute/10 seconds 3x. If you have more time, excellent, do 3 min hot, 30 sec cold 3x.]
Take joint supplement with glucosamine sulfate - 500mg three times a day for 8 weeks minimum
- This is what the studies have shown effective. Glucosamine HCl is garbage. Glucosamine sulfate is what has been used is human studies and proven effective - not the HCl or other types of glucosamine. Spend your money wisely.
Stretch, swim and seek physical therapy and the advice of a sports medicine doctor.
An excellent book is Dr David Musnick's Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness: Functional Exercise and Nutrition for Everybody. Dr Musnick was my sports medicine professor and he flat out is impressive.
Many injuries are due to overtight muscles - such as shoulder rotator cuff injuries due to a tight supraspinatus muscle pulling itself from the rotator cuff. Relax, stretch and ultrasound the supraspinatus muscle and likely your injury will improve much faster.
A podiatrist told me a vast majority of his patients with foot and ankle problems have a tight achilles tendon. Stretch it. Don't wear high heels.

In health,

Dr Ben
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Power of Natural Medicine: Illustrated in Pain Relief

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Even I, as a naturopathic medical student, am awe struck by what I have seen in the last week.

My wife had major ankle surgery to restore movement once again. For two years, we have tried every form of physical medicine and rehabilitation. We managed to maintain some semblance of movement but no way could she point her toes upwards.

After meeting with 10+ orthopedic surgeons, all of which wanted to fuse her ankle joint, my wife's naturopathic physician finally found one that did not. Ankle fusion was not the way to go for her as she is only 28 years old and the outcome of fusion for her is not the best as she is quite young.

Dr Lowinger, a podiatrist, found that her condition was due to ankle arthrosis and may be improved by 'cleaning up the joint space.' This is what I was looking for the last year of searching. It was a welcome alternative to fusion even if it fails. We are at least giving it a shot.

The surgery lasted about 3 hours. A quick summary:

5 incisions
calcaneal shift anchored by screws
removal of osteophytes by hammer and bone chisel
grinding down of calcaneus surface
tendons pulled on to allow access by surgeons

Nadia, my wife, was prescribed Oxycontin - a potent narcotic designed to relieve severe pain. Along side oxycontin, she was prescribed a drug for nausea as it is a side effect caused by oxycontin. It was also necessary to prescribe another drug for bowel movements as oxycontin causes constipation.

Not pleased with these options, I purchased the drugs anyhow in case my pain relieving method failed her. Not a bad idea given the severity of her surgery and the likelihood of intense pain. I planned on using these prescriptions but wanted to give a natural alternative a shot first.

Natural Alternative for Post-Surgical Pain Relief
This is what I did and in no way am I suggesting that you self-treat for post-surgical pain. What worked for Nadia may not work for all and should not be played with without discussing with your physician.

Arnica Montana 200C, homeopathic based medicine. $6.00

According to Dr. Roger Morrison, MD, in his book, Desktop Guide to Keynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms, Arnica is "extremely useful in postoperative patients for both pain and to promote more rapid healing."

That was enough for me to try it. I have studied homeopathy for a solid year as well so I know what I am doing in terms of dosage and determining which remedy to use. It is a tricky business - especially when to dose, when not to and what strength to dose is even more complicated.

At the onset of pain, Nadia dissolved the remedy under her tongue. The next morning she said she was beginning to feel the onset of pain again. I repeated the dose. That evening, the onset of pain was apparent so I repeated the dose but this time a lower strength.

She has not repeated the dose since and has not had any pain beyond what she called "heaviness and pressure."

Not bad at all after such an event. Not one tear, grimmace, flinch or ouch. I am amazed. The surgeon is floored. So am I.

Nadia is on her 'roll-about' already. This device allows her to move around the house without crutches and without bearing weight on her leg. It's pretty handy. She cannot be on it long as the blood rushes down to her foot.

For those who doubt homeopathy, I completely understand. I still doubt it in certain situations. Yet when I doubt it, I may still try it as it may just be what is needed. I doubted it to relieve post-surgical pain and it worked way beyond my expectations.

When homeopathy is used properly, it can be an incredible medical tool. It is inexpensive, easy to administer, never expires and is used on infants to terminally ill.

What is homeopathy?
That is a question that takes books and books to answer. One must read the Organon of the Medical Art by the founder of homepathy, Samuel Hahnemann, to obtain the basic understanding. I've read it and re-read it. Time to do it again.

Naturopathic medicine and traditional medicine are a great mix. In Seattle, these two are quite integrated and patients are obtaining health more quickly, less expensively and more effectively.

As a future naturopathic physician, I am already finding myself integrating with the standard medical field and happy to be a part of it. One must not disregard either method of medicine as they are equally necessary.

Without MD's, my wife's ankle would be toast. Without ND's, her post-surgical experience would have been much different.

A recent publication in the Journal of Family Medicine outlines pretty well of what patients can expect from naturopathic medicine.

