Saba Kamal, OTR, CHT

Today’s patient is a well-researched person who prefers a holistic approach and is very conscious of what goes in their body.

In the past there were very few patients who would ask me about their diet and what they should consume or avoid to help expedite the healing process.

My usual response was to avoid caffeine and excessive alcohol.

But today I have to keep a list based on their injury or disease of the upper quadrant.

Here is an overview of what I offer to them. Hailing from India I feel like they expect me to know it all when it comes to herbs and diet. So, I dug up my heritage found the foods that assist with healing when treating patients with upper quadrant injury / disease process.

Caffeine – Avoid excessive intake as it works as a vasoconstrictor. It can restrict healing by limiting blood flow to the healing parts and thus should be avoided.

Excessive alcohol – works as a vasodilator and can cause swelling in the distal extremities causing stiffness in the digits, thus increased pain and increase in scar tissue formation.

I had a patient a while back struggling to get his fist, but one day it was extremely swollen and obviously making a fist was out of question. On questioning he couldn’t come up with why his hand was swollen. During the course of the treatment that day the patient happened to mention that he had a little too much to drink and this was seen over a few visits that every time the patient had a little too much alcohol it resulted in increase in swelling in the hand the next day where he had more pain and stiffness which he couldn’t attribute to anything else.

Now, it seems almost every patient asks you if they should take Turmeric or Gingko and so I had to research it out.

Looking back at my roots, remembering my past, every time I was sick, I remember the glass of milk with turmeric that was presented to me. Yes, not the most pleasant memories of turmeric but it has been used for centuries, and it is known for medicinal benefits. Herbs are the basis for Ayurveda. We are what we eat.

Having said that, I decided to dig through my culture to find out what foods are beneficial and what could be harmful to us when trying to recoup from injuries. Also, figuring out if certain foods may assist our medical condition to help us get better and stay healthy.

Salt – Properties – Beneficial or harmful?

It’s a known fact that excessive salt is harmful for blood pressure, but does salt play a role in ligament laxity, stiffness/ flexibility. Yes, too much salt makes cells attract water like a sponge. Increase in swelling will cause stiffness in the extremity resulting in pain and increased scar tissue formation. Eating less salt may also reduce calcium loss from bones, reducing osteoporosis and risk of fracture. People with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may feel salt’s effects even more. Corticosteroids, commonly used to treat RA, cause the body to hold more sodium.

Sugar – blood sugar levels if not maintained may manifest in multiple trigger fingers and diabetic shoulder which mimics adhesive capsulitis – Bitter gourd a known vegetable helps with reduction in sugar levels.

A 45 years young active patient presents with bilateral adhesive capsulitis. On questioning he has diabetes that he had been struggling to get a handle on. He had been walking 5 miles every day, eating right and is insulin dependent. I happen to mention the benefits of bitter gourd but didn’t think he will take up on the suggestion. When he returned a week later, he was very excited about his new discovery. He had started juicing the vegetable and taking a tablespoon on empty stomach every day and to his surprise and mine, what the medications couldn’t do this vegetable did it. Over the weeks he was thrilled to report that he may not be needing to take the medications for high blood sugar since he has been able to maintain normal blood sugar levels with this vegetable and his diet and exercise.

Turmeric: Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Unfortunately, curcumin is poorly absorbed into the bloodstream. It helps to consume black pepper with it, which contains piperine, a natural substance that enhances the absorption of curcumin by 2,000%

Growing up in India, turmeric is a common ingredient in daily food consumption. Almost every meal has both the turmeric and black pepper in some form. As mentioned earlier, if you were sick you got an extra dose mixed in milk, or fresh turmeric is pickled in vinegar and then consumed only to make your mouth and teeth very yellow.

What does this mean, why is an anti-inflammatory herb needed in our diet? Acute, short-term inflammation is beneficial, as the blood brings in the appropriate ingredients to help our body fight the problem and help heal itself. It can become a major problem when inflammation  becomes chronic and inappropriately attacks our body’s own tissues. Scientists now believe that chronic, low-level inflammation plays a major role in almost every chronic disease.

Therefore, anything that can help fight chronic inflammation is of potential importance in preventing and even treating these diseases. Curcumin is a bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level. Arthritis patients have reported good outcomes to curcumin supplements. Given that curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory compound, it makes sense that it may help with arthritis.

Fish oil – DHA in fish oil, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects that reduces cytokine levels and promotes gut health. It may also decrease the inflammation and muscle damage that occur after exercise, however potential side effect is, that fish oil may thin the blood at higher doses, which can increase bleeding.

Ginger – Two components of ginger, gingerol and zingerone, may reduce the inflammation linked to diabetes. 1,600 mg of ginger daily may help decrease insulin and HbA1c levels significantly. Recommended dosage: 1 gram daily, but up to 2 grams is considered safe. When nursing an injury, increase the use of ginger in your daily habits. Add fresh ginger to your cooking and prepare a tea with 2 inches of fresh ginger, 1 tsp Lose Green Tea (or 1 teabag of organic green tea), 1 liter hot water, a squeeze of fresh lemon and raw honey to taste, in the morning which  you can keep warm and sip throughout the day.

Pineapple and Pomegranate Juice – Both juices contain an enzyme that acts as an anti- inflammatory and anti-irritant, which speeds up healing. When you feel you’ve overdone your exercises and have a new pain or ache that doesn’t feel right, power up on antioxidants and said enzymes to support the healing process. Make yourself a juice or smoothie with lots of fresh pineapple and/or pomegranate, then add a little ginger and turmeric while you are at it.

Castor oil – Castor oil packs are great in alleviating pain and help heal injuries as well as lessen the appearance of old scars. Warm a teaspoon of castor oil in your hands and massage it into the area you want help with. Cover with a glove to prevent staining. Then put a warm pack and leave on for 10 minutes so the oil can be absorbed into your skin. If you have sensitive skin do a small “patch test” first to make sure you don’t react to the castor oil.

Get rid of inflammation by including these in your diet…

  1. FRESH FRUITS & VEGETABLES HELP REDUCE INFLAMMATION.
  2. INCLUDE DAILY CUPS OF GREEN TEA.
  3. OMEGA 3 ANTIOXIDANTS.
  4. ADD CERTAIN SPICES TO YOUR DIET TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION.
  5. DRINK ENOUGH WATER DAILY.
  6. WHOLE GRAINS HELP REDUCE THE INFLAMMATORY HORMONE HOMOCYSTINE IN THE BODY.

A balanced diet and a balanced lifestyle help recoup faster from any injury. Increase in stress increases the perception of pain. So, learn the skills to manage stress. Practice mindfulness download the apps that can assist you with mindfulness training and get well and stay well.