John Arts Abundant Living www.johnarts.co.nz

Remember the children's song Dry Bones? The chorus starts with 'the toe bone connected to the heel bone”.

Of course this was written as a spiritual rather than anatomical song but it makes a great point. Everything in the human body is interconnected either directly or indirectly. Every body system is dependent on the function of particular tissues which are formed by specific cells. Even further than that, each cell type has its unique complement of structures and operational chemistry. These connections are obvious in skeletal anatomy but less obvious at a cellular level.

Unfortunately we tend to see our body parts in isolation. My discipline of nutritional medicine looks at these interconnections and especially the role of nutrients in preventing disease and helping the body's repair systems when things go wrong. This means correcting all the processes that contribute to the problem. For example with Polymyalgia Rheumatica we want to reduce inflammation in muscle fibres. To do this we need to lower inflammation through the whole body and to ensure the blood supply to muscle fibres can deliver oxygen and other nutrients needed for muscle function.

I have just received an email from someone who has bursitis in a hip. The bursar is a fluid-filled sac that helps tendons or muscles pass freely over bones. The bursa membrane is susceptible to inflammation and the result is a swollen, stiff and sore joint. If the bursitis is not caused by infection, the normal medical treatment is anti-inflammatory medications and sometimes a direct injection of corticosteroids into the joint. The point of the steroid is to effectively numb immune cells so they can no longer produce inflammatory chemicals especially prostaglandins and cytokines.

Nutritional therapy would take a wider view and try to reduce unwanted inflammation throughout the body by restricting inflammatory immune system compounds and increase our own anti-inflammatory compounds. I have no doubt that over time she will see a reduction of inflammation of the bursa and a restoration of normal hip function. Of course the real bonus is that it will help every joint, every tissue and every cell, not just the sore hip. This approach is very complementary with prescribed medicines as the medication can reduce symptoms and make us more comfortable while the nutrients get to work on damaged body systems. Give me a call if you need help. To join my weekly newsletter go to www.johnarts.co.nz and visit www.abundant.co.nz

John Arts is the founder of Abundant Health. To contact John phone (local) 578 9051 or 0800 423 559. To read more go to www.sunlive.co.nz