•No single part can be understood except in relation to the whole.

•No part of the body can be isolated from its relationship to the other parts of the body.

•No part can exist only in & of itself.

•Movement is life and Life is movement.

•The body is alive so it is moving totally and continuously.

•This movement is synchronized from one part to another.

•When a part loses it synchronization and reciprocation, it continues to move but that movement is inappropriate to the state of the rest of the body.

•After the primary lesion, everything the body does is defensive in nature.

•The defensive measure continues until the primary lesion is corrected.

Inflammation

The most commonly observed symptom and suffering associated with Fibromyalgia is inflammation.

Inflammation causes an increase in homocysteine levels. Elevated homocysteine degrades and inhibits the formation of the three main structural components of our body, collagen, elastin and the proteoglycans. Homocysteine permanently degrades cysteine [disulfide bridges] and lysine amino acid residues in proteins, gradually affecting function and structure. Simply put, homocysteine is a 'corrosive' of long-living [collagen, elastin] or life-long [fibrillin] proteins.

Homocysteine apparently curtails the ability of elastic tissues to expand, keeping them restricted and narrow. It accomplishes this by increasing connective tissue growth and by degenerating the elastic tissue in the structures of the body, leading to increased formation of adhesions and/or scar tissue.

It can be said that as goes the sacrum so goes the spinal column and the body, but a truer and more logical statement would be to say, as goes the sacral support (the ligaments of the sacroiliac joint) so goes the sacrum and body. What are ligaments made of? Collagen, elastin and life-long proteins.

Why only 11 of these 18 tender points?

A sacroiliac slip separation (known as Category II in Sacro Occipital Technic) usually occurs unilaterally (on one side or the other). It allows for either side of the body (Right or Left) to develop tenderness depending on which side the Cat II Distortion Pattern occurs.

Sacro Iliac Distortions (Category II Sacroiliac Slip Separation)

Combine the tearing and slippage of the sacroiliac with unneeded motion or lack of motion throughout the body, then stages of inflammation, and you have Fibromyalgia. You are dealing with a specific weight bearing joint with the sacroiliac separation. It is a joint which normally has no motion. When the joint becomes a Category II distortion, the problem is unwanted or needed motion throughout the body. To maintain stability, muscles go into contraction to reduce unneeded motion.

Think of this as you would the foundation on your house. If the foundation is stable, the house is stable. If the foundation is unstable, think of how many things will not be working on every level of the house—walls crack, windows and doors stick or won’t open, plumbing doesn’t work, wiring shorts out, the roof sags, chimney tilts. The mason called to repair the chimney will not do anything for the doors that stick, in fact it is beyond their scope of practice. Wouldn’t it make more sense to call someone to straighten the foundation first.

The Category II trauma is a massive assault upon the total biomechanics of the human body. It interrupts more physiological functions than does any other or many disasters combined. Thousands of books could be written on the multitude of symptoms caused by a Category II Distortion.

This category has a distinct relationship to the vestibular mechanism. Loss of hearing and various other ear problems are associated the dysfunctional sacroiliac joint. These include vertigo, loss of equilibrium, nausea and vomiting. The dysfunctional sacroiliac articulation can also cause various shoulder, arm and hand syndromes due to latissimus dorsi and psoas/diaphragm imbalance. Many mental disorders and growth factors are involved—especially when this Category II appears at a young age. Epilepsy, strokes and various degenerative diseases belong to this dysfunction.

The Category II will cause TMJ dysfunction resulting in pain and/or discomfort in the TMJ (temporomandibular joints), limiting the amount of time the person is willing to chew food. During chewing the upper teeth serve as an anvil for the jaw to mash the food.  This creates forces which are transferred into the cranial sutures.  These forces will induce neural stimulation recognized as discomfort and/or pain at conscious or subconscious levels due to the cranial lesion of Category II sutural dysfunction and will be recognized as pain by the person experiencing the symptoms and suffering of Fibromyalgia.

