In my last post, I talked about the pain of plantars faciitis along with some suggestions as to how to alleviate that debilitating pain. Today, I want to address the care of your feet, i.e. blisters and how to heal and prevent them.
Last Wed. Betty and I hiked 11 miles along Rattlesnake Ridge, overlooking North Bend, WA., a trail 45 minutes from Seattle. It is a through-hike requiring two cars. We chose the long uphill route dropping to the Ledge and thence to the lake below. Rattlesnake
People fall to their death from the Rattlesnake Ridge ledge
ledge is infamous because so many unprepared people can easily get up there–it is only 1 1/2 miles, and every year one or two fall off to their death below.
View from Rattlesnake ledge
In spite of arthritis, chronic pain, aching joints–hips, knees, ankles–, you still want to go walking. Your feet must have the best possible support. For me, this has been a huge challenge because I have bunions which require double wide men’s shoes. At one point I developed a metatarsal neuroma or Morton’s neuroma . I mentioned Dr. Huppin’s Foot and Ankle clinic last week. He knew exactly what modifications to make to the orthotic inserts to take the pressure off the 2nd toe and spread weight over all the toes.
He and his partner, Dr. Hale, publish a guide to shoes that helps a person choose the most stable shoe. They even consider and recommend a flip flop! Here’s the link where you can sign up for their recommended shoe list and guide lines on how to choose a shoe that will keep your foot stable.
On the Rattlesnake Ridge hike, I make a huge mistake. I ignore a hot spot between my big toe and the 2nd toe, a place where I have rubbed countless blisters. By the time I get home late that night, after another event, I can hardly walk.
I’d like to share what to do to avoid that suffering. Blisters are serious business. I knew a woman who ignored a blister her ski boot rubbed. It developed septicemiaand she died before they could airlift her to a hospital.
Women on Wed.hike to Red Pass on the Pacific Crest Trail
In my pack I carry a tape made by a German company. The product is called Hansaplast and is not available in the US, only Canada and Mexico in North America. But of course anywhere in Europe you can purchase rolls of this magical thin, easy-to-tear-with-your-fingers tape. If I’m not going to Europe, I ask a traveling friend to buy it for me. Usually I put a piece of this tape on the areas of my feet most likely to blister in my hiking boots before I begin the hike. Usually, if I feel a hot spot, the way I did when we hiked out of Commonwealth Basin up the Pacific Crest Trail toward Red Pass, I stop on the trail and take off my boots and sox and put the tape on, thus preventing a blister. But on Rattlesnake Ridge, I ignored everything I usually do.
The blister kept me awake all night. In the morning I punctured it, cleaned it carefully and put Second Skin on it. This is the second thing to tell you about blisters. Second Skin is a must for your pack first aide kit. Don’t leave home without it. You leave the second skin on for 5 days and by that time the blister is completely healed. I hiked again yesterday, 8 miles on Tiger Mt. with quite an elevation gain. Before going, I used the Hansaplast and a pair of liner sock.No blisters or sore feet.
One more suggestion for protecting your feet and legs: walk with hiking sticks and use them to lift your body up and lower it down on the steep bits of trail. Your upper body gets a work out and your legs and feet have less stress. We spent much of our time on Tiger a little bit lost. I was glad we were 5 and that my smart phone GPS could locate us, but nothing helped poor signage. We are determined to master the maze of wilderness trails on this complicated mountain, a foot hill of the Cascade Range, blessedly protected by forward looking environmentalists. Known as the Issaquah Alps, Tiger and Cougar and Squak mountains form a corridor of wilderness in an otherwise densely developed exurban Seattle.
More than anything, keep moving, Gentle Reader, keep moving.
Before you go, what is your foot sore story and how have you kept sore feet from keeping you in your chair? Let us hear from you.
How many of you have suffered from chronic foot pain? You’ve been to the doctor, the chiropractor, the massage therapist – and nothing seems to help for very long. Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. In today’s GrandmaBetsyBell/blog post Julie tells you a very simple technique you can use at home to experience dramatic pain relief. Thanks for Dr. Steve Chaney for this information. If you find value here, please forward this email to a friend.
You Can Make Your Foot Pain Go Away — Heal Your Plantar Fasciitis Naturally
Author: Julie Donnelly
Just a couple of weeks ago I taught you how to make your hip pain go away. Today’s topic is foot pain. And, yes, you can make your foot pain go away as well. But, let’s start at the beginning.
How Does Foot Pain Get Started?
You feel it coming on gradually. Maybe your lower leg aches a bit, but you’re busy so you ignore it. After a while every time you take a step you feel a burning that spreads along the entire lower leg and into your arch. Still you ignore it. But it doesn’t go away, in fact, it gets worse.
Oh, my aching feet. Make the pain go away!
