day to day helpful hints

Hi Astronaut,
Have you had a chance to look at Christine's hips book and DVD? Very comprehensive information in the book, and very thorough exercises in the DVD.

Hi Astronaut,

I started a chronic hip pain group on Facebook, which you can find here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1382734768645128/

The group is comprised of people I found from other hips groups and most of them have had surgery. Other practitioners post conventional ideas and therapies there, which I have not had the time or energy to argue with recently. Every now and then one of our members whose hip pain resolved with the WW work will post something positive.

I was also kicked off several other groups (a couple I had never even posted on) for my blog articles, which get around the internet. You can see the furor that arises in response to my perspective here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1382734768645128/

We really have so little data about the natural progression of adult onset hip disease from the modern orthopedic literature, because it is virtually all treated early and surgically.

However, the orthopedic literature from the late 19th century describes success in controlling hip pain in its early stages. But it is made very clear that later stages of inflammatory disease are much more difficult to reverse.

You are right that there is very little happening on the hips forum here, because we are not advertising the book due to resources and bandwidth.

Anything that causes a lot of hip flexion should be minimized in advanced cases, and this certainly would include biking. The classic description of OA of the hip includes early morning pain and stiffness that improve with walking. Certainly you are staying out of soft furniture and anything else (car seats) that severely flexes the joint.

It is impossible for me to know why your hip is not responding, but I often wonder “what if” the doctor-patient relationship was different in cases like yours.

What if you went back to your orthopedic surgeon (who now had brought in a hot tub and massage therapist to his practice) and he put his arm around you saying, “Astronaut, there is no good surgical cure for your hip pain. Forget about the bone spurs, which come and go according to how the joint is loaded. Forget about X-rays, which give a false sense of ‘joint narrowing’. Amputating the femur, reaming out the joint, and cementing in a prosthesis is ruining the quality of life of millions of people worldwide. You absolutely must get this pain under control. I have scheduled you for a long soak in the tub and an hour massage today. See you back next week.”

The only thing we don’t have - and it was a critical part of hip therapy in the past - is a brace that takes 100% of the weight off the hip, but allows full range of motion in the joint. Amazingly, one of our WW Practitioners (Lori Gardner) is an orthopedic physical therapist who remembers this very brace 30 years ago and verifies that it has disappeared from orthopedic practice. Orthopedic surgeons (they used to just be called orthopedists) want to treat patients surgically.

I have written everything I know on the subject into Save Your Hips and can only offer my deepest sympathy and hope that you can heal your condition.

Wishing you well,

Christine

Hi Astronaut,
I have used Christine's hip program with great success.

I adopted the WWPosture first and found that the start of crunching hip pain was instantly resolved.

I am not as active as you, was having instability over the years I recall after having children.

I came here primarily for pop and realised how holistic Christine's approach is when I resolved so many issues.

When Christine brought out her hips program, I started with that as I had very contracted limbs and now I can tell how even my left and right sides are by doing the fire - breathing on hands and knees. She works on the whole body from the feet up.

My right side which had degenerated in the hips more, was very tight in the muscles on the back of the right side of the pelvis. The iliopsoas tendon (snapping syndrome) has resolved.

I can sleep on my side hip pain and discomfort free. There is no more knee pain climbing stairs. I don't have the instability where there is the feeling of no support when turning or walking. I can lean slightly like over the bed while folding clothes without the hip wobble that I used to get! Most importantly no more crunching pain at all. My feet are now really good support and I have much improved balance and stability in general.

I hope you get some relief soon,
Aussie Soul Sister

Hi Astronaut,

I want to answer your question about hyaluronic acid, but please understand this information is unverified at this time. Rather, I have put 2 + 2 together and have a hunch, that’s all. I hope you are sitting down, because it may seem rather far-fetched.

Hyaluronic acid is one of several glycosaminoglycans in the body. These substances used to be called mucopolysaccharides because of their slippery, mucus-like nature. However, this was before the “amino”, or protein, component of the molecule was realized. Their current name reflects their sugar-protein-sugar molecular structure.

Glycosaminoglycans make up the GAG layer of the bladder wall, the vaginal and uterine walls, and the wall of the gut. Their role in keeping the bladder wall healthy has been studied extensively. The current theory of chronic bladder inflammation sees the GAG layer as being deficient, and therefore medications such as heparin sulfate, another type of GAG, are prescribed in an attempt to restore it. Of course they have been proven useless, which hasn't slowed down urologists from prescribing them.

They act as if the GAG layer breaks down on its own (bad genes - lol), but really it is unfriendly microorganisms that secrete substances that dissolve it. Lactic acid producing microorganisms, or “friendly” bacteria keep the GAG layer intact.

I believe the hip joint must have its own healthy microbial community. We know the joint is susceptible to terrible microbial diseases such as tuberculosis and several necrotizing infections seen in childhood. How did these bugs get there? They must’ve traveled through the bloodstream, and if “bad guys” are there in disease states, “good guys” must be there the rest of the time.

How astonishing if scientists eventually discover that most adult-onset inflammatory hip disease is microbial in nature. They wouldn’t give hyaluronic acid if they weren’t trying to restore a GAG layer, and the GAG layer wouldn’t be there if there weren’t a microbiome to feed upon it.

If this were the case, and I believe it is, the best medicine for chronic hip disease would be living, fermented foods such as sauerkraut.

Here is the difficult part: you need to have a long-term relationship with these organisms and they need to be part of your total environment. Just eating yogurt or kimchi from the store does not confer the same health-giving benefits because the bacteria do not persist after the food is digested. This is why the FDA no longer allows the food industry to make claims about probiotic foods and pills. I am calling it a “deeply indigenous” process that requires making and routinely eating fermented foods.

I may be completely off base. But if there is a hint of truth about it, hyaluronic acid injections would be simply the wrong concept.

Wishing you well,

Christine