“To be patient is simply to be completely open to each moment,

accepting it in its fullness,

knowing that,

like the butterfly,

things can only unfold in their own time.“

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Achilles Tendon Repair Improved By Embedding Stem Cells Into Sutures

New research published in Foot & Ankle International by Dr Samuel Adams Jr and colleagues has shown promising results with Achilles tendon repairs. They cut the Achilles tendon of rats and then performed 3 types of surgical repair:

• repair with suture only (SO)
• repair with suture plus injection of stem cells at the repair site (SI)
• repair with suture loaded with stem cells (SCS)

The Achilles tendons were analysed and tested for strength at 14 days and 28 days post surgery. The SI and the SCS groups had significantly higher ultimate failure strength than the SO group. Strength was maintained at 28 days in the SCS group but not in the SI group. Cellular analysis in the SCS group was significantly better than in the two other groups.

The findings suggest that, following surgery, the use of stem cells can enhance the healing of Achilles tendons and embedding stem cells directly into sutures offers even more benefit than injecting stem cells.

Yoga Improves Health In Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

A study published in this month’s Journal of Clinical Oncology by Lorenzo Cohen and colleagues from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has proven that yoga can complement the medical treatment of cancer. Women undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer were split into 3 groups:

• yoga (including asanas, breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation techniques) group
• stretching (specific to condition) group
• control group

The yoga and stretching groups practised 3 times a week for an hour during the 6 week duration of radiotherapy. Data was collected before, at the end and 1, 3 and 6 months after treatment.

Compared to the two other groups, the yoga group showed statistically significant improvements in subjective measures of physical functioning, ability to engage in daily activities, general health perceptions and in the ability to find meaning in the illness experience. The changes were maintained over time. Additionally, measures of cortisol in saliva revealed better stress hormone regulation in the yoga group.

Potential Advances In The Treatment Of Osteoarthritic Pain

In a recent study published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and reported in Medical News Today, Sara Kelly and colleagues from the Arthritis Research UK Pain Centre at The University of Nottingham have discovered a new way to possibly decrease the chronic pain affecting people with osteoarthritis. They studied a protein receptor called TRPV1 which is present in the synovial membranes of joints. These receptors are responsive to pain. Injecting TRPV1 agonists directly into the joint produced pain relieving effects.

The study was performed on rats so before being used on humans the results will need to be replicated in clinical trials and monitored for potential side effects.

Until then the best self-help advice for those with osteoarthritis is weight loss (if it affects joints in the lower limbs), stretching & strengthening exercises and maintaining moderate levels of activity. Nutritional supplements can also help (see related articles here).

Poor Sleep Linked To Pain

A new study by Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Centre at Keele University and published in Arthritis & Rheumatology has identified factors associated with an increased risk of developing widespread pain in adults over 50. Of the factors measured, non-restorative sleep was the strongest independent predictor of new onset widespread pain.

Relaxation For Health And Well-Being

The word ‘stress’ has become ubiquitous, but what exactly does it mean? It’s probably in the 1920s that it was first used in its present context. Walter Cannon used it to describe the process where external factors disturbed the body’s natural equilibrium. Around the same time, Hans Selye described stress as the non-specific response of the body to any demand placed upon it. Still confused?

Let’s put things a little more clearly. To ensure our survival we must either be in ‘protection mode’ or in ‘growth mode’. Protection mode ensures our short-term survival i.e. running away from or slaying a sabre-toothed tiger, moving out of the way of an oncoming car, etc. Growth mode ensures our long-term survival i.e. taking in nutrients by eating and digesting a meal, recharging our batteries by sleeping, wound-healing, having sex and reproducing, etc. Protection mode is more commonly known as ‘fight-or-flight’ and growth mode as ‘rest-and-digest’. They are like two sides of the same coin…it’s either one or the other…we’re either in ‘fight-or-flight’ or we’re in ‘rest-and-digest’. You may be more familiar with ‘fight-or-flight’ or the stress response as it’s also known.

