Linda, a 32-year-old public hospital cleaner slipped on a wet floor and struck her knee. Although she was able to get up with some difficulty and continue working for the rest of the day, she slowly developed more severe pain in her knee. After several months, and having experienced a number of occasions when the knee gave way beneath her, she was referred to an orthopaedic surgeon.
He performed an arthroscopy — passing a thin fibre-optic instrument into the knee — and removed some cartilage and damaged tissue from the back of the kneecap.
It was thought that this procedure would probably alleviate the condition but some months after the operation Linda’s knee was extremely painful. She had also developed a burning sensation in the skin above the knee and had noted that the pain was now present whether she was walking or at rest.
More X-rays were taken and it was decided to do a further arthroscopy. On this occasion it was noted that the back of the patella, or kneecap, showed an erosion, or damage, of the cartilage which normally exists to ensure smooth passage of the kneecap over the thigh bone.
Linda’s damaged cartilage was removed during the arthroscopy and an assurance was given that she would have no more pain. But by then the knee had swollen to several times its normal size and she was only able to walk short distances, with great difficulty.
Meanwhile, she was finding it difficult to look after herself, let alone her family and she had not worked for six months. Linda was then referred to a pain clinic for assessment and treatment. Upon examination it was noted that the affected knee was several degrees cooler than the normal knee. She was also unable to flex or bend the knee in any normal way. It was decided to perform thermography. This confirmed the presence of a reflex sympathetic dystrophy affecting her knee.
Linda was initially treated as an out-patient with an antidepressant medication and TENS therapy. But the depression was so severe that it was eventually decided to admit her to the in-patient program for further treatment and assessment. In the meantime, she was also referred to an orthopaedic surgeon who was an expert in the assessment and treatment of reflex sympathetic dystrophy. He agreed that the treatment Linda was receiving was probably the most appropriate under the circumstances.
During her stay of four weeks in the in-patient program, Linda was taught relaxation techniques and was encouraged to become more active. As part of her rehabilitation, she was to swim regularly and to walk as often as possible.
Meanwhile, her depression was controlled by appropriate medication, the antidepressant Surmontil and also Rivotril. She was seen by an occupational therapist who showed her how to maximise the use of her limb without pain or disability.
By the time she left the in-patient program, Linda was coping extremely well with her pain. She had accepted the fact that there was probably no further surgical intervention that would help her. She had accepted that surgical procedures might even worsen her condition.
*79\37\8*
How do you know if you have chronic pain? What are the conditions that cause chronic pain and prompt someone to seek help?
Descriptions of pain vary greatly: ‘A river of ice in the arm,’ said a patient with a brachial plexus injury. ‘The pain is excruciating — just like having a tight metal cap over my entire scalp. I even dread combing my hair,’ said Jill who had suffered chronic headaches for 10 years. ‘All vertebrae feel as though they’re moving on one another as if there’s no gristle between them,’ said Max with a three year history of low back pain.
Chronic pain is a disease that is complex both in its causes and the symptoms it produces. It can originate in the muscles, the ligaments and the supporting tissues of the joints, or in the arterial or the nervous systems.
Pain can be triggered in different ways. There could be an initial trauma (an injury) which in turn leads to emotional problems and then to the awareness of pain. Some chronic pain sufferers may well worsen their problems with the treatments they seek. Often, pain is increased by the development of adhesions formed as a result of scar tissue attached to healthy tissue after one or more surgical operations.
Further problems occur when excessive dosages of multiple inappropriate medications, sometimes prescribed by more than one physician are taken. (Some see up to six different practitioners and are found to be taking as many as three different antidepressants and several tranquillisers as well as anti-convulsant medication. No wonder they feel sick!)
Pain can sometimes result from the adverse reactions these drugs have on one another and on the body’s system and can sometimes be completely eliminated by rationalising the medication.
