Here’s a quick health tip I’ve been meaning to share with your for a while– “grounding,” or “Earthing.”

Your body is a mass of cells, water and organic matter comprised of molecules.  These molecules are made of atoms bonded to one another.  And,  there is the constant activity of biochemical reactions that produce mobile molecules that enable our organs and systems to function — signaling proteins, enzymes, catalysts, co-factors and so on.

Our bodies are constantly exposed to the magnetic fields of the earth, weak ionizing radiation (ionizing= capable of creating ions – more on this later) from the sun; and more significantly, magnetic fields generated from electrical wiring in our homes and offices,  and radio frequency waves (mobile phones, remote control devices, etc.) generated in huge amounts in our environment.

Who these days isn’t exposed to a lap top, cell phone, home and office electrical wiring, outdoor power lines, transformers and light bulbs?

Do you think these fields may have an effect on our atoms and therefore cells; and therefore cell function and body function i.e. health and the way you feel?

I will admit that I am no physicist, but I do know that electrons can be “stripped” from atoms by other atoms and ionizing radiation, and through cellular respiration (extracting energy from food at the cellular level) which produces free radicals.  And when this happens in large numbers, it can have an adverse effect on the body.

When an atom has the same number of protons (+) as electrons (-), it has a neutral  charge.  When the number of protons and electrons differ, there is either a positive or negative charge, and the atom is called an ion.

When it has one more electron than protons, it has a negative (-) charge and is called an anion (pronounced ANN-eye-on).  When it has one less electron than protons, it has a positive charge (+) and is called a cation (pronounced CAT-eye-on).  It is the positively charged atoms or molecules that are harmful due to their instability.   These cations are better known as free radicals; and for positively charged oxygen molecules, reactive oxygen species (ROS).  Your body has anti-oxidant defenses that neutralize much of these ROS as they are formed in the body, but low anti-oxidant levels and excessive ROS production spells trouble, especially over time.

Free radicals seek stability by “snatching” an electron from nearby molecules.  When that happens, the donating molecule becomes unstable itself, and seeks an electron elsewhere.  This cascade effect causes electrons to be stripped from cell membranes, proteins and other nearby molecules, affecting their ability to carry out their functions.  

Oxidative stress is the cumulative effect of long-term stripping of electrons (called reduction) from tissues, resulting in damage.  Oxidative stress is implicated as the mechanism of tissue degeneration in chronic degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, arthritis and diabetes.  It is also the basis of one of the theories of aging.

According to Dr. Joeseph Mercola, a well-known natural health researcher:

It is known that the Earth maintains a negative electrical potential on its surface. When you are in direct contact with the ground (walking, sitting, or laying down on the earth’s surface) the earth’s electrons are conducted to your body, bringing it to the same electrical potential as the earth. Living in direct contact with the earth grounds your body, inducing favorable physiological and electrophysiological changes that promote optimum health.

So, when was the last time your feet touched the earth?

When the weather is hot, more people are open to walking barefoot outside.  There’s nothing like walking on soft beach sand and soaking your feet in a cool stream.  But during the winter months, it is less common for people to walk barefoot on the ground for obvious reasons.

And regardless of the season, it is easy for some to go for months without having their feet touch the earth.  You put on your shoes in the morning, work in a building, come home, take off your shoes and stay inside until the next day and repeat.

What I recommend you do is make it a point to walk barefoot on grass for ten minutes a day; or at least every couple of days to discharge positive ions that have built up inside your body.

It is even better, as I explain in the video, that you do it after or during a rain shower.  Large volumes of water moving through the air and crashing down to earth release billions of negative ions (remember, negative ions are the good ones) which can negate the positive ions in your body.  A large waterfall and ocean waves crashing against the rocks are other good areas to pick up negative ions for health.

Lush forests and places with thick vegetation on a sunny day are another good source of taking in negative ions as plants emit them through photosynthesis.  Better yet, how about both?   Now that’s something your body will love.  If you are fortunate to live near the ocean and a forest, you can do a lot for your health by walking barefoot in those areas and doing what I call a “positive ion detox.”

Give it a try, and take note of how you feel.  It’s magical.

 

Sciatica is a disorder involving pain in the buttock that may radiate down the leg and is characterized by:

• Deep, sharp pain in the buttock and/or leg that is worse when sitting and bending forward at the waist
• Sometimes accompanied by lower back pain
• Burning or tingling sensation down the leg and sometimes foot
• Weakness, numbness, or difficulty moving the leg or foot
• Constant or intermittent symptoms

WHAT CAUSES SCIATICA?

Sciatica is caused by compression of the sciatic nerve or neurons that comprise the sciatic nerve.  The neurons (individual nerve cells) originate in the brain and travel down the spinal cord; branch out from between the lumbar vertebrae and sacrum as nerve roots and finally combine in the buttock region to form the sciatic nerve.

This means that compression of nerve tissue anywhere along this path is capable of producing sciatica.  In fact, although rare, brain tumors can produce sciatica symptoms.

The three most common compression sites for sciatica are in the central canal of the lumbar region of the spinal column, the lateral canals, and under the piriformis muscle of the pelvis.

