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Index:
Medical Considerations Aloe Vera Liniment: Liniment helps penetrate the skin to get down into the muscle layers, carrying with it the Aloe Vera gel. Liniment is used for the temporary relief of minor aches and pains of muscles and joints associated with arthritis, simple backaches, strains, and sprains. It works great for pain relief from sore muscles. Kava Kava: Kava Kava (Piper Methysticum) is an herb that has been used in the Fiji Islands for many years. There it is cultivated in large quantities, and the islanders use it as a social beverage, much like how we would use either coffee or alcohol. The effects of Kava Kava are a relaxation of mental stress while at the same time an enhancement of mental capacities. Kava Kava also helps to relax striated muscles. Striated muscles are the muscles that can be voluntarily moved such as arm and leg muscles groups, or neck muscles. Kava Kava does NOT affect smooth muscle such as the heart muscle or diaphragm muscle used for breathing. It is proposed that the reason Kava Kava enhances mental capacities is because relaxation of stressful situations coupled with relaxation of tense or spastic muscles such as the neck muscles, allows more blood flow to the brain. Additionally, by putting some of the stressful affects aside, anyone can think clearer.
Relaxing Herbs: Valerian Root is an herb that is used extensively in Alternative Care Medicine to provide sedative and relaxation effects, as well as sleep promoting benefits for many patients. Passionflower, which is more widely used in Europe than America, may help combat Parkinson’s disease. (Reference: The Herbal Handbook, by David Hoffmann.) Many other herbalists also agree that Passionflower may help combat Parkinson’s disease. Passionflower contains two reportedly effective anti-Parkinson’s compounds, harmine and harmaline alkaloids. (Reference: The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke, Ph.D., 1997, p. 353.) Passionflower has anti-anxiety and sedative effects. Lemon Balm and Skullcap are traditional herbs for calming the nervous system.
Multi-Vitamins: High quality multi-vitamin / mineral formulas are needed to add the necessary "co-factors" needed for enzymatic pathways. Organic chemistry studies (a requirement for medical school students), demonstrates that all enzymatic, energy, and virtually all biological pathways in the human body, need many nutrients, or co-factors, to properly complete each pathway. Shortages of needed nutrients results in dysfunction of the organs for which those pathways could not be completed properly. Magnesium: Magnesium is needed for: processing calcium in the body; relaxation of all muscles including the heart during its relaxation phase of the heart beat which helps protect against a spastic heart muscle and irregular heartbeat; eases fibromyalgia symptoms; assists in lowering blood pressure by relaxing the muscle walls of arteries; and may reduce the severity of asthma attacks by allowing relaxation of chest wall muscles. Magnesium improves symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and has shown to aid in reducing complications of diabetes. Magnesium is needed to counter the effects of stress and therefore extra magnesium is needed in times of stress. Magnesium is also needed in over 300 other biochemical and enzymatic pathways in the body. MSM: The body requires elemental sulfur for many of its functions. Sulfur is a component of the proteins necessary for the formation of skin, hair, nails and muscle. Sulfur is also a component of bones, teeth and collagen (connective tissue). Sulfur is integral in the formation of bile acids by the liver and insulin by the pancreas. It is the fourth most plentiful mineral in the body and it essential for life. MSM, short for methylsulfonylmethane, is an organic form of sulfur readily absorbed and utilized by your body. MSM is composed of 34% bio-available sulfur, making it the richest source of organic sulfur available. MSM is a safe, natural, assimilable food that assists the body in maintaining adequate sulfur stores. MSM may support the body in regulating insulin production, improving skin smoothness and elasticity, regulating environmental and allergic sensitivities, enhancing bowel function and liver detoxification, and enhancing respiratory function.
