Ginger
Not