Anyone who has experienced a degeneration of their vertebral disc knows associated pain, stiffness and discomfort that occur in the spinal area.

When our discs degenerate, many things can happen:

• The outer walls of our discs, which hold everything intact, can become weak and give way, resulting in a protrusion or “bulge”, and even tear in serious cases. This may cause impingement upon a nearby nerve root, with pain being the result.
• Our discs become “irregularly shaped”, and have a “lumpy” and “bumpy” appearance on X-Ray or MRI. These irregularities can create stiffness and discomfort in our spinal joints.
• Our discs “dessicate”, or dehydrate. When this happens, our disc height shrinks due to fluid loss; the fluid lost is largely water, supplied by synovial fluid. This is one of the most common occurrences people experience when they have vertebral disc degeneration.

According to Dr Louis P Brady MD, who pioneered hip replacement surgery in the US, our joints begin to degrade when our joints no longer produce adequate amounts of a special fluid, called “synovial fluid” that nourishes our joints. This fluid contains the ingredients needed to repair and rebuild our joints from the inside. A lack of this fluid contributes to disc degeneration.

Why Do Our Vertebral Discs Shrink?
The discs in our spine, called Vertebral Discs, or Intervertebral discs, are made up of cartilage. This cartilage is very tough, resilient, and long lasting, especially when you have the proper therapeutic activities and nutrients in your diet to support the repair and healthy maintenance of your discs. Under healthy circumstances, cartilage can withstand intense pressures and torsional forces, even into old age. Cartilage tends to not fail unless it is neglected from proper care. Our discs degrade due to wear and tear, trauma, injury, chemical and emotional stress, and an American diet that not only fails to support healthy discs and cartilage, but can also hasten their deterioration and demise.

Disc Degeneration Can Be Reversed!
Many of us have varying degrees of disc degeneration in our spine, but may not yet be expressing outward symptoms. It is unfortunate that conventional healthcare typically views disc degeneration an irreversible part of the “natural aging” process. Alternative health views that focus on nutritional effects address the cell biology, and the many ways that our discs can be nourished to re-establish healthy growth.

Drugless and non-surgical solutions to rehydrate our vertebral discs
Many of us have been told of the multiple healthful benefits of drinking pure, quality water. While one such benefit is that it replenishes lost water in our tissues, including our joints, drinking water alone is not enough to rehydrate our discs. Our joints need to transport and retain water, and a vital, missing ingredient in this chemical process is called Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A.

Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A., also makes up synovial fluid. This all important protein is supposed to be present in our joints, and is capable of holding 400 times its own weight in water. Our body’s loss of this important protein is most evident when we begin to show wrinkles. Our skin begins to wrinkle because H.A. holds water in the good places of our skin and joints. This all important protein, Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. not only lubricates and nourishes our joints, but it “holds” the water in our discs keeping them hydrated so they don’t shrink.

As we lose H.A. in our discs, they begin to lose their hydration. As a result, we can begin to experience stiffness and possibly impinge nearby nerves. This occurs because of lost “disc height space” needed to keep our spinal vertebrae from collapsing upon each other.

Hyaluronic Acid, or H.A. can be effectively replaced
In our clinic, we use a unique and highly absorbable clinically proven form of H.A. called “low molecular weight Hyaluronic Acid.” The low molecular weight allows this very large protein to be absorbed when consumed orally. Without this modification, the H.A. is too large to be absorbed and must be injected if it is to be of any use; if not, it will pass through our digestive tract unabsorbed, and exits via the bowel. Low molecular weight H.A. has an additional benefit; it has been shown in studies to inhibit the enzyme Hyaluronidase, which is responsible for breaking down H.A. in our body.

Drinking this low molecular weight H.A. inhibits the enzyme Hyaluronidase; this allows your H.A. levels to rise by over 60 fold (6000%) in the blood as demonstrated in clinical trials. The result for you is a better nourishment of your joints which provides better outcomes, and delays the effects of aging throughout our entire body.

For more information about how to increase disc, and skin hydration, and decrease joint discomfort and stiffness, contact us today. (link to FHS contact page)