Digestive Enzymes: Must have a very high quality, bioavailable, preferably broad spectrum formula, for rapid and complete digestion of foods, to prevent developing possible food allergies. Raw food has intact enzymes that assist in the digestion of that food group. Cooking destroys enzymes. Our bodies also have enzymes that assist in digesting foods, however enzyme function diminishes with age. Failure to completely digest foods leads to incomplete assimilation of nutrients. The result is the development of a number of chronic medical conditions, food allergies included. Plant based digestive enzymes work at any pH; meaning once it is in your stomach, it starts working right away. Animal based digestive enzymes do not begin to work until after your stomach pH drops very low; thus any person with hypochlorhydria (a lack of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juices), may never benefit from animal based digestive enzymes. Enzymes taken with meals will be used up in the stomach while they help digest that meal. Enzymes taken on an empty stomach will go into the blood stream intact. Blood conditions such as stacking of red blood cells (RBCs) like a stack of coins (RBC Rouleau), or red blood cells clumping together (RBC Aggregation), or accumulations of Uric Acid Crystals in the blood, can be greatly helped with a combination of Plant Digestive Enzymes and Antioxidants, taken on an empty stomach. (See our section on
pain.)
EDTA chelation IV therapy: EDTA has been successfully used in the treatment of atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis for over 50 years. It has also been used successfully in many other complaints. (See section on Chelation, EDTA). Yet there is a very select few Medical Doctors and even fewer Naturopathic Doctors who have received proper training in this wonderful technology. It will be difficult to find a doctor who practices EDTA because the AMA and FDA do not promote this technology to Medical Doctors. EDTA is administered directly into the blood veins and must be administered in a medical office, hopefully under the direction of a doctor who has been trained in EDTA IV chelation therapy.
Antioxidants: Free radical damages can be linked as one of the causative roots of many diseases, including dementia. Antioxidants help correct and then protect from further free radical damages. What is a Free Radical? A Free Radical is an unstable oxygen molecule that possesses an unpaired electron. This molecule is constantly trying to become whole by robbing cells of vital components. These biochemical compounds called Free Radicals damage our body and its cells. Both external pollutants and biochemical process of the body cause excess Free Radical reactions; Environmental pollutants, numerous food additives, and stress are only a few of the many ways Free Radicals are formed. The way in which Free Radicals are normally kept in check is by the action of Free Radical Scavengers that occur naturally in the body. These scavengers neutralize the Free Radicals. It’s important to assist our body by additionally supplementing daily with Antioxidants. Supplementation with only a few antioxidants though, gives us much less protection, than utilizing a complete array of antioxidants. This is due to the fact that the antioxidant defense system works as a team. If members of the team are missing, the outcome is poor. Maximum protection requires the complete array of established antioxidants in nutritionally meaningful amounts. Stressful living produces a much higher amount of free radicals than found in otherwise normal individuals. Free radical damage has many extreme negative complications, including faster aging, and is believed to be the root cause of many of our degenerative diseases. It is my professional conviction that "Type A" personalities will have a far greater amount of free radicals in their bodies when compared to Type C personalities. It is well known that Type A personalities die more often of heart disease, stoke and cancer than Type C personalities. Type A personalities do not handle stress well. Type C personalities are not affected by stressful situations like Type A personalities are, and they handle everyday stressors calmly. Most people I have met while working in my profession are Type A.
Microcurrent: See our section on Microcurrent, found in the index.