[I’ve had foot pain many times over my life time of hiking and walking several miles at a time on the city streets. The most recent was a few weeks before setting off for Switzerland to hike 50 miles in the Engadine Valley. At the first slight twinge, I went to my podiatrist for an adjustment to my orthotics and avoided misery on the 6 day hike, or worse, cancellation.]
Now your arch just doesn’t feel “right.” Then it starts to hurt, but not every time you put pressure on your foot. Again, you ignore it until finally you are experiencing foot pain all the time. Then eventually you can’t ignore it any more, it’s like a knife being jabbed into your arch. Now it’s not just hurting when you run or drive your car, your foot hurts with every step.
Almost every day you do something that causes you to lift the front of your foot while your heel is still resting on the floor. For most people it comes from straining your lower leg muscles when you are driving a car, especially if you drive often. It is even more evident if you are doing any type of city driving because you are off and on the gas and break constantly, repetitively straining all of your lower leg muscles. You just know that your foot hurts and it’s affecting your life. You must find a solution!
What is Plantar Fasciitis?
You’ve been told you have plantar fasciitis, and you may have been told you need expensive orthotics. Perhaps you’ve even tried them and while they worked for a short time, eventually the pain returned and then it started to hurt worse. Now you’re told you need to replace the orthotics, but you’ve come to realize that isn’t the answer. And it’s not the answer. The orthotics are focusing on the symptom, but totally ignoring the source of the problem.
[Julie has some great advice in this article, and, in my experience, orthotics can make a difference. It depends on the doctor. Mine is an auto mechanic with his attention and expertise directed to the foot. If you are the Seattle area, I suggest you see him http://www.footankle.com/Drs. Huppin and Hale. Dr. Huppin has terrible bedside manner, but I got his full attention and he worked with my plantar fasciitis and a metatarsal swelling over time to get the orthotics adjusted to address the root problem. Find a doctor who is not just putting an band aid under your sore feet.]
The good news is that you can heal your plantar fasciitis naturally. Most people, including too many medical professionals, don’t realize that foot pain is frequently coming from outside the foot. The muscles of your lower leg actually are there to move your ankle and foot, not to move your lower leg (that comes from your upper leg).
The reason is simple. First let’s use an analogy that I use all the time because it’s so perfect to explain how muscles work to move a joint. If you pull your hair at the end, it hurts at your scalp. You don’t need to massage your scalp, you don’t need to take pain medications to stop the tension in your head, and you certainly don’t need brain surgery, you just need to stop pulling your hair! Now substitute the muscle for your hand, the tendon for your hair, and the joint for your scalp.
Muscles originate in one place, they merge into a tendon that crosses over a joint, and then the tendon inserts into a point on the other side of the joint. When the muscle pulls, the tendon tightens and the joint moves, but if the muscle is tight it will continue pulling on the joint even when you don’t want it to move. In the case of the lower leg muscles and the foot, the muscles are pulling your foot up from the ground, but you are pressing it down and causing the tendons to put a strain on the insertion points, which in this case are all in your arch.
How the Muscles Get Strained
Every time you take a step you are using all of the muscles of your lower leg. As you work you contract these muscles every time you step on the pedal. Lifting the front of your foot up you are using your tibialis anterior and then you press down on the pedal you are using your calf muscles. If you walk a lot, or you are a runner, you are causing a repetitive strain on the same muscle fibers. Also, while driving your car your foot is picked up in the front to go from the gas to the brake, again straining the same muscles. You do this over and over until you have strained the muscle fibers. Eventually the fibers shorten due to a phenomenon called muscle memory.
Muscle memory will hold your muscles in the shortened position even when you don’t need them contracted. This puts pressure on the insertion point, in this case, the arch.
The Result is Arch Pain
The two primary muscles that cause arch pain are the tibialis anterior and the peroneals. They originate at the top of the lower leg, merge into tendons where your ankle begins to slim, and then insert into the bottom of your foot.
The tibialis anterior goes along the outside of your shin bone, crosses over the front of your ankle and then inserts into your arch. When it contracts normally you lift up the inside of your foot so you are resting on the outside of your foot.
The peroneals originate at the top/outside of your lower leg, run down the leg and merge into a tendon that goes behind the outside of your ankle and inserts in two places; the outside of your foot, and under your arch to the inside of your foot. When it contracts normally you pull up the outside of your foot so you are resting on your big toe.
An Easy Treatment that Works
The goal with this Julstro self-treatment is to force the toxins out of the muscle fibers, drawing in blood to nourish the muscles. As the blood fills the muscle, the fibers lengthen and the strain is removed from the arch.
Begin by treating the tibialis anterior on the front of your leg.
natural healing for plantar fasciitis
#1 – kneel on the floor and put a ball just outside of your shin bone.
using a tennis ball to relieve the foot pain of plantar fasciitis
#2 – Move your leg forward so the ball rolls along the outside of your shin bone.
