Category Archives: Alternative Medicine

As teenager Corey Ruth weighed getting the COVID-19 vaccine, rumors of computer chips and the legacy of the Tuskegee experiments were on his mind.

Even though his mom, a nurse in New Orleans, had already received her shot, he still wasnt sure about it.

Ruth started to come around to the idea as he watched more of his high school football teammates get the vaccine.

I wanted to protect my family and teammates, said Ruth, who will be a junior at McDonogh 35 high school in New Orleans. But what clinched the decision for Ruth was talking over his concerns with his teams athletic trainer, and getting reassurances that the vaccine was safe.

Because I trust him with my body, said Ruth. He provides for me so I can be 100 percent on game day.

As fixtures in their communities, schools have long been a source of public health information for families. For that reason, schools are perfectly positioned to play a vital role in helping students and their parents overcome uncertainty about the new COVID-19 vaccines, say public health experts.

The stakes are high: Strong vaccination rates are seen as key to middle and high schools returning to anything resembling pre-pandemic normalcy in many places this fall. The importance of vaccinating children extends well beyond the school walls, too. Many public health experts estimate around 80 percent of the countrys population needs to be vaccinated to truly stall the spread of the coronavirus, a task that is taking on additional urgency as the more infectious and deadly variant of the coronavirus, called the Delta variant, becomes the dominant strain in the U.S.

Were at the point where its an all-hands-on-deck situation, said Wen-Ying Sylvia Chou, a program director at the National Institutes of Health who studies health communications and online discourse. We all have a role to play, including schools. I think the question is how.

But many parents, especially those of younger children, are reluctant to get their kids vaccinated with something so new. So far, only one COVID-19 vaccine, developed by drugmaker Pfizer, has been given emergency approval by the federal government for adolescents 12 and older, and that was only granted in May.

Approval for younger children could come as early as this fall. Forty-one percent of parents with kids 12 and older said in a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll that they will get their child vaccinated immediately or already have. Only about a quarter of parents with children younger said they will get their kids a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available.

Whether its with the COVID-19 vaccine or routine childhood immunizations, parental reluctance to get their children vaccinated is something all schools will deal with at some point.

There are many different factorsfear, misinformation, and apathythat can drive vaccine hesitancy, the public health term for the delay in accepting vaccines or refusing them altogether.

Fears of unknown, long-term side effects, especially with the COVID-19 vaccine, are stoked by fast-spreading misinformation on social media and exacerbated by a lack of trust in the government, science, and the media.

Among the de-bunked rumors circulating online: that the vaccine can cause infertility (there is no scientific backing for this and no evidence from the vaccine trials and ongoing monitoring of the vaccine in the general population that this is happening), that the COVID-19 vaccine changes your DNA (the messenger RNA in the vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna does not interact with a persons DNA), and that the vaccine development was rushed (the new technology, or the mRNA used in the Pfizer vaccine approved for adolescents, has been in development for two decades).

Doctors from Johns Hopkins medicine give a detailed explanation for how these rumors are false, which you can find by following this link.

Parents gender, age, and race all factor into how resistant they are to vaccinating their children against COVID-19.

Mothers are more reluctant to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 than fathers, and younger mothers are significantly more resistant than older ones, according to polling by The COVID States Project, a research partnership between Northeastern, Harvard, Rutgers, and Northwestern universities. Black, Hispanic, and white parents are all about equally resistant to the vaccine, and much more hesitant than Asian American parents.

Some groups of parents are becoming more resistant to the vaccine over time, the research group found, in particular parents in households making less than $25,000, parents without a college degree, and parents who identify as Republican.

Hyper-divisive discourse is contributing to a reluctance to get the COVID-19 vaccine, something Chou has seen through her research.

Not just anti-vax, but trying to make vaccines a fightable issue, she said. The information environment has enabled a more polarized society. That, in part, contributes to a tribal mentality around, are you anti- or pro-vaccine? There are a lot of worries about identity and ideology that come into play.

Another issue at play: People hesitate to get vaccinated if they dont see it as doing them personally much good, said Glen Nowak, the director of the Center for Health and Risk and Communications at the University of Georgias journalism school.

You can believe that the vaccine does have benefits, but that you yourself dont really personally need those benefits, Nowak said, an issue public health officials see every year with younger, healthier people not getting the flu vaccine.

So as parents weigh the unknowns and risks, real or imagined, they may feel its not worth taking a chance with their kids health, especially when most children do not fall as seriously ill with COVID-19 as older adults can.

Parents arent the only ones making that calculation. While there are many, many medical experts who believe vaccinating children against COVID-19 as soon as possible is important to protecting kids and society at large, those beliefs arent unanimous.

Some have raised doubts over whether the country should push to immunize younger, healthy children as aggressively as it did adults, especially as case numbers around the country are dropping and evidence is growing that in rare instances the vaccine has been linked to treatable heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults (COVID-19 can also cause heart inflammation).

A pass from parents on the COVID-19 vaccines now, however, doesnt mean a pass forever, Chou and Nowak emphasize. Most people are somewhere on the spectrum between enrolling their child in a COVID-19 vaccine trial and being a staunch anti-vaxxer. They need good information, time for that information to marinate, and a sounding board for their concerns.

And this is where schools can play an important role in overcoming hesitancy, and not just for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Whether its the school nurse, the school event, the PTA, the schools are embedded in the community, parents trust the schools, said Dr. Ravi Gereige, a pediatrician at Nicklaus Childrens hospital in Miami who also researches schools roles in childrens health. I think their role is huge [in] spreading the correct information and guiding the parents to the right resources and giving them access to experts and to other parents.

In New Orleans, school district officials see the vaccine as key to getting schools back to something resembling normal this fall. The district launched a pilot program this summer to encourage eligible students to get a COVID-19 vaccine and to figure out what messaging around vaccines resonates with families ahead of the school year.

COVID-19 hit Black communities across the country disproportionately hard. At one point during the pandemic, the New Orleans area had the highest death rate per capita in the country.

The district there partnered with major health systems in the area to host vaccination drives for students over 12 enrolled in its summer programs, similar to what it had done for teachers this past spring. The turnout, however, has been vastly different. Families have been far less enthusiastic than teachers were to get the vaccine, and district officials quickly realized they had to do more than make the vaccine easily accessible, said Tiffany Delcour, the chief operations officer at NOLA Public Schools.

Week one showed us immediately that we have to do a lot more work with engagement, information sharing, before the start of the school year, she said.

The district plans to hold town halls with local medical experts for families and is exploring the possibility of offering incentives, such as meet and greets with New Orleans Saints players or even doing away with schoolwide mask mandates if enough students in a given building get vaccinated.

Among the schools that had the most success vaccinating students in the first drive were those belonging to a local network of charter schools called InspireNola, which invested in a major outreach to families about the vaccine.

InspireNola did email blasts and social media campaigns. It sent information packets about the COVID-19 vaccine home to parents along with permission slips for students to get inoculated at school. It offered incentives to students to get vaccinated, such as free uniforms and special field trips. And the charter network encouraged school personnel, such as teachers, principals, and coaches, to talk about their personal experiences getting vaccinated.

InspireNolas schools have also been leveraging students peer networks to share information about the vaccines.

