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Pain and Inflammation Connection

monakhalildom@gmail.com (Mona Khalil) — Wed, 29 May 2024 16:30:06 GMT

The Biochemistry of Pain Management

The Pain and Inflammation Connection: The Biochemistry of Pain ManagemeWHAT YOU NEED TO

Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications.

This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
Inflammation is a healthy response to promote healing. But when it goes out of balance, as when the immune system becomes too proinflammatory, it causes increased tissue damage and chronic pain.
Balancing inflammation with a curcumin and boswellia mix is a simple and powerfully effective way to begin.

Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained.

This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic. Structural issues are critical, as is biophysics. This article addresses a third key issue in pain management: biochemistry.

Low Energy in the Cells = Muscle Shortening & Pain.

This is a critical concept. When muscles don’t have enough energy, they get locked in a shortened position. This may seem counterintuitive, until you think about how your muscles feel after a heavy workout, when the energy is depleted. Not loose and limp, but instead, tight.

So, anything that chronically depletes muscle energy will cause muscle shortening and pain. This can be localized, as can occur from injury, ergonomic, or other strains; or systemic, as is seen in fibromyalgia from the widespread drop in cellular energy.

Address SHINE to Increase Overall Muscle Energy and Decrease Pain

Our published placebo-controlled research using fibromyalgia as a pain model showed that this condition can be effectively treated using the SHINE protocol. Research is also showing that long-COVID is a form of postviral chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

In the study, 91% of people improved with an average 90% increase in quality of life. Most people’s pain decreased dramatically to the point that they no longer qualified for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

The SHINE Protocol:

Sleep
Hormonal support
Inflammation / Infections
Nutrition
Exercise and structural mobilization as able

Inflammation and Pain

Inflammation triggers pain through several mechanisms. Especially important are:

Acute and subacute pain (the first six weeks of pain). Inflammation addresses infections and injury, and promotes healing. This includes the release of numerous immune and inflammatory molecules (for example TNF, interleukins, etc.); and stimulation of nerves to increase nociceptive receptors, making the area more sensitive to pain. Inflammatory attacks on perceived infections can also damage our own joints and other tissues.

Chronic pain. This is usually self-sustaining and counterproductive. When the inflammatory and pain systems go out of balance, it leads to microglial activation, secondary central sensitization and “brain pain.”

Drops in local tissue energy (due to the above). This is why even in the presence of acutely inflamed joints or other tissues, inflammation will trigger secondary muscle shortening and pain, which can markedly amplify and perpetuate the pain from the overt hot-red swelling and associated tissue impingement.

Why Is This a Problem?

Inflammation is a healthy response to promote healing. But when it goes out of balance, as when the immune system becomes too proinflammatory, it causes increased tissue damage and chronic pain.

Unfortunately, the Western diet dramatically amplifies inflammation because of the excess sugar, white flour, and reduced omega-3 intake.

The standard medical approach to this is to simply give NSAID medications like ibuprofen – which can help, but do cause 50,000 excess U.S. deaths annually. So, safer alternatives are recommended that can be added to, or often in time replace, medications.

Balancing Inflammation to Achieve Pain Relief

Fortunately, this is easy to do:

Add some common sense to the diet. For example, some simple measures to decrease inflammation are to cut back sugar (especially sodas and fruit juices); change white flour to whole grains; and switch from grain-fed to grass-fed beef.

Decrease the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzyme. This is what NSAIDs like ibuprofen do. But they poison the system, causing horrible toxicity. Using herbs such as curcumin, you can balance the COX enzyme systems as effectively, but with side benefits instead of side effects. Note: This requires a very highly absorbed curcumin with turmeric oil to see the benefits.

Decrease the lipoxygenase (LOX) enzyme. Boswellia, also known as frankincense, is the premier herb to settle down LOX. Especially important when gut or lung inflammation is also present, but helpful for other inflammation as well.

I like to add in some nattokinase to start to melt away excess inflammatory debris, and DLPA (DL phenylalanine) to enhance endorphin production.

Fortunately, all four of the natural compounds above can be found together, making this easy for practitioners and people in pain.

Happily, I find that when the peripheral inflammatory and other triggers of pain are addressed, much of the central microglial activation or “brain pain” also begins to resolve. But if it is not, it can be settled down with numerous treatments, including palmitoylethanolamide (PEA).

