Here at Dr. Autoimmune, we not only offer Chiropractic, Nutritional, and Neurological rehabilitation, but we also have therapeutic equipment that permit a unique, more natural mechanism of healing the body. These therapies work to treat the underlying cause of an issue, rather than merely treating the symptoms. In office, we offer Cold Laser therapy, Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency (PeMF) therapy, LivO₂, Back on Trac traction, and Vibration Plate.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency (PMF) Therapy:

What is it and how does it work?

Earth is a giant electrical generator spinning around two magnetic poles and every living thing is dependent on the resultant electromagnetic energy field. Earth’s energy is measured at 25 to 65 microteslas and pulses approximately 7.83 times per second. Essentially, all life is energy and all energy is electromagnetic!

The cells in the body require electricity, so when a cell’s electrical charge drops to a certain level, it becomes ‘sick.’ The first sign of this is usually pain, characterized as chronic illness if prolonged, and is always defined by low electrical charge of cells. While healthy cells maintain their electrical balance, allowing them to repair and regenerate themselves while permitting the unrestricted exchange of water, nutrients, and waste into and out of the cell, the lack of sufficient electrical charge that unhealthy, or ‘sick,’ cells have interferes with these repair cycles and restricts the essential flow of water and nutrients. Without these key elements, not only does cell health suffer, but the overall health of the body suffers dramatically. Amazingly, however, the body can heal almost anything with proper nutrients and electrical charge.

Pulsed electroMagnetic Frequency therapy is essentially a way of harnessing this powerful force-field that is already inside of you, and amplifies it! PMF is a method of safely applying a magnetic field to redirect electrical impulses to the cells in the areas where pain occurs, so relief and healing can begin. The negatively charged electrons from this signal influence the interaction of ions in the cell due to a change in the cellular electrochemistry. The effect of this is an overall improvement in the flow of nutrients into the cell and therefore, an increase in the production of cellular energy (ATP). This increases the electrical potential of the cell to optimum metabolic levels for it to receive nutrients, eliminate waste, produce energy, and heal the body through the stimulation of cellular regeneration and detoxification. In short, when the energy fields pass painlessly into the cells of the area, those cells absorb that energy. In this way, the electromagnetic fields exercise and energize those cells. That’s why PMF sessions are often called “cellular exercise.” Overall, this machine can reduce and even eliminate chronic pain due to illness, injury, surgery and old age.

Why PMF?:

Although poor diet, lack of exercise, harmful electronic frequencies, toxins, and pollutants all make up the top five contributors to disease, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that up to 85% of all illness are caused by toxins and pollutants alone in our bodies. Critical is that our bodies need nutrients and energy to expel these toxins and pollutants. So, when our cells are at a low electrical charge, they become sick and they can’t dilute out such toxins and pollutants, so illness prevails. Furthermore, fatigue, stress, injury, or disease can further produce interference in the body’s electrical currents, preventing oxygen and nutrients from flowing freely into the cells, restricting the elimination of carbon dioxide and nutrients, and ultimately creating symptoms of discomfort or pain. This is not permanent, however, as humans naturally ‘recharge’ through drinking plenty of well water which is naturally charged by the earth, eating fresh, raw fruits and vegetables which are also naturally charged, exercising which causes cells to generate electricity for the heightened activity, and by ‘earthing,’ or absorbing earth’s charge by having uninterrupted connectivity such as walking around barefoot. While it would be ideal to maintain the health of human cells through such natural mechanisms, our accelerated lifestyles limit the amount of these activities humans do regularly and in conjunction with the heightened toxin/pollutant exposure we have today, the body becomes extremley drained, similar to a battery losing its charge.

PMF therapy allows the human body to, well, plug in and recharge! The PMF therapy delivers the electrical charge your body needs, stimulating the body’s natural abilities to alleviate pain and repair damaged cells.

Positive Physiological Effects of PMF Therapy:

PMF has been shown to help:

• Reduce, if not eliminate, pain and inflammation
• Stimulate tissue healing
• Strengthen bones
• Reduce stress
• Enhance the production of calming neurotransmitters
• Increase relaxation
• Achieve a deeper, more restorative sleep
• Higher energy levels
• Aids in water absorption
• Eliminate cell stagnation
• Sports recovery
• Increases range of motion
• Pain management
• Helps to optimize cells overall functionality

Contraindications:

It is contra-indicated for patients with certain pacemakers, especially those with the defibrillator accessory.