At McDonogh 35, an InspireNola high school, Principal Lee Green and his staff identified influential students in their schoolstudents involved in athletics or school clubsand invited them to meet with school officials to discuss their concerns and questions about the vaccine.

And then we did not answer those questions immediately, because we are not the experts, said Green. We made clear we were not the experts. We brought those questions to the medical experts in our area through our nurse. And then we let [the students] take that out to their peers.

Green is hoping that by seeding this information among student leaders, italong with personal anecdotes as students get vaccinatedwill organically spread through the student body and home to families.

It worked for Ruth. Before he got vaccinated, Ruth talked to his teammates about their experiences. His teammates didnt turn into zombies, Ruth said, which was one of many rumors floating around school. They just had sore arms.

Lee said theres been a fine line to walk with messaging: Educators dont want to push students to get vaccinated, but they also need to stay ahead of rumors and misinformation.

We made sure we did not use the words, You have to, or This is mandatory to come to school, he said. But were asking them to go out, research on it, find out some more information, talk to your parents about it, and then talk to your peers about it.

Connecting families to experts who can answer their questions, incentivizing the vaccine through prizes, and normalizing the vaccine by sharing personal experiences are all tried and true ways to overcome hesitancy.

Some families, though, may need more personalized communication to get over the hump, said Keri Rodrigues, the president of the National Parents Union, an advocacy organization for parents in K-12 education. Her organization has been surveying parents on their feelings toward the COVID-19 vaccine.

What we are seeing in our surveys is that parents and families are interested in knowing that schools care about their individual child. Its not about just whipping out a flyer and saying, Hey, vaccines are available, if you want it, Rodrigues said.

Schools must also be sensitive to the communities they serve, and be prepared to tailor their approach in encouraging the uptake of vaccines among their students.

For example, the nations history of performing medical experiments on Black Americans drives mistrust and hesitancy about the government and medical establishments to this day, as does issues with ongoing racial bias.

And there are religious communities and parents dedicated to natural wellness and alternative medicine who are resistant even to routine childhood vaccination.

And just because some public health experts think this is a natural role for schools to play doesnt mean its a role every community will embrace.

There is the sticky issue of politics. Schools could face blowback for encouraging the COVID-19 vaccinewhich polling shows wide swaths of Republicans are distrustful of. Former President Donald Trumps recent advocacy on cable news against vaccines for children, as well as a dust-up in Tennessee where Republican lawmakers accused the states own health department of pushing the vaccine on children illustrate how politicized the issue is becoming.

Whatever approach schools decide to take, they need to handle messaging around the COVID-19 vaccines with care. It must be authentic and not overly aggressive, said Nowak, because pushing vaccines too hard can have the opposite effect.

You can strengthen peoples hesitancy if they feel they are getting a sales pitch.

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Vaccinating Kids Against COVID-19: Why Families Are Afraid and How Schools Can Help - Education Week

We all could use more/better/deeper sleep these days. And less stress? Sign us up. Enhanced muscle gains? Ditto. As you wind down for the day, you may want to consider these health-supportive and sleep-promoting supplements, say dietitians.

From melatonin to Ashwagandha, read on for the best research-backed supplements to take before bed. It goes without saying, but, before adding a new supplement to your routine, always consult with a trusted healthcare professional. Read on, and for more on how to eat healthy, don't miss 7 Healthiest Foods to Eat Right Now.

Let's get the most commonly recommended natural sleep supplement out of the way first. There's a good reason it's such a frequently advised remedy for sleep issues: "The body produces melatonin naturally, with levels dipping in the morning and rising in the evening to promote the body's sleep-wake cycles," says Kylie Ivanir, MS, RD, who runs a private practice called Within Nutrition. "Given melatonin's role in regulating the circadian rhythm and signaling the body it is time to sleep, supplements of this hormone can help facilitate the transition to sleep and promote consistent rest. This may be the case for individuals managing jet lag, insomnia, or wanting to improve sleep efficacy," she continues, pointing to this scientific overview.

READ MORE: Best Supplements for Sleep, According to Experts

Here's another heavy hitter in the world of sleep, which may also help with issues like anxiety.

"Magnesium comes in various formulations that can be beneficial in different ways. Magnesium citrate differs from the other chelated forms, such as magnesium bisglycinate and magnesium threonate, which are readily absorbed and work intracellularly," explains Ivanir. "Magnesium bisglycinate, in particular, can help with relaxation, sleep, and anxiety reduction. Therefore, it can be beneficial to take this form of magnesium at night before bedtime," she says, citing this study. You can also get magnesium from a variety of food sources like bananas, dark leafy greens, nuts, avocados, and beans.

Echoing Ivanir, Roxie M. Calloway, MS, RD says "[magnesium] is a natural relaxant and helps with sleep quality. Magnesium can also help relieve stress, as it can inhibit cortisol production and potentially lower blood pressure. She adds that men should have around 300 mg and women around 200 mg per day, though some people may opt to take more. "Magnesium has a lot of other health benefits as well. Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a role in more than 300 different enzyme systems in the body. It helps the body use calcium and oxygen properly, and it helps build healthy bones and teeth," she further notes.

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"Passionflower has been used in alternative medicine for insomnia; yet, recent research has shown that passionflower may in fact impact your sleep quantity and quality. Sleep quantity refers to the total time you've spent sleeping, and sleep quality refers to how well you've slept," says Kim Rose, RDN, CDCES, CNSC, LD. "In order to achieve a good night's rest, the perfect balance of sleep quantity and quality must be met. A 2017 animal study showed that passionflower decreased wakefulness and showed a significant increase in the total time spent sleeping. As it related to sleep quality, one human study showed that passionflower tea was helpful. Though these studies are small, and more human research is needed before definitive claims can be made, passionflower may hold promising results for capping off your night," she elaborates.

This supplement may be a boon if you're looking for better sleep. "L-theanine is an amino acid mostly found in the green tea plant. A small 2016 study showed that L-theanine may have anti-stress benefits," explains Rose. "This is important because stress may also impact our sleep. Another study conducted in China showed that negative types of stress may promote sleep disturbance and disrupt overall sleep quality. For as much stress as modern-day society gives, L-theanine seems to be a smart choice."

Wrapping up for the night? If you're all about gym life, it might be a good idea to take a protein supplement before you hit the hay. "For active individuals, it can be beneficial to take a slowly digested protein supplement before bed. When utilized over a period of time in conjunction with strength training, pre-sleep protein can help increase muscle mass and strength, promote recovery, and improve performance," says Ivanir, referencing this research. "This may be due in part to the overnight spike in growth hormone, which helps synthesize muscle mass."

Calloway zooms in on casein protein (from eggs) as the best type: "It's a good idea to consume casein protein before bedtime to promote muscle growth due to its slow digestion. Casein, unlike whey, is a very thick protein that breaks down slowly in the stomach and helps give your muscles nutrients (while promoting growth hormone secretion) while you're asleep," says Calloway. "It's a complete protein with all essential amino acids and has been shown to increase lean muscle mass. When this protein is consumed just before going to bed, it helps promote muscle protein synthesis while allowing your muscles to recover from workouts overnight."