So, while addressing the structural components of pain, you can dramatically increase the effectiveness by addressing biochemistry. Balancing inflammation with a curcumin and boswellia mix is a simple and powerfully effective way to begin.

Acupuncture has been shown to decrease inflammation and pain. Dr. Mona Khalil can help you address your inflammation and have your body go back into balance.

What are the signs of Hyperthyroidism?

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 21:42:37 GMT

What is Hyperthyroidism?

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What is cupping massage?

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 23:40:16 GMT

What is cupping massage and the benefits?

M any of my patients have never heard of cupping massage and how it works. Others have seen athletes with cupping marks and wondered how it worked.

What is Cupping?

Cupping is an amazing form of massage therapy that is incredibly therapeutic and strong. It can reduce pain and promote repair at the cellular level. It’s much more effective than most massages. Cupping helps with blood circulation and myofascial release. It helps with tension and tight muscles. It’s so strong a t moving blood that it’s contraindicated for pregnant women. In fact, I used cupping to help induce labor!

How it Works:

The cups are placed mainly on the back, neck, and shoulders. Oil or lotion is used to help the skin glide upwards into the cup smoothly. The cups are usually left on for a few minutes. During this time, your practitioner can visually see how much blood stagnation or pain you have in that area by looking directly at the cups in each area . The more red or purple that area becomes, the more stagnant blood is in that area. In chronic conditions, you may also see a pale area, which means that the pain is caused by lack of blood supply to that area. This can be caused by long standing chronic pain. The blood simply tries to avoid that area and that’s when most patients start to feel numbness or tingling. Acupuncture and cupping together is great form of therapy for neuropathy.

Most of the time, the cups will make the skin appear pink, red, or purple. A healthy blood flow with no pain should show a pink area that will disappear as soon as the cup is released. Most of my patients have pain so they will usually have red to purple areas.

The great thing about cupping is that the more often you do cupping, the lighter the marks will become over time because healing is taking place. Cupping marks usually stay on a patient for 1-5 days depending on severity of pain and stagnation of blood. When cups are placed on the body, the blood flow of stagnant blood comes up the surface of the skin. Over time your body will be circulating in that area for the next few days to move out that blood that came up to the surface of your skin and made a mark. This is why cupping is amazing for blood circulation.

How it Feels: Is cupping painful?

No, cupping should not be painful. It feels more like a release and promotes relaxation. The pump can adjust how much suction is taking place. Your practitioner can do 1-3 pumps depending on your comfort level. After cupping is completed, most patients experience a deep sense of relaxation and anxiety relief.

Who should try cupping?

Here at Acupuncture and Herb Solutions, we believe cupping should be used on everyone of all ages. Kids are great candidates for cupping to help with sports related tension and stiffness and growing pains as well. Adults with pain, stiffness, tension, anxiety are great candidates for cupping and its a great combination with acupuncture for pain relief.

Medical Acupuncture for Pain Explained

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 01:41:13 GMT

Medical pain relief with Acupuncture

Are you interested in how acupuncture works scientifically? There are many benefits to acupuncture and its impact on the human body and its functions. Acupuncture has been known to help decrease pain, increase mental well-being, and regulate hormones. Let’s dive deep into how this ancient practice has been researched rigorously and now with modern technology there is support to show the effectiveness to aid in many health issues.

There have been over 20,000 publications of research studies that has been done on acupuncture. These have supported how acupuncture can benefit the body in many ways . Acupuncture is a very ancient healing practice over 2,500 years old. But now with modern technology, we can do new age research and explain how acupuncture works in a more medic al way.

Acupuncture Physicians explain acupuncture with the ancient concept of “Qi” which means vital energy. Qi flows through the “meridians” of the organs and their “channels”. Every organ in the body has a channel and Qi and blood needs to flow through the body.

However, the biomedical model of acupuncture can explain the scientific basis of acupuncture which focuses on physiological and neurological processes. These include the nervous system, our hormones, and other regulations. This is very significant because we are now able to have a measurable process which has given acupuncture so much more credibility over the years. This has made acupuncture one of the best alternative therapies and complementary medicine !

Research has shown that acupuncture meridians run along nerve fibers of the peripheral and cranial nerves including their branches. The nervous system is very important for the therapeutic effects of acupuncture. Placing an acupuncture needle in the body, can send a signal to the brain to reduce pain or influence the autonomic nervous system to increase the function of your organs.

When acupuncture influences the autonomic nervous system, it can either activate or inhibit it. This benefit can lead to decreased stress, improved digestion, and increase your immune function. How amazing is that?