Two problems occur with poorly chewed food. First, chewing is necessary to stimulate the production of stomach acid. Digestion and absorption of nutrients only occurs with proper chemistry. Second, this results in food being swallowed in large bits, too big for the limited stomach chemistry to break down. Food can stay in the stomach for fourteen hours with poor digestive chemistry. This is the same food you had to put in the fridge an hour after you served it. This food is now sitting in your body in an undigested state because is has not been chemically processed by your body.

There are many other factors involved in Category II, too numerous to discuss here. A recent study brain mapping with computerized electroencephalography before and after a treatment with the blocks demonstrated how effective the treatment is on a patient with a history of hyperactivity, respiratory problems and migraines. To read the study click on the blocks.

Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis is the state of disordered digestive ecology that causes disease. It may exist in the mouth, gastrointestinal tract or vaginal cavity. A common cause of bacterial or fungal dysbiosis is repeated or long term use of antibiotics. Antibiotics kill both the bacteria you want to kill and the friendly bacteria in the intestine and vagina. This leaves these areas open to be colonized by yeast, Candida, unfriendly bacteria and parasites. In dysbiosis, unfriendly organisms induce disease by altering the nutrition, the immune response and causing inflammation and irritation in the intestines and vagina.

The hydrochloric acid (HCL) in the stomach kills many germs that enter our body through our food; in Hypochlorhydria, stomach acid is decreased and we are more likely to become ill (especially if our immune system is depleted). Decreased HCl will also make calcium assimilation very difficult and if the lack of acidity is systemic (throughout the body), calcium will tend to be taken out of solution and deposited in joints and connective tissue (causing arthritis, bursitis, etc.). Partially digested protein due to low stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) can enter the circulation and cause inflammation and antigen activity. The antigen activity and decreased calcium assimilation make allergies a common symptom of hypochlorhydria.

 Interestingly enough, hypochlorhydria will respond to taking antacids. The antacids will make the stomach even more alkaline and this will stimulate the body to produce HCl which will digest the protein and stop the heartburn. The habitual taking of antacids will exhaust the stomach’s ability to produce stomach acid.

Putrefaction– results from diets high in fat and meat and low in fiber. Altered body structure causes a failure to properly chew the food and insufficient digestive chemistry.  This leaves chunks of meat in the digestive tract which only the surface area can be affected by the diminished digestive chemistry. The chunks then provide a food source for bacteria, which produce ammonia increasing fecal pH. Increased pH raises your risk for colon and breast cancer. Enzyme activity changes from constructive to destructive causing arthritis and degenerative joint disease. Estrogen scheduled for elimination is re-activated, raising blood estrogen levels (hot flashes).

Fermentation Excess— Excess carbohydrate consumption and intolerance to sugars induce excess bacterial fermentation usually resulting from small intestine bacterial overgrowth. The by-product of fermentation is gas. Abdominal bloating or distention, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation and feelings of malaise are commonly described. This gas production will produce enough pressure to force the sacroiliac joints apart. In small intestine bacterial overgrowth, degradation of intestinal brush-border and pancreatic enzymes by bacterial protease may cause maldigestion and hormone imbalances. This thins the lining of the gastrointestinal tract causing gaps in the gut barrier allowing food particles and microbes to pass through.

Fecal short chain fatty acids may be elevated. People with fermentations excess are usually intolerant of soluble fiber supplements  and often benefit from antimicrobials and reduction of carbohydrate consumption.

Deficiency - Exposure to antibiotics or a diet depleted of soluble fiber may create a deficiency of normal fecal flora, including Bifidobacteria, Lactobacillus and E. coli. Direct evidence of this condition is seen in stool cultures when concentrations of any of these organisms are reduced. This condition has been described in patients with irritable bowel syndrome and food intolerance.

Deficiency and Putrefaction Dysbiosis often occur together and respond to the same treatment. Probiotic supplementation as well as fructooligosaccharides are often helpful in reestablishing a normal flora.