The surgical team and my wife:

Dr Dan Lowinger, MD, DPM
Dr Maegan, MD, DPM, 2nd year resident
Dr Pat Buckley, ND

I will post updates on Nadia every week or as major events happen.

In health,
Ben

Computer and Desk Ergonomics: Relieving Musculoskeletal Pain

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000

This information was summarized by a classmate of mine, Chante Wiegand. Office ergonomics has been on my mind a ton lately as I'm finding myself with wrist pain. Sitting at a desk typing on a keyboard for hours on end is not ideal.

After reading this, I found that my keyboard tray was way out of whack. I now use it appropriately and immediately noticing a reduction in wrist pain. Awesome.

Beyond what Chante has so clearly laid out, I would recommend some stretches as well. As one sits for hours with their back curved forward, it only makes sense that one should arch their back the opposite direction every so often. We see cats do it all the time after they nap - so why don't we do it after sitting on our bum for so long?

A device which has helped me over the years is the Body Bridge. In the beginning days of using it, I could only lay backwards on it for about 10 seconds before I had to get off. The stretch was too intense. Now I can fall asleep on my back or stomach. It is excellent for those who hate stretching and who have chronic back and shoulder pain.

For those of you who sit at a desk for hours on end, you'll find this fast to read and quite informative. Enjoy.
--------------------

Using your computer improperly and having an unbalanced desk set-up can lead to chronic musculoskeletal complaints such as wrist pain, neck and shoulder tension, and even low back pain. Simple shifts in your desk arrangements can make a big difference in alleviating chronic aches and pains.

Quick Tips for Computer and Desk Set-Up and Use:

Desk

A normal desk height is 28-30” above the floor. This is comfortable for writing on paper, but it is too high for keyboard and mouse work. You may need to raise your chair slightly to get the optimal height.
Make sure to use a foot rest to maintain proper seating posture. Another option is to consider using a height adjustable keyboard/mouse tray system beneath the work system.

Chair Adjustable:

Adjust chair so thighs are roughly parallel with the floor.
Your knees should be at an open angle (90° or slightly greater).
Your feet should be flat on the floor or on a foot rest.
Sit back in your chair or use a cushion for lower back support.
The seat should not apply pressure to the back of your knees and there should be about an inch on both sides of your legs.
Do not use the armrests while typing, only between typing sessions.

Non-adjustable chair:

An adjustable chair is a good investment to prevent long-term problems.
If chair is too low, use a cushion to boost you up. If your chair is too high, consider using a footrest to bring your thighs parallel with the ground (you could use a telephone book!)
If your seat is too deep (creating pressure on the backs of your knees), use a pillow, rolled towel, or backrest to support your lower back.

Monitor

Center your monitor directly in front of you.
Sit arms length away when you’re sitting back in your chair.
Position the top of your screen level with your eyes (unless your screen is 20” or larger then position the top of the monitor 3” above eye level).
Tilt your monitor slightly upward.
Reduce glare and balance the brightness of the monitor with its surroundings.

Keyboard

Consider using an adjustable keyboard/mouse tray.
Your keyboard should be just above the level of your lap which is lower than most people place their keyboard. This lets your arms tilt downward, leaving your elbows at a comfortable, open angle (>90°).
Adjust your chair upwards to get this effect if you do not have a separate tray.
Use a slight negative tilt with your keyboard (tilt back edge of keyboard slightly down) versus an upward tilt. If there are “legs” attached to the underside of the keyboard, do not extend them.
Keep your wrists neutral, your shoulders relaxed, and your elbows at your side.

Mouse

Place your mouse close to your keyboard and within easy reach to avoid constantly outstretching your arm which leads to neck and shoulder pain. Use of a touchpad or scroll wheel reduces the distance and amount your shoulder has to travel.
Mice come in different sizes. Make sure it fits comfortably in your hand.
Use your elbow, not your wrist to move the mouse.
Flicking of the wrist leads to increased intracarpal pressure leading to wrist/finger pain.
Use keyboard short-cuts when possible.

Documents

Do not lay documents flat on your desk while you are working on them. Use a screen-mounted or free-standing document holder to keep them at the level of your screen.
Make sure you have enough light to see your documents to avoid unnecessary strain.

Below is a list of common musculoskeletal complaints and associated ergonomic problems and solutions:

Neck and Shoulder Pain

Problem: You’re cradling the telephone between your head and your shoulder.
Solution: Keep your head straight and shoulders relaxed while using the phone. Consider using a hands-free headset.

Problem: The documents you’re working from are too low and too far to the side.
Solution: Position the documents at the same level as your monitor. Consider using a document holder that attaches to your computer or sits beside it.

Problem: You wear bifocals and tilt your head back to see the computer screen.
Solution: Consider positioning your monitor slightly below eye level. Sit back in your chair and avoid hunching.

Problem: Your chair is too far away from your keyboard or desk, or the back of your chair is tilted too far back.
Solution: See suggestions in above section to learn how to set-up your chair and keyboard properly.