It may very well be time to befriend this Ayurvedic herb with a large slew of applications.

"It is specifically known to produce a calming effect, which may be beneficial to sleep. While most studies on ashwagandha have been done on animals, one notable human study demonstrated that ashwagandha may very well improve sleep," says Rose. "In order to sleep well, you have to have a sense of calm. In this particular study, it was shown that ashwagandha did just that and improved sleep quality while decreasing the amount of time it takes to go from being fully awake to sleeping."

Hopping aboard the CBD train may have a positive impact on your sleep. "One sleep-promoting supplement I would recommend is cannabidiol or CBD. CBD, one of the main cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, interacts with the endocannabinoid system which helps regulate many processes in the body," says Ivanir. "While difficulty sleeping may be due to a variety of reasons, if it is caused by factors such as anxiety CBD may be beneficial. Research shows that CBD can have a calming effect, which can help reduce stress and improve sleep quality. Furthermore, if chronic pain is interrupting sleep, CBD has also been shown to help relieve pain and thereby aid in sleep. CBD may also interact with receptors in the brain that govern sleep-wake cycles, promoting sleep directly," she continues.

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Best Supplements to Take Before Bed, According to Dietitians - Eat This, Not That

A metanalysis of 315 clinical trials of weight loss supplements and therapies published in Obesity found a lack of strong evidence that dietary supplements and alternative therapies help adults lose weight. According to the researchers, most of the studies reviewed found that the supplements analyzed did not produce weight loss among users.

The investigators conducted a systematic review of the existing literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to evaluate the efficacy of dietary supplements and alternative therapies for weight loss in participants aged 18 and older. Searches of Medline (Pubmed), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL and Embase (Ovid) were conducted to gather data.

The analysis focused on 315 peer-reviewed, randomized-controlled trials and analyzed them for risk of bias, ultimately classifying 52 studies as low-risk of bias and sufficient to support efficacy. Of these 52 studies, 16 were found to demonstrate significant pre/post intergroup differences in weight when compared to placebo. Weight loss across these studies varied from 0.3 kg to 4.93 kg.

Our findings are important for clinicians, researchers, and industry alike as they suggest the need for rigorous evaluation of products for weight loss, said John Batsis, MD, associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine, and in the Department of Nutrition at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, in a press release. Only then can we produce data that allows clinicians to provide input and advice with a higher degree of certainty to our patients.

According to the study authors, patients often struggle to lose or maintain weight either because of a lack of efficacy of existing FDA-approved therapies or a lack of access to health care professionals who provide treatments for obesity. They said that public and private entities should provide adequate resources for obesity management. Further, regulatory authorities should critically examine the dietary supplement industry to reduce misleading claims and halt the marketing of products that have the potential to harm patients.

REFERENCE

Review shows minimal, high-quality evidence dietary supplements lead to weight loss [news release]. EurekAlert; June 23, 2021. Accessed June 23, 2021. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-06/tos-rsm061721.php

Originally posted here:

Review Finds Minimal Evidence That Dietary Supplements Lead to Weight Loss - Pharmacy Times

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a chemical compound found in the cannabis sativa plant. When applied topically or consumed through smoke inhalation or edible consumption, CBD interacts with neuroreceptors in your endocannabinoid system, which sends signals between your cells to help regulate your movement, mood, homeostasis and immune system.

CBD is often extracted from the cannabis sativa plant in oil form and mixed with an inert carrier oil like hemp seed oil for consumption. In recent years, CBD oil has skyrocketed in popularity thanks to its purported calming effects. It can now be found in a range of products from simple oil tinctures to CBD-infused potato chips.

CBD research is growing, too. Here are nine ways studies suggest CBD oil could benefit your health.

CBDs ability to calm is perhaps its most popular effect and the reason its use is so widespread. A 2017 study in the Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry tested the anxiety levels of 57 men in a simulated public speaking test. Some received a placebo while others received either 150 milligrams, 300 milligrams or 600 milligrams of CBD before their speeches. Those who received 300 milligrams of CBD experienced significantly reduced anxiety during the test compared to those who received the placebo. Interestingly, participants who received either 150 or 600 milligrams of CBD experienced more anxiety during the test than the 300 milligrams group.

Meanwhile, at least one study in mice revealed CBD had effects similar to the antidepressant imipramine. Human trials are needed, though, to confirm whether CBD can induce this same antidepressant reaction in our bodies.

In some instances, CBD can be used to treat epileptic seizures.

In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of CBD under the brand name Epidiolex to treat seizures resulting from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrometwo rare forms of epilepsyin patients at least 2 years old.

Three well-vetted studies provide the basis of support for the FDAs decision. In these trials, 516 patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome received either Epidiolex or a placebo. Epidiolex, when taken along with other prescribed medications, decreased the frequency of participants seizures compared to the placebo.

In a small 2018 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11 people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) received CBD along with routine psychiatric care for eight weeks in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. Ten of the 11 experienced a decrease in their PTSD symptoms. CBD was generally well tolerated, the researchers write.

Margaret Rajnic, a doctor of nursing practice experienced in medical cannabis and CBD, emphasizes the importance of using therapy in tandem with any type of cannabis or CBD for PTSD. There is an amount of therapy that is needed for PTSD, she says. But CBD will give you that little bit of decreased anxiety.

Four other human trials from 2012 to 2016 suggest CBD reduces PTSD symptoms, although some include THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main mind-altering element in cannabis. When THC and CBD work together, they create whats called an entourage effect, complementing each others benefits and potency. For example, taking the same dose of THC and CBD together tempers the high from THC, while just a little THC paired with more CBD enhances the effects of the CBD.

Some studiesboth preclinical animal and human clinical trialssuggest CBD could be used to help treat people who are dependent on opioids.

In one such study, researchers administered CBD to people with heroin use disorder. Over the course of a week, CBD significantly reduced heroin users cue-induced cravings, withdrawal anxiety, resting heart rate and salivary cortisol levels. No serious adverse effects were found.

Other studies find CBD helpful in reducing various psychiatric and medical symptoms like anxiety, insomnia and pain in patients with substance use disorders, indicating that CBD may be an effective treatment for opioid addiction. However, further studies are necessary.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that causes nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to deteriorate, resulting in loss of muscle control that worsens over time. Its not yet understood exactly why ALS occurs, although it can be hereditary in some cases. Theres no known cure, and there are only two FDA-approved medications to help treat ALS symptoms.

Research suggests people with ALS can benefit from the entourage effect created by the combination of THC and CBD, similar to people with PTSD. In a 2019 study, patients received a combination of THC and CBD in varying doses depending on their needs and preferences. Those with mild, moderate or severe spasticity (muscle tightness and stiffness) due to ALS reported high levels of satisfaction with the treatment, and those with moderate to severe spasticity reported higher satisfaction rates than those with mild spasticity.

In 2005, Canada approved the use of Sativex, an oromucosal (absorbed in the lining of the mouth) spray with equal proportions of THC and CBD, for the treatment of multiple sclerosis-related central neuropathic pain. In 2007, Canada approved the medicines use again for cancer pain that proved unresponsive to other medications.

