By Dr. Edwin Chun

The human body can live days without water, weeks without food, but only minutes without oxygen. The reason stems from how vital each of these factors are to the cells of our body which keep us alive. The most important factor vital to good health is oxygen. This should mean that if we were to increase oxygen to certain people we should see health benefits.

Well, that's exactly what happens in these next two examples.

The first example is football players who are exposed to some of the most extreme physical conditions, i.e. playing in the heat, snow, with heavy protective gear, enduring tackles, etc... What do they do when they go to the sideline exhausted from exertion? They take in oxygen. Why? Because the oxygen will help them to get rid of lactic acid and recharge their cells. Boosting oxygen to the body for temporary periods will increase physical performance and endurance while decreasing fatigue. The reason is that oxygen acts as an anti-inflammatory within the tissues (blood vessels, muscles, joints) and it also is crucial to the proper cellular functioning of the creation of energy within the cell. The next example of the health benefit of oxygen is its importance in surviving life or death situations. Oxygen is one of the first things paramedics will give a person in a state of life or death. Oxygen is present in every ambulance in most of the world for a reason, and many EMTs and paramedics can tell you about the life saving effects of it. So these are some extreme examples, but what about everyday people and everyday situations.

The most commonly encountered problem many of us face daily is stress. Financial pressures, health issues, traffic, air pollution, noise pollution, bombardment of negative information from the media, etc. The cumulative effect of chronic stress on the body can be devastating leading to diseases such as hypertension, ulcers, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, headaches, IBS, depression, anxiety, heart disease, kidney failure, chronic uncontrolled systemic inflammation, etc.  Stress over stimulates our sympathetic nervous system. This is the part of our nervous system known as the "fight or flight system" designed to put our bodies in survival mode preparivng us for dangerous situations. This part of our nervous system will constrict peripheral blood vessels, increase heart rate and raise blood pressure. Stress reactions happen in the body frequently when the body encounters noxious stimuli such as pain, danger, anger, loss, fear etc... While this survival mechanism is very important to us momentarily it’s not meant to occur for prolonged periods of time. When this does happen for prolonged periods of time it will have deleterious effects on health. Over stressing the sympathetic nervous system will cause the body to eventually crash as the cells use up all of their energy and are no longer able to recreate more energy. Because the body is in a stressed state it will favor using anaerobic metabolic pathways in the creation of energy. As a result of this, the tissues of the body will build up metabolic acidic wastes (lactic acid) and become inflamed. When the system finally crashes to correct itself, the person will feel drained, feeling burnt out is a good descriptor for this. This decreased energy state within the body leaves it vulnerable to attack from pathogens such as viruses and bacteria because the immune system has less energy to fight disease.

Some Basics of Metabolism - Cellular Respiration creates ATP. Cellular work requires ATP.

Let's look at some basics of cellular respiration which is the process of how our bodies break down nutrients we get from foods to create ATP (cellular energy). ATP is the universal energy source for cells. It is required by our cells as a fuel to perform the countless number of reactions that sustain our bodies (i.e. digestion, tissue repair, immunity, movement, breathing). Without it, our bodies would come to a halt. The food we eat is broken down to sugars (glucose) and this sugar is then converted into ATP within the cell through metabolic pathways that:

1. Use oxygen = aerobic respiration (with oxygen) or
2. Do not use oxygen= anaerobic respiration (without oxygen).

The main concept to understand in this somewhat complex process is that with oxygen, aerobic respiration produces +30 ATP per glucose molecule while without oxygen anaerobic respiration produces just 2 ATP.  You can probably figure out then that it is better for the cell to metabolize energy aerobically with oxygen to get more ATP in the cell than without oxygen.  More ATP in the cell means more energy for the cell to do all the work required to sustain our bodies in a healthy state.  Less ATP means the cells would have less energy to do the same work making it more difficult and probably not allowing the cells to carry out all the necessary reactions for good health.

How this relates to oxygen is that Dr. Manfred Von Ardenne, a pioneer in medical oxygen research, discovered that when the body is dealing with a noxious stimuli such as stress, disease, pain etc., the effect in the microvasculature (capillaries, arterioles and venules) would be a choking off of the capillary. The capillary is the major route of transport of oxygen and waste removal for the body’s tissues. After careful research he discovered this was due to the endothelial cells (which line the inside of the entire vascular system) losing energy by the processing of energy anaerobically. The effect within the cell from the energy loss would create a swelling of the endothelial cell wall. The effect on the microcirculation would be a decrease of oxygen delivery to the tissues, a decrease of clearance of metabolic wastes (lactic acid) and a decrease in the body’s ability to fight infections in the tissues due to decreased capillary access.