*56\37\8*
Since Selye’s research, scientists have found that stress provokes a number of even subtler chemical changes in the body which may have profound physical and mental health effects. For example, medical researchers are now certain that stress triggers chemical changes in the brain. Particularly sensitive to such emotional strains are the concentrations of potent chemicals called neurotransmitters. These act as messengers between nerve cells. They include: serotonin, epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), acetylcholine and dopamine. In a Stanford University study, rats were forced to swim in 4 degree C water for three minutes. Later examination of their brain tissue showed that levels of norepinephrine had fallen 20 per cent and epinephrine between 30 and 40 per cent. Scientists have also discovered that the body produces its own painkillers, morphine-like chemicals called endorphins. Stress boosts the production of these analgesics, thus raising the pain threshold.
Because stress alters the body’s chemical balance, it seems to influence the development of many diseases,including psychiatric disorders. Depression has also been associated with low levels of two neurotransmitters — serotonin and norepinephrine.
Stress has been found to severely affect the body’s immune system. Researchers have also discovered that chronic stress inhibits the body’s production of its own cancer-fighting cells, including natural killer cells, T-lymphocytes and macrophages. A remarkable chemical triggers the body’s stress reactions — corticotropin releasing factor (RTF), which is produced in the hypothalamus, a powerful but tiny structure sometimes called the brain’s ‘brain’.
Research with animals has shown that.stressful stimuli can be less damaging when regulated. Being in control of the situation seems to make all the difference.
*35\37\8*
Pharmacopoeias, which were comprehensive lists of drugs compiled during the Renaissance period included practically every known organic and inorganic substance. One fourteenth-century recipe for relieving dental pain, for example, recommended combining gall of a cow, heart of a magpie, mouse fat, cow dung, lice and oil of cloves (the only active ingredient recognised in our time).
Patients have chewed, imbibed, sucked, or suffered treatment with crocodile dung, teeth of swine, hooves of asses, spermatic fluid of frogs, unicorn fat, fly specks, lozenges of dried vipers, powder of precious stones, oils derived from ants, earthworms and spiders, bricks,feathers, hair, human perspiration and moss scraped from the victim of a violent death. George Washington is a good example of the treatment lavished on the wealthy in the eighteenth century. When he had a throat infection, complicated by pneumonia, it was said that he was fortunate ‘he could afford the best medical care available’. This wonderful treatment consisted of a mixture of molasses, vinegar and butter. Vomiting and diarrhoea were induced. But still he lapsed. In desperation, his physicians applied irritating poultices to blister his feet and throat while draining several pints of blood. Then, mercifully, he died.
Also pity the British monarch, Charles II. He was treated by the best physicians of the day, using the multiple treatment methods then believed appropriate for treating pain. Many are now known to have little therapeutic value and some may have actually done more harm than good. The treatment given to Charles II as he lay dying in 1685 was:
‘A pint of blood was extracted from his right arm and a half pint from his left shoulder. This was followed by an emetic, sneezing powder, bleedings, soothing potions, a plaster of pitch, and pigeon dung was smeared on his feet. Potions containing 10 different substances, chiefly herbs, as well as 40 drops of extract of human skull, were swallowed. Finally, application of the bezoar stone (gallstones from sheep or goats) was prescribed. Following extensive treatment, the king died.’
*12\37\8*
Eczema is a term that is often used rather loosely for a variety of skin conditions. Strictly speaking it means a red, itchy ‘rash’, which tends to flake and then ooze or ‘weep’ as it progresses. The disease is far more common in children, who usually compound the damage by constant scratching. Bacteria may infect the oozing skin and matce matters still worse, while prolonged scratching will cause bleeding.
In adults, oozing does not generally occur, and the skin tends to become thickened instead. Some doctors feel that these symptoms should not be described as eczema, although they are undoubtedly the counterpart of childhood eczema. They therefore use the term atopic dermatitis as a general description of both types of disease. In this book we will use eczema for both children and adults, since this is the most widely understood term.
There are several different kinds of eczema, but what concerns us here is the variety known as atopic eczema, which is seen mainly in atopic individuals. What distinguishes it from other forms of eczema is the pattern of distribution over the body. The red itchy patches usually start on the face, particularly on convex areas such as the cheeks and chin. In time the skin on the face heals and for some children this will be the end of their eczema. But for others the rash appears on the body, eventually settling in the folds of skin at the buttocks, knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. In severely affected cases, the rash may cover the whole body.
