Saturday, January 25, 2020

The Villain in the Story: Inflammation

I’ve written about chronic inflammation a number of times. It’s sort of like writing about the hazards of being overweight, a subject that I think deserves multiple posts, even if they do become a bit repetitive.

My thoughts returned to inflammation recently because of an article in the New York Times that I happened to see in a newspaper I scavenged one day on my commuter train into the city.

Near the top is this paragraph, written with plenty of dramatic flair:
Specialists in the biology of aging have identified a rarely recognized yet universal condition that is a major contributor to a wide range of common health-robbing ailments, from heart disease, diabetes and cancer to arthritis, depression and Alzheimer’s disease. That condition is chronic inflammation, a kind of low-grade irritant that can undermine the well-being of virtually every bodily system.
Chronic inflammation is a dangerous beast. It’s hard to understate this. I had it. It started in my knees and, I’m convinced, spread in small, practically undetectable ways throughout my body. I say this because at one point (as readers of my book know), I went in for a blood test, thinking I might have rheumatoid arthritis, after experiencing weird problems with multiple joints.

My blood test was excellent: no signs of systemic inflammation. However, I am still convinced that there was something going on throughout my body that was related to my troubles with my bad knees. A knee doesn’t exist in perfect isolation. It’s not walled off from the rest of the body.

At one point I had bursitis in an elbow. And I had throbbing, constant back pain.

Now, being blissfully free of knee pain for a decade now, I see the inflammatory aspect of the condition as even more alarming than I did back then. To escape knee pain, I think it’s partly a race against time, if you have constant burning, or inflammation. You need to get beyond that, and as soon as you can.

Inflammation of course is a natural reaction by the body to injury, or even to vigorous exercise. What becomes a problem is when the inflammatory response doesn’t die down, when whatever is prompting the reaction continues to fire up the immune system. It becomes a problem as we age, the Times notes, because “immune responses become less regulated.”

So what’s the solution? The Times mentions five recommendations:

* Fix your diet. A diet focused on fruits and vegetables is less inflammatory than one full of foods that are heavily processed, deep-fried, or sugar-sweetened.

* Lose weight.

* Make sure you get enough sleep.

* Minimize mental stress in your life.

* Be careful about overuse of antibiotics, antacids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. They can kill off good bacteria in your stomach and lead to a “leaky gut” that lets bacteria loose in your body that encourage inflammation.

* Exercise regularly.

How do you rank on these five recommendations? Personally, I know I could be better. My diet isn’t great, but I am very fastidious now about maintaining a lean weight. On sleep, I slip behind (like most people) during the workweek. Sometimes I feel stress building up.

Where I can excel now, thank goodness, is in exercising. I work out hard on the weekends.

What about you? What steps are you taking to control out-of-control inflammation?

Saturday, January 11, 2020

The Best Knee Pain Book You Can Buy (No, Not Mine)

While poking around Amazon recently, I noticed that Doug Kelsey’s books are now listed there, and for less than $10.

Wow, I thought (for the record, as long-time visitors know, I’m certainly not Doug’s publicist, but I found a stirring message early on in his blog writings that convinced me my knees could heal and that sustained me through many bleak nights).

Kelsey was originally selling the “90 Day Knee Arthritis Remedy” for $28.95, as I wrote here in May 2014.

At that almost-30-bucks price, I thought it was already a bargain. I mean, you’ll typically pay $40 for a copay to see a specialist who will review your knee history for all of 5-10 minutes, then probably tell you to visit a physical therapist or write you a prescription.

But at $9.95, it’s a must buy if you’ve got knee pain. Kelsey’s book has lots of exercises. Plus, he understands the challenge of chronic knee pain and knows that the situation is far from hopeless. You can get better! And yes, without surgery.

At this point I probably am sounding too much like his publicist. But let me tell you why:

I wrote a book about my story that chronicles a long journey into and out of the depths of chronic knee pain. I certainly think it has a lot of value. But still, I’m not a doctor or a physical therapist. I’m a journalist: bright and curious, I hope, but not a trained medical professional.

Kelsey is though. And he’s a damn smart one.

Early-stage knee pain sufferers are beset by confusion and a welter of conflicting messages. Glucosamine works! No, it doesn’t! You should stretch! Stretching doesn’t matter! Take this supplement! Supplements don’t work!

Your head can start spinning. What you really need most, I’m convinced, are some ways to move and nourish that sick knee joint without causing pain. Kelsey’s book will give you the exercises you need and explain a whole lot more too about your condition.

My two cents anyway. Now, for 993 more cents, you can own his book in your Kindle library. ;)