Medicine is slowly learning that you cannot violate innate's physiological reaction without paying the price. For instance, who is the best judge in respect to the swelling that follows a sprain: the doctor's educated mind, or the body's innate response to the injury? Oh, you say, we must ice it down, stop the swelling, etc. This particular therapeutic approach is clearly in vogue today as we watch the treatment of the injuries sustained by this century's gladiators on the playing fields, once called arenas. Will they pay the price for such intervention? The intervention of the therapeutic use of ice and pain killers such as those hawked hourly ad nauseam on the TV screen? "Nupe it!" comes to mind.
You see, it's necessary to silence innate's cry of pain so that athletes can continue doing what they shouldn't be doing. We do it every day in our so called modern society: suffer a headache from snow shoveling, take two aspirins; when the burglar alarm has been silenced, continue shoveling and end up with a stroke.
But back to athletes with sprained ankles. Pain and swelling prevents them from walking on the limb; they must use a cane or crutch. The edema and concomitant pain syndrome brings forth the innate response to heal the injury. The pain gives the body time to strengthen the torn ligamentous structure and repair the joint. If we ignore this natural process, the result will be instability.
The medicine men are beginning to realize this; low and behold they have a solution: prolotherapy.1 You see, "proliferating agents are injected directly into the stretched or torn ligaments..." Just what are they doing? They are recreating what the initial inflammatory process would have done in the first place. With one hand they cause the problem; with the other, they offer a solution.
Let me quote directly from the words of Allen Banks, PhD, on this matter:
"Why was the proliferant treatment needed if inflammation (following the initial injury) is naturally followed by repair? Perhaps the repair was incomplete following the initial injury or perhaps modern medical treatment interfered with natural healing. Many clinicians advise their patients presenting with recent trauma, back pain or other joint pain, to take anti-inflammatory drugs. In light of what we know about wound healing in general, it may not be advisable to interfere with local inflammation immediately following a ligament injury. Without inflammation, the necessary sequelae which culminate in healing may not be initiated."
He goes on to state that in the future they may be able to inject these proliferating substances immediately after an injury and thus help solve some of the discomfort of inflammation (I can hardly wait). But in the meantime? Let me again turn to the words of Dr. Banks:
"Until these days arrive, the astute clinician can stoically recite the old dictum that nothing worth achieving is obtained without sacrifice. Or in other words, proper healing does not occur without a certain amount of inflammation and discomfort."
You bet, discomfort is natural and purposeful. As I often say, "Pain is normal, pain is natural, it proves you are alive." Think of this the next time you place a cold pack on somebody's so- called "hot" low back. Think of this ye medipractors who prescribe aspirin, ibuprofen, Motrin, Nuprin, Chirofin, or what have you. Can your educated mind know more than the innate powers of the human body -- vis matrix naturae? Our chiropractic philosophy doesn't think so. Perhaps we were right all along! Me thinks so.
"Enuf said."
Fred Barge, DC, PhC
Reference
1. Banks A: A rationale for prolotherapy. Journal of Orthopedic Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 3.
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