Then treat the peroneals on the outside of your lower leg, sit on the floor with the leg you are treating bent and resting on the floor. Put the ball on the outside of your leg (so it is actually on the floor and your leg is on top of it) and then press the outside of your leg into the ball. Move your leg so the ball starts to roll down the outside of your lower leg. Your intention is to do the same as you did for the tibialis anterior (above)
Or, sit on the floor or a bed and position your leg as shown in picture #3. While using either a dowel or a length of PVC pipe, slide the pipe from just above your ankle bone to just below your knee joint.
Use a dowel to relieve foot pain caused by plantar fasciitis
#3 – Using a dowel or piece of PVC pipe, put pressure on the outside of your leg and slide along the peroneals muscle from your knee to above your ankle bone.
The treatments will feel sore but that’s because you’re forcing H+ ions through the muscle fibers, and acid burns. But, it’s better to have the toxins out of the muscles and fill the fibers with blood, plus the lymphatic system will pick up the toxins and eliminate them from your body.
[Supplements that help are Alfalfa and Lecithin. Alfalfa tablets—eat them like peas, a teaspoonful at a time—moves blood, infusing the hard-to-reach area with nourishment and acting as a diuretic, flushing the region. Lecithin is nature’s emulsifier. You find soy lecithin in many tablets and other products. The task lecithin performs is liquefying sticky material so it can flush through the lymph system.]
There are several other treatments that work to eliminate arch pain and plantar fasciitis, but I’ve found these to be the most productive, and they may be all that is necessary to eliminate the problem completely.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Again, my thanks to Dr. Steven Chaney for his research and leadership in the field of alternative approaches to health issues. If you would like to be on Dr. Chaney’s mailing list, go here to sign up for his weekly Health Tips from the Professor.
Be well, Do well and Keep Moving,
Betsy
206 933 1889
Leave a comment or email me! I love to hear your solution to the problems presented in this blog.
Viki, Healthy Competition Winner and Pro Cartwheeler
Did a 180 and lost 127 lbs*
Viki went from feeling like a burden to her family to feeling happy, healthier, and confident. Here’s her weight gain and weight loss story:
Viki’s Before:
Used to not be physically able to do the dishes.
Used to feel like people turned away from her at the end of her sentences.
Used to feel miserable all the time.
The Tipping Point:
“I was a burden to my family. I couldn’t even do things like washing the dishes; it was embarrassing.”
Viki’s After-After™ Snapshot:
“I go to lunch with my girlfriends and I’m not afraid of what the restaurant has; I live without fear. There’s nothing in my life that’s bigger than that.”
Tell us about your before:
“I struggled with my weight as a teenager, but it was nothing that I couldn’t get under control if I felt like it. And then I got pregnant with my first child and I gained 60 pounds. I was pregnant with my second child in under six months, and I didn’t gain as much weight, but I didn’t have the chance to take off the weight. There was no weight loss at all. I just kind of didn’t do anything or really think much about it outside of wishing I was thinner until I got on the scale one day and I weighed 282 pounds. I got back off the scale and I literally kicked it.”
How has Shaklee 180™ changed your life?
“There are a lot of changes that come with losing so much weight. It’s definitely an emotional process to work through. When you’re heavy nobody’s paying attention to you and you just kind of go about and not worry about everything. People don’t treat you the same; that’s just a fact of life and so there’s some pulling back of what you would otherwise feel bold enough to do. Before Shaklee 180™, people used to turn away at the end of my sentence; now they keep the conversation going.”
What else has changed?
“Shopping for clothes is now one of my favorite things to do! It used to be that I could shop until the cows came home but I couldn’t find anything that made me look good. Now I can go out and the problem is—my husband will attest to this—deciding to not get everything I like. [laughs] It’s a whole new mindset, you know, to go through an entire wardrobe of things that you don’t feel good in to trying to figure out what look you want to wear today; that’s a big difference.”
Tell us your Healthy Competition experience:
“I would have never imagined that I would be sitting here and talking to people on camera. Or being in a photo shoot where people are fussing with my hair and makeup and making me look pretty all day long. I loved it!”
*Results and experiences from the Shaklee 180 Program are unique for each person, so results may vary. People following the weight loss portion of the Shaklee 180 program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week.
Start your 180 program today. Contact Betsy Bell, your 180 Specialist 206 933 1889 or visit www.BetsybellFatLoss.com to sign up.
Thanks to Shaklee corporation for the products they make, for this post and for the life I have and offer to anyone who wants better health and financial freedom.
Can an arthritis sufferer who is also over weight benefit from Medicinal Herbs & Herbal Supplements? Perhaps you are one of those people like a friend of mine. She’s in her late 40s and has been unable to get to her ideal weight for her entire life. She was a fat baby. She has eaten the perfect diet: low carbs, lean protein, plenty of fruits and vegetables and hardly any snack foods that most of us would consider OK for once-in-a-while treats. She has developed aches and pains, those joint issues that come when a person exercises a lot (trying to get that weight down) and fears arthritis is creeping in. She already takes medicinal herbs and herbal supplements made by Shaklee which help with pain relief. I have described the benefit of Pain Relieve Complex in several previous posts.