The stress response kicks in as soon as we sense a threat. Things start off in the amygdala deep inside our brains. Other areas of the brain (hypothalamus, pituitary gland) also become involved as does the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenal glands then release adrenaline and cortisol. The aim is to quickly prepare the body for vigorous muscle activity by releasing fats and glucose into the blood stream, increasing the heart rate and breathing rate, dilating blood vessels in muscles, increasing blood pressure and increasing muscle tension. All this helps get us immediately primed for action without having to go through any mental preparation or physical warm-up! It sounds too good to be true and it’s helped us survive and thrive through time. Fortunately nowadays, we don’t often face the type of physical emergency the fight-or-flight system was designed for…but our brains still perceive lots of threats out there…traffic jams, time pressures, bad bosses, financial worries, difficult partners, noisy kids, not to mention 24/7 connectivity, contactability and accountability with the advent of new technology! All this ends up firing off our stress response in a completely different context than that for which it was designed. Rather than a sporadic short blast, it’s now more of a constant slow simmer…without the physical activity required to reset the system. Almost like preparing for a battle that never arrives…revving a car that never goes anywhere.

This ongoing low-level stress response has negative consequences. According to the Mayo Clinic, if left unchecked, “stress can contribute to health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes”. They cite the following common effects of stress:

What’s the solution? The key is to find a way of getting ourselves back into ‘rest-and-digest’ mode. In 1968 Herbert Benson, a cardiologist from Harvard Medical School, fortuitously stumbled across something whilst studying blood pressure. He had been approached by a group of transcendental meditators claiming they could lower their blood pressures through the use of their minds! Initially sceptical and reluctant to study them, he eventually succumbed and discovered what he called the ‘relaxation response’. Benson described the relaxation response as the opposite of the ‘fight-or-flight’ or stress response, it’s essentially the ‘rest-and-digest’ mode mentioned earlier. He characterised it by:

• Decreased metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure and rate of breathing
• A decrease or calming in brain activity
• An increase in attention and decision-making functions of the brain
• Changes in gene activity that are the opposite of those associated with stress

Research has found that the relaxation response can be effective in treating the following complaints:

Additionally, research shows that mind-body techniques can also be effective in treating the following:

In summary, any symptom or disease caused or exacerbated by stress can be helped by relaxation. Happily, there are lots of ways to evoke the relaxation response such as relaxation techniques (progressive relaxation, passive muscular relaxation, Mitchell method, breathing exercises, etc.), meditation, prayer, yoga, tai chi, exercise, cognitive behavioural therapy and hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a personal favourite of mine. It can combine the immediate relaxing effects of relaxation techniques with a change in thinking, mood and behaviour such as can be obtained using CBT. Better still, because it uses the power of the unconscious mind, these changes take place effortlessly…as if by magic!

Give it a go (click on the icon to go directly to the shop)!

Relax and enjoy better physical health and mental well-being.

“You can observe a lot by just watching”

Yogi Berra

Living Near Green Spaces Improves Health

Today BBC News published an interesting article on work done by Mathew White from the European Centre for Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter. He recently conducted a study looking into the benefits of green spaces on health and well-being. The findings of a previous study showed that people living in greener urban areas were showing fewer signs of depression or anxiety.

Various things such as job promotions, pay rises, winning the lottery, etc. can make people happier but the effects last for only 6 months to a year. These things don’t lead to long-term happiness. Dr White examined data from the British Household Panel Survey (about 40,000 households). What he found was that living in an area with green spaces, like parks, has a lasting beneficial effect on mental health (happiness, depression, anxiety).

As the mind and body are entwined, I’m sure there must also be physical benefits to living near green spaces.

“We shall not cease from exploration,

and the end of all our exploring

will be to arrive where we started

and know the place for the first time.”

T S Elliot

Meditation Changes Gene Expression

There is now evidence that mindfulness meditation can alter gene expression. Research carried out jointly by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona, Spain revealed that participating in a day of mindfulness meditation activities reduces levels of pro-inflammatory genes. Perhaps meditation could be used to treat chronic inflammatory conditions.