Meanwhile, continued studies in the U.S. indicate CBD is effective in treating chronic, non-cancer pain. In one 2020 study, researchers administered CBD topically to a group of patients with symptomatic peripheral neuropathy (a result of brain nerve and spinal cord nerve damage) while another group with the same condition received a placebo. Results showed a significant reduction in intense, sharp pains and cold, itchy sensations in those who used the topical CBD compared to those who used the placebo. No participants reported adverse side effects.

When introduced topically, CBD oil doesnt affect the systemic issue as it might if it were introduced directly into the bloodstream. Instead, topical CBD is more localized and treats pain in a certain area. Since its more direct, it may have a more pronounced effect.

For starters, tests on human cells found that CBD helps reduce the effects of high glucose levels on other cells in the body, which typically precedes the development of diabetes and various complications. Researchers concluded that with further studies, CBD could have significant benefits when used in patients with diabetes, diabetic complications and plaque buildup in artery walls.

In another small study, 13 patients with type 2 diabetes who werent on insulin treatment were given both CBD and a placebo (in lieu of insulin). Researchers found CBD decreased their levels of resistin (which causes resistance to insulin, the protein that regulates sugar levels) and increased their levels of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (a hormone that ensures a sufficient release of insulin from digested food) compared to their baselines before they started the test. These results suggest CBD could be a natural treatment for diabetes by helping the body regulate insulin-related hormone levels.

Preclinical and clinical studies show that CBD has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Researchers deduce these characteristics can provide significant neuroprotection, or protection against numerous pathological disorders.

Several preclinical studies suggest CBD can produce beneficial effects against Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease and multiple sclerosis. Huntingtons disease and cerebral ischemia were also tested, although significant positive results were not recorded. Further clinical studies are needed to confirm CBDs benefits when used as a treatment for these disorders.

Arthritis involves the deterioration of the tissues in and around your joints. There are several types of arthritis, and symptoms include pain, stiffness and loss of motion. Arthritis treatment usually targets pain relief and improved joint function.

A 2006 study found that Sativexa CBD-based botanical drug approved in the United Kingdom in 2010promoted statistically significant improvements in quality of sleep, pain during movement and pain at rest in patients with rheumatoid arthritis when compared to a placebo. It was the first controlled trial of Sativex as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, involving 58 patients. CBD was found to have a pain-relieving effect, as well as an ability to suppress disease activity.

In 2018, in a study of more localized treatment, researchers administered a synthetic CBD gel in either 250-milligram or 500-milligram doses daily or a placebo to patients with knee pain due to osteoarthritis. Patients also stopped taking any other anti-inflammatory medications or painkillers, with the exception of acetaminophen, before and during the study period.

The results were interesting, although not entirely conclusive. On one hand, those treated with CBD did not experience much change in pain when compared with placebo patients. On the other hand, there were statistically significant differences between the group receiving the 250-milligram dose and the placebo group when measuring the average weekly improvement of their worst pain levels and their WOMAC (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index) physical function rating. Additionally, men seemed to benefit from CBD more significantly than women in this test.

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9 Science-Backed Benefits Of CBD Oil Forbes Health - Forbes

Whether its wheatgrass shots or green juices, sipping verdant drinks in hopes of reaping health benefits is far from a new health trend. Now, though, another green beverage called chlorophyll water has stepped onto the scene this time, by way of TikTok.

Chlorophyll water is made out of water and chlorophyll drops, and influencers claim it can make your skin glow, trim your waistline, and boost your energy.

We consulted health experts to get the lowdown on this buzzy drink and whether you should try it.

RELATED: Can Lettuce Water Actually Help You Sleep?

Chlorophyll is a constituent that exists in plants and is a pigment that gives them their green color, says Gary Soffer, MD, integrative medicine physician at Yale Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. As you might remember from eighth grade science, Dr. Soffer says, [chlorophyll] is an essential part of photosynthesis, the process that allows plants to derive energy from light. Natural sources of chlorophyll include green leafy veggies such as spinach and kale, herbs, and sprouts, he adds.

Chlorophyll drops, on the other hand, arent made of 100 percent of chlorophyll but instead contain chlorophyllin, a water-soluble version of chlorophyll that combines sodium and copper salts with chlorophyll. The claim is that compared with chlorophyll, chlorophyllin is more absorbable by the body, says Keri Gans, RDN, a nutrition consultant in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet. Soffer adds that it is often derived from alfalfa (Medicago sativa), silkworm droppings, and algae.

Yet none of these qualities make chlorophyll drops more beneficial than natural sources of chlorophyll that is, whole, green foods.

RELATED:11 Green Foods (and 1 Drink) That Are Good for You

Weight loss, cancer prevention, anti-aging, and wound healing are just some of the perks that influencers are crediting to chlorophyll water. Heres what you need to know about the most popular claims circulating on social media.

Influencer @lenamaiah has shared a video claiming that drinking chlorophyll water cleared up her rosacea, adding that it reduces inflammation, is full of vitamins A and C (which helps with skin regeneration), and helps blood carry more oxygen to the skin.

What Research SuggestsGans confirms that there are anecdotal reports chlorophyll can help with skin issues, including rosacea, but current scientific evidence is lacking.

User @Han.tidote shared a video on TikTok that has been viewed over 1.9 million times, claiming that chlorophyll water can remove odor from your sweat. Her favorite benefit? When I'm at the gym I literally don't even smell bad. I just sweat, @Han.tidote exclaimed.

What Research Suggests In 1953 (yes, nearly 70 years ago) F. Howard Wescott conducted research published in JAMA claiming that chlorophyll could stave off bad breath and body odor. While there have been a few small studies and clinical trials supporting this theory in the decades since, experts, including Gans and Soffer, maintain that there is not yet enough persuasive scientific evidence to recommend using chlorophyll for this intention.

RELATED: What Is Dry Scooping? What to Know About the TikTok Trend

The user @Han.tidote added that chlorophyll water is basically like coffee, and that your energy is through the roof after you drink it.

What Research Suggests Gans points out that any evidence supporting chlorophyll as an energy booster is very limited. One study from China published in March 2019 in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine determined that chlorophyll tablets with a similar molecular structure to hemoglobin may improve anemia symptoms, which includes fatigue. The specific tablets were called shengxuening, which are extracted from the excrement of the silkworm and are used as a component in traditional Chinese medicine herbal therapy.

Although the study was a randomized clinical trial in about 2,000 people factors that make the study model more rigorous than, say, a small observational study researchers studied these effects in a specific patient population and using this tablet formulation, so the results arent necessarily applicable to a general population without anemia. More research studies would be needed before recommending chlorophyl to reduce fatigue.

My stomach has never been flatter, TikTok user @katsofia444 captioned on a clip of herself in a crop top sipping on the green water.

What Research Suggests One small, previous study offered limited evidence that subjects who consumed green plant membranes, similar to chlorphyllin, for three months did experience more weight loss than those who didnt take the supplement,claiming that it reduced cravings for sweets and chocolates. But this study has a weak spot: Only 40 subjects were involved in the study. Therefore, more research is needed.

Another claim making the rounds on social media this time, Instagram is that drinking chlorophyll water can boost immunity. Instagram user @allys_eats shares that amongst its many benefits, drinking the green concoction supports immune function.