Difference between PMF and Harmful EMFs:

When introduced to the idea of PMF therapy, it is common to question whether or not this type of electromagnetic exposure is dangerous since we are constantly hearing about harmful Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) that are present within the environment. However, the pulsed electromagnetic field differ from the harmful EMFs in several critical ways.

As we now know, magnetic frequencies help regulate several processes of the human body and our bodies even produce their own magnetic fields. However, when artificial and harmful EMFs enter the body, such as those from service power lines or cell phones, they can disrupt the natural magnetic processes in the body and create imbalances. In turn, this can lead to changes of any of the natural systems within the body, from stress levels to sleep cycles and even can affect your DNA. Furthermore, such imbalances can make your body more susceptible to disease.

On the other hand, PMF is a technology that has been used internationally for several decades to help to reverse those imbalances created from harmful EMFs. It does so by delivering particular frequencies to the body that stimulate and energize the cells within the body so that the cells can use this introduced energy for its natural healing functions. The critical differences that make PMF beneficial and harmful EMFs detrimental involve the exposure time, wavelength, and frequency of the electromagnetic fields.

Harmful EMFs have been recognized in various research studies to have significantly higher frequencies and lower wavelengths than therapeutic PMFs. Most PMF devices used low frequencies and long wavelengths, ranging from 1 to 10,000 Hertz, and do not produce any heating action. For comparison, a microwave, which produces harmful EMFs can use frequencies in the range of 100,000,000 Hertz.

What to Expect During and After Your First Session:

Because PMF therapy can have a wide range of biological effects, an individual’s diet, lifestyle, level of activity, hydration, general health, stress levels, and the quality of one’s nutrition can all contribute to how the PMF therapy will work and how it will make the patient feel after a session.
However, there are several significant and common experiences patients have in several hours after a first session, including:

1. Significant reduction in pain, often by 50% or more.
2. Better night’s sleep, both a deeper and longer sleep.
3. Some feel a bit tired or fatigued after the first session
4. Reduced blood pressure, so those with already low blood pressure might feel lightheaded. It is important to drink water and stay seated and this will pass.
5. Some might feel invigorated with unexpected amounts of energy
6. Thirsty, from increased cellular metabolism
7. Some might feel worse in the following 12 to 24 hours, which could be due to too much time spent doing PMF to a particular area, from the release of toxins, or from the body experiencing die-off of pathogens. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!
8. Diminished swelling for patients that had increased swelling in certain locations of the body
9. Lastly, if nothing is felt or noticed at all, it is likely because a series of sessions are needed for that particular patient, given their particular lifestyle and health, for them to feel or notice results.

The energy from the PMF therapy will continue to work over the next several hours and change should be noticed within 12-24 hours, with improvements lasting up to 72 hours.

If PMF therapy is of interested, please call Dr. Autoimmune for more information!

Bibliography:
PulseCenters. www.pulsec- enters.com. 2018

Bone Broth is all the rage these days. They say, “It is high in minerals, amino acids, and is good for our gut!” Our society tends to highlight individual foods as cure-alls and we often get the message that everyone needs to be gluten free, go keto, or drink bone broth. It can be confusing to navigate the plentiful information from doctor Google.

As a functional medicine nutritionist, there is a lot I want to share with you about the big picture of bone broth and gut health. Not all that we have heard is inaccurate, but there are some fine details that could benefit those who are on the verge of quitting, those who have been struggling with autoimmune conditions for years, or those who feel like they have been eating as well as they could but are still not getting the results. Let us dive into the difference between bone broth and meat stock.

What is Bone Broth?

Bone broth is a protein packed liquid that can be drank alone but is usually used as a base for soups, cassaroles, and other dishes. Bone broth is typically made by simmering bones and other vegetables for 24-48 hours. This long period of cooking breaks down the minerals and nutrients from the bones and flavors the broth. Because of this longer cooking, bone broth contains a superior amount of amino acids and has higher concentrations of minerals than meat stock.

However, the excessive amounts of certain amino acids such as glutamic acid have been known to more easily pass through a leaky gut and further pass through the blood brain barrier. Glutamic acid is a free glutamate and closely resembles MSG and glutamine. Russell Blaylock, M.D. and Dr. Natasha Campbell McBride recommend for those especially with Autism or other neurological degeneration to avoid free glutamates because of their excitatory effects on a leaky brain.

