“Animal experiments support the hypothesis that immobilisation, for whatever reason, is one of the pathogenic factors in musculo-skeletal degeneration (this is commonly called ageing). It shows beyond reasonable doubt that immobilisation is not only a cause of osteoarthritis but that it delays the healing process.” – Paraphrased from Videman – Clinical Biomechanics 1987;2:223-229.
I took a week off at the end of July, and although I went for a lot of hikes and did at least 20 minutes of yoga every day, I was basically, physically lazy.
When I came back my body was literally itching to get back to the physical lifestyle I am used to and I went to my normal Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) class on the evening of my return. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, same usual 40-60 minutes of teaching and then 30 minutes of moderate sparring. The next day I crawled out of bed and dragged myself down to the car to go to Saturday morning BJJ; same thing again.
Sunday morning… agonising stiffness, feeling like I am 120 self abused years old. I normally teach 5 sessions per week of BJJ without this sort of trouble. For goodness sake, I’ve trained much harder than this, without paying this price.
So what happened? Is one week enough for your condition to go that far south? Yep, apparently so. Apparently, even I, who reads all the time about this stuff can forget that constant motion, not sofa hogging, book reading type stuff is paramount to maintaining health. Did my body mind lounging on the sofa, holding my nose in a book… Well it didn’t complain, and that’s the danger, your body will decondition itself away to nothing with hardly a warning. It’s only when things have reached a critical stages that we start to get some warnings that we might not be treating ourselves right. Civilisation has got us used to so much laziness we now think it is normal.
I’m seriously regretting my lazy week even though I thought I was doing enough, it just goes to show doesn’t it?
There is no substitute for persistence…
It’s over-rated, yes. Relied on way too much sometimes by people who are using things that don’t work (i.e. painkillers reduce pain but don’t re-build health), but when doing the right thing it is often way too under-utilised. When doing the right things, intense and long term persistence can lead to remarkable results.
If you’ve been around the centre for a while you may be surprised to find out that we have members that have been with us since we opened our doors in the summer of 2006. If you meet someone who has been with us for more than 3 years, stop and take the time to find out why they stayed with us for that long. It’s not just because their original complaint didn’t go away.
These days many people are easily stopped by low batteries in their GPS (you can learn much about a person by how easily they are stopped, delayed, distracted, or dissuaded).
Dozens and dozens of new patients flow in each month and flow out in short order, without slowing down, once they realise that their health requires commitment. The majority don’t stick. I know why. It starts to look like work, and it is work. It requires a lifetime of persistence to be healthy and enjoy the very best experience that your life has to offer you. There is no argument about this point. If you get slack with your health it just means that you’re going to have poor health.
By the way, I’m no different from the majority of people, in that, I hate the effort it takes to be healthy just as much as they/you do. People who love the things it takes to be healthy are a rarity. But the courage it takes to be persistent, thankfully, is not as rare.
What If I’ve Spent My Life Being Really Bad?
Here is the good news. Even if you’ve spent your life, miserably ignoring your health and you’ve just today decided that it’s important (because of things like back pain, neck pain or sciatica) and you want to do something about it, you are biologically programmed to reverse the damage that you’ve caused as much as possible.
It’s reversible!!!
If you put the work in, your body is going to do everything it can to restore itself to full function. It doesn’t matter if it’s heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, muscle wasting, or joint degeneration (arthritis), your body will always strive to restore health. We are brainwashed every day into believing that this isn’t true despite a growing weight of evidence in the scientific literature that it is true.
BUT… it requires persistence, persistence, and more persistence. Are you going to give up eating vegetables just because you don’t see immediate improvements? Or do you innately know that they are good for you, and that it takes persistent eating of them to experience the benefits?
I understand why people give up so early though. We are constantly being sold “stuff” that promises instant results, or fantastic results with one 7 minutes of effort each day. So when they find out it isn’t going to be easy they naturally search for something that is, except it doesn’t exist. There is no miracle cure at the end of the rainbow. There is no easy way to get to the Olympics, both can only be achieved through hard work.