What Research Suggests Antioxidants can help fight cellular damage from free radicals, improving immunity and warding off a variety of diseases, including cancer, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)National Cancer Institute. There are limited rigorous studies supporting the antioxidant properties of chlorophyllin. The majority are either lab based or animal studies, and not done in human studies.

RELATED: Drinking More Tea Especially Green May Help You Live Longer

Instagram user @healthy.and.wellthy says chlorophyll is effective at fighting certain types of cancer.

What Research Suggests There is currently no high-quality scientific evidence that chlorophyll supplements can treat, prevent, or fight certain types of cancer. There is very limited scientific evidence that chlorophyll can help reduce your bodys absorption of aflatoxin B, a toxin found in plant products (such as peanuts) or by consuming meat or dairy products from animals linked to liver cancer, per the NIH.

Instagram user @allys_eats shares added that chlorophyll water Detoxs your body by binding and removing toxins and heavy metals, improves gut health by keeping a balance of healthy bacteria in the gut and aids with optimal digestion.

What Research Suggests A past review debunked the majority of claims made about the potential benefits of chlorophyll, noting that there is no substantial evidence that it can help with detoxification, or digestion.

RELATED: 14 Healthy Salad Greens Ranked From Best to Worst

Most of the claims made on TikTok are anecdotal, meaning that other than the endorsement of individuals on TikTok, there is little scientific evidence that chlorophyll drops can do anything more than turn your water green.

As of now most scientific research showing benefit has been done in lab settings or in animals, Soffer explains. There have been no large scale trials demonstrating its benefit.

That said, if you want to try them, the risk of harm, as reported in studies and other adverse event reporting, is essentially nonexistent. Both Soffer and Gans explain that there arent any known serious health risks of chlorophyll drops. Given that quality of supplement production isnt regulated in the same way that pharmaceutical drugs are, though, there is always some added risk when taking liquid or pill form supplements. Opt for a trustworthy company whose products have undergone testing from third parties such as ConsumerLab.com, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), and NSF International.

The fact of the matter, though, is you dont have to invest in a new product to get in on the potential claimed benefits of chlorophyll.

Probably the best way and the most inexpensive way is to simply get your chlorophyll naturally from green vegetables, Gans explains. At the very least, you will be reaping the proven benefits of eating lots of antioxidant-rich green veggies known to have anti-inflammatory properties, which may help to balance immune health, decrease risk for cardiovascular disease, and prevent certain cancers, Gans points out.

One highly cited study, published in the Journal of American Dietetic Association, found that fruit and vegetable consumption was incredibly beneficial for controlling inflammation and oxidative stress, reducing risk for chronic disease.

Soffer suggests green leafy vegetables, herbs, and sprouts if you want to get your chlorophyll fix.

The rest is here:

Chlorophyll Drops on TikTok: Should You Try Them? - Everyday Health

Ozone treatments are becoming more popular as an alternative to steroid injections and other more invasive therapies. Ozone therapy has been around for more than a century. It is used for improving blood flow, how the body uses oxygen, increasing immune, and much more. Ozone therapy is part of a family of therapies known as oxidative medicine. Other therapies in this family include, intravenous Vitamin C, Ultraviolet, and hydrogen peroxide. Our immune cells, or the white blood cells, fight the infection by hitting what is causing the infection. Oxygen helps with this, and because ozone is made of oxygen, it expedites this healing process.

How it really works.For joint and muscle injuries, injecting medical ozone into the blood is the most effective method of treating with it. Even stem cell therapy uses ozone to inject along with the stem cells to assist in their growth benefit. One example is injecting ozone into a knee joint to increase healing time for a meniscal tear. I personally had this done in my office, and my knee felt about 75% better immediately after the injection. Initially, a preparatory injection that may include Vitamin B-12, and sometimes other natural substances is injected into the joint. Then a syringe filled with a specific amount of ozone gas is injected directly into the joint. There is very little pain, if any. I have had 2 injections over a 2-week period, and have noticed that my knee is less inflamed, and Im able to walk much easier with a large extruded tear in my right medial meniscus. Another benefit to this therapy, unlike cortisone injections that will interfere with the stem cells being able to heal the damage, ozone treatments will not affect my ability to receive regenerative therapy like stem cells in the next few weeks when Im ready to have them done. The ozone has expedited the healing process and has given me the ability to exercise once again.

Ozone therapy is used for the loss of smell from COVID and other causes?Yes, it is. And great results are received by this treatment. With this method of ozone therapy, it is not injected into the body by a needle. It is applied by the patient inhaling through their nose, via a needless syringe. After a few days, patients generally report an increase in smell by about 30%. A few treatments may be necessary, generally 2 weeks apart, allowing them to be able to get their sense of smell back to 100%. By increasing oxygen to the olfactory organs, the body can restore the sense of smell much faster than leaving it to heal on its own. The benefit is permanent from what has been demonstrated on those who have lost their sense of smell from COVID. Some have not gotten their sense of smell back in as long as 6 months or more. This treatment is allowing these people to get their lives back to normal once again.

Muscle trigger points and dysfunction can be treated with ozone as well.Many people suffer from trigger point or knots in muscles that just dont seem to respond to soft tissue massage, or physical therapy over time. Once again, a syringe is filled with the ozone, and injected directly into the trigger point or muscle. This assists the body in breaking up and releasing the muscle by-products that caused the trigger point or spasm in the first place. Again, a few treatments may be necessary, but relief is felt quickly.

There are many other methods of treatment with ozone, and I couldnt possibly mention all of them in this article. If you have any questions as to whether ozone therapy can work for you, please call my office for a complimentary consultation.

For any questions regarding my articles, please email me at:DrLeisa@CaringPainRelief.comLeisa-Marie Grgula, D.C.Chiropractic PhysicianAccurate Care Medical Wellness Center18261 N Pima Rd. Suite 115Scottsdale, AZ 85255602-493-2228

Excerpt from:

Ozone therapy to increase healing. How it worked for me - Sonoran News

Are you fatigued all the time? Is there paleness? Do you skip your important office meeting owing to those nagging headaches? Is your dry skin stealing your peace of mind? Beware! It can indicate iron deficiency. If youre deficient in iron and looking for options apart from allopathy, then, Ayurveda can come to your rescue. Yes, you have heard it right! Ayurveda is a boon for those with iron deficiency. The say-to-do tricks, mediations, and therapies can help you deal with iron deficiencies. Here, Dr. Vaishali Sawant Chavan, Ayurveda expert and Asst Medical Director, Vedicure Healthcare and Wellness, tells you more about the benefits of Ayurveda when it comes to managing iron deficiencies. Read and opt for it right away! Also Read - Ayurveda And Urinary Tract Infections: Herbal Medicines That Can Help Reduce UTI Symptoms

Did you know? Iron deficiency occurs when the body lacks the vital mineral iron. The causes of iron deficiency are low iron intake, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), blood loss because of heavy periods, or even internal bleeding. The symptoms of iron deficiency are shortness of breath, tiredness, paleness, headaches, dizziness, dry damaged hair and skin, swelling of the tongue, heart palpitation, and brittle nails. The body needs iron to make haemoglobin, which is a protein present in red blood cells enabling the cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. If the haemoglobin is low in the body, then the tissues and muscles wont get enough oxygen to be able to function effectively and this can be termed anaemia. Also Read - Ayurveda Expert Elaborates on Effective Preventive & Recuperative Measures for Cancer

Are you aware? Anaemia imbalances the Agni of the body. Anaemia is called PANDU in Ayurveda. It can drop your haemoglobin count too. You will be shocked to know that not treating anaemia on time can lead to complications that impact the heart and the lungs. But now you dont have to worry as Ayurveda is the remedy to your problem. Also Read - Ayurveda for Osteoarthritis: Arthrox Treatment Frees 68-year-old Man of All Symptoms

Ayurveda plays a pivotal role in the prevention of such diseases and the promotion of health. It is the ancient Indian system of natural and holistic medicine that can help one improve the quality of life. Those opting for this alternative treatment option will be able to fight the disease naturally.