Problem: Your monitor is not the right height.
Solution: Make sure your monitor is directly in front of you and in line with your chair

Problem: You’re leaning forward to see the screen.
Solution: Be conscious about sitting in upright posture against the back of your chair.

Shoulder Pain

Problem: Your keyboard is too low or too far away. This causes you to raise or lower your shoulders to accommodate.
Solution: Keep your elbows close to your sides as your type and arrange your keyboard at proper level. See proper keyboard set-up in above section.

Problem: Your mouse is too high, to the side, or too far away.
Solution: Position your mouse close to and approximately at the same height as your keyboard. Consider using a touchpad or trackball to minimize distance your shoulder has to travel.

Wrist and Forearm Pain

Problem: Your wrists aren’t in a neutral position.
Solution: Keep your wrists straight in line with your arms. People with broad chests may prefer a split design keyboard as their elbows are already pushed outward.

Problem: Your keyboard feet are extended, giving your keyboard an upward tilt.
Solution: Your keyboard should have a neutral or slightly downward tilt.

Problem: The edge of your desk or hard wrist rest is putting unwanted pressure on the palm side of your wrist.
Solution: Consider using a soft wrist rest and check the height of your keyboard.

Problem: You’re typing too hard or for too long.
Solution: Use minimal force when typing. Make sure to take frequent short breaks (30 seconds) and consider performing quick stretches.

Low Back Pain

Problem: Your chair isn’t offering proper lumbar support.
Solution: If your chair is adjustable, make sure it’s properly adjusted to fit your body. If it’s not adjustable, considering purchasing a lumbar support or using a pillow or rolled towel to support your lower back.

Problem: You’re not maintaining good posture.
Solution: Your chair may be too high or too low. Your feet should not be dangling; they should either reach the floor or a footrest.

Problem: You’ve been sitting too long without a break.
Solution: Make sure to get up every few hours. Consider stretching to relax muscles and improve circulation.

Problem: You’re leaning forward to view your screen.
Solution: Be conscious about sitting in upright posture against the back of your chair if necessary.

Hip and Leg Pain

Problem: Your legs are cramped under your desk.
Solution: Clear the space under your desk so that your legs can move freely.

Problem: The padding on your seat is too firm.
Solution: Make sure your seat is padded. The angle between your chair back and seat may be too tight. Adjusting the backrest backwards slightly or the seat downward may help.

Problem: You’ve been sitting too long without a break.
Solution: Your legs need occasional movement to keep blood flowing and to avoid stiffness.

Knee Pain

Problem: Your chair is too low or too high. Dangling feet may cause knee pain.
Solution: Raise or lower your chair as necessary.

Problem: Your seat is too deep which can cause pressure on the back of your knees.
Solution: Tilting the seatback slightly forward or using a back pillow may help. Some adjustable chairs now have sliding seats that adjust for depth.

To sign up for a free newsletter giving you ongoing ergonomics suggestions, go to the following web-site:
www.healthycomputing.com/newsletter/
Source: Healthy Computing

Joint Pain? Take NSAID or Glucosamine?

Wed, 18 May 2005 00:00:00 +0000

Glucosamine sulfate has been in the news. Some claiming it bunk and some proving it effective. What does research show? Glucosamine is more effective in providing long term pain relief as compared to other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAID's). This particular study is attached for you below.

Basically, glucosamine sulfate aids in cartilage rebuilding. NSAID's decrease inflammation and have been shown to inhibit cartilage formation. So - long term benefit is definitely going to be providing nutrients allowing your joints to recover. Decreasing inflammation is important but removing the cause of inflammation is more important. Obviously not all causes can be removed but multitudes indeed can be stopped.

Taking plain glucosamine sulfate is useful. However, if one wants to completely rebuild a joint properly, the aggravating factors must be addressed. This is where your physician comes in handy. Have them properly diagnose and educate you on what the cause of your condition is - not only the name of the condition - what caused it?!

Once the cause is addressed, physical therapy and nutrionals are needed. As a medical student, I have the ability to mingle with known physicians in our field. One such physician is Dr David Wood, founder of Biogenesis Nutraceuticals. He has formulated a product called ArthroGenX that has helped my wife with her Rheumatoid Arthritis. Our roofer since found it useful as well. He stated he could not sleep at night due to pains in his hands. I tossed a bottle of ArthroGenX up to him on the roof and suggested he take 2 capsules. He repeated the dose that evening before sleep and sleep had set in. Why does it work so fast?

ArthroGenX has built in herbals which decrease inflammation and improve absorption of the cartilage rebuilding ingredients. The ingredient listing of ArthroGenX and description can be found on its page. We have a full page dedicated to each product on our site as we want to educate the public - you - on why that product is useful and what is in it.

Should you have joint pain, please consult with a trusted physician and learn about the cause of your condition. We are here to help provide useful information and products.

Please consider ArthroGenX for your joint pains.

Any questions regarding joint pain and stiffness, please post a comment or email us directly.

In health,
Ben

Glucosamine and Ibuprofen study

PS - www.pubmed.com is a very useful source for finding any current medical research on just about anything.