From the Desk of Dr. Karl R.O.S. Johnson, DC.....

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You’d have to live under a rock to not recognize the popularity of gluten-free diets by now. But if you think going gluten-free is just another fad, think again. Although it may be a passing fad for some, a gluten-free diet is powerful medicine for most. 

The benefits, which attain almost miraculous heights for some people, vary depending on the person.

A gluten sensitivity is not a one-size-fits-all disorder with requisite symptoms. Contrary to popular belief, it does not simply cause digestive complaints (although it does cause severe digestive distress for many).

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Tendonitis in any area of the body can be quite painful and debilitating, often interfering with your daily lifestyle.

I often see patients who have tendonitis and the challenge is to help the patient understand the various steps and procedures that need to be undertaken in the healing of this type of injury. Of course there are many different places in the body a tendon can be injured but the wrist, knee, and achilles tendons are the most common ones I have seen. In this blog post I outline a few aspects about tendon construction, tendon healing, and natural methods (drug-free, surgery-free) that I and others have found to be helpful and effective to enable patients to get back to their normal lifestyle.  

Tendonitis refers to inflammation of a tendon, which is the tough rope-like tissue that attaches muscles to bones. Tendons vary in form, and can be rounded cords, strap- like bands or flattened ribbons. [1]

Overuse, injury, and various systemic inflammatory conditions of the body can cause tendonitis. Some medical researchers state that the term tendonitis should be reserved for use only after performing a biopsy and then examining the tissue under a microscope and instead, the term tendonopathy should be used until a biopsy is performed. Regardless of the term used, a good understanding of how to best approach a tendon injury is important.

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The standard medical definition of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) goes something like this: "Carpal tunnel syndrome is a hand and arm condition that causes numbness, tingling and other symptoms. Carpal tunnel syndrome is caused by a pinched nerve in your wrist." [1] While the official definition states it is due to a pinched nerve in your wrist, I have found the condition to be more involved. If the proper additional areas of involvement are not addressed, you could end up having wrist focused treatment and not get your CTS resolved. You likely will need a more comprehensive approach such as I outline in this article. It's prudent to first describe the main symptoms that those with CTS often agonize with.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can be quite painful and annoying to say the least. Below is a list of some of the symptoms that mild CTS sufferers experience:

• Numbness or pain in your hand, forearm, or wrist that awakens you at night. (Shaking or moving your fingers may ease this numbness and pain.) 
• Occasional tingling, numbness, "pins-and-needles" sensation, or pain. The feeling is similar to your hand "falling asleep."
• Numbness or pain that gets worse while you are using your hand or wrist. You are most likely to feel it when you grip an object with your hand or bend (flex) your wrist.
• Occasional aching pain in your forearm between your elbow and wrist.
• Stiffness in your fingers when you get up in the morning.

 moderate to severe sufferers often experience the following:

• May have numbness or reduced strength and grip in your fingers, thumb, or hand. As as result of the weakness it may be hard to:
  • Do simple hand movements, such as brushing your hair or holding a fork. You may accidentally drop objects.
  • Pinch an object between your thumb and first finger. (This is called loss of pinch strength.)
  • Use your thumb while doing simple tasks such as opening a jar or using a screwdriver. With long-term carpal tunnel syndrome, the thumb muscles can get smaller and weaker (atrophy).

Unfortunately, if you have severe true carpal tunnel syndrome (with significant pressure on the nerves that traverse under the ligaments in the wrist that make up the carpal tunnel), you may have to resort to surgery. However, people who have some of the very annoying CTS symptoms may not have carpal tunnel syndrome at all...or...may be able to receive non-surgical help. Let me explain how the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome can come from problems in your neck, chest muscles and forearm muscles and what can be done about it.

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If you currently have foot pain or plantar fasciitis, or if you have had it in the past - you know how it can totally interfere with your life.

I personally have had pain so bad that I literally could not sleep. Just the pressure of my foot weight resting in an elevated position on a pillow was excruiating. I would not wish foot pain on anyone.

Due to my own issues with severe periodic foot pain, I was compelled to search for solutions that were effective and expedient. My professional work involves standing on my feet most of the day along with walking. I also prefer an active life outside of my office and having foot pain was not something I wanted to try to have with me the rest of my life. 

My search led me to some surprising solutions that totally eliminated my pain and I would like to share them with you.

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You want to be able to keep up with your family, be able to sleep on your side or just walk without pain, but your knee or knees scream at you in pain. Every day is a chore due to your chronic knee pain and you want non-surgical help. I am happy to say I have a solution for you that works and works FAST!

The typical method of dealing with a painful area of the body is focusing the treatment on the painful part of the body with physical therapy, Chiropractic, massage, rehab, etc. If you have tried this focused treatment without success and are left thinking you have no other choices, know that I am writng this article to give you another viewpoint and a non-surgical knee pain option.

Thousands of people have been helped with the methods I am going to explain I have personally helped many people who were desperately looking for a non-surgical solution to their knee pain. It's likely you can be helped too. Of course not everyone is a candidate for the procedures I will outline, but a vast majority of people are suitable candidates.

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In a previous blog post entitled, Can Optimized Methylation Be The Key To Your Health Recovery, I explained the role of gene flaws (also called polymorphisms or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms or SNP's) in contributing to stubborn health challenges. To wrap your head around the concept of a gene flaw, a great analogy is how a computer program with improper coding will malfunction. When the computer program with the flawed code runs, it doesn't perform as designed and odd computer function occurs. Our body carries out all its many wonderful actions via the activity of enzymes that carry out very specific functions, such as converting the food we eat into energy to run our cells. When we have a gene flaw (SNP) for an enzyme, the action that enzyme is designed to carry out either does not occur or is slowed, or in some cases sped up. The end result: chemicals that are supposed to be converted into a different chemical aren't converted. One specific example of how enzyme work in our body is when we consume an alcholic beverage.  Our body has to use three enzymes to break the alchohol down to substances that can be safely eliminated.

In the world of gene flaws, one aspect that seems to be overlooked by doctors is its STRONG ASSOCIATION with HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE (HIT). If a clinician misses this all-too-common occurrence you will NOT get (totally) better even if your health practitioner helps you heal your gut, your brain, your detoxification pathways, etc.

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Fork Fitness

This guest blog article from Dr. Jeff Donatello focuses on the "Fork Fitness" component is to get you back on track with the best way to eat healthy to optimize your methylation pathways, boost your metabolism and decrease inflammation (ie. heart attack or stroke) and heal from chronic pain.

If you go to the local bookstore, you will see entire rows of books on this subject. As a nutritionist I have seen and heard it all, which is why I like to keep it simple.

Five Basic Principles :

1. Eat real food
2. Eliminate toxins and toxic food (processed foods)
3. Eat slowly
4. Eat for you
5. Follow the 80/10/10 Rule

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