Takeaway: You will have to take Ayurvedic treatment from a certified practitioner only. He/she will examine you thoroughly and then only recommend medicines or therapies.

Published : June 27, 2021 10:07 am | Updated:June 28, 2021 9:35 am

Excerpt from:

Treatment of Anaemia with Ayurveda: Diet Tips To Overcome Iron Deficiency - TheHealthSite

It started with headaches and neck pain, but no sooner had Tricia Kalinowskis physiotherapist come up with a strategy to tackle these problems, then another area of her body would start to hurt: her lower back, her hip or her jaw.

The physio was chasing the pain up and down my body, says Kalinowski, 60, from Minneapolis, US. Eventually, she was referred to an oral surgeon, who believed the root cause of these issues was a problem with one of the joints in her jaw, so she underwent surgery to replace a thumbnail-sized disc.

Unfortunately, the replacement was defective, triggering an immune reaction that resulted in the loss of several inches of jawbone. It took 13 rounds of surgery to fix the damage the last of which was performed in 2015. The irony to all the surgeries is that I still have headaches, I still have neck pain, and nobody really knows quite what to do about it, she says.

To most people, pain is an unpleasant but short-lived sensation, occurring as a result of illness or injury. Although some people may experience ongoing or chronic pain, the assumption is there must be some kind of underlying physical injury, such as a crushed nerve, or an angry, inflamed joint.

Increasingly though, experts are waking up to the idea that chronic pain can occur without any obvious physical injury, or in a completely separate area of the body from the original site of tissue damage. Theres also mounting evidence that seemingly very different pain conditions chronic headaches, low back pain and jaw pain, say may share common underlying mechanisms, and that once a person develops one chronic pain condition, theyre predisposed to develop others.

The Covid-19 pandemic could make this situation even worse. One of the most common symptoms reported by people with long Covid is musculoskeletal pain, and those with existing musculoskeletal pain conditions seem to be at risk of experiencing stronger pain after a serious Covid infection.

Musculoskeletal pain is an issue that we must start considering as a long Covid problem, says Prof Lars Arendt-Nielsen, immediate past president of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and director of the worlds largest translational pain research centre at Aalborg University in Denmark.

The health profession as a whole does not treat people with chronic pain well. And it is about to be hit by a tsunami of severely ill people needing help.

Pain probably evolved as a means of identifying potentially harmful stimuli and withdrawing from them, as well as teaching us to avoid these things in the future. It can also help to protect injured body parts while they heal. But when it continues beyond this recovery period, it has lost this useful function. Chronic pain is a leading cause of disability, affecting about 20% of people globally, but more than two-fifths of people in some countries, including the UK, and is predicted to increase as populations age.

Traditionally, doctors have divided pain into two categories: nociceptive pain, triggered by injuries such as bruises, burns, fractures, sprains or inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, and detected by pain receptors in our skin, bones and other tissues; and neuropathic pain triggered by damage to the nerves that carry sensory signals from these tissues to the brain and spinal cord.

But a few years ago, the IASP introduced a third category: nociplastic pain pain arising from the altered processing of these sensory signals, without any evidence of actual or threatened tissue damage. One thing that can happen is that the pain signals carried by peripheral nerves from the skin, muscles, joints or internal organs to the spinal cord can become amplified, worsening the pain.

Prolonged activation of the bodys pain pathways can also lead to changes in the brain and spinal cord. According to the old way of thinking, the bodys pain pathways were arranged like a telephone switchboard, with fixed sets of wires (nerves) connecting our peripheral organs and tissues to the spinal cord, and further nerves connecting the spinal cord to the brain as well as feeding back down in the opposite direction.

The assumption was that this was a fixed, solid, stable system, Arendt-Nielsen says. But we now know that these neural networks can be reorganised when there are persistent inputs into the system, and cause increased gain of the pain signal and hence generate a stronger pain.

For one thing, nerves in the brain and spinal cord the central nervous system can become hyper-excitable, meaning that minor bumps and grazes become agonising, and even non-painful stimuli such as brushing your hair or touching your skin can trigger pain. It is like an allergic reaction in the pain system, Arendt-Nielsen says.

This central sensitisation can also spread. One of the features that we see in many patients with chronic pain is that they have this generalised pain hypersensitivity. They might have osteoarthritis and pain in their knee, but if you quantitatively assess the sensitivity of the pain system, they have a lower lower pain threshold throughout their bodies, Arendt-Nielsen says. This reorganisation of the pain system is the reason why management of chronic pain is difficult, and traditional analgesics are not efficient and why pain research is so important to discover new ways to modulate this pain reorganisation.

It may also help explain why so many people with chronic pain conditions subsequently develop more of them. More than 200 million people around the world are affected by chronic overlapping pain conditions a cluster of painful disorders which often coexist in the same patient.

Over the past 10 years, theres been the widespread recognition that pain can be a disease in and of itself, and a growing understanding that it is a multi-system illness, and that there are shared mechanisms of disease across these conditions, says Christin Veasley co-founder and director of the US-based Chronic Pain Research Alliance.

A patient like Tricia Kalinowski may start out with jaw pain, then gradually accumulate other conditions, such as fibromyalgia, endometriosis, migraine or irritable bowel syndrome, as time wears on. Other related conditions include temporomandibular disorder (pain related to the jaw joints), painful bladder syndrome, vulvodynia (pain around the opening of the vagina), chronic low back pain and tension-type headache.

In many people with conditions like low back pain, endometriosis, irritable bowel, headache, fibromyalgia, youre not going to find a problem in the area of the body where the person is experiencing pain. Theres more and more evidence that these are central nervous system, systemic conditions, where the pain can present in different areas of the body at different points in time over that persons life, says Daniel Clauw, a professor of anesthesiology, medicine and psychiatry at the University of Michigan.

He likens the experience of pain to the noise produced by an electric guitar; to make it louder, you can either strum the strings harder or turn up the amplifier. In this analogy, the strings are represented by the peripheral nerves carrying sensory information from our organs and tissues, and the amplifier by the brain and spinal cord.

A patient with third-degree burns is having their strings strummed extremely hard, whereas in someone with fibromyalgia a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body their amplifier has been set too loud. They can have pain, without the strings even having to be strummed, Clauw says.

