Joint Treatment

By Patrick Foote

The most common site for the development of degenerative disc disease is the lower back, where the intervertebral discs are subjected to a great deal of stress produced by a wide range of movement, as well as the near-constant strain of supporting most of the weight of the upper body. The disc located between the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae (L4 and L5) is particularly vulnerable, because it serves as a focal point for most of the stress endured by the lower back over the years.

Defining Degenerative Disc Disease

What exactly is degenerative disc disease? To begin with, it is not actually a disease, but the age-related deterioration of the elements of the intervertebral discs, which are composed of two parts: a gel-like center (nucleus pulposus), and a fibrous outer wall (annulus fibrosus). As people age, discs lose water content and become brittle. This is part of the natural aging process, and can lead to the development of bulging discs, herniated discs, bone spurs, or vertebral slippage (spondylolisthesis). If one of these anatomical anomalies within the lower back comes into contact with the spinal cord, an adjacent nerve root, or the long sciatic nerve, it can produce localized pain, radiating pain, tingling, numbness, or muscle weakness, cramping, or spasms in the lower back, buttocks, legs, feet, or toes. These traveling symptoms are sometimes referred to as radiculopathy, and when present in the lower body, the symptoms are more commonly referred to as sciatica.

How to Manage Symptoms

The vast majority – more than 90 percent – of degenerative disc disease patients find that if they work closely with their doctors, they can develop an effective treatment plan consisting of conservative, nonsurgical methods. There is no cure for degenerative disc disease, any more than there is a cure for old age. But that doesn’t mean someone who develops the condition must resign themselves to a life of constant back discomfort, because contrary to what the name suggests, degenerative disc disease is not a condition that gets progressively worse in one’s senior years, and symptoms can be eased through the correct treatment regimen. In addition to over-the-counter or prescription medication, a conservative treatment plan to mitigate symptoms of nerve compression might include:

— Exercise and stretching – strengthens the muscles, improves flexibility, and relieves pressure in the spinal column.

— Quitting smoking – improves blood circulation and ends the intake of toxins that encourage disc deterioration.

— Losing weight – reduces the amount of stress on the muscles of the back or neck and on the discs and vertebrae.

— Ergonomic awareness – relieves pressure from back and neck muscles by promoting proper lifting techniques, sitting in posture-friendly furniture, wearing supportive footwear, and more.

— Brief periods of rest – helps inflammation to diminish.

— Behavior modification – avoids activity that can potentially exacerbate the symptoms.

— Alternative methods – including chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture.

When to Consider Surgery

No two patients respond exactly the same way to conservative treatments for degenerative disc disease in the lower back, which is why persistence and open communication with a doctor are so important. It may take several weeks to find the right combination of treatments, which may even include a series of corticosteroid injections to numb the pain. However, if chronic symptoms persist after several months of conservative treatment, it may be time to talk to a doctor about the risks and benefits of spine surgery.

About the Author: Patrick Foote is the Director of eBusiness at Laser Spine Institute, the leader in endoscopic spine surgery. Laser Spine Institute specializes in safe and effective outpatient procedures for

degenerative disc disease

and several other spinal conditions.

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By Paul Blake

This is the second article in a five part series devoted to digestion where we have been following a nutritionally poor meal, typical of America, from the mouth to the esophagus to the stomach. We have seen that the food enters the mouth where enzymes are added via sublingual glands. The meal then moves through the esophagus where it is warmed, and then to the stomach where pre-digestion takes place. We will follow this nutritionally poor meal into the stomach.

Food is chewed in the mouth and saliva is mixed with this food. Saliva is made up of an alkaline electrolyte solution that moistens the food, mucus that serves as a lubricant, amylase, an enzyme that initiates the digestion of starch, lipase, an enzyme that begins the digestion of fat, and protease, which digests protein. Most carbohydrates are broken down by the process of chewing the food and mixing it with enzymes. Hopefully that food had viable enzymes to mix with the enzymes supplied by the mouth.

Pre-digestion in the Stomach

Here is where the food that Americans typically eat leads us directly to disease. By eating mostly refined cooked foods with meat we let our body down. It is like a very good friend of yours is lying in front of you dying of thirst and you hand him a glass of salt water. It is water but it will gradually kill him.