Discussion The fibromyalgia syndromes, myofascial pain syndromes, and fibromyositis, are a group of disorders characterized by achy pain and stiffness in soft tissues, including muscles, tendons (which attach the muscles to the bones), and ligaments (which attach bones to other bones). The pain and stiffness of fibromyalgia may occur throughout the body or may be restricted to certain locations. If there are more than 12 trigger point locations, the syndrome is classified as fibromyalgia. If there are fewer than 12 trigger point locations, then it is classified as myofascial pain syndrome. Fibromyalgia throughout the body is more common in women. Men are more likely to develop myofascial pain in a particular area such as the shoulders from an occupation or recreational muscle strain. Causes? Most textbooks state the cause is unknown. I have my own theories: I believe the primary cause for painful trigger points is metastatic calcium (calcium deposited in areas where it should not be deposited), in soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, and or ligaments. Calcium causes muscle contraction. Chronically contracted muscles cannot receive proper blood flow, and therefore will not receive the proper amounts of needed oxygen. The tissues then become hypoxic (less than normal amounts of oxygen in the tissues / or no oxygen.) Hypoxic tissues contract further and set the calcium more permanently within the soft tissues. The more the muscle, tendon, or ligament is contracted, the greater the amount of pain. I believe one mechanism could be due to injury. This would be the most likely scenario in men with myofascial pain syndrome. I believe another mechanism could be due to the kidney loosing its ability to remove Phosphorus. Extra Phosphorus builds up in tissues which lower tissue pH. Tissues pull in calcium to raise pH back to normal levels. Extra calcium causes increased muscle contraction, leads to tension and soreness and decreased Oxygen in tissues. Treatment theories Using my theories, I have been able to successfully treat many patients with either fibromyalgia and or myofascial pain syndrome using a technology called Microcurrent. I design my Microcurrent treatments so muscle spasm is decreased and oxygen levels in the tissues are increased. Microcurrent has also been successfully used by other practitioners for fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome, though they may not necessary understand why this treatment protocol seems to work so well. Magnesium is responsible for muscle relaxation. It is well known that a lack of magnesium can cause a heart muscle to go into spasm, fail to relax, and the patient dies of a muscle spasm heart attack. (There are also several other known mechanisms for heart attacks.) Taking magnesium supplementation is very useful for muscle relaxation. Magnesium must be balanced with calcium. If you are too high in calcium and too low in magnesium, then take magnesium supplementation alone. I have yet to find a single patient that did not benefit from extra magnesium. Magnesium is needed to process calcium. Magnesium is needed to relax muscles. And magnesium is needed in over 300 other biochemical reactions within the body. Magnesium is also used up very rapidly in stressful situations. Your vitamin / mineral status can be tested via a Hair Analysis. You will probably have to seek out an alternative care doctor for details on this test. Relaxation is very important. Whether that relaxation is experienced via deep sleep, or herbal support such as with Kava Kava, the primary point to consider is allowing the muscles to relax as much as possible, with the hopes that greater amounts of blood will perfuse into the tissues, carrying with it the molecule of life, Oxygen. Deep heat with or without massage will also help soft tissues to relax. Having a spouse give your muscles a deep massage, using a liniment, will increase the temperature of the soft tissues. When using a liniment with an Aloe Vera Gel incorporated into the liniment, the heating process of the liniment and the massage will allow the tissue healing properties of the Aloe Vera to go directly to the spastic muscles. The increase heat will promote increased blood and increased oxygen to the tissues and the Aloe Vera will be healing to the muscle tissue. The end result will be enhanced muscle relaxation, and promote a longer lasting increased blood flow and oxygen into the tissues. Digestive enzymes, if taken on an empty stomach, can help decrease inflammation. This is most notable with the enzyme Bromelain. There is documented evidence that Bromelain is a muscle anti-inflammatory agent, if taken without food. I believe, as a class, the digestive enzymes for proteins are most effective. Be sure to take the digestive enzymes on an empty stomach, otherwise the activity of the enzymes will be used up for digesting your food. EDTA chelation therapy, when mixed using the conventional recipe for which it has been used for the last 50 years, removes calcium deposits. I have seen EDTA chelation improve trigger points, improve myofascial pain syndrome, and improve fibromyalgia. The mixture to ask for is Di-Sodium EDTA, mixed in the lab with magnesium. Calcium EDTA will not work to remove displaced (metastatic) calcium deposits. Malic Acid has been used to help profuse soft tissues with oxygen and has demonstrated success in these syndromes. This natural substance is found in one manufacturers fibromyalgia support formula. This particular manufacturer sells only to doctors. You must purchase this supplement from an alternative care doctor. The name of the company is Metagenics and the name of the product is Fibroplex.
DISCLAIMER This information is provided for Educational Purposes Only and has NOT been designed to diagnose, treat or cure any health conditions. Please consult a qualified Health Care Professional with Nutritional Training to diagnose your health conditions and avoid self-diagnosis. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have not evaluated statements about these health topics or any suggested product compositions.
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