In desperation, she consulted a physician who suggested the Atkins diet. For the beginning months she ate nothing but protein and then slowed added carbohydrates in the form of raw vegetables, 25 grams a day, no more. (One protein source she loves is Shaklee’s Instant Protein Soy Mix, a pure, non-GMO protein source with no carbohydrates at all.) She began using the medicinal herbs and herbal supplementGlucose Regulation Complex.
Taken in the middle of a meal, the herbs in this Glucose Regulation Complex unlock the doors of the stubborn cells and allow the sugars to enter! Voila! And Halleluiah! At last her body is using the glucose to energize her and the pounds are coming off.
Medicinal herbs and herbal supplements abound on the market today. How do you decide where to buy them and from whom? Let me suggest the following bench marks to consider. If your product does not meet all these requirements, look further, or shop for the Shaklee product. (If the Shaklee corporation makes the medicinal herb or herbal supplement you are looking for, you are in luck. If not, ask these questions of the manufacturer before you buy.)
Does the company control the source material from which the medicinal herb or herbal supplement is created?
If not, does it inspect with a plant chromatography methods? In other words, does the batch of raw material pass through a thorough inspection of all the properties to determine if there are contaminants, and if the plant material is what it supposed to be?
Has the company conducted double blind scientific testing to see if the medicinal herbs and herbal supplements manufactured by the company itself reached the blood stream in the human body and performed as predicted? Was the study conducted well enough for a peer-review journal to publish the results?
Does the company provide a money back guarantee on the medicinal herb or herbal supplement so that if the customer does not get the results they are looking for, they get their money back?
If all these points cannot be answered in the affirmative, I would not recommend buying that medicinal herb or herbal supplement.
OK, then. Are you one of those people who are ready to try a medicinal herb or herbal supplement to see if you can get your body to accept glucose into the cells? If so, please take a look at Glucose Regulation Complex. The active ingredients include
Other ingredients include Magnesium (as magnesium oxide) and Zinc (as zinc gluconate)
These ingredients help the sugars you eat get into the cells where they belong. End of sugar cravings!
With the loss of extra pounds, arthritis pain goes down and maybe even away. Of course, I can’t predict your individual outcome, but what if Glucose Regulation Complex worked for you the way it has for my friend? Why not give it a try?
The side benefits of Glucose Regulation Complex include lowering cholesterol. The scientific information you will want to study is in this pdf. I have put the document on the resources page of my blog www.grandmabetsybell.com/resources/.
Feel free to pass this post along to friends and family who struggle with weight loss. This may provide the missing ingredient.
I’d love your comments so others can benefit from your wisdom.
A new customer is determined to make changes in her habits so she is supporting better health for the future. She worries about the high cost of eating organic. Not every fruit and vegetable is equally laden with pesticides and herbicides. When you are working toward an organic diet, you can expect your food bill to go up. You expect that. But is there a way to move gradually to organic.
Why bother going organic? For the arthritis sufferer, the joints are susceptible to toxins that come into our body in processed and fresh non-organic foods. The joints have poor blood flow so it is harder to flush these toxins. If your arthritis is crippling, painful and keeps you from exercising, the build up of toxins in the joints can cause inflammation and be difficult to alleviate. By all means, keep walking, keep moving those joints if at all possible to get a flow into them which will flush toxins out.
For the rest of us, pesticides are not a good thing. They create stress on the immune system and could even cause cancer. The toxic chemicals coming along for the ride on our fresh fruits and vegetables are especially harmful to children whose bodies are small and can not handle the stress.
I share this web site which includes two videos for your consideration.
Not all fruits and vegetables are bad for us.
The harmful effect is greater on children and adults with compromised health.
Stick to foods that can be peeled: watermelon, cantelope, pinapple, corn, and peel the non-organic apples, potatoes, peaches.
Avoid the dirty dozen. You’ll find them on the web site above where you can down load the infomation and carry it in your purse when you shop.
Another way to get past the cost (and check carefully, sometimes the price difference isn’t that great.) is to prepare half an apple for the kids. Quarter them and that way they will have the great benefit of the organic fruit without the pesticides. Serve less. Make the organic item go farther.
Good luck with this change. You will be amazed at how wonderful the organic produce tastes. Treat yourself. Have fruit for dessert and forget the ice cream. Yummy.
These beautiful fall days have many of us moving and shaking. Great time for working in the garden, chasing our soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, football, field hockey playing school children and perhaps you are among the older adults who play geezer basketball and master’s tennis. My favorite thing to do in the fall is hunt chanterelles. Eight of us hikers recently had a successful day. We were lifting legs, stooping, reaching, climbing steeply through giant sword fern, around old stumps, over huge fallen fir and cedar trees. This is exercise. Well rewarded.
