Pentagon Using Aromatherapy ** Arthritis Treatments

[Guest guest]

Howdy Anya .. other good folks ..

 

Thanks for posting this .. interesting this is and I hope it comes about ..

though I am not yet ready to believe all that Secretary Gates has said.

I'll add a few cents to it and maybe be able to help a couple of folks now.

 

 

> http://news./s/nm/20100509/hl_nm/us_pentagon_aromatherapy

>

 

There are many types of medical treatment available to active duty military

personnel that are not covered for military retirees. However, Acupuncture

has been covered for Active Duty personnel under the TriCare program and in

those " rare " cases where a doctor felt there was a need for work by a

Chiropractor .. it too was covered. On the other hand, when a military

retiree reaches 65 years of age and become eligible for Medicare .. they are

also eligible for TriCare for Life .. a Medicare supplement. Medicare

does cover basic adjustment from a Chiropractor .. but not Acupuncture.

TriCare for Life does not cover Chiropractor services .. but it does cover

Acupuncture from a license Acupuncturist. I know not the logic behind

this .. but having served 30 years active and 20 years as a military retiree

... I long ago stopped trying to find logic in the system. ;-)

 

PTSD is not a new condition .. its just a condition that was not identified

in wars past. More common is Arthritis .. in soldiers and civilians.

Here is some advice for Some of those who might suffer from arthritis ..

advice from someone who has a lot of experience on the suffering part and

some experience on the treatment part .. me. ;-)

 

For Most People .. obviously not for ALL People .. two effective ways to

treat arthritis are:

 

(1) Lose Weight: This should not require a lot of discussion .. pick up a

15 pound bowling ball and walk 50 yards then put it down and walk back and

the difference is immediately noticeable.

 

(2) Proper Exercise: I have dozens of old soldier friends who agree with

me on this and arthritis is something that sorta goes along with a career in

uniform. Jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, rolling down hills,

falling to the knees to fire a weapon, long forced marches in full combat

gear and boots, running 5 miles in boots back before the military switched

to running shoes .. and often staying on your feet for 18 out of 24 hours

takes a toll on the body. Soldiers (especially those in leadership

positions) usually push themselves past the point of logical endurance ..

gotta avoid letting subordinates see that you are about to fall on your

ass. When we're young we accept the aches and pains of overexertion as

being normal .. but they really aren't normal. As we get older they have

become chronic problems. The alternative to this is not a good one .. that

is .. not getting older. Pain does let us know that we are still alive

and kicking .. but a little pain will do this as well as will a lotta

pain. ;-)

 

By the time I had 20 years service I had experienced multiple sprains to my

right ankle and multiple injuries to my left knee. But career soldiers

generally try to avoid having medical profiles in their records because it

is not a good thing when a promotion board meets .. so most just suck it up

and drive on. The system is such that we must do this .. and it worsens

the problems.

 

On treatment .. replacement of body parts is too often one of the first

things some docs recommend .. sometimes its the only solution but often its

the convenient and lucrative solution. Doctors are business people. Lots

of folks have had knees and such replaced and had great results .. others

find their condition worsened.

 

When I retired from the Army in 1989, I stayed in Turkey .. lived a great

life I did .. but I also got lazy .. stopped my exercise programs and gained

a bit of weight.

 

In late 2007, right after I returned to the U.S.A., the local Orthopedic

feller here did all the tests on me and concluded that I needed to start

taking Celebrex and my left knee needed replacing. He also said that my

right ankle was a candidate for fusing. I asked him if he would recommend

Celebrex to his family and he said he would .. but I think he was speaking

with a forked tongue. Check out the side effects on Google and you'll see

what I mean. I also rejected the knee operation and would never ever have

considered fusing an ankle. To make a long story short .. I did get one

shot in my knee that day .. then I started a physical program. I walked a

mile each morning .. straight line walking .. no sideways movement .. never

again would I play basketball or volleyball. ;-) Within a couple of weeks

I had increased it to 2 miles and within a month it was 3 miles. By the

time deer season opened I was able to walk a couple of miles before daylight

with a 35 pound pack and a rifle .. and climb a ladder to a deer stand .. I

just had to make sure I did not trip or make any side ward movements. That

has not changed to this day .. the pain is gone .. I rarely experience knee

pain now and almost all of the ankle swelling in gone. Also .. since that

time I lost 20 pounds .. slowly and steadily and I am able to keep it off.

 

Then around 3 months ago I did something dumb .. I let Alexander use me as a

horse .. let him ride on my shoulders. A 67 year old should not let a 4

year old do that if he has arthritis in his spine. Come to think on it ..

he probably shouldn't let it happen in any case but in my case an X-Ray of

my spine near the neck looks like a porcupine .. lots of unusual

formations. So I went to the local Chiropractor .. went through 3 sessions

a week for 3 weeks. I got absolutely NO relief from this .. so I stopped

going. An old retired colonel buddy suggested a treatment .. so I tried

it and it has worked. He said .. walk and sit like a soldier .. like you

used to. Chest out and shoulders back. The relief from pain was

IMMEDIATE .. I could feel it start to slip away as soon as I did this. It

was hard to keep the position or even to remember to keep the position .. it

had been 20 years since it was a norm. But now it is a norm again and

except for those times when I do too much guiding a garden tiller or crank a

boat onto the trailer or some other exercise that tightens the neck and

shoulder muscles .. no pain. Posture is important!

 

Do I believe that proper posture and correct exercises are the solution for

everyone? Obviously not .. but I betcha it will help many people more than

a doctor can help them .. so its worth a try.

 

Do I believe that losing weight will help everyone? Yes! It will help in

many ways .. losing weight can assist arthritic sufferers .. and even stop

sleep apnea .. and increase energy .. and lower BP .. and generally make

life more pleasant.

 

There are two more temporary remedies but I have long hesitated to recommend

them because things that work are often used too often .. abused. I'll

write again some day soon and hit on them. No time today because its

Mothers Day and Alexander and I are taking Tanya out for lunch. Folks

here in West Tennessee consider a great lunch as one that includes Southern

Fried Catfish and Hush Puppies. ;-)

 

 

> --

> Anya McCoy

> <http://anyasgarden.com/>

> http://NaturalPerfumers.com <http://naturalperfumers.com/>

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Happy Mothers Day and y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch ... http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

PS 1: If you read the article closely .. you will find some double talk.

Secretary Gates was obviously not prepared to answer the question so he

winged it.

PS 2: The bit about PTSD and morphine .. nothing new about that except

PTSD itself .. it was always there but we had not really focused on it.

Stop the bleeding and a shot of Morphine are the first things a combat medic

attends to when dealing with a wounded soldier .. it was common during the

Vietnam War and probably even during the Korean War. Serious pain usually

occurs after the initial shock of a wound has passed .. especially if the

wound is from rifle fire .. so any action that reduces the stress level

before the pain hits is logical.