Below I am going to trace the food’s path as it moves into the stomach, and see what happens to it and how it is treated by the stomach and the rest of the digestive system. This is information that few Americans know about. When I received this information my mind was shocked and I immediately changed my style of eating completely and for life. So please read and I pray that this powerful truth changes your life as it did mine. After swallowing the food, it moves down the esophagus, which is 18 to 24 inches long. The esophagus moves through the warm core of the body and is responsible for warming the food to close to body temperature, which is ideally 98.6. This is very important as enzymes digest food best at between 94 and 104 degrees. So, if the ideal situation exists in the esophagus (ice water is not added to the food) the food is warmed to somewhere between 96 and 98 degrees before it enters the stomach.

This food enters the stomach through the cardiac sphincter, which is where the esophagus and the stomach meet. An empty stomach is like a flattened balloon until food enters it. As the food enters the upper part of the stomach, it stretches and enlarges to accommodate the food. In fact, the stomach will enlarge beyond the size of the meal until it is fully inflated. While the stomach is inflating to its full size which takes somewhere between 40 to 60 minutes, pre-digestion takes place. Pre-digestion, is the food sitting in the stomach being digested by the enzymes that came with it. The ideal ph here is about seven, very alkaline. This pre-digestion is considered by many nutritionists to be the most important stage of digestion. This is where the enzymes from our food and mouth digest and prepare the food for absorption.

What are Enzymes?

Before we go any further I would like you to understand why enzymes are so important. The answer to this question is crucial to you understanding your health. Understand this and you understand why the type of food you eat and the way it is handled is so important. Your energy, strength, immune system and all the systems of your body right down to each individual cell depend completely on enzymes. Without enzymes nothing happens in your body, or if it does it could take years to take place; essentially you are dead.

The enzymes we use are both produced by cells in our body and also brought in with food made by other living cells. These enzymes are proteins produced in living cells that affect chemical reactions. An example of this is a banana sitting in a bowl. After a few days, you notice the skin turning brown. That is the enzymes in the banana acting as a catalyst and causing a chemical reaction which releases energy.

Without these reactions caused by the enzymes the food you eat will not be turned into energy or supplies for the body. Here are just some of the other functions of enzymes in the body. All our vitamins, trace elements and minerals are dissolved down to molecular level by enzymes. Only at that level can they and our food be absorbed by our body. They also control digestion, cell growth, and wound healing plus the phagocytes of the immune system use enzymes to cope with pathogens.

Once the stomach completes the pre-digestive process, the food then undergoes chemical and mechanical digestion. Here in the lower part of the stomach, peristaltic contractions (mechanical digestion) churn the bolus, which mixes with strong digestive juices. These juices include powerful hydrochloric acid, which helps break down the bolus into a liquid called chyme. In addition, enzymes called pepsin and cathepsin are added to the juice in the stomach to break down most of the protein in the food. This process can take several hours depending on the meal eaten. The ideal ph here is about three, very acidic.

The hydrochloric acid has three purposes. The first is to break down mineral bonds from our diet. Now when they pass through our intestines they are small enough to pass through the wall to be used by the body. Second, to clean the food of pathogens by creating an acidic environment that destroys the pathogens. Third, change pepsinogen into pepsin, which breaks down the long protein strings that are the essential and non-essential amino acids in the food. These are broken down by pepsin into polypeptides, peptides and tri-peptides so they can be utilized by our body.

Once the food is broken down, it has the consistency of cake batter. This is called chyme and is released into the duodenum by the pyloric sphincter. If this chyme is properly prepared at the stomach your health is good and you never get sick. If the chyme is not properly prepared disease will soon follow and the person will find all their genetic weaknesses. This is why digestive enzymes and pre-digestion are such important keys to good health.

About the Author: Paul Blake is a doctor of herbal medicine and a master herbalist. He used naturopathic medicine to treat his own case of cancer eighteen years ago. Visit Paul’s website on

Herbal Remedies, Natural Healing Herbs

for more interesting information on improving your health, or find more information about

digestive enzymes and food enzymes

.

