One very common outward “symptom” of aging is losing height. It is a frequent comment at family gatherings, to hear adult children comment about grandparents who are “getting shorter.” Our cultural beliefs accept this, and increasing aches and pains, as well as increased back stiffness and pain, as a part of the “normal” aging process. These are actually examples of when the joints can no longer produce a special fluid, called “synovial fluid.” According to Dr Louis P Brady MD, who pioneered hip replacement surgery in the US, our joints begin to degrade when our joints no longer produce adequate amounts of “synovial fluid” that nourishes our joints. This fluid contains the ingredients needed to repair and rebuild our joints from the inside. A lack of this fluid can contribute to disc degeneration.
Vertebral Disc Degeneration Can Lead to Pain
Anyone who has experienced degeneration of their vertebral discs knows the associated pain, stiffness and discomfort that can occur in the spinal area. When our discs degenerate, we can experience disk dehydration and shrinkage.
Disc dehydration
Our discs “desiccate”, or dehydrate. When this happens, our disc height shrinks due to fluid loss; the fluid lost is largely water, supplied by synovial fluid. This is one of the most common experiences when a person has vertebral disc degeneration.
The outer walls of our discs can become weak and give way, resulting in a protrusion or “bulge”, and even tear in serious cases. This may cause impingement upon a nearby nerve root, with pain being the result. Our discs can also become “irregularly shaped” as a result of degeneration, and have a “lumpy” and “bumpy” appearance on X-Ray or MRI. These irregularities can create stiffness and discomfort in our spinal joints.
Vertebral Discs Can Shrink Without Proper Nutrition
The discs in our spine, called Vertebral Discs, or Intervertebral discs, are made up of cartilage. Tough, resilient, and long lasting, especially when you have the proper therapeutic activities and nutrients in your diet to support the repair and healthy maintenance of your discs, your cartilage can withstand intense pressures and torsional forces, even into old age. Cartilage tends to not fail unless it is neglected from proper care. Our discs can degrade due to wear and tear, trauma, injury, chemical and emotional stress, and an American diet that not only fails to support healthy discs and cartilage, but can also hasten their deterioration and demise.
Disc Degeneration can be reversed!
Drugless and non-surgical solutions can rehydrate our vertebral discs. Our joints need to transport and retain water, and a vital, missing ingredient in this chemical process is called Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A., also makes up synovial fluid. This important protein should be present in our joints, and is capable of holding 400 times its own weight in water. When we begin to lose this protein, we begin to show wrinkles. Our skin begins to wrinkle largely because H.A. holds water in the good places of our skin and joints. This all important protein, Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. not only lubricates and nourishes our joints, but it “holds” the water in our discs keeping them hydrated so they don’t shrink.
With less H.A. in our vertebral discs, they begin to lose their hydration
We can then begin to experience stiffness in our back and impingement of nearby nerves. This occurs because of lost “disc height space” needed to keep our spinal vertebrae from collapsing upon each other. Fortunately, Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. can be effectively replaced.
Low Molecular Weight Hyaluronic Acid
In our clinic, we use a unique and highly absorbable clinically proven form of H.A. called “low molecular weight Hyaluronic Acid.” The low molecular weight allows this very large protein to be absorbed when consumed orally. Without this modification, the H.A. is too large to be absorbed and must be injected if it is to be of any use; if not, it will pass through our digestive tract unabsorbed, and exits via the bowel. Low molecular weight H.A. has an additional benefit; it has been shown in studies to inhibit the enzyme Hyaluronidase, which is responsible for breaking down H.A. in our body.
Drinking this low molecular weight H.A. inhibits the enzyme Hyaluronidase; this can allow your H.A. levels rise by over 60 fold (6000%) in the blood, as demonstrated in clinical trials. The result for you is a better nourishment of your joints which provides better outcomes, and delays the effects of aging throughout our entire body.
For more information about how to increase disc, and skin hydration, and decrease joint discomfort and stiffness, contact us today. (link to FHS contact page)