What is Meat Stock

Meat stock is a similarly protein packed liquid that can also be drank alone and used in recipes. However, meat stock is made with meat on bone including the connective tissues and cooked for a shorter period of time, 1 ½ to 4 hours depending on the type of animal protein used. Meat stock is well known to have more gelatin and specific collagen proteins such as proline and glycine which go directly to strengthening and healing our own connective tissues such as our intestinal walls. These nutrients are pulled out of the bones and connective tissues during the first several hours of cooking.

Functional application of Meat Stocks

One of the star components of meat stocks is gelatin. Gelatin is especially vital in optimizing the digestion of proteins and utilization of collagen in the body. It also helps improve the digestibility of plant based proteins such as grains and legumes. For this reason, it is recommended to cook these foods in meat stock or bone broth. However, grains and legumes are avoided during the beginning stages of an AutoImmune Paleo diet or a GAPS nutritional protocol because of poor digestion, sensitivities, and inflammation. Meat stocks are highly preferred to be used in the beginning stages of leaky gut in the form of soups and as a drink. Low levels of gelatin and high amounts of free glutamates are why it is not recommended to use bone broth in cases of ADHD, autism, multiple sclerosis, other neurological disorders as well as Crohn’s or Leaky Gut Syndrome. Because meat stock is used in the early stages of gut healing, some digestive reactions called detox symptoms can occur. These include diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, nausea, skin eruptions, or rashes but can easily be managed or minimized by altering the amount of meat stock intake, epsom salt baths, saunas, castor oil packs, or enemas.

Functional application of Bone Broth

Bone broth is best recommended for individuals who do not have leaky gut or are further along the gut healing journey. Each individual is different, and some may find that when they introduce bone broth, their symptoms return. This just means that there is more need for meat stocks to be used and gut healing is not completed. Once the digestive system is repaired and the liver is working efficiently, then bone broth can easily replace meat stock interchangeably.

Recipes for Meat Stock

Poultry Meat Stock

Ingredients:

• Pastured organic whole chicken with giblets
• A crock pot
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 4 Stocks of celery, chopped
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• Filtered water
• Salt to taste (added at the end)
• Optional seasonings (pepper, sage, thyme)

Directions

1. Add to pot the ingredients and water.
2. Bring to boil and skim off scum that rises to the surface.
3. Simmer on low for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours .
4. Debone and reserve the meat for eating. Strain the stock and save remaining bones for making bone broth.
5. Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days, or freeze for later usage in soups.

Beef or Lamb Stock

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lbs of bones with marrow or knuckle bones
• 3 lbs of meat on bone, ribs or neck bones
• Filtered water
• 2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
• 1-2  onions chopped
• 4 carrots chopped
• Optional Seasonings (pepper, sage, thyme)

Directions

1. Optional to roast meaty bones in pan at 350 degrees F until well browned for extra flavor.
2. Add to a large pot all ingredients and water.
3. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer on low for 3 to 4 hours .
4. Debone and reserve the meat for eating. Strain the stock and save remaining bones for preparing bone broth.
5. Store in refrigerator for up to 7 days, or freeze for later usage in soups.

Recipe for Bone Broth

Chicken Bone Broth

Makes about 10 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken with giblets
• 3 tbsp salt or more to taste
• 16 cups cold water
• 2 large onions, quartered, unpeeled
• 1 large carrot cut into 4 pieces, unpeeled
• 5 stems each of parsley and dill, tied in a bunch
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Crockpot Directions:

Put the onions, carrot and the chicken with giblets into a
crockpot. Fill with water till almost covering the chicken.
Cook on low heat for 12 hrs (overnight).
Remove the whole chicken from the pot and de-bone the
meat from the bones. Cut up the chicken in to bite-size
pieces and refrigerate or freeze for another use. Strain the
broth and discard the vegetables and herbs from the pot.
Store broth in glass jars and let cool. Refrigerate or freeze
for later use.

With leftover bones from chicken, you can put these back
into the now empty crockpot and fill with water to cover the
bones. Add 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar, onion, and carrot
and cook on low for another 12 hrs for another batch of

Anyone who has had joint pain will tell you that it is no laughing matter. The limitations that joint pain can place on one’s daily life can vary from minor to severe. If left unchecked, many cases of joint pain will continue to progress into a condition known as osteoarthritis (OA). OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting over 30 million people in the US; it is the leading cause of disability among US adults. According to recent estimates, 1 in 2 people will develop OA of the knee during their lifetime; in obese patients, this risk rises to 2 in 3!!!