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Diabetes is a widespread disease, where the blood’s content of sugar (glucose) is above normal. There are two main types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

* Type 1 diabetes, previously called insulin-dependent diabetes (juvenile diabetes).

* Type 2 diabetes, previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes (adult onset diabetes).

There are also other forms of diabetes, known as:

* Gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy and usually disappears after childbirth.

* Secondary diabetes, which means that it is caused by another illness. It can occur after an inflammation of the pancreas and associated with certain medical treatments.

Gestational diabetes is similar to type 2 diabetes, but disappears when the pregnancy is over. The secondary forms of diabetes are similar to some extent also type 2 diabetes.

How does diabetes?

When blood glucose rises high enough, several classic symptoms that occur, which are primarily caused by sugar is excreted in the urine when blood glucose is high enough.

Type 2 diabetes symptoms/signs usually seen:

* Have diabetes in the family

* Past history of diabetes during pregnancy * Are overweight * Have high blood pressure * Has heart disease * Have high levels of fats in the blood (cholesterol and triglycerides) * Has the numbness in his feet.

These symptoms are:

* Thirst

* Large amounts of urine * Fatigue * Reduced appetite and weight loss * Itching * Infections

These symptoms were found in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes patients develop these symptoms, however over a much shorter period than type 2 diabetics (weeks each year).

It could be very dangerous for babies and even older children to walk around with diabetes without being treated, therefore, you should as a parent be observant about these symptoms. It is a must to see a doctor and make a diagnosis if two or more of these symptoms apply for a longer period of time.

Article Source: sooperarticles.com/health-fitness-articles/sugar-disease-articles/brief-summary-type-1-38-2-gestiational-secondary-diabetes-68328.html

About Author:

The writer of this article has a blog about diabetes treatment.Author: Aurix Larson

By Meera Watts

Gout is a sort of metabolic arthritis which is an extremely painful disease. The disease is caused by the congenital disorder of the uric acid metabolism. Our body produces the uric acid but the body gets rid of the uric acid through the system. However, some problems in the kidneys or the accumulation of too much uric acid in the body cannot be flashed out of the body through the system and they start to form the uric acid crystals in the body. The crystals start to be deposited in the joints, tendons and the tissues of the surrounding joints causing the attack of gout.

So, gout is mainly caused by the body’s congenital condition in being unable to successfully handle uric acids. The deposits of the uric acid crystals cause the intolerable pain in the body. The affected areas become red, swollen, warm and they sometimes become so sensitive that even a slightest touch cause enormous pain. Fever, nausea, vomiting can also occur with the attack of gout. Sometimes the crystals grow in size and they burst through the skin causing the discharge of chalky white substance.

In dealing with the problem of gout the patient must be diagnosed and treated in time. The patient should be under the continuous guidance of the expert doctor. The doctor will properly diagnose the level of the uric acid and the other symptoms to decide upon the right and ideal diet for the patients. The patients should be treated under proper medication too. However, the food diet is an important factor when you are combating the problem of gout. Since the increase of the uric acid level in the blood is the main cause of the disease so reducing the level of uric acid in the blood can effectively reduce the problems of gout.

The main option for the gout control and the gout prevention is the proper and regular following of the food diet chart. Only the perfect and ideal food diet can control the level of uric acid in the blood and thus can reduce the chance of gout attack. Some foods can be dangerous for the gout patients. The high purine foods can increase the level of uric acid in the blood so the patients of gout should avoid eating the high purine foods. On the contrary, they should opt for the low purine foods that can help in controlling the lower level of uric acid I the blood.

Foods and beverages like the organ meats or kidney, liver, brains of the animals, lamb, pork, beef, mushrooms, cauliflower, dried beans, peas, beer, alcohol, stout, seafood, sea fish, cod all these are high purine foods. These should be avoided to control or prevent the gout. Foods like cereal, green vegetables, eggs, fruits like cherries, berries, blue berries, strawberries, milk and milk products, pasta all these should be included in the daily diet. These foods help in preventing the problems of gout.

Drinking plenty of water is important to control the problems of gout. Lemon juice is good for reducing the uric acid level in the blood. Ensure these in your daily diet to prevent the gout.

About the Author: To find out more about

Homeopathic Gout Treatment

, visit

Gout Remedies

.

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