So many chanterelles!
I am having such a consuming time writing the story of my courtship with my first husband that I haven’t been taking time to workout at home. Perhaps some of you over 65 have found Silver Sneakers, the Medicare Program that encourages Active Older Adults (AOA) to remain flexible and independent. I tried my first class this last week. When I saw all the chairs set out, I thought this class would be way too easy. Not at all. The chairs were for balance when standing behind them on one foot. They also gave us a platform for 80 repetitions of getting up and down out, standing—sitting, standing—sitting. We used weights and bands for increasing upper body strength. What fun to be in a room full of smiling gray haired men and women having a great time.
On Friday mornings I go to an AOA salsa dancing class, led by a gorgeous, slim older woman who can lead the rumba, salsa, cha-cha-cha, and mambo to Cuban and Brazilian music. We trill our tongues, clap the flamenco and sweat. Fabulous.
I brought 3 new hens home from my grandson’s birthday celebration on his family’s farm an hour north of Seattle and these young ladies are not being welcomed into the established coop of 3 Rhode Island Reds. They flew over my 6 foot fencing and scattered into the neighborhood. Picture this old lady trying to corner a frightened chicken and having to climb a rockery with a blanket in my hand. We did lose one little black hen, which broke my heart. They are not settled yet. I’m pleased that I have the energy and stamina and flexibility to chase chickens. Take those classes. Life in the suburbs! You may have to use all that strength moving and shaking in some unexpected ways.
A little Araucana is not accepted by the Rhode Island Reds.
How about you? What classes are you taking to keep fit? Let us know. While you are responding, “like” my fan page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/betsybellshealth4u
How many of you have suffered from chronic hip pain? You’ve been to the doctor, the chiropractor, the massage therapist – and nothing seems to help for very long. Julie Donnelly is a Deep Muscle Massage Therapist with 20 years of experience specializing in the treatment of chronic joint pain and sports injuries. Thanks to Dr. Chaney, I received this excellent article written by Julie about a very simple technique you can use at home to experience dramatic pain relief.
If you enjoy today’s post, please forward this email to a friend.
How Can You Relieve Chronic Hip Pain?
Making Hip Pain Go Away
Author: Julie Donnelly
Hip Pain Getting rid of hip painthe ball releases the tightness in the muscle
Do you have joint pain or stiffness? Does it hurt when you’ve been sitting and you try to get up and walk? Have you tried to stretch and either it feels good for a few minutes and then you’re back to square one, or maybe even worse, it hurts more than it did before? Do you sometimes feel like your joints are just tied down and you’re no longer flexible? Do you maybe even blame it on “old age?” The odds are extremely high that all that’s happening is your muscles are in spasm.
If any of these statements fit you, you’ll really love today’s message. As a bonus, at the end of this blog you’ll learn a self-treatment technique that you’ll love if you ever have hip pain.
I’ve mentioned many times that a tight muscle pulling on a tendon will cause joint pain, just like pulling on your hair will cause your scalp to hurt. And, just like the only way to stop the pain in your head is to let go of your hair, the only way to stop the pain in your joint is to release the tight muscle.
Another analogy that I use frequently has to do with stretching and why you may feel worse AFTER you stretch than you did before you stretched. If you took a 12″ line and tied enough knots in it so it is now 11″, and then you try to stretch it back to 12″ without first untying the knots, you can see what would happen. The knots would become tighter and the fibers on either side of the knot would be overstretched and could possibly even tear. If the line was attached to a fixed point on either side you can imagine the strain that is happening to the attachment points. This is exactly what is happening to you when you when you stretch a muscle that is tied up in knots (spasms). You can see how important it is to first release the spasms before stretching.
Today I’d like to share with you how to do one of the Julstro self-treatments that we teach on the Julstro self-treatment DVD. So many people have hip pain that I’d like to explain how to treat the tensor fascia lata muscle which is located on the outside of your hip, between your hip bone and the top of your thigh bone:
Using a tennis ball (hollow in the center so it is a bit less intense) or a Perfect Ball (solid in the center so it gets in deeper) place the ball right where the side-seam of your pants is located – between the two bones. If you are in a lot of pain, start by leaning into a wall. If you want to go deeper into the muscle, lie on the floor on top of the ball. You may need to move an inch or so to find the “epicenter” of the spasm, but you’ll know immediately when you locate it. Always make sure you keep your pressure to a “hurts so good” level, you’re in control so don’t over-do.
Once you find the spasm, which is also called a “trigger point,” just stay still on it for 30-60 seconds. Lift your weight off the ball for a few breaths and then press into the ball again. This second time you’ll find that it won’t be as painful as the first time because you have already pressed out some of the H+ ions that are causing the spasm (and the pain).