Central sensitisation is one way of turning up that amplifier. It can be triggered by intense, repeated and sustained activation of the nerves that carry pain signals as a result of a major injury or prolonged infection, say.

Peoples innate amplifier settings can also vary. Not everyone who develops a chronic pain condition will develop more of them but they seem to be particularly prevalent among women, and those affected also often suffer from non-pain conditions such as sleep and mood disorders, and fatigue.

Some of this variation between men and women may be due to immune system differences, with women also more prone to autoimmune disease. Immune cells trigger inflammation, which can trigger pain. Sex hormones such as oestrogen and testosterone can further exacerbate or dull pain, depending where they are released and in what quantities.

Laid on top of those basic amplifier settings are events that happen to you as you go through life. Chronic pain is more common among people who experienced lots of surgery as children, or emotional or physical abuse. There is also a strong link between chronic pain and depression. Of course, living with chronic pain can be depressing, but depression can also amplify pain processing in and of itself.

This is not the same thing as suggesting that someones mental attitude can affect their pain. Rather, people often dont realise that the brain pathways that drive depression are intrinsically linked to the ones that drive chronic pain, says Dr Kirsty Bannister, a senior lecturer at Kings College London, who researches these pain pathways.

When pain signals arrive in the brain, they are transmitted to areas that allow us to locate and categorise that pain, as well as to areas that process emotions. These brain areas then send signals back down the spinal cord, which, in health, causes those original pain signals to be dampened. This is why your thumb begins to stop hurting several minutes after youve bashed it with a hammer.

But in people with a history of depression or childhood trauma, those emotion processing areas are often wired differently, which can alter the type of signals they send. As a result, their pain pathways carry on being activated. Because our life experiences are not equal, it means that previous issues such as fear, hopelessness or helplessness may escalate your pain to a very different intensity compared to mine, Bannister says.

Thats not to say that everyone with chronic pain is affected by this problem of nociplastic pain or central sensitisation. Fibromyalgia is the poster child for it, but you see elements of fibromyalgia in other conditions, such as low back pain, Clauw says. Probably 40 to 50% of people with low back pain really have something a lot more like fibromyalgia than a problem in their back, and 70 to 80% of people with bladder pain syndrome really have more of a fibromyalgia phenotype, where they have pain in their bladder, but they have pain elsewhere as well.

What we think happens in these post-infection, post-motor-vehicle accident kind of syndromes is that everyone has this background degree of fibromyalgia-ness. And then this gets blasted open by getting Covid, or being in a hospital where you sleep terribly and youre inactive for weeks or months. Whatever you were doing in your life that was sort of keeping that all that bay comes crashing down.

Vicky Naylor, 55, a nurse from Wigan, in the UK, developed fibromyalgia after undergoing an emergency C-section 11 years ago, but through a combination of swimming, yoga and medication, had her symptoms under control. It was only if I had an illness or got very stressed that Id get flare-ups. Id become very stiff, and get painful joints and trigger points [tender spots around the body] and headaches, but I could always get them back under control and deal with them, she says. I never missed a days work.

Then, in March 2020, she developed Covid-19. Her initial symptoms were severe fever, shortness of breath and a cough so bad she lost her voice although she was never admitted to hospital. But as the weeks turned to months, she began to experience a plethora of other symptoms, including excruciating pain. It is off the scale, she says. I get it in my feet some days it is so bad I cant bear to wear filled-in shoes. I get it in my knees, the tops of my legs, my right hip particularly, my elbows, shoulders, neck its just everywhere.

Naylor isnt the only person who is experiencing ongoing pain after developing Covid-19. In a study, Arendt-Nielsen, together with Prof Csar Fernndez De Las Peas at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid and colleagues, assessed more than 1,100 people who had been hospitalised with the virus seven months after they first developed symptoms.

We found that approximately 70% developed two to three persistent symptoms, and of those 40% developed musculoskeletal-related pain, he says. Also, if you had musculoskeletal pain problems prior to your infection, then seven months later, there was a big chance that you would experience stronger musculoskeletal pain. Those patients with musculoskeletal pain problems prior to the infection were also more likely to have myalgia (muscle pain) during the hospitalisation.

So far we do not know for how long the post-Covid conditions will last. As chronic pain already globally affects approximately one out of five adults, we hope that the Covid condition will not add to this global burden as there are already many bottlenecks to overcome for this vulnerable chronic pain population when they seek optimal management.

In a separate study, neurologists at the Vall dHebron University hospital in Barcelona discovered that almost two-fifths of the Covid patients they assessed in the accident and emergency department were still experiencing persistent and disabling daily headaches six weeks later.

Covid might be triggering chronic pain through various mechanisms. Lingering inflammation triggered by the immune systems response to the virus could be stimulating pain receptors in various tissues. Immune cells make things that the nerves dont like, and so the nerves could become sensitised, says Dr Franziska Denk, a pain researcher at Kings College London.

The Ace2 receptor that Sars-CoV-2 binds to is also expressed in sensory neurons. Thats bad news, because it could be that, like many other viruses, it can damage the sensory neurons, Denk says.

In some people, this nerve or tissue damage will be their only source of pain. Theres going to be a lot of people that have nociplastic pain superimposed upon that, says Clauw.

Unfortunately, our health systems are ill equipped to deal with chronic pain and particularly patients with chronic overlapping pain conditions. Like many patients with chronic pain, Kalinowski takes multiple drugs to get through the day. Working out which ones work for her has taken years.

A lot of people describe it as trying to navigate a maze, Veasley says. It is this hit-and-miss, trial-and-error experiment of trying to firstly find someone whos knowledgeable about even one of these conditions, much less their overlap or interconnectedness. Even then, we really have no idea what treatments or therapies work for which patients.

Although pain experts have accepted the existence of central sensitisation, family doctors are less aware of it, meaning they may dismiss a patients pain in the absence of any obvious abnormality or injury. I find it terrifying to think that anyone who has been to their GP to complain about pain has been sent on their way, Bannister says.

Nor is there any widely available test that doctors could use to determine if someones pain is the result of central sensitisation or not. There is no biomarker that would allow an individual to turn around to their GP and say, You know, this is proof that Im not being hysterical or making it up, says Bannister.

One problem stemming from this poor medical appreciation of chronic pain is the overprescription of opioid drugs. Although opioids are effective at dampening short-term severe pain or cancer pain, they are highly addictive and accidental overdose kills about 50,000 people in the US alone each year.

They can also make chronic pain worse. This is because opioids provide relief by blocking pain receptors but your body responds by increasing the number of pain receptors, meaning you need higher doses to get the same relief. In chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, people have already been producing natural opioids called endorphins, which bind to the same receptors. Giving them an opioid is like throwing kerosene on to a fire, Clauw says.

The good news is that attitudes to chronic pain are changing, even if it may take the wider medical community a bit of time to catch up. In July 2020 the IASP updated its definition of pain to cover nociplastic pain that arising in the absence of obvious injury. Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, actual or potential tissue damage, it now says.

Alongside its revised definition, the IASP published a set of accompanying notes: One of them was that a persons experience of pain should be respected, Bannister says. Regardless whether you think that they dont look like theyre in pain, or theyve only had a cut to the foot, so how can they possibly be complaining, we have to respect a patients report of pain, and treat them as individuals.