Stenosis, or narrowing of a spinal canal is often the source of compression especially in older patients.  Stenosis occurs with degenerative joint disease, where bone spurs occlude the canal, pinching or rubbing against nerve tissue, as shown in the model above.  This is the top view of an L4 vertebra , showing narrowing of the central canal due to spondylosis, or vertebral bone degeneration.  Notice how the bone contacts the nerves (yellow structure in the canal).  This contact fires the nerves, causing shooting pain and/or numbness and tingling down the legs.

Thickened ligaments can also be a source of stenosis.   For a person with stenosis, bending the spine in certain directions may exacerbate or alleviate sciatica.

A bulging disc can also cause stenosis and produce sciatica by narrowing the lateral canal and pressing against a nerve root.  This is also called lumbar radiculopathy.

Piriformis syndrome is a less common form of sciatica and occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched by the piriformis muscle, a deep pelvic muscle that externally rotates the hip.

Rare, red flag causes of sciatica are brain tumors, spinal tumors and pelvic masses; and maybe even viral infections of the sciatic nerve.  Check with your doctor to make sure none of these apply to you.

Seek immediate medical attention if you have progressive lower extremity weakness and/or loss of bladder or bowel control.

DIAGNOSING SCIATICA

Sciatica from spinal stenosis is diagnosed by X-ray or lumbar MRI.  Simple muscle strength and sensory nerve tests can be done to determine if the nerve is not functioning 100%.  But basically, if you have nerve pain down your leg, it is fair to assume the nerve is compromised somewhere.

If you know the source of your sciatica after being diagnosed and informed by your doctor, you should have a better idea of your prognosis, or chance of eliminating it.

If you aren’t able to see a doctor for your condition for whatever reason, asking yourself a few questions may help you  identify what is causing your sciatica:

• Did you experience sharp, low back pain at the same time as your sciatica?  If so, this points to lumbar radiculopathy (sciatica from nerve root compression) by lumbar disc herniation.
• Are you over 50, had a heavy labor job most of your life; have a history of accidents or injuries to your spine or engaged in a high impact sport for many years?   If so, this points to central or lateral canal stenosis from degenerative joint disease of the spine.
• Do you sit long hours and/or do squats or other activities that strain the buttock muscles?  If so, this points to sciatica from piriformis syndrome.

These aren’t definitive assessments, of course.

The likelihood of being able to self-resolve sciatica depends on what is causing it:

Sciatica caused by central canal stenosis from degenerative joint disease has the worst prognosis.  These cases eventually require spinal decompression surgery.

Sciatica caused by lateral canal stenosis has a better chance of recovery.  Certain exercises and manual procedures may be able to widen the opening and remove pressure from the nerve root.

Sciatica caused by piriformis syndrome has the best chance of recovery.   Manual techniques such as stretching, posture correction and hip mobilization can often correct the problem.

 

Cartilage, more specifically hyaline cartilage lines the ends of long bones in joints, protecting them from abrasion during movement and weight bearing.   It is also found in the nose, ribs and ear.

Unlike muscle, organ and skin which is mostly comprised of cells, cartilage itself is mostly comprised of a matrix secreted by cells called chondrocytes.   The chondrocytes secrete and “live” in this matrix, called the extracellular matrix or ECM.

ECM is comprised mostly of collagen, a type of protein that has elastic properties, and proteogylcans which are molecules containing a protein attached to a glycosaminoglycan; basically a sugar molecule bound with an amino acid.

Glycosaminoglycans are highly polar and attract and bind with water.  They are therefore useful as a lubricant or as a shock absorber; hence their role in joints.

Healthy cartilage is very smooth and sturdy.  In fact, if you ever cooked soup bones, which are usually sections of beef hip and knee joints you probably noticed that it’s not easy to hold onto them because they are so slippery; almost frictionless.

Because of cartilage’s water content, it can absorb pressure (bear significant weight and repeated impact forces).  Remember from physics that water is non-compressible and is therefore great for redistributing forces.   Hydraulic pistons are able to move heavy things thanks to this property of water.

But even with this wonderful design, joint wear and tear is inevitable especially if you aren’t careful or if you are unlucky and injure a joint.

Take your knees, for example.

Knee osteoarthritis is the result of progressive cartilage deterioration in the knee, which is very common in people over 50.  It is so common that osteoarthritis is viewed as a normal part of aging.  In fact, about 4.5 million Americans have at least one total knee replacement (TKR).  Over 650,000 TKR surgeries were performed in 2009, and there was an 87% increase in TKR surgeries from 1997 to 2009 (Healthline.com)

But, don’t resign yourself to thinking that osteoarthritis is normal and that you will get it in a matter of time.  I believe that you can avoid knee osteoarthritis by being mindful of your health and following a certain preventive routine.  You don’t have to go down the “osteoarthritis path” as you age.  More on this to follow.

How Osteoarthritis Gets Going

One of the affects of aging is that the hypothalamus secretes less human growth hormone (HGH), the “youth” hormone.   And one of the functions of HGH, true to its nickname is to maintain muscle mass, and cartilage in the knees and elsewhere.  This is why kids are able to run and jump off rooftops and keep going with no problem.  Doing this is not such a good idea if you’re over 40.