Keep repeating this for a few minutes and then slightly move your body so you can find other trigger points that are around your hips. You’ll probably find points that are a little bit toward the front of your hip, so make sure you rotate your body so you’re facing more toward the wall or the floor, and then rotate your body so you’re back is more toward the wall or the floor.
This one simple technique has saved several of my clients from thinking they needed hip surgery! It will help you move easier and with less discomfort – and often it will totally eliminate the pain from your hip completely.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Thanks to Julie for this advice. For those of you who have sciatica, try this method to get rid of hip pain. Let me know how it works for you.
Sore back? Been traveling, sitting in an airplane for hours? Did you enjoy a vigorous hiking holiday slogging miles over boulders, roots and bogs for days in a row? Maybe you had back surgery, successful but still stiff and cranky. Or perhaps, you joined a new salsa dance class (that would be my recent experience) for the first time and the instructor had you swinging your hips in directions they hadn’t gone in 50 years.
There’s nothing that slows you down more than a sore back, whether it is caused by over-exersion, chronic arthritis, or a sudden move that sets everything zinging. Here are four tips to get you moving comfortably again.
1. A muscle relaxant for a few days won’t kill you and will give those spasms a chance to quiet down. There are a lot of over the counter medications to chose from. My personal favorite is Aleve. I can usually manage flare ups with frequent doses of Shaklee’s Pain Relief Complex, a herbal COX 2, 5 LOX inhibitor that will not damage your stomach. 99% of the time I can manage a sore back with Pain Relief Complex. It gives me peace of mind to know I am not hurting my stomach or creating any bad side effects.
2. To relieve a sore back my friend alternated between hot compresses and ice, getting the blood to move through the low back. The joints are not easy to flush with blood flow so this is an excellent therapy, especially if you have the leisure to work on the problem. The hottub is excellent for the heat. I use mine every night sending the jets on any sore muscles. In the case of acute sore back, more frequent cold/hot changes will speed the healing along.
3. For immediate relief for a sore back, rub Joint and Muscle Pain Cream or other menthol analgesic into the area. For years I relied on Arnica Montana or Icy Hot cream, but I have found that the pain-relieving effect seems to penetrate more deeply and last longer.
4. I use the Back2Life machine daily and when my back is more sore than normal, I will relief the sore back by getting on the floor with my knees over the top of this contraption several times a day. It’s gentle motion is like a Feldenkrais manipulation. The small, steady lifting and lowering motion of the Back2Life machine, relaxes and opens up the sacrum, allowing blood to flow into the irritated and inflammed area. The machine is set to do its work for about 13 minutes which is just about as long as a busy person can stand to be still, lying on the floor. Past posts about the Back2Life Machine.
In addition to these excellent sore back relieveing strategies, I like to put Peggy Cappy‘s soothing voice on before I go to sleep every night. In fact, her voice usually puts me to sleep. She takes you through a muscle relaxing meditation for about 20 minutes beginning with the eyes and facial muscles. By the time she has progressed through the entire body, you are so still and relaxed, you couldn’t move an arm or a leg. The last part of the CD takes you even deeper and she talks to your “inner mind” about the way sore and damaged joints restore through rebuilding healthy new cells using the nutrients offered by the blood stream. I am convinced that if I were to get an MRI of my lower back and spine today, the deforming and pain-causing spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis would be less evident, just because of her CD. Sound to woo-woo for you? Never mind. Listen to her relaxing CD anyway for relief from the SORE BACK that has you moaning. To read a past post about Peggy Cappy, click here.
Probably the most effective strategy of all is moving. As soon as you can tolerate even a little movement, get up and walk. It is only by getting blood flow back into the disturbed joint that healing can be accelerated.
I wish you well in your journey to a healthy back, and the end of the sore back experience.
The immune system protects the body from bacteria, virus fungus, and other harmful
organisms. At times of the year when you are more likely to be slowed down by
immune challenges, it’s more important than ever to keep your immune system up to
speed. Scientific studies suggest that along with a healthy diet and getting enough rest,
consuming certain herbal supplements can help you be prepared for the moment when
you first feel the need to bolster your immune system. Defend and Resist Complex can
help your body respond to seasonal challenges by giving your immune system what it
needs to stay strong.
