Pets have improved the lives of those living with chronic pain and can help alleviate the depression that comes with it. There's no doubt that having a pet or interacting with a trained therapy animal can help reduce and alleviate the pain and improve the quality of life.
Animals and the companionship they offer seems to be a natural pain reliever, and significant research supports this theory. Here are some ways that our pets can help us live optimal lives even with chronic pain. �
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Ways Pets Can Relieve Pain
Our pets allow us to feel less stressed out. Research has shown even for those that are not into pets, that petting a dog for ten-fifteen minutes reducescortisol, which is a stress hormone. In a journal for pain, researchers studied the effects of quick therapy dog visits at a pain management clinic. Over 2-months they compared the individuals' feelings of:
Pain
Fatigue
Stress
Tremendous improvements were reported for pain, state of mind, and other measures of stress among the individuals after the dog visit. Improvements were also seen in family, friends, and staff after the therapy dog visits.
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They Generate More Activity
Specifically, dog owners seem to be healthier than those without a dog. Cats are great but when it comes to activity/fitness, dogs require regular walks, which makes owners get up, go outside and move around. Walking a dog can help:
Improve balance
Combat fatigue
Improve flexibility
Reduce joint pain
Increase strength
Manage weight
Being active combined with walking helps to get a better night's sleep and reduced pain. �
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They Make Us Feel Better Without Medication
Research has shown how the proper attitude impacts treatment outcomes. With a positive attitude, an individual is more likely to stick with a long-term pain treatment plan. Petting and playing with a furry friend can be the perfect medicine creating an improved mood literally relieving pain and reducing the need for pain meds.
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They Distract The Pain Away
Individuals living with chronic pain are constantly thinking about it. Having a pet changes the focus from pain to joy and happiness. With a pet to care for gives the day structure and life purpose. Pets need attention and because of their lovability are hard to ignore. �
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Animal-Assisted Therapy
This type of therapy is a legitimate option for chronic pain management. With the problems associated with opioids, doctors and patients are looking for alternative ways to treat pain. The American Academy of Family Physicians reports that nonpharmacological therapies, like animal-assisted therapy, are now included in chronic pain treatment plans. Other options for pain relief include:
Example: An individual has a pain syndrome/condition. When the pain flares up the individual becomes irritable and upset. The individual has a dog that recognizes these feelings. The dog comes over and starts playing, licking, etc. The individual picks up the dog, calming the individual, helping change the mood, and ease the pain.
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Pet Time
Owning a pet is a real responsibility, for those who are not interested in adopting, there are still benefits from pet medicine. Some ideas to consider:
Perhaps a family member or friend owns a pet that could have regular visits. This would be a good way to get a feel for the experience and see what it's like to have a pet without committing.
Cats are an option if dogs are not your cup of tea. This could be because of allergies or residing in a location that does not permit them. Cats offer companionship along with the same psychological benefits as dogs. However, there is not much activity since they don't need to be walked. But they still need to play/pretend hunt.
Try spending time at a pain management clinic that has an animal therapy program. Some of these clinics allow individuals to spend time with a therapy dog a few times per week. These are usually 15-minute sessions.
Unable to locate a clinic in the area, try looking into other organizations that could provide therapy animals and programs. Local vets and animal shelters can be a good source of information for animal therapy programs.
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Therapy and Service Dogs Are Not the Same
When it's time you might be ready for a dog of your own. Before searching the local shelter's website, consider everything that comes with pet ownership. Factor in costs like:
Veterinary care
Behavior classes
Food
Shelter
Toys
Travel
Think about the size of the animal and if you can safely manage a small or large pet. Remember this is a therapy for individuals with a health condition of chronic pain. An individual needs to be able to see what they can take given their level of pain at any given time.
If you've never owned a pet, there needs to be an understanding that housebreaking a pet can be quite a time-consuming and exhausting task. This could add more stress and worsen the pain.
It is important to remember that therapy dogs do not have the same training as assistance or service dogs. Service dogs are trained to perform and assist with specific tasks to help an individual that has a disability. This could be a seeing-eye dog helping their blind owner. Also, service dogs live with their owners and are granted special access to public places like planes, restaurants, places of business, etc.
The American Kennel Club defines therapy dogs as dogs that can accompany their owners to volunteer in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes where they work together as a team to improve the lives of other people.
There are definitely medical benefits to having pets in our lives. However, don't expect them to remove chronic pain overnight. Pets are another tool that can bring relief and improve the quality of life for individuals living with pain.