*57\180\8*
Horsetail, or shave grass, is to be found as a rampant weed growing chiefly in damp clay and sandy soil, on railroad tracks, unfilled ground, on meadows and alongside paths in the fields. In former times this silica-containing plant was used to clean tinware in some areas of Europe. There are more than twenty varieties in Switzerland, although only Equisetum arvense is used for medicinal purposes. Some varieties are even poisonous, for example Equisetum heleocharis which contains a toxic alkaloid called equisetin. This variety is larger than the common horsetail and, like Equisetum palustre, a marsh plant, it should never be used as a medicinal herb. In the remote past shave grass grew considerably taller, attaining the height of a tree, as has been proved by fossilised specimens dug up from the earth.
Today we must content ourselves with the small, rather delicate plant. It has a finely wrought structure and it stands like a tender young fir, pliant yet tough. A flood can knock it to the ground and drag it from its roots, but the little horsetail takes root anew and stands erect. What gives it this toughness and resilience? If we analyse its ash constituents, we will find that it contains 60-65 per cent silica and 15 per cent calcium, with the balance of 20 per cent being made up of other minerals.
*717/28/1*
For example, if we extract arnicin from the arnica plant, it will never have the same effect on the heart and blood vessels as the extract that has been made from the whole arnica root. The same principle applies to carrot juice. By using just the isolated carotene as a provitamin, it is impossible to obtain the same medicinal effect as it would by drinking the pure and natural juice. Pure lactic acid as found in sauerkraut also differs in its action from the whole sauerkraut, because the acid is associated with other substances in the fermented cabbage and these possess their own curative properties. Some of these intrinsic properties are still unknown.
These few examples show that the things nature provides in their unadulterated and complete state represent the best source of our remedies. Nature is and will remain the most reliable pharmacy. Anyone gifted with an awareness of what nature has to offer will not be disappointed in his search, whether he be a medical researcher or just eager to learn. Nature will be his willing teacher and will unlock the secrets of its marvellous healing powers.
*673/28/1*
Dry, scaly skin that is flaking off can be effectively treated by the external application of St John’s wort oil, in alternation with Symphytum Cream or Symphosan, which contain comfrey and other herbs. At the same time, take Violaforce, a tincture made from heartsease (wild pansy). If the condition is caused by dry psoriasis, you will also have to dab the affected area with Molkosan every day. Callouses, causing skin that is as hard as a lizard’s, are the result of a disease of the endocrine glands, often connected with avitaminosis (a disease caused by vitamin deficiency), and will require special treatment of the underlying cause.
*629/28/1*
If the media are right, hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and Europe alone have already fallen victim to AIDS. What can be done to prevent it? A widely read American newspaper gave the advice (with which I agree) to lead a morally clean life, rejecting all sexual excesses and other perversions of the body, mind and emotions. This disease has spread mainly, but not exclusively, among those who practise these things, having taken on epidemic proportions. Infection is said to be possible via the mucous membranes, primarily the sex organs. I do not like to write about things like these, I would rather talk about positive aspects of therapies and treatments that are intended to take care of our health and fitness. Still, I may be able to transmit a glimmer of hope, comfort and advice to the fearful.
*585/28/1*
Poisons in the form of pesticides and herbicides are often used indiscriminately. These can stick to vegetables, for instance, and are taken into the body through carelessness or lack of forethought. The result can be extremely damaging since lead, arsenic and copper are much more toxic than is generally realised.
The biological balance in plants can be disturbed because of errors when using fertilisers. If such produce is eaten for any length of time, it can also upset the biological balance in the human body.
Tenseness and indurations disturb and slow down the metabolic processes and foster the development of cancer. It is therefore strongly recommended that regular exercise be taken for relaxation as a prophylactic therapy. Indurations, lumps and growths such as scars and warts should be carefully watched. Never scratch or irritate them.
*541/28/1*
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