back brace and prolapse

Hi Susan,

I can only talk about the posture and female anatomy in very general terms, as I have no way of knowing what your particular issues might be.

I received a grumbly email from a PT a few weeks ago saying, "I think the issue for you is wanting to give pat answers to all women." She went on to say that she looks at each individual's history, this curve, that curve, the shoulders etc. etc. and creates a unique plan for each.

Of course you take into consideration all factors that have led to each individual's condition and posture. However, the plan for each is exactly the same! Human female anatomy is the same from woman to woman. One might have bowed legs, another slight scoliosis, another a hump and the base of her neck. For each and every woman, the goal is to accomplish each step of natural posture to the best of her ability. The result will be different for every woman, but that doesn't mean the result should precede the goal. There is no "neutral spine" unique to each woman. Every woman should attempt to hold her body in natural posture and the outcome will be different for each. With time, outcomes move in the direction of the ideal.

Generally speaking, any bracing we do prevents the spine from developing its own strength to hold the body in natural posture. The major question from my point of view is, does the brace allow you to fully stretch into WW posture? If so, it wouldn't be an obstacle to pelvic organ support. These sorts of questions are out of my area of expertise and can only be addressed by the person who put you in the brace.

I hope you are taking the postural work very slowly and carefully. Alternate with lots of rest, hot baths and massage. Keep your doctor or PT in the loop and allow their input as you move forward.

The musculoskeletal system does strengthen to hold the body in its natural shape. It takes time though, so try not to become discouraged. You will be able to hold the posture for longer and longer periods of time until it is simply the shape that you live in.

Christine

Hi Fannierose

As a veteran of many 'bad backs' I now know that much of the problem for me has been tight muscles that pull my spine down and squash my discs together. Learning to unspasm the muscles that squash all my joints together has been the key to solving the bad back, almost without fail, and the key to using WW posture properly.

I started with hamstrings and gluteal muscles, and slowly increased the number of muscles I could stretch. This has been for much longer than I have been doing Wholewoman techniques. Muscles that seize up cannot stretch out to their full extent so they lose tone, simply because they are not being used. The only way to get them stronger, so they can support your movement is to allow them to lengthen and shorten on a regular basis. I did it myself with the help of some physiotherapy, but mainly just using anatomy books. Your physiotherapist might be helpful in getting your started.

Off the shelf back brace? Yes, I have used one, but long, long ago. It was helpful for a few weeks to keep the pressure off a healing disc, but only until I could build up enough muscle strength with the help of a physio to ditch it for good. I have never used it again. I think WW posture has finally healed all my frayed lumbar discs by taking the pressure off them and exercising the muscles that support my spine with everyday movement.

Louise

Hi Fannierose,
Your comment about gums caught my interest. Do you have silver fillings in your mouth? If so, that may be why you are feeling like "doo doo". Believe me, it is a long story but I felt the same way at one time. It was around 1995 that I had a large silver filling replaced with an even larger silver filling. When they drilled out the original filling, they didn't put a dam in my mouth and I am sure I swallowed some of the stuff because I was still spitting out bits of it when I got home. Anyway, shortly after that I started feeling like "doo doo" too. I was a rural mail carrier and had to drive on a daily basis 6 days a week but I could go to sleep driving down an Interstate. I didn't know what was going on but I knew that I had to do something. This was in Florida and they had a health radio station that I use to listen to while I was delivering mail. One day they had a holistic dentist on that described some of the symptoms of mercury amalgams on the body. It was like he was talking about me without ever seeing me. He was located near where I lived and I made an appointment for him to check my fillings. To make a long story shorter, after all my silver fillings were removed, I was given high doses of vitamin C by IV to flush the mercury from my body and I started improving right away. Let me add, from the time that I had the original silver filling removed and replaced with the larger silver filling until the time I started having ALL my silver fillings replaced, I went from a size 12 jean down to a size 3. After all the fillings were replaced and I finished the vitamin C treatment, I started back gaining weight and started feeling much better even though it took several months before I actually felt like my old self.