An easier way to understand this is that cells that can't breathe, can't be healthy. This is an important concept to understand in health. When people get to the point they feel burnt out from overwork, not enough sleep, poor diet, stress, living with a disease etc., they are in a state of functional oxygen deficiency. If you are suffering from a chronic disease how did you get it in the first place? Most chronic diseases have in common endothelial dysfunction and therefore functional oxygen deficiency. This is not to say that functional oxygen deficiency is the cause of the disease but it may be associated with the disease you may be suffering from.

Functional oxygen deficiency is when:

1. There is not enough oxygen getting to the cells due to the possibility of poor transport such as in endothelial dysfunction which is common in most chronic diseases.
2. There is underutilization of oxygen in the tissues due to mitochondrial enzyme deficiencies.
3. The cells are using and require more oxygen than is being delivered at that time creating a shortage of oxygen in the cell.

A good example of functional oxygen deficiency is an athlete who is pushing himself and using up all of his oxygen and ATP. This forces his cells into prolonged periods of anaerobic respiration creating a lactic acid build up with subsequent muscle soreness and fatigue. This is also a good example for people dealing with stress. Pushing themselves and over stimulating their sympathetic nervous systems will slowly begin choking off oxygen to their tissues and organs as they begin to favor anaerobic metabolism. They will also experience the effects of inflammation in their tissues as the lactic acid and wastes build up. This can begin to have bad effects on their health such as increased blood pressure, worsening circulation, digestive problems etc.

An easy solution to correcting functional oxygen deficiency is through use of the EWOT procedure. Increasing oxygen to the cells while the body performs aerobic exercise will increase aerobic cellular respiration creating more ATP within the cell favoring an aerobic metabolic state. An aerobic favored metabolic state is associated with more energy, vitality, and health. This is the necessary energy state within the cell for good health (optimum cellular functioning). Additionally using the EWOT improves the removal of acidic waste (lactic acid) from tissues through re--enlarged capillaries and de-acidifies the body. EWOT alkalizes the body and raises blood PH through oxygenation.

EWOT will improve functional respiration meaning the cardiorespiratory system along with the musculoskeletal system, bones, joints, muscles and all the organs needed to perform sustained movement i.e. brain, cerebellum.

Unlike other oxygenation systems ozone or hyperbarics, EWOT forces the body to use the additional oxygen to create work in the body, using the ATP to drive the heart, lungs, muscles etc. The increased oxygenation can then get deeper into tissues and organs that may have been shut down for years due to poor health and or disease related endothelial dysfunction. The process will enable healing and restoration of health.

In today's day and age, it's hard to avoid the causes of inflammation.  With so much interconectedness we get too much information too fast and this can stress out our nervous system and cause immune weakening by burning us out.  When you start getting beat up and start noticing symptoms such as pain, aches, digestive issues or problems sleeping or concentrating it may be a good time to think about seeing a provider for a health consultation.  Many people think of going to the doctor and getting pills or shots which can be very important depending on your condition.  However there are also natural options like vitamin and nutrient supplementation as well as therapeutic treatments which will work if you have some patience and interest in your body and healing. Many times when you have a problem, it's your bodies way of trying to get your attention to slow down or take better care of yourself. The usual culprit is too much inflammation that can be caused by physical wear and tear, poor dietary choices, or too much stress and not enough rest.  Here at Healthways, we try to make health care fun, interesting, full of options and useful so you never feel like it was a waste of your time and money.  At Healthways we think you are worth it and want to help you get it right so you can continue being well and stay out of the hospital.