Metabolic Syndrome & Inflammation
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The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, and sensitive health issues and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate and support directly or indirectly our clinical scope of practice.*
Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation as to how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at�915-850-0900. The provider(s) Licensed in Texas& New Mexico
PODCAST: Ryan Welage and Alexander Jimenez, both medical students at the National University of Health Sciences, discuss the several new approaches that they developed in order to help people continue to engage and participate in exercise from the comfort of their own homes. Using their advanced understanding of functional medicine, biomechanics, and nutrition, they undertake explaining simple methods and techniques for complex movement protocols. Moreover, Alexander Jimenez and Ryan Welage discuss how diet can be an essential element in overall health and wellness. Dr. Alex Jimenez offers additional guidelines with the Functional Fitness Fellas, among further advice. - Podcast Insight
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PODCAST: Dr. Alex Jimenez, chiropractor in El Paso, TX, and Victoria Hahn discuss the fasting-mimicking diet and the ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet program developed by Dr. Valter D. Longo. The ProLon Fasting Mimicking Diet is a high-fat, low-calorie intermittent fasting diet that may promote fat loss and reduce blood sugar, inflammation, and cholesterol, similar to other fasting methods. Valter D. Longo is an Italian-American biogerontologist and cell biologist known for his research studies on the role of fasting and nutrient response genes on cellular protection aging and diseases as well as for proposing that longevity is regulated by similar genes and mechanisms in many eukaryotes. Only a few research studies have been carried out to date regarding the fasting-mimicking diet and more research is needed to validate its benefits. �- Podcast Insight
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If you are experiencing any of these situations, then it might be something that may be attacking your immune system. Why not try to add some beta-glucan into your diet and overall health.
Throughout the last several years, beta-glucans have been gaining much attention due to the emergence of medicinal mushrooms in Western cultures. Across the country, studies have found that beta-glucans have been ubiquitous in the health food stores due to their immunomodulatory properties and cancer-protective effects. Since edible fungi have been known as the main source for beta-glucans, surprisingly though beta-glucan can be presented in a variety of foods like oats, barley, seaweeds, and yeast. Beta-glucan can also be found in dietary supplements for the body to consume.
Beta-glucans
Beta-glucan is technically a non-starch polysaccharide, a prebiotic fiber that is formed by ?-1,3 and 1,6 glycosidic bonds. With beta-glucan, it can possess numerous health benefits depending on the molecular structure of each type of bond. Studies have shown that beta-glucans that are found in cereal grains can help lower cholesterol levels and can effectively bind serum cholesterol. Beta-glucans can even play a beneficial role in obesity, metabolic disorders, and other chronic non-communicable diseases. Since beta-glucans are a prebiotic fiber, research shows that they can play a significant role in promoting a healthy microbiome in the body. It means that beta-glucan can stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria species, mitigating pathogenic ones, and even modulating inflammation to optimize the gut environment in the body.
Beta-glucans for Immune Support
In a 2019 study, it stated that �the relationship between immunity and nutrition is considered to be completely interconnected.� More studies have shown that beta-glucan can act on several immune receptors that can stimulate immune cell activity. This includes T-cells, macrophages, neutrophils, monocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and dendritic cells. One of the studies showed how beta-glucans could pose modulatory effects on both the innate and adaptable branches of the immune system. One of the protein receptors is known as dectin-1; this protein receptor is on the surface of macrophages and dendritic cells.
What dectin-1 can do is that they can initiate and regulate the innate immune response by insoluble binding ?-1,3, and 1,6 glucans, plus it has become essential for controlling infections in the body. While water-soluble ?-glucan can bind to the CR3 receptors, thus triggering the adaptive immune response to the body. With ?-glucans, they can enhance phagocytosis while also triggering the release of various interleukins and cytokines, thus possessing cytotoxic anti-cancer properties. Studies have shown that TNF-?, IFN-?, and NF-??, can help to support the regulation of the T-helper cell 1 and Th-2 balance for immunological homeostasis for the body. Surprisingly in other articles, they talked about how yeast-derived ?-1,3/1,6 glucan can be delivered as an oral supplement for the winter months. The article study showed how it demonstrates its protective effects against upper respiratory tract infections in the body. The study even showed how it could reduce the upper respiratory tract infection symptoms that are already in older adults that have been infected. Another study showed that ?-glucan have cytoprotective abilities from viral infections and provide immunomodulatory properties to the body and the immune system.