I have had sinus problems too since I was a child but didn't have them when we lived in Florida. I was told it was because of the salt air since we lived not far from the ocean. So, I can't say the silver fillings made my sinus any worse. When we moved back to my home state after my husband retired, my sinus problems came back. My daughter bought me a salt lamp and it is like I no longer have sinus problems. I've never used a neti pot but the big advantage of a salt lamp is that everyone in the household receives the benefits.
Best Wishes,
Little Bit

Thanks Little Bit for telling about the salt lamp.Funnily enough I have been 2 places in the last week that had them and have been considering getting one.Apparently one leaves them plugged in ie turned on power 24/7...do you do that with yours? There was one at my new meditation group and a whole lot at a lovely emporium shop visited over last weekend while away.
Fannierose I also wondered about a neti pot as my youngest son and I have blocked noses and drippy eyes a lot. I have been heaps better the last 10 years and now having read what you and Little Bit have said, I also had a mouth full of amalgam fillings. Slowly getting them replaced with white so now under half my mouth is full.I wonder now how much that has contributed, together with other holistic things I have tried with mind, body and soul, to get me to the point of no meds today .I do take several vitamin supplements regularly.By chance I had a constantly irritated drippy eye while away, some stinging and nostril same side also dripping and tenderness under jaw same side so I was also wondering about my root canal on that side that plays up on and off. I now wonder how helpful root canals are like we do about the other women's ops here.
Btw Im still taking MSM- Little Bit, did we discuss this on another thread? sorry I have been absent for many weeks/months here with some family stuff, so having trouble finding some of the threads I posted on.
All very interesting and food for thought, thank you ladies :-)

....

Hi Kiwigirl & Fannierose,
It is my understanding that all root canals are bad. I've never had one and never intend to get one. Also, there is no dentist that will tell you that the silver filling are causing you problems because the ADA will not allow them to. They are threatened with the lose of their license. The holistic dentist that removed my fillings had a small device that could read the amount of mercury coming off each filling. The one large filling had so much coming off it that it was only one point away from where the FDA said that it needed to come out. I had several other silver fillings too that were replaced. The holistic dentist told me that he could not tell me that I had mercury poisoning, that the ADA would not allow him to tell me that, but he said that he could tell me that once those silver (mercury) fillings were out of my mouth that I would start feeling better right away. He was right. This dentist had been a conventional dentist early in his career. He said that his first wife almost died from mercury poisoning caused by her silver fillings and that is what made him completely change over to his holistic practice. He did use a dam in my mouth when he removed the fillings and everyone in the room was given oxygen during the process because the mercury actually vaporizes and is in the air during the process. It is my understanding that ALL dentist should use dams to keep their patients from swallowing the mercury but dams are a lot of trouble to put in and he is the first dentist that ever put one in my mouth. It was great though. There was no way that I could swallow anything with the dam in.

The salt lamps would be great turned on 24/7 but it really isn't necessary. Mine is in my bedroom and I can't sleep well with a light on at night so I turn it on first thing in the morning and off the last thing before getting in bed at night. The kitchen area would be great too and could be left on all the time if the light doesn't bother you there. It also helps with colds because my husband use to have several colds during the winter but rarely gets one since I've had my salt lamp.

One book that I would recommend everyone read is NATURAL CURES "THEY" DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT by Kevin Trudeau. I borrowed my first copy from the library and rushed through it, then my best friend sent me a copy for Christmas in 2006. I am starting to reread that book now and realize that I missed so much in my first reading. This book goes along with so much that we talk about on this site. Yes, Kevin does talk about silver fillings and root canals. It is also very interesting what he says on pages 34 and 35 about web sites concerning herbs and natural remedies. Many of these sites are actually controlled by the pharmaceutical industry and are telling people how dangerous the natural stuff is when it is actually pharmaceutial drugs that are dangerous. This book can be borrowed from most libraries, even mine located in a very small town, but like Christine's book, I believe most people that read it will want to own a copy to refer to from time to time.
Little Bit

I would like to counter your opinion about root canals. Yes, they are complex and take a long time to perform, and there is the risk of infection but retaining your own tooth structure has to be a better option than a prosthetic tooth. I think I have about five root canals in my mouth, and none of them has ever given me any trouble at all after an initial settling down phase.

Having said that, I have a troublesome front incisor that cracked after an altercation with a post hole digger about three years ago. For the first three months I couldn't put anything anywhere near it. For the next 18 months it became less sensitive and now the only things I cannot do with it are bite into carrots and hard apples. A root canal would fix it, but I am prepared to work around it, rather than have another one. Maybe I just have a very conservative, good dentist?

Louise

The new yoga dvd will have a great segment on teeth. Louise, you probably remember, but one of the interviews we did last year was with the head of oral surgery at Boston University.

Probably seems strange that WW traveled all that way to interview a periodontist for a women’s health video, but I had read this man’s work on the inflammatory process and he explained it better than all other scientists I encountered. What I will reveal is absolutely astonishing! (Gotta love the dangling carrot!!)