For example, by promoting your parasympathetic nervous system, acupuncture can lower blood pressure and heart rate naturally!

One of the biggest questions I get asked is, how does acupuncture help with pain? This has been one of the most heavily researched topics. Brain neuroplasticity and the release of endorphins has been shown in reducing pain levels in many studies. Acupuncture effectively treats various chronic pain including neck, back, and shoulder pain. There has been so much evidence to acupuncture being an amazing pain reliver that The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommend acupuncture as one of the main therapies out of the four for managing chronic pain and migraines.

In acute pain, acupuncture has been shown to help decrease pain after surgery, menstrual cramps, and dental pain. By reducing the need for medication, this will promote a quicker recovery and decrease need for pain medication.

Pain medication has been shown to decrease healing time and highly addicting. There are also very bad side effects such as constipation, drowsiness, and increased dependency. People are saying enough and no to pain killers.

Patients with chronic pain should definitely consider a safer and long term therapy instead of relying solely on pain medication. Acupuncture is the right path to alleviating chronic and acute pain without the bad side effects.

Start your detox journey with fasting

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 23:59:39 GMT

Fasting for weight loss and ketones

Have you ever thought about intermittent fasting? Eating 3 meals a day is usually what most Americans eat on a daily basis. But what about our ancestors? Did they eat 3 meals per day? Most likely the answer is no. Our bodies were created for food, but also for fasting. More and more research studies has been done proving the amazing benefits of fasting. Intermitted fasting is when you give your body a break from food, and you do not eat any food for a period of time. If you ever thought about giving your stomach a break from food, it turns out, that break will cause many different benefits.

If you've been struggling to shed some extra weight, intermittent fasting will help aid in weight loss because over a certain time without food, your body will go into ketosis. Ketosis is when your body stops using sugar as fuel and now must go into the stored fat cells for fuel and energy. You will notice a decrease in your weight especially around your mid section and stomach area. Gas and bloating will decrease and you will notice you are less likely to overeat. Your stomach will start to get smaller and you won't feel the need to indulge and you will feel more satisfied with your meal quicker. Eating only one meal a day 5 days a week is great way to start your journey to weight loss. When its time for dinner, make it count by having a great protein rich balanced meal including vegetables and fruit. Try your best to avoid pastas and breads to prevent a blood sugar spike. Taking a break from food will also help repair your gut. If you've ever taken antibiotics and your gut microbe is off balance, intermittent fasting can help repair your gut microbe especially with a probiotic. When you break your fast, it is best to eat sauerkraut or kefir yogurt which is fermented food that increase your gut microbe and good bacteria naturally. I also recommend taking a good quality probiotic supplement before bed.

Ketosis has many benefits other than to aid in weight loss. Research has shown that ketones are also needed for your brain as fuel to help decrease the risk of Alzheimer's and Dementia. If you only continuously consume sugar as your main fuel source for energy by eating three meals a day you will never feed your brain ketones. Ketones are an amazing fuel source for your body and mind. Many studies are showing these benefits. As a registered nurse, I cannot emphasize enough how many of my patients had memory problems. Most of my geriatric patients were confused. By allowing your body to start producing ketones to feed your brain cells instead of sugar, research is showing this can help prevent Alzheimers. Ketones are an amazing brain fuel and need to be used as well.

Over my 5 years in the hospital system as a travel nurse, I also saw the benefits of patients coming in to the hospital with gastrointestinal issues such as bloody stools or stomach pain and had to become NPO (nothing by mouth) to do testing. Most of these patients were in fact fasting with the help of IV fluids. Most of these patients go home the very next day and feel much better. This happened most of the time to my patients. Simply putting patients in the hospital with IV fluids and nothing by mouth helped heal their stomach problems. It was amazing to see this happen so often.

If you're interested in fasting, always start step by step to allow your body to adjust. First, remove one meal such as breakfast, and only eat lunch and dinner in a 6 hour window time frame, for example 12pm-6pm. Then after a week, start eating one meal a day 3- 5 days a week. In the beginning, you may feel some of the detox symptoms such as tiredness and energy fluctuations. This is a normal symptom due to detoxification and your body trying to learn how to go into ketosis more efficiently. Your body must first learn to adjust. These symptoms are all temporary and over the course of one month, should improve. Once your body can go in and out of ketosis easily without feeling tired, you'll notice a huge increase in energy and more mental clarity.