With the population of many individuals, it turns out that the elderly population can benefit from the ?-glucan compound. With this compound, everyone can have a healthy immune system, especially during the cold and flu season. Having a healthy immune system is important because that way, the body can protect itself from harmful pathogens through functional medicine, healthy nutritious food, and supplements. By using these options, the body can heal itself and can dampen the effects of cold and flu symptoms.
More Research on Beta-glucan
Research studies have shown that ?-1,3 glucan from the fungal cell wall is one of the key ingredients for vaccines. The research shows as well that ?-glucan can produce robust humoral and cellular immune responses for the body when it is exposed to antigens. What is interesting is that ?-glucan is known to exert antioxidant activities in the body. With their reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging abilities, they can exert the antioxidants into the circulatory system and the mucosal immune system. There is a study that shows that ?-glucan in barley can possess a higher total of antioxidants significantly at a better capacity than oats and yeast. The study showed that ?-glucan could be subdivided into two groups depending on whether specific receptors are involved or not. It also stated that ?-glucan could be validated as a functional food ingredient.
Conclusion
All in all, ?-glucan is an amazing non-starch polysaccharide prebiotic fiber that has amazing properties that can help the body. ?-glucan can be found in mushrooms and a variety of other foods like seaweed and oats. This compound can help boost up the body’s immune system and can dampen any harmful pathogens effects that the body has come in contact with. This compound�s beneficial properties are amazing for anyone that consumes it and even added it to their daily diet. Some products combined with ?-glucan can support the immune system with hypoallergenic nutrients and targets amino acids.
The scope of our information is limited to chiropractic, musculoskeletal, and nervous health issues or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions. We use functional health protocols to treat injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system. Our office has made a reasonable attempt to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We also make copies of supporting research studies available to the board and or the public upon request. To further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900.
References:
Bacha, Umar, et al. �Nutraceutical, Anti-Inflammatory, and Immune Modulatory Effects of ?-Glucan Isolated from Yeast.� BioMed Research International, Hindawi, 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5587958/.
Chan, Godfrey Chi-Fung, et al. �The Effects of Beta-Glucan on Human Immune and Cancer Cells.� Journal of Hematology & Oncology, BioMed Central, 10 June 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704234/.
Fuller, Richard, et al. �Yeast-Derived ?-1,3/1,6 Glucan, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection and Innate Immunity in Older Adults.� Nutrition, Elsevier, 23 Mar. 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0899900717300539.
Jurgelewicz, Michael. �New Study Demonstrates Novel Yeast-Derived Beta-Glucan Provides Immunomodulatory Effects in Older Adults.� Designs for Health, 21 Oct. 2018, blog.designsforhealth.com/si-42214/new-study-demonstrates-zinc-supplementation-improves-clinical-outcomes-from-traumatic-brain-injury.
Levitz, Stuart M, et al. �Exploiting Fungal Cell Wall Components in Vaccines.� Seminars in Immunopathology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4329074/.
Nakashima, Ayaka, et al. �?-Glucan in Foods and Its Physiological Functions.� Euglena, Co., Ltd., 14 Aug. 2017.
Nakashima, Ayaka, et al. �?-Glucan in Foods and Its Physiological Functions.� Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2018, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29491277.
Team, DFH. �Modulators of Immune Health: Beta-Glucans.� Designs for Health, 26 Mar. 2020, blog.designsforhealth.com/node/1219.
Team, DFH. �Mushrooms for Nutritional Medicine.� Designs for Health, 14 Feb. 2019, blog.designsforhealth.com/node/952.
Vetvicka, Vaclav, et al. �Beta Glucan: Supplement or Drug? From Laboratory to Clinical Trials.� Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 30 Mar. 2019, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6479769/.
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PODCAST: Daniel Alvarado of Push Fitness Center and Dr. Alex Jimenez discuss the complications of losing weight. How to keep a focus and how to work our to the sticking point. An Ernest Discussion. Dr. Alex Jimenez, a chiropractor in El Paso, TX, and Daniel (Danny) Alvarado, owner of the PUSH Fitness Center, continues to discuss the importance of weight loss and how people and athletes can continue the effort to stay healthy. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by 5 risk factors, including excess waist fat, high blood pressure, high blood glucose or sugar, high triglycerides, and low HDL or good cholesterol levels. Diet and lifestyle modifications, such as participating and engaging in exercise and physical activity, can ultimately help improve the 5 risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome and a variety of health issues, including diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Dr. Alex Jimenez and Daniel (Danny) Alvarado discuss how motivation is one of the most fundamental elements in the continued effort to stay healthy. Following a diet and lifestyle modifications that are unique to each individual can also help promote overall well-being. - Podcast Insight
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