Thierry’s core speciality is in clinical homeopathy. This branch of homeopathy puts a strong emphasis on the importance of nutrition. Poor nutritional habits and dietary misconceptions can affect the body’s ability to nourish and repair our muscles and bones, causing musculoskeletal pain.
General Dietary Suggestions for the musculoskeletal system
First and foremost, eat in a calm and relaxed environment. Digestion works best if you are relaxed so take time & enjoy what you eat consciously!
The main suggestions for a good lifestyle and a diet “easy on your muscles” can be food in the alkaline diet under the immune/lymphatic section.
However, the following simple suggestions can already help you get a good start:
• Have a diet based on organic and seasonal vegetables, especially raw or lightly cooked. These should amount for about 60% of your daily intake if you are an adult.
• As your main source of carbohydrates, use brown rice, millet and porridge/oatmeal.
• Fresh fruit, especially berries, prunes and figs, are also very good, if they do not trigger any bloating or stomach cramps.
If you suffer from a severe or painful condition impacting your digestive system, then mucous-forming food should be avoided. This includes the following type of food:
• Any dairy products (milk, cheese, cream, yoghurt).
• Any forms of added refined and artificial sugar. Processed food and soft drinks should be avoided for this reason.
• White flour and wheat tend to be mucous forming for most people.
• Some people may also benefit of cutting eggs, peanuts, and soy-based food.
• Eat foods that are rich in sulphur as it aids the absorption of calcium. This includes asparagus, eggs, garlic, and onions. Eat also plenty of fresh non-acidic fruit and vegetables especially dark green leafy vegetables. Eat fish, and especially herring, sardines and mackerels. Eat whole grain: such as whole rice, whole wheat, quinoa and rye. Porridge / oat bran are also a good addition.
• Until symptoms improve, avoid caffeine, dairy products, salt and red meat. Eliminate completely saturated and man-mad fat, and switch to fatty/oily fish, and nuts and seeds.
• You may also try to avoid nightshade vegetables (peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes…) for a couple of weeks, and then re-introduce slowly. This is because some people are sensitive to these types of food.
Specific advice if you suffer from joints’ pain or arthritis
Follow the general suggestions and also follow the alkaline diet advice on the Immune & Lymphatic page of the Nutrition section. Strictly stay away from junk food.
Finally, try to incorporate 20 minutes of gentle exercise into your daily routine (cycling, walking or swimming). Also incorporate some forms of gentle relaxing activities, such as breathing exercises.
Specific advice for Gout and other Inflammatory Conditions
Please, refer to the Low-Purine diet on the Urinary Nutritional page. This has shown to help with the reduction of uric acid and other acids in the blood, which has been linked with joints’ inflammation. The link is here: Urinary Nutritional page.
Pelvic Floor Exercises: Constipation
This series of exercise will help you strengthen the muscles that are in charge of regular bowel movements. First, stand, lie or sit in a comfortable position with your legs slightly apart. Tighten the muscles around the anus (or ‘back passage’), as if you were trying to stop yourself from passing wind. The muscles that you are feeling tightening are the back muscles of your pelvic floor.
The pelvic floor exercises for constipation and for incontinence (see below), are very similar so you may want to do both of them if you feel that your whole lower back and pelvic floor areas tend to be generally weak or prone to pain.
The pelvic floor exercises for constipation are:
– Slow back muscles pull-up exercises: slowly tighten the back muscles of your pelvic floor, as hard as you can. Hold to the count of five seconds, then relax. Repeat at least five times.
– Fast back muscles pull-up exercises: Do the same exercise quickly for a second or two. Repeat at least five times.
Some further points, that will help you:
– Keep repeating the fast and slow pull-ups for five minutes, taking a 5 to 10-second break between each series. Do this ideally three times a day, and more if you diary allows it.
– The exercise works best if you vary your position. For this reason, do it sometimes standing, sometimes sitting and sometimes lying on the floor.
– Do not squeeze other muscles or move your legs or buttocks when you do this exercises. Only the pelvic floor muscles should be used.
– Try and breathe naturally If your muscles begin to ache, then stop exercising as you have done enough. Resume at your next planned session.
– Medical studies in France have shown that benefits are usually felt after a few weeks, but that it can take up to 4 months for full improvement. After full improvement, you may not need to continue the exercises.
– However, it is usually recommended to include them as a part of everyday life, or even better to have a regular physical activity 2 or 3 times a week that will use all of your muscles.
Pelvic Floor Exercises: Incontinence
This series of exercise will help you strengthen the muscles that are in charge of controlling your urine flow and the bladder. First, stand, lie or sit in a comfortable position with your legs slightly apart. To locate the front muscles of the pelvic floor, imagine that you are about to urinate and tighten your front pelvic area as if you were trying to stop the urination flow.
The pelvic floor exercises for incontinence and constipation (see above), are very similar so you may want to do both of them if you feel that your whole lower back and pelvic floor areas tend to be generally weak or prone to pain.
The pelvic floor exercises for incontinence are:
– Slow front muscles pull-up exercises: slowly tighten the front muscles of your pelvic floor, as hard as you can. Hold to the count of five seconds, then relax. Repeat at least five times.
– Fast front muscles pull-up exercises: Do the same exercise quickly for a second or two. Repeat at least five times.
Some further points, that may help you:
– Keep repeating the fast and slow pull-ups for five minutes, taking a 5 to 10-second break between each series. Do this ideally three times a day, and more if you diary allows it.
– The exercise works best if you vary your position. For this reason, do it sometimes standing, sometimes sitting and sometimes lying on the floor.
– Do not squeeze other muscles or move your legs or buttocks when you do this exercises. Only the pelvic floor muscles should be used.
– Try and breathe naturally If your muscles begin to ache, then stop exercising as you have done enough. Resume at your next planned session.
– Medical studies in France have shown that benefits are usually felt between 8 and 20 weeks for full improvement. After full improvement, you may not need to continue the exercises.
– However, it is usually recommended to include them as a part of everyday life, or even better to have a regular physical activity 2 or 3 times a week that will use all of your muscles.
Eye Exercises & Pinhole Glasses
The muscles in our eyes are often tense and tired, especially if we were glasses all day. Doing eye exercises regularly can help improve vision and help relax the areas surrounding the eyes. Do it at a convenient time, such as under the shower or as part of a gentle time. The exercises include:
- Palming: cup your hands and place them gently over your closed eyes. While palming your eyes, do this series of exercise:
– Keep our head still and look down as far as you can, then return your eyes to the centre. Continue by looking to the right as far as possible, then return to the centre. Next look as high as you can and return to the centre, and finally look left as hard as you can, returning to the centre.
– Then move your eyes in a clock-wise circle three times, and then anti-clockwise three times.
– Do this a few times. - You can do this series of exercise, but this time, with your eyes fully open.
Check online for Trayner / Pinhole Glasses as well. For more tips and exercises, look at the books on eye health in the Books Section.
Please, use our advice only as part of a treatment from our health practitioner. Also, refer to our Disclaimer and Legal Requirements.