Defend and Resist Complex features standardized extracts of Echinacea, black elderberry, and larch tree with immunoactive arabinogalactans to stimulate the body’s
natural resistance during seasonal challenges. Defend and Resist Complex also contains
zinc, which is known to help support a healthy immune function. Convenient tablets may
be swallowed, dissolved in the mouth then chewed, or crushed and mixed with hot
water to drink as a tea. Defend and Resist Complex Supports Your Body in 4 Ways
1. By stimulating the body’s natural resistance.
Echinacea native to the United States, Echinacea was first used by the native
peoples of the New World. Also known as purple coneflower, Echinacea is a
perennial flower that resembles a black-eyed Susan. The Echinacea in Defend and
Resist Complex is an extract of both the herb and the root of the most studied herb
species, Echinacea purpurea. Recent studies have shown that Echinacea can help
your body respond to seasonal challenges by giving your immune system what it
needs to stay strong. A basis for understanding how Echinacea works comes from
laboratory studies showing cichoric acid and alkylamides, compounds found at high
concentrations in Echinacea purpurea, have strong immuno-stimulating activity. Six
tablets of Shaklee Defend and Resist Complex per day provide 168 mg of Echinacea
extract concentrated 6:1 to reliably provide the equivalent of over 1,000 mg of dried
herb. In addition, Echinacea is extracted from cultivated plants, which not only helps
guarantee the quality of the raw materials, but also helps protect increasingly rare
wild plants from being over-harvested.
By maintaining a healthy immune response.
Black Elderberry. The elderberry has been involved in human history for centuries.
The generic name sambucus may come from the Greek sambuke, a musical
instrument made from elderberry wood and said to be capable of making music to
heal the spirit. Black elderberries (Sambucus nigra) are a rich source of antioxidant
compounds called anthocyanidins and polyphenols. Scientific studies have shown
that elderberry extract can help the body maintain a healthy immune response.
By enhancing immune support.
Larch Tree. The larch tree (Larix occidentalis) is a deciduous conifer ― a member of
the pine family that loses its needles each year. Only 10 species of larch occur in the
world, mostly in cold areas of the northern hemisphere. Larches are commonly
called tamaracks in many parts of the United States. There is evidence that
compounds found in high concentrations in the heartwood of larch tree cells, called
arabinogalactans, are even more immunoactive than extracts of Echinacea.
Laboratory studies further suggest that larch arabino-galactans stimulate important
markers of function. A recent clinical study showed that larch heartwood extract
helped support the immune systems natural ability to achieve a state of immune
readiness.
By providing the full Daily Value of Zinc.
Zinc is present in virtually all cells in the body, zinc works as a trigger for over 200
different enzymes whose functions range from making the materials DNA and RNA
to helping with the metabolism of fatty acids. Zinc also contributes to growth and
development, and is important for proper immune function.
Is There Scientific Evidence for the Ingredients in Defend & Resist Complex?
Recent studies have shown that cichoric acid and alkylamides found in the Echinaceaplant have immunoactive properties.* It has also been demonstrated that these phytonutrients occur in higher concentrations in the leafy parts of the plant than in the root. In laboratory tests, Echinacea boosts the production and activity of white blood cells.* Echinacea provides natural support for the body’s immune system.*
Black Elderberries are a rich source of antioxidant compounds called
anthocyanidins and polyphenols. Scientific studies have shown that
Elderberry extract can help the body maintain a healthy immune response.*
There is evidence that Echinacea’s benefits are enhanced by immunoactive
arabino-galactans that are extracted from the heartwood of the Larch Tree.*
Scientific studies show that arabino-galactans, polysaccharides found in
Larch cells, boost important indicators of immune system function.*
How Should Defend & Resist Complex be Used?
Defend & Resist Complex is offered in tablet form. Tablets may be swallowed, dissolved
in the mouth then chewed, or even crushed and mixed as a tea, without degrading the
benefits of the herbs. To supercharge your immune system when you start to feel the
need, take 6 tablets daily for about 7 days.
• Recommended serving size for children 4–12 years is 2–4 tablets per day for about 7 days.
There are four ways to take the six-tablet daily serving of Defend & Resist Complex throughout the day:
• Swallow
• Chew
• Drink it dissolved in hot water as a tea
• Dissolve it in your mouth, then chew
This product will provide you with emergency protection, which super charges the
immune system when coming down with a cold or flu and will stimulate the body’s
natural resistance and enhances immune support.
So during the times, when you face additional health challenges, do to stress, you can
pump up your immune system. This wonderful combination of Zinc, Echinacea, Larch
Tree extract and Black Elderberry, stimulates the body’s natural resistance and
enhances immune support.
Defend and Resist Complex or commonly known as DR goes a long way for seasonal
support and is a wonderful “must” for every family especially at this time of year when
we are exposed to colds and flu. It is a wonderful alternative to cold medicines
(especially, with all the information now coming out, about how dangerous some of
these over-the-counter remedies can be!)
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This
product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Listed below are the noted differences found in these three immune-strengthening
products.
Nutriferon delivers the highest level of daily protection, by increasing the production of
the body’s natural interferon. Interferon’s (IFNs) are proteins made and released by host
cells in response to the presence of pathogens―such as viruses, bacteria, or parasites
or tumor
Defend and Resist supercharges the immune system when you start to feel the need.