As for Kalinowski, if she could offer a single piece of advice to others in a similar situation, it would be to not give up, and seek an alternative medical opinion, if necessary: You need to trust yourself, no matter what the doctor says, and keep pushing on until you find a doctor who does believe you even if they cant define what it is you have.

Sufferers of chronic pain have long been told its all in their head. We now know thats not true. The pain that cant be seen is a week-long investigation looking at why doctors are playing catch-up on chronic pain conditions like endometriosis, migraine and more and what they have to do with long Covid. In the next part, you can read about why women are more likely to have long Covid and chronic pain and hear from 10 readers on their experiences living with theses illnesses.

Read more:

Sufferers of chronic pain have long been told it's all in their head. We now know that's wrong - The Guardian

Thursday, 24 June 2021, 9:59 amPress Release: Life Centre Trust

Increasing numbers of Kiwis are following a global trendtowards alternative therapies in recent years, according tonew data.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)is an umbrella term describing a diverse range of healthsystems, modalities, and practices that are not generallyconsidered part of conventional medicine. In New Zealand, itis estimated that there are around 70 CAM modalitiesavailable.[1]

NewGoogle search data shows local searches for alternativemedicine information were up as high as 108% last year,compared to 2019 levels. The data also shows there was acorresponding increase in searches related to anxiety overthe same period.[2]

Arecent study by Otago University researchers found growingacceptance of CAM among NZs healthcare professionals witharound 25% of GPs practising some form of CAM, and 82%referring patients to CAM practitioners.[3]

Localcomplementary therapy providers have also reported a surgein interest in CAM modalities from Kiwis struggling - inline with a global trend.

The growth in demand hasseen the opening of one of New Zealands largest wellbeingcentres - with hundreds of CAM patients set tobenefit.

The Life Centre will operate from tworefurbished inner city Auckland buildings covering 680sqmfrom later this month. Fifteen CAM practitioners will offerover 20 therapies - ranging from Ayurvedic massage tohomeopathy, kinesiology, counselling, naturopathy andReiki.

Director Adonia Wylie says The Life Centremission is to empower clients to embrace a vision of wholehealth and well-being.

In recent yearscomplementary and alternative medicine has begun to shed itswoo-woo image and is becoming increasingly moremainstream as the concept of holistic healthcare is betterunderstood.

We know that people turn tocomplementary therapies for a range of reasons including;their value of the emphasis on treating the whole person, abelief that complementary therapy will be more effective fortheir issue, and a belief that complementary treatments willenable them to take a more active part in maintaining theirown well-being.

What we have seen with the pandemicis a global surge in the levels of anxiety and stressrelated conditions and international studies which haveexplored the role of CAM in treating various psychologicalsymptoms, she says.[4]

Thecentre will be supported by a charitable trust funded by alegacy left by businessman and philanthropist Ashton Wylie.The Life Centre is also an educational facility, with roomsfor hire for workshops such as meditation, yoga andbreathwork.

For more information, visit thelifecentre.nz

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More Kiwis Turning To Alternative Therapies - Data | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz

SAN FRANCISCO, June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ProSomnus Sleep Technologies, the leading Oral Appliance Therapy medical device for the treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), today announced their plan to support patients affected by the Philips Respironics Bi-Level Positive Airway Pressure (Bi-Level PAP) and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) recall.

ProSomnus oral appliances are a relevant treatment alternative for patients with sleep apnea. ProSomnus devices are uniquely made from a medical grade, low porosity, biocompatible, hygienic material. Numerous studies have shown that precision Oral Appliance Therapy (OAT) is a proven, effective treatment option that should be considered for adult patients who are intolerant of CPAP therapy or prefer alternate therapy. OAT can be used to treat all levels of OSA severity and has been proven to reduce AHI and improve OSA co-morbidities, such as blood pressure, fatigue and fatigue-related accidents and cardiovascular mortality. ProSomnus is offering the following programs to helpaffected patients get into effective, safe and comfortable therapy;

Find a Qualified ProviderProSomnus offers sleep professionals two links to make it easy to refer patients to experienced, qualified, dental sleep medicine providers in their areas. The first is ProSomnusDentists.comthe second is AADSM.org.

Expedited Production/CapacityProSomnus has a scalable rapid, seven-day, production schedule to get patients into therapy faster. Capacity can be expanded easily to accommodate this crisis. The American Academies of Sleep Medicine (AASM) and Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) recommend custom, titratable, oral appliance therapy devices fitted by qualified dentists, and not do-it-yourself mouthguards. Prescription oral appliance therapy devices are made-to-order, which historically took several weeks. ProSomnus uses a unique manufacturing process that speeds up the process and is more precise.

Extended WarrantyProSomnus standard three-year warranty, fewer interventions and excellent efficacy, adherence and effectiveness, make it a robust and cost-effective solution for the medical insurance reimbursement payer and patients.

Recent ProSomnus StudiesA recent IRB study published at the AASM meeting, demonstrated 96% strongly prefer ProSomnus EVO over their previous predicate devices and PAP therapy. Other recent poster abstracts at the AASM and AADSM showed excellent AHI improvements, less dose and fewer side effects and treatment interruptions using ProSomnus devices.

"The objective is to help sleep physicians and dental sleep providers to get affected patients back into safe, comfortable and effective therapy," stated Len Liptak, CEO of ProSomnus. "It is understandable that many affected patients may prefer non-CPAP alternatives. We want the sleep medicine community to know that ProSomnus is a partner they can trust for oral appliance therapy."

"Because of the current limited availability of machines and a complex payment structure for replacing them, ProSomnus OSA Therapy is an exceptional solution,"stated Sleep Physician Edward T. Sall, MD, DDS, MBA. "This California medical device manufacturer can scale their artificial intelligent design and robotic manufacturing. This includes a best-in-class 7-day manufacturing timeframe even though each appliance is custom made. My recent AASM poster abstract also demonstrates the efficacy and effectiveness of these devices for mild moderate and select severe patients."

"The AASM and AADSM joint guidelines on the treatment of OSA along with recently published posters at the AASM and AADSM annual meetings clearly demonstrates the efficacy, adherence, and effectiveness of ProSomnus oral appliances as an alternative to PAP therapy,"commented Mark T. Murphy, DDS, DABDSM. "Never has there been a better time to utilize this valuable alternative solution to enhance the lives of so many affected by this recall. Treating physicians should engage ProSomnus qualified providers to quickly solve this crisis."

Additional Resources:Philips Recall NotificationAASM Guidance in Response to Philips RecallAADSM OAT Fact SheetAADSM OAT Patient Info

Related Files

AASM_OAT Prime Time_Sall.pdf

AASM_Preference Study EVO_Murphy.pdf

Related Images

prosomnus-evo-sleep-and-snore.jpg ProSomnus EVO Sleep and Snore Device ProSomnus EVO, for preferred OSA therapy. ProSomnus EVO is the first OAT device to incorporate advanced materials, manufacturing robotics and artificial intelligence to advance the treatment of OSA.

SOURCE ProSomnus Sleep Technologies

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ProSomnus Sleep Technologies Effective Sleep Apnea Treatment Alternative to PAP Therapy - PRNewswire