With lower levels of HGH, the cartilage starts to thin and lose elasticity, probably because of less water content and degraded collagen strands from oxidative stress.

The pounding from walking forms tiny cracks to appear, which develop into pits that can gradually expand in size.   If you are overweight, it compounds the problem.  Small fragments of cartilage break off the bone and deposit inside the knee, interfering with movement and generating an inflammatory reaction.   Bare bone is exposed and walking becomes painful.  This is the typical sequence of events that lead to knee replacement surgery.

What Limits Cartilage Healing

Cartilage doesn’t have a direct blood supply, which makes injury healing sluggish.  The same goes for ligaments and tendons.   When you have a direct blood supply to tissues, nutrients and reparative cells like fibroblasts can get there fast.  With no blood supply, the injured tissue has to rely on absorption or other means to get nutrients in.

This is why joints, whose main structures are cartilage, ligaments and tendons, take so long to heal when injured and often require surgery.  Once you hurt it, it can take months, even years before it fully heals, if it does at all.  ACL tears of the knee; meniscal tears, rotator cuff tears, and tendonitis are known for their stubbornness in healing and their tendency to become chronic.

But, do you really need a direct blood supply in order for chondrocytes to make cartilage?  That’s the assumption.

Let’s talk about where these chondrocytes originate.

The Origins of Cartilage

Chondrocytes– the cells that make cartilage– start out as mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs.  These are cells that originated from the mesoderm, one of several embryonic (fetal) tissue types that together eventually form the human body.  The mesoderm transforms into cells that make up bone, connective tissue and blood.

Mesenchymal stem cells are still present in adulthood and still have the ability to transform (differentiate) into bone, tendons, ligaments, cartilage and blood, a trait called pluripotential.  Certain genes (specifically BMP4 and FGF2) are known to increase differentiation of MSCs into chondroblasts.  Cell signaling and environmental factors probably play a role in MSC differentiation as well.

In adults, MSCs are found in small amounts in the bone marrow.   The ones that are destined to transform into chondrocytes start by transforming into so called chondrogenic cells at the location of chrondrification; in this case, the ends of the long bones.  Then, they transform in to chondroblasts and start making extracellular matrix, forming cartilage.

The chondroblast matures into a chondrocyte and rests inside the ECM in an inactive state, but can still make or degrade cartilage tissue depending on the conditions.

Formed Cartilage May Not Have a Direct Blood Supply, But Chondrocytes Do

So, given that chondroblasts are formed from mesenchymal stem cells in the bone marrow, which has a blood supply and is therefore able to get nutrients for tissue repair, it makes sense that these cells can make new cartilage where it is needed— those small cracks and pits in the cartilage that line the weight bearing long bones; i.e. your knees and hips.  Even though the final cartilage tissue/ extracellular matrix does not have a direct blood supply, the tiny cells that create it do have access to a blood supply when they live in the bone.

My point is that, even though the reality is that the body cannot grow back the large areas of cartilage damage in advanced osteoarthritis, there is still that potential for cells to grow cartilage, since MSCs still exist in bone marrow and they still are able to transform into cartilage-making cells.

But when you are older and the number of MSCs are few (about .01% of bone marrow cells)  it is understandable that the potential for your body to grow back damaged cartilage is not very strong.   But that possibility is there, nevertheless.

As it stands,

The best treatment available for severe cartilage damage is surgery to replace the damaged joint with an artificial one. Because MSCs can differentiate into cartilage cells called chondrocytes, scientists hope MSCs could be injected into patients to repair and maintain the cartilage in their joints. Researchers are also investigating the possibility that transplanted MSCs may release substances that will tell the patient’s own cells to repair the damage.

~ Euro Stem Cell

That being said, I believe a better approach, if you are in the early stages of osteoarthritis, is to attack the problem nutritionally:  do things that get those chondrocytes busy making cartilage.  They will be slow, but slow and steady wins the race.

• Increase green plants and vegetables in your diet; half of them raw
• Consume bone broth soup regularly, which contains lots of collagen and other cartilage constituents
• Avoid excessive trauma to your knees and hips; strengthen your muscles instead using closed kinetic chain exercises like squats.
• Use Red Light Therapy and Pulsed EMF to stimulate cartilage growth.  Check out the video below where I explain how to use them:

 

Lastly, if you have chronic knee pain and are concerned that knee replacement surgery is a few years down the road, here’s an inspiring article.  It’s a story from a guy who actually experienced natural cartilage regeneration:

Knee Cartilage Repair: How One Patient Proved His Doctors Wrong

The Bottom Line:  First and foremost, to avoid a future of osteoarthritis of the knees or hips and all the limitations it causes, think prevention — diet and lifestyle modification.  Natural cartilage repair and regeneration is still possible, but it is extremely slow and only works if the damage is minimal.   Intervene early, not later.  Go heavy on nutrition that supports cartilage growth because, as this blog post asserts, the cells that make cartilage are still alive and active.  They just need some help.