The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [132]
Lee is now a die-hard fascist. “Fascist,” that is, in the sense of someone who treats the long-neglected fascia as more than just anatomical glue. The results have, so far, been impressive:
“I’m finally happy as a doctor. I’m helping my patients’ bodies to heal themselves.”
The “fascia” comprise a three-dimensional web of fibrous connective tissue that maintains the structure of the body. Think of fascia as the ropes that hold the tent in its shape. Ropes that help to bind muscles together and keep internal organs suspended, among other things. Ever heard runners complain of plantar fasciitis? It’s a fascial problem, and a painful one. The plantar fascia of the foot is a thick band of connective tissue that extends from the heel to the five toes. It supports the arch of the foot, and when it becomes inflamed and compromises that arch, chronic pain is the result.
It’s not just a foot issue. The fascia exist throughout the body and also have biochemical roles.
Lee’s journey started with a research paper on lower-back pain, where she noticed the researchers had observed something odd: the patients’ fascia looked like those of diabetics. There were unusual calcium deposits throughout the tissue, which she later saw in her own patients.
The area of greatest concern was the Grand Central Station of the entire back: the thoraco-dorsal fascia. This fascial sheath connects prime movers like the lats and the glutes in the lumbar area, and problems in Grand Central can cause pain almost anywhere. Fascia are masterful at misdirection. Fascial slings can connect areas like the right shoulder to the left lower back, and pinpointing the actual problem requires a Sherlock Holmes–like ability to connect seemingly unconnected dots, often outside of the body.
Just one example from diet: Lee had come to realize the importance of eating nutrient-dense animal foods with adequate fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) to restore function in chronically inflamed tissues with abnormal calcium deposits.
Now, Lee was using me to test her latest and greatest: biopuncture.
Coined in 1991 by Jan Kersschot MD, a Belgian physician, “biopuncture” involves shallow injections of different substances, including Traumeel, zdeel, and lymphomyosot. Traumeel is typically used for acute inflammation from sports injuries, and lymphomyosot is utilized for lymphatic drainage in chronically swollen or congested tissue. Traumeel has been shown in some peer-reviewed journals to shorten recovery time from acute sports injuries and inhibit the secretion of immune mediators (IL-1B and TNF-alpha) that are associated with tissue damage and increased inflammation.
Though biopuncture solutions aren’t diluted to the extent that they contain no active product (like most homeopathic medicine), they are diluted and referred to as “microdoses.” Lee used both Traumeel and lymphomyosot in my treatments.
In addition to the drug treatments, we also tested a saline solution with 20% dextrose. It was just like prolotherapy but with shallower injections.
The results of dozens of “baby jabs” with a small 30-gauge half-inch needle were amazing.
Twelve hours after the first treatment of both infraspinatus muscles, I had zero pain at the rear of either shoulder. I had suffered through persistent pain and soreness at the back of both shoulders for more than six years, and one 15-minute session fixed both of them. To date, no pain has returned.
The biopuncture was repeated for the right Achilles tendon, with similar results.
I think the mechanisms of action, while unclear, could be different for different locations. In the case of the infraspinatus, it seemed to be mechanical: the breakdown of calcium deposits with a needle, much like hacking at ice on your windshield. For the Achilles tendon, Lee hypothesized that it was some form of cutano-muscular or cutano-neural response.
Given their homeopathic origins,