Young Geun Park, MD, Bum Sun Kwon, MD, Jin-Woo Park, MD, Dong Yeon Cha, MD, Ki Yeun Nam, MD, Kyoung Bo Sim, MD, Jihea Chang, MD, and Ho Jun Lee, MD

Objective

To investigate the effect on pain reduction and strengthening of the whole body vibration (WBV) in chronic knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods

Patients were randomly divided into two groups: the study group (WBV with home based exercise) and control group (home based exercise only). They performed exercise and training for 8 weeks. Eleven patients in each group completed the study. Pain intensity was measured with the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), functional scales were measured with Korean Western Ontario McMaster score (KWOMAC) and Lysholm Scoring Scale (LSS), quadriceps strength was measured with isokinetic torque and isometric torque and dynamic balance was measured with the Biodex Stability System. These measurements were performed before training, at 1 month after training and at 2 months after training.

This article is taken from PubMed.gov

Hoon Chung, Tianhong Dai, Sulbha K. Sharma, Ying-Ying Huang, James D. Carroll, and Michael R. Hamblin

Cold laser or low level laser therapy came into being in 1960's. In 1967, Endre Mester, noticed that applying laser light to the backs of shaven mice could induce the shaved hair to grow back more quickly than in unshaved mice. He also demonstrated that laser could stimulate wound healing in mice. Mester soon applied his findings to human patients, using lasers to treat patients with nonhealing skin ulcers. Cold laser has now developed into a therapeutic procedure that is used in three main ways: to reduce inflammation, edema, and chronic joint disorders; to promote healing of wounds, deeper tissues, and nerves; and to treat neurological disorders and pain.

Cold laser involves exposing cells or tissue to low levels of red and near infrared (NIR) light, and is referred to as “low level” because the energy used does not cause enough heat to cut or damage body tissues.

The VMO muscle known as the Vastus Medialis Oblique is an important muscle in understanding knee pain. The function of this muscle is to perform knee extension as well as allow for correct tracking of the patella (knee cap) over the femur. Many people with knee pain have a weakness in this muscle. The problem can be worse with females or anyone with wider hips which cause the patella to pull to the outside more that somone with thin hips. One of the reasons people can develop knee pain is because the body tends to favor a more lateral tracking due to the larger quadriceps muscles of the outer thigh. Unless a person develops the VMO muscle it may be weaker than the outer thigh muscles which are more easily developed with normal daily activities. This issue can become more of a problem with overuse due to excessive running, hiking etc... Developing the VMO can be achieved with a number of different exercises one of the easiest being doing knee extensions with the foot rotated to the outside to stress the VMO muscle. Kicking your leg out in front of you with the foot turned outward will also exercise the VMO muscle. If you are having any knee problems be sure to contact our office and schedule a consultation with one of our providers to learn more about how we can help.

Loss of cervical and lumbar lordosis or normal posture is well known to be implicated in the progression of degenerative arthritic diseases of the spine. When normal lordosis and curvatures of the spine are lost, the normal biomechanical forces of weight distribution of body weight which are normally distributed through an arc are transmitted through a straightened spine causing additional compressive and shear forces on the lower cervical and lumbar spine. This in turn increases wear and tear and progresses early degeneration such as bone spurs, disc inflammation and increased chance of disc bulges and herniations. Restoring and maintaining the normal cervical and lumbar lordosis is a primary goal for a healthy spine. This can be achieved with correct stretching, exercise, physical therapy and chiropractic treatment program. Much of degenerative cervical and lumbar disc diseases can be prevented, avoided and/or minimized understanding this principle and utilizing the proper approach.  Learn more about this with one of our providers here at Healthways Medical Group.

Within manual therapy, Strain-Counterstrain is a type of "passive positional release" created in the early 1960s by Lawrence Jones, D.O. It is a hands-on treatment that alleviates muscle and connective tissue tightness by the use of very specific treatment positions held for 90 seconds (can be held for up to 3 minutes in neurological patients).[citation needed] During the procedure, the involved tissue is "slackened" causing a relaxation of the "spasm" which, in turn, allows local areas of inflammation, trapped within the painful tissue to dissipate. Following this "release" there is an immediate reduction of pain and tension in the involved tissue. This relaxation helps restore normal joint mobility and is also beneficial to other structures in the region that may have been compressed. This gentle and painless technique is a very effective treatment for a wide variety of orthopedic conditions such as headaches, fibromyalgia, sciatica, tendinitis, chronic neck pain, and post-surgical conditions.

Our Healthways Medical Group Physical Therapist is knowledgable and experienced in this technique. Please call for a consultation if you are interested in it.

(Taken from Medline Plus a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health)