I have been trying to save a very sick tooth (a front one!) and have gotten the upper hand on it. It is a long story and I cannot write it out here, but - like gynecology and orthopedics - there is information in the hands of dentists that is tooth-saving, but does not get relayed to you and me.

Root canals can be problematic - particularly as time goes on - and should be prevented if at all possible. I haven’t been to a dentist in 21 years and it was 20 years before that since my previous visit. At which time I had all my back teeth crowned in gold and white enamel. My back teeth were shot before I entered puberty, yet somehow I escaped ever having to have a root canal. I understood early in adulthood that teeth are living bodies that can be kept healthy by our own actions.

This one just got away from me. I thought it was my crooked incisor that was the problem, and before I figured out it was the canine next to it, the root of that tooth was decaying, extremely painful and bleeding like crazy. A pocket formed in the receding gum on the inside of the tooth that must be kept free of food debris and attended to very carefully. So far it is working. I have to keep up my regimen every day to stave off the inflammatory cascade.

If I ultimately fail, I may try to live with a gap. They did it in the old days and I cannot imagine having a bunch of hardware in my mouth - or - heaven forbid - a titanium tooth drilled into my skull.

It will add character to my mountain mama alter ego.

:D Christine

LOLOL! I am not so sure that a gap is a good idea, particularly a canine. However, I think you are on the right track with keeping it open. I cannot see why it would not work. We all are told to brush and floss twice a day. Doing what you are doing doesn't sound like a lot more. I have a gap up the back at the top, between two molars that I have to clean out every day.That's OK too.

Louise

Well, I'm not the only one that feels root canals are bad. Having said that, I have had gum disease since my early 20s. I have went through 5 "deep scalings" where they nummed my mouth and went all the way to the root to remove plaque, much more intense than a normal cleaning. Since my early 20s (over 40 years now), I have had my teeth cleaned every 3 months and I have never been free of gum disease up until about 4 years ago. I remember my holistic dentist in Florida telling me they would never find a cure for gum disease. He gave me a small bottle of herbal extracts from the rain forest to clear up an infected gum around a tooth that he needed to work on. The extract did clear it up in a matter of a few days but he said even that wouldn't cure gum disease.

About 4 years ago I saw a product on QVC. They didn't say that it would cure gum disease but they said it would clean teeth better than flossing or brushing could do. Since I had such deep pockets, I sent for it and gave it a try. All I can say is that after about one month of using this stuff twice weekly, I no longer have gum disease. I can tell when I need to use it because it feels like a film on my teeth when I run my tongue across my teeth and I know plaque is building up again. I still go to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned but my cleanings have been cut down to once every 6 months and I no longer have ANY deep pockets. My dentist charges $75 for a cleaning and I'm sure there are many that charge more. The name of this product is OraParX and you can check it out on the Internet. It can be ordered from the company but QVC use to carry it for less but it looks like QVC no longer has it. It is a rather large tube and comes with a tray that you place the product in and leave it in your mouth for 10 to 20 minutes. At first it is rather hard to leave it in for more than about 5 minutes, especially if you have a strong gag reflex, but if you are persistant, it will get easier the longer you use it. I just did a quick check on the Internet and found a place selling it for $21 not including shipping . I know of nothing else like it and I'm sure that I could actually get by with only having my teeth cleaned once a year now but those deep scalings are so painful that I hope to never need one of those again so I'm hoping to keep on top of it. I just hope they never quit making this.
Little Bit

Thanks for telling us of your experience, Little Bit. I’m a firm believer that many diseases start in the mouth, not the least of which are upper respiratory tract infections. They know that gram-negative bacteria are the buggers involved in periodontitis and these also cause some of the nastiest colds and flus.

I think it is reasonable to ask, why shouldn’t our teeth be as protected against plaque build-up as an elephants? What are we doing that causes so much plaque? Some say it is genetic, and maybe it is so - but it seems doubtful.

My issue isn’t plaque, but I believe this particular gum was made vulnerable by a bonding I had done 21 years ago. The gum over the front of that canine receded a long time ago - in my twenties - and eventually it was unsightly enough to need bonding. The bonding is a little worn, but basically has lasted all this time. However, the seal between gum and tooth has obviously been compromised and now the back has receded as well.

I will look into the OraParX. I’ve only used baking soda to brush all these years. Even salt (rinses), which is notorious for killing bacteria, isn’t entirely helpful at this stage of the infection. Rather than killing all the bacteria, I think ultimately there needs to be a balance restored in the microflora. I haven’t tried chewing probiotics, but think that might be worth a try.

Love the sculptures! I think being a mountain mama should be a pre-requisite for our community! :) Thanks, Susan ♥