Sleep: An Important Part of Prolotherapy
It is during deep sleep that hormones, like growth hormone, are secreted. Growth hormone is one of the anabolic hormones that the body needs to repair itself. If a person does not enter the deep stages of sleep, the ability to repair injured tissue is hampered.
It is imperative that the body is able to repair this muscle tissue from its daily use. The body does its repair during the deep stages of sleep. If this is not accomplished, the end result is muscle aching.
The vicious cycle
A person has a localized pain, such as neck pain. The pain may be severe enough that it causes chronic insomnia. The chronic insomnia causes a decrease in the body's ability to repair itself.
Chronic insomnia is the number one reason people have diffuse body aching. To cure diffuse body aching, the cause of the chronic insomnia must be found. If the chronic insomnia began because of a pain complaint at a particular part of the body, then there is an excellent chance that Prolotherapy can cure the problem. If the chronic insomnia is due to a marital problem, job stress, or other psychological issues, then this is the area that needs to be addressed. Everyone should find a way to reduce their stress level.
What about depression? Many people with chronic pain are diagnosed with clinical depression as the cause of their chronic pain. We say the following to this: Follow the person who made that diagnosis and punch him in the back every five minutes. How long do you think it would be before he or she, too, is depressed? After seven days of pain, a previously healthy person can show signs of clinical depression. If a previously healthy person develops chronic pain and is diagnosed with depression, it is logical that chronic pain relief will alleviate the depression. This is exactly what occurs.
THE NATURAL MEDICINE APPROACH TO FOOT DROP
Ross A. Hauser, M.D.
A patient came to Caring Medical with a long history of back pain complaints. Eventually he had a discectomy and subsequent spinal fusion. He has had to wear an AFO (ankle foot orthosis) because of foot drop in the year following spinal fusion. He had an electromyographic/nerve conduction study which showed evidence of nerve damage. On physical examination there was slight movement of dorsiflexion of the foot. There was palpable muscle contraction in the muscles that raise the foot toward the head. The muscles strength could only be appreciated when gravity was eliminated.
The patient was given a comprehensive natural medicine evaluation. He was placed on anabolic hormones that help get the body into the healing mode. The hormones included Human Growth Hormone, Testosterone, and DHEA. He was placed on a hypoallergenic diet. He was given exercises to do with gravity eliminated. He was told to do electrical stimulation to the dorsiflexors and other muscles that move the foot (the ones that were weak). He was also placed on supplements, and had vitamin B shots, Prolotherapy to the lower back, and neural therapy administered to the nerves involved.
The patient continued to make improvements to the point that after 6 months he was able to discontinue wearing his orthotic. He still has some foot weakness but walks normally without an orthotic.
I want to now explain why natural medicine doesn't help some people with foot drop. There are some cases in which people have nerve injury to muscles of their foot, and the muscles atrophy and are replaced by scar tissue.In some of these cases the nerve repairs, but unfortunately the person still has foot drop because there is no muscle tissue left. The important point to make is that if you get nerve injury you have to stimulate the muscles so when the nerve is regenerated there is some muscle tissue left to stimulate. In other words, anyone who has nerve injury has to use an electrical muscle stimulator everyday, sometimes for the rest of their life. If I am not sure if someone has any muscle tissue left, I will order physical therapy for electrical muscle stimulation and ask the physical therapist to see if there is any muscle contraction in the muscles that are stimulated.If there is no contraction, then nothing can be done to help the person regain muscle contraction because there is no muscle.If there is, then we continue to use electrical muscle stimulation to strengthen the muscle.
CHRONIC PAIN and DEHYDRATION
We utilize a simple diagnostic testing procedure known as Diet Typing to determine a person's underlying physiology. The tests consistently reveal that chronic pain patients suffer from chronic dehydration. Chronic dehydration produces a reduction in shock absorbing capabilities of the intervertebral discs and articular cartilage, placing additional stress on the ligaments to stabilize the joints. The end result is ligament laxity, injury, and resultant chronic pain. It is very important for the person in chronic pain to drink six to eight glasses of purified water per day.
A significant number of chronic pain patients also have a lower than normal venous blood plasma pH. A person with low venous plasma pH has what is termed acid blood. Acid blood is typically dark in color due to low oxygen content. A low oxygen content in the blood compromises healing capabilities.
The treatment for acid blood is to consume foods and supplements which neutralize the blood pH. This is accomplished by consuming items which are alkaline and by reducing the intake of acidic items. Caffeine, sugar, wheat, citrus fruits, soda pop, and potatoes should be avoided, whereas protein and vegetables should be the majority of the meal. Supplements such as green algae or alfalfa also help neutralize acidic blood. Nuts, seeds, brown rice, or soy products are good sources of protein if a vegetarian diet is preferred. People with acid blood are typically carbohydrate addicts and consume very little protein. Protein is needed in the diet because collagen, which makes up ligaments and tendons, is the most abundant protein in the body. A healthy diet with adequate amounts of protein for soft tissue growth is essential for healthy ligament and tendon injuries.
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