For many patients, the pain is secondary to the limitations it puts on their activities. For sufferers of joint pain, simple activities like taking a walk, playing with children, or household chores become torturous. The result is people simply refrain from doing things that bring them joy and fulfillment. When asked about joint pain, most people brush it off and joke about getting older, while the cumulative effects create psychological distress and barriers to fully enjoying life.

In healthy human joints, there is padding between where the bones connect called cartilage. In joints affected by OA, this cartilage degenerates resulting in pain, swelling, and stiffness. OA is often the result of over-using or misusing a specific joint. The joint will begin to degrade faster than it can be repaired. Over a chunk of time, this joint destruction progresses resulting in the symptoms described above.

Many patients suffering from OA turn to arthroplasty (joint replacement surgery) once conservative measures have been exhausted. In a study published in 2017, 47% of arthroplasty patients experienced an adverse event. These events ranged from prolonged pain and swelling, to lethal blood clots and infections. In a 2018 study published in the American Journal of orthopedics, it was found that 1 in 40 patients who received a total shoulder replacement operation were readmitted to the hospital for pneumonia, dislocation, pulmonary embolism, and surgery site infection. While it is generally considered to be ‘safe’, 1 in 200 patients who receive a knee replacement die within 90 days of the operation.

Why stem cells now?

Stem cell injections offer a safer and more cost efficient alternative to expensive, risky surgeries. The average cost for a total knee replacement in the US is almost $50,000! Even when factoring in insurance, patients should expect to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket. The cost only rises if you factor in pre-existing conditions or unexpected events prolonging your hospital stay. This cost does not include any necessary physical therapy, in home care, or safety bars, shower benches and other home modifications, let alone the pain and suffering from recovery!

The research around stem cell injections for joint pain is very promising. Numerous studies have shown improvements in function and decreased pain at follow-up (additional study).There are many studies that also demonstrate cartilage regeneration and repair. As amazing as the research and evidence may be, the testimonials and stories of patients receiving these injections are groundbreaking.

Stem cells are a type of regenerative medicine because they serve to literally regrow lost human tissue. When mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are injected into a joint, they have the special ability to determine what type of cells are needed to repair the joint, and then become that type of cell. This is possible because stem cells are the precursors to all other types of cells. These stem cells exist in all of us at high levels when we are younger, and slowly decrease as we age. By injecting high concentrations of MSC’s into problem areas, we are giving the body more raw material to use to repair itself.

Every cell in our body is assigned a specific role, but stem cells have not yet been assigned one of these roles. This gives them the unique ability to modify themselves to become the cell type that is most needed in their environment.

Stem cells have been studied ever since they were first isolated in mice embryos in 1981. Controversy caused the US federal government to limit spending on this type of research in 2001. Improved methods of deriving these cells discovered in 2006 negated the need to destroy human embryos to study them. Thanks to modern collection and cultivation practices, there is no longer any question of ethics when using this technology.

In our office, we use umbilical cord derived stem cells. When an infant is born, the umbilical cord is rich with stem cells that can be stored for later use. These stem cells are more economical and are collected by noncontroversial means. We only use stem cells sourced from umbilical tissue of voluntary donors.

Once the stem cell injection has been performed, the joint begins to repair itself with the newly injected building blocks. The underlying issues that led the joint to degrade in the first place are still in place however. The injection will not instantly correct your posture. In order for the stem cell injection be the most effective, these issues must be addressed.

At Dr. Autoimmune, we use chiropractic coupled with trigenics myoneural technique to give each stem cell injection the best chance for success. Our doctors utilize innovative structural care to correct any issues with the biomechanics of the affected joints.  If a house is built on a poor foundation is it not reasonable to expect that house to break down faster? Many clinics simply offer one stem cell injection, and cross their fingers to hope it works. We work with our patients for weeks after the injection, to ensure that the muscles surrounding that joint are working appropriately, and to create an optimal environment for the joint to regenerate.  This may also include cold laser, pulsed electromagnetic therapy and traction if necessary. Every case is unique and we treat each person like a human being, not a number!

We are uniquely positioned to offer these stem cell injections with top of the line structural care, resulting in effective, lasting relief from joint pain. Stop letting joint pain rob the joy from your life and come Let Your Health Soar!