Even Your Joints Will Heal If You’re Persistent Enough – That Means You Can Reverse Arthritis!
I’ve known this for 5 years since I read a study by D.L. Berkson, joint degeneration (arthritis) is one of the many chronic diseases that can be prevented and reversed with proper manual procedures, nutrition, exercise and stress control. Berkson specifically makes reference to sufferers of oseteoarthritis (OA), which is the most common type of arthritis. You may also hear this condition referred to as degenerative joint disease. If you know someone who suffers from arthritis, there’s a good chance it is OA. This condition is often caused by an imbalance in the structural system that creates excess stress on the joints. Our body will then react by trying heal the problem by strengthen the joint, by re-modelling the cartilage and producing extra bone. These new bone growths can sometimes cause other complications such as nerve compression and increased pressure on the internal organs.
Someone suffering from OA can experience pain and will experience stiffness, and they may also see some joint deformity. Most doctors and scientists believe that OA is permanent. Once you have osteoarthritis, you must live with it and take prescription drugs for the rest of your life. But, like many wise men, Berkson looks at joint degeneration from a different approach, getting to the bottom of what caused the problem and then investigating ways to heal people who are suffering.
Osteoarthritis is not a new disease. In fact, there is evidence that some Neanderthals suffered from OA of the spine. Many other mammals are also afflicted with this debilitating condition, so it became popular belief that it was an inevitable complication associated with age. Doctors believed (and many still believe) that once cartilage is lost, it cannot be replaced. Berkson’s study and many others proclaim that this belief is false.
Studies have shown that cartilage can regenerate and patients can recover from osteoarthritis. Berkson’s article outlines a therapy that includes regular manual procedures, soft tissue therapy and adequate nutrition, among other things. This can certainly be difficult for a doctor to manage because so much of the care is left in the patient’s hands. But it is the responsibility of the doctor to explain the condition thoroughly so the patient understands that they haven’t been dealt an unkind twist of fate. They are dealing with a disease that is potentially reversible. If it were as simple as changing diet alone, then we probably wouldn’t have seen cases of osteoarthritis in cavemen, wolves or dolphins. But still, diet plays a big role. In order to heal any wound, we need to arm ourselves with the building blocks needed for repair.
This is precisely what we are trying to achieve at Spine, Body & Health. To give you the very best possible care, and help you to take charge of your health where you are able.
Our approach to reversing osteoarthritis is to get you the manual stimulation you need (this is the critical missing link in most therapies), eating real food, supplementing you diet with whole-food nutrient powders and fish oil, instead of pharmaceuticals, along with exercise, and rest.
The gist of Berkson’s work is promising. He attests that joint degeneration could be caused by a variety of things from hormonal imbalances to environmental factors. However, a diagnosis of osteoarthritis does not necessarily need to be a life sentence. There is no doubt that recovery will be a long road, but when you think of the alternative, I’d say it’s a road worth taking. At the worst, you’ll be more nutritionally balanced and physically fit than you were to started.
If you don’t devote your life to being healthy, then what chance do you truly have of being healthy?
Not a snowball’s chance!
Although I have cited only one study in this article it is important to note that there are several studies that show the reversibility of osteoarthritis.
These X-Rays were taken almost 1 year apart. In the X-Ray on the left which was taken as this member was accepted into care, can you notice the profound pelvic tilt? If you look at the left hip joint (red arrow) you can see the re-modelling that this has caused. A year later we can see a remarkable improvement in the pelvic alignment, but something less obvious has improved too.
Look at the enlarged views of the hips below. Observe how after 1 year the cartilage has re-grown, you can see this by the bigger gap in the joint. When you look at an X-Ray the dark gaps between bones are made by the joint cartilage. No Gap = very little cartilage, but bigger gap = healthier joint = arthritis reversing!
That’s all for now.
If you’re interested in learning more and would like a consultation with us at Spine, Body & Health then please click here to book your consultation.
See you soon,
Dr. Peter Olsson
Founder of Spine, Body & Health
Bedford, United Kingdom