Defend and Resist Complex can help your body respond to seasonal challenges by
giving your immune system what it needs to stay strong,* with the unique formula based
on standardized herbal extracts.
aims at a higher standard achieving the best health possible by
delivering specific nutrients, protected by Shaklee Guard. This design provides for our
bodies, first-line defenders, cell builders and cell protectors. Provides a baseline
increasing resistance to infectious disease and supplying daily support for your immune
system. Formula I gives you one easy to take capsule with six vitamins and four minerals
– all key immuno active nutrients. Shaklee Guard ensures freshness and stability.
Every day our bodies are under attack by pathogens and dangerous microbes that infest our surroundings with an unseen, unfelt, yet undeniable health threat. Our body’s built-in immune system protects us whenever possible, but it’s under constant attack from poor nutrition, stress, pollution, and fatigue. THE SHAKLEE DIFFERENCE in NUTRIFERON is a powerful breakthrough in immune system science. It is a patented, clinically proven blend of immune strengthening plant extracts. For daily use, it increases the production of your body’s natural interferon, a critical activator of the immune system and works at the cellular level
Rapidly activates your immune system’s defenses
Mobilizes the immune system’s “search-and-destroy” teams
NutriFeron is the only immunity supplement formulated by the discoverer of natural interferon, after an exhaustive review of 200 natural compounds.
Patented, clinically proven formula
A natural way to keep your immune system finely tuned and on ready alert, taking the defenses you
already have and making them even better.
Available exclusively through Shaklee, NutriFeron is a powerfully effective supplement that has exceeded a stringent set of scientific tests for safety, purity, potency, and clinical tests for performance.
Star-K kosher certified
In a recent laboratory study, NutriFeron has been shown to positively impact natural killer (NK) cells — more support for this powerful breakthrough in Immune System Science. Now more than ever is the time to take care of you. Every day your immune system has to protect you from millions of microbes that inhabit your surroundings—microbes you may be breathing, eating, touching, or sharing. 8 Reasons to support your immune system with Nutriferon
1. Naturally Boosts Interferon Levels Scientists have identified interferon as being critical to healthy immune function. NutriFeron is the ONLY DIETARY SUPPLEMENT IN THE U.S. created by the immunologist who
discovered interferon THAT NATURALLY INCREASES THE PRODUCTION OF INTERFERON IN THE BODY. *
2. Created by the Discoverer of Interferon Dr. Yasuhiko Kojima, the world-renowned immunologist who discovered interferon in 1954, dedicated 40 years of research to finding natural compounds that would provide a boost to
interferon production. This patented botanical blend is found in NutriFeron. NutriFeron from Shaklee is the ONLY IMMUNITY SUPPLEMENT IN THE U.S. CREATED BY THE DISCOVERER OF INTERFERON.*Star Achievers
Years of Research
After 40 years of painstaking research testing hundreds of natural compounds and herbs, Dr. Kojima developed a UNIQUE BLEND OF FOUR POWERFUL PLANT EXTRACTS that boosts the body’s natural production of interferon.*
4. Patented Blend of Interferon-Boosting Plant Extracts NutriFeron boasts the MACH® patented blend of interferon-boosting plant extracts, AN EXCLUSIVE FORMULA that includes pumpkinseed extract, safflower flower extract, Asian Plantain seed extract, and Japanese Honeysuckle flower extract. Each serving provides 500 mg of immunity-bolstering ingredients.*
5. Supported by Four Human Clinical Studies** Four published clinical studies confirm the extraordinary health and immune-supporting benefits of the proprietary blend of plant extracts found in NutriFeron. This potent-yet-safe phytonutrient blend provides immune support right at the cellular level. *
6. Exclusive Formula Protected by 3 Patents NutriFeron is supported by THREE patents and is available only through Shaklee Independent Distributors. This unique, patented formula is a Shaklee exclusive.
7. Made to the Highest Quality Standards A powerfully effective supplement, NutriFeron has been subjected to a stringent set of scientific tests for safety, purity, potency, and performance. 8. Springtime Blooms Tear You Up? Preliminary studies suggest that NutriFeron balances your immune response against environmental irritants and airborne pollutants Shaklee takes pride in making products that are naturally safe—AND proven effective. To prove it, every Shaklee product is backed by an unconditional, 100% money-back guarantee. What Does Interferon Do?
Interferon serves two important functions:*
To signal surrounding cells to trigger their response mechanisms.
To activate immune cells to respond. Interferon is essential to the immune system and helps protect us from the daily exposure to millions of potential invaders that we confront each day. Who Should Use NutriFeron?
Anyone over 12 years of age with busy, stressful lifestyles who wants to unleash their immune
system*
Those who want to balance their immune response to environmental irritants and airborne pollutants The recommended serving of NutriFeron is two caplets daily. If pregnant or nursing, please ask a health care professional. Keep in mind that…
• Preliminary laboratory studies suggest that in as little as three days, NutriFeron can unleash the full potential of the immune system.
**The Food and Drug Administration have not evaluated these statements. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
