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Symptomatic Relief of Bursitis
The symptoms of bursitis can be treated
in various ways. Some relieve the pressure on a bursa temporarily while others
help reduce the inflammation caused by the joint imbalance. In my experience,
none of these treatments remove the primary cause as PMBT treatments do, but
they are helpful to varying degrees.
Exercise to strengthen certain muscles
can sometimes create a counter pull against the tight, damaged muscle. This can
help realign the joint in some cases, thereby relieving some of the stress on
the inflamed bursa. However, if not done properly it could cause increased
pressure on the bursa instead. Unfortunately, since most joint imbalances vary,
a generic exercise program can't be designed for bursitis conditions. Specific
exercises would be designed for someone who received some PMBT treatments but
could not stay long enough to get their joint totally realigned. Those who get
their joints realigned totally would be taught exercises to keep their muscles
strong and more resistant to over-stress. This helps prevent the problem from
returning once the muscles have healed from the treatments.
Stretching can also be helpful. It is
most effective when the tight damaged muscles causing the misalignments are
stretched. However, stretching all muscles will help relieve the pressure
temporarily. If done once or more every day this could help quite a bit. Again,
specific stretches would be designed for a patient who could not receive enough
treatments to get their damaged muscles restored to normal length. A balanced
stretching program would be taught to those who were able to get enough
treatments to restore their joints back into total alignment. Stretching also
helps prevent more muscle damage from accumulating.
A lot of bursitis therapies use heat in
some form. Applying heat to short, damaged muscles causes them to lengthen
temporarily, thereby relieving some of the pressure on the bursa. This provides
some relief, however heat also increases inflammation and makes the problem
worse. Using heat to treat bursitis is a two-edged sword. It helps a little in
one way but hurts in another. Whatever you do, never apply dry heat to your
muscles. Since muscles are around 70 percent water, the dry heat dehydrates
them causing them to become shorter. This creates a greater imbalance in the
joint making your problem worse. I believe that massaging and stretching your
tight muscles will relieve the pressure and pain as much as moist heat without
the negative effect of increasing the inflammation.
Nutrition doesn't remove the cause of
bursitis, but can be very helpful at treating the inflammation and pain. It is
one important part of treating any inflammatory condition.
A great deal has been written about
treating inflammatory conditions with nutrition so I'm not going to go into a
lot of detail here. The best foundation is to increase your intake of fruits
and vegetables and decrease your intake of fats, grain products and meats.
Since most fruits and vegetables leave an alkaline ash after being digested
they have an anti-inflammatory effect. They also help reduce excess body fat so
you should also become leaner and therefore place less stress on any
weight-bearing joint affected with bursitis. There are also many other health
benefits from eating more fruits and vegetables, so explore and enjoy the many
varieties available.
A number of nutritional supplements have
an anti-inflammatory effect. Bromelain, an enzyme from pineapples, and curcumin
herb are both good natural anti-inflammatories but must be taken between meals
instead of with meals as usually stated on the label. These should be safe for
anyone to use 2-3 times a day. Consult a good herb book or nutritionist for
other good natural products that decrease inflammation. Even though herbs are
natural products and can be used quite a bit without any side effects, I feel
it is best to cycle their use. In other words, get three or four products and
use one on Monday, another on Tuesday, the next on Wednesday, and the last one
on Thursday. Then begin again with the first one on Friday. This should prevent
any negative effects that may occur using herbs to excess. Some herbs are quite
powerful and should only be used long enough to re-establish balance when an
imbalanced situation is present. Always consult a physician knowledgeable in
nutrition before starting any supplementation program. This is especially
important if you are taking any medication.
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