Nutritional deficiency occurs due to the lack of proper gastrointestinal chemistry. Nutrients cannot be transported across the gut barrier. Healthcare providers recognize this and attempt to correct it by recommending a person to increase their vitamins and mineral supplements. Often a person will feel better for a period but eventually this overburdens the digestive tract and ends up supporting the microbial overgrowth.

Sensitization - The thinning of the lining of the gastrointestinal tract will allow food particles and microbes to pass through to be exposed to your immune system. Any adverse antigen that interacts with the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) will trigger an inflammatory response which will create a vicious cycle that includes inflammation, pain and oxidative stress. Antigen exposure will cause the GALT immunocytes to release inflammatory mediators. These inflammatory mediators will cause pain, inflammation and vasoconstriction. Gastrointestinal dysfunction should always be investigated in all patients who present with any form of chronic pain.

Food sensitivities will develop. The most common are eggs, wheat, dairy and meat. Your immune system will remember which foods rotting and fermenting get past the gut barriers. Now every time you eat that particular food, your immune system attacks it. Healthcare providers will recommend avoiding these foods and for a period of time the person feels better. Unfortunately, now the food the person is commonly eating is passing through the gut barrier and the immune system now attacks that food. This process will repeat itself until almost everything a person eat causes some sort of reaction. This will increase environmental sensitivities.

In addition to food sensitivities, the most common cause of inflammation is inoculation of a gastrointestinal pathogen. Many times patients will not respond to any protocols to manage hormone related issues until their gastrointestinal tract imbalances are straightened out. Pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract will shift metabolism into an inflammatory state. As discussed, inflammation will cause havoc at all levels of metabolism. Gut pathogens take advantage of the undigested food inducing dysbiosis and the release of bacteria end products that impairs liver detoxification which leads to altered hormone metabolism. Dysbiosis will impair gut enzymes necessary to activate certain hormones and increase the levels of other gut enzymes which will allow hormones detoxified in the liver to be re-absorbed by the body. When this happens hormones will not be eliminated causing an adverse impact on hormone metabolism, i.e. thyroid, PMS, PCOS, hair loss, diabetes, hot flashes, etc.

Abnormal immune responses to components of the dysbiosis may contribute to the onset of inflammatory bowel disease, arthritic conditions, connective tissue disorders, scleroderma and other skin conditions such as psoriasis or acne. Endotoxins may activate the alternative complement pathway, and sensitization may complement fermentation excess.

Causes of Stomach Dysfunction

An example of how stomach dysfunction begins would be eating a heavy protein and starch or sugar at the same meal (e.g. hamburger on a bun). As the stomach works on the protein, the carbohydrate is waiting. If stomach emptying is delayed (poor stomach chemistry, from overeating, eating in between meals, etc.) the carbohydrate can start to ferment and cause heartburn and organic acid formation. At this point an antacid is often taken. This will neutralize the organic acid and relieve the heartburn, but will also neutralize the HCl and retard the protein digestion.

 Causes of hypochlorhydria

· Decreased motility and mobility of the stomach and decreased vagal nerve stimulation as a result of psoas/diaphragm contraction due to Category II patterns of distortion.

· Eating foods that are too cold or drinking cold or ice water before or with your meal.

· Taking antacids fairly regularly, through acid rebound, will exhaust the parietal cells and cause hypochlorhydria.

· B vitamin deficiencies (due to poor diet, increased intake of sweets, etc.).

· Stress will cause increased sympathetic nervous system involvement, stimulating the production of cortisol and causing a thinning of the lining of the stomach and Hypochlorhydria.

· Eating large amounts of food in between meals or eating a diet too high in protein will eventually exhaust the parietal cells.

· Any irritation in the stomach will increase mucus production even more, creating further dysfunction in the digestive process and attracting bacteria, fungus, and Candida overgrowth which feed upon the mucous and undigested food.

· Thyroid and Pituitary Hypofunction

· Unresolved GI Pathogen inoculation

· H. pylori suppress parietal cell function

· Reactive Hypoglycemia

Stomach motility and mobility are inhibited by the stretch place on the upper attachment of the esophagus and Lower Esophageal Sphincter and the compression of the abdominal organs caused by the psoas/diaphragmatic spasm due to the Category II patterns of distortion.

 According to Guyton’s Basic Human Physiology: "Gastric ulcers occur in patients who have normal or LOW secretion of HCl... ulceration in the stomach almost certainly results from reduced resistance of the stomach mucosa to digestion rather than to excess secretion of gastric juice."

Complications to Fibromyalgia

Various factors will have a drastic influence on the success of any treatment for Fibromyalgia. If the treatment you use happens to be the major factor contributing to your condition, you will feel better for a period. However, as you already have experienced, the symptoms and suffering return. Why? Because the other factors have not been cared for. If the treatment used is the least of the contributing factors, a person may not notice much change.

Anemia

These are the people who respond for a short time to whatever treatment they endeavor. The treatment fails after a few weeks and a new form of treatment is started with similar results. I experienced this first hand in my practice. Then after doing blood nutrition analysis, I discovered about two thirds of my patients were suffering from functional anemia.

If a patient is anemic, they will not be able to deliver oxygen to the mitochondria for ATP production and become dependent upon glycolysis for energy production. Glycolysis is an inefficient ATP pathway and will place great demands upon the blood sugar/adrenal stabilizing system. Insulin resistance and anemia commonly occur with inflammation from the food sensitivities. Iron supplementation in the presence of inflammation will increase free radicals, enhancing the inflammatory processes (think of throwing gas on a fire). It is important to know that the inflammation must be eliminated before treating the anemia or using iron supplementation.

Anemia, meaning "without blood", is defined as a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of hemoglobin, a molecule inside red blood cells (RBCs). As hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, anemia leads to hypoxia (LACK OF OXYGEN) in organs. Since all human cells depend on oxygen for survival, varying degrees of anemia can have a wide range of clinical consequences.

 The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (hemolysis) or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective hematopoiesis).

 However anemia is ignored healthcare providers until it is blatantly obvious and is misunderstood by the patient and healthcare providers alike. The first thought when anemia is mentioned is “IRON” and without ever determining what type of anemia, iron is recommended and taken without question. There are many different types of anemia. We find two thirds of our patients have some type of functional anemia through blood testing. Very few are true iron deficient anemia's. Most of those with low iron on their lab reports respond very well to a specific anti-inflammatory program at Wellness Alternatives.

Chronic inflammation is one of the symptoms of suffering those with Fibromyalgia endure. Chronic inflammation (also known as chronic systemic inflammation) is an inflammatory immune response of prolonged duration that eventually leads to tissue damage. Chronic inflammation is differentiated from acute inflammation by extended duration, lasting anywhere from a week to an indefinite time frame. The exact nature of chronic inflammation depends on the causative agent and the body's attempts to ameliorate it.

 Anemia of chronic disease, increasingly referred to as "anemia of inflammation", is a form of anemia seen in chronic illness, e.g. from chronic infection, chronic immune activation, or malignancy. New discoveries suggest that the syndrome is likely primarily the result of the body's production of hepcidin, a master regulator of human iron metabolism. Inflammatory cytokines also appear to affect other important elements of iron metabolism, including decreasing the ability of the bone marrow to respond to the body’s demand for more blood cells. Anemia of chronic inflammation can also be the result of non-bacterial causes of inflammation.

 Before the recent discovery of hepcidin and its function in iron metabolism, anemia of chronic disease was seen as the result of a complex web of inflammatory changes. Many investigators still hold this view while adding hepcidin to their description of this complexity, while others appear to feel that hepcidin is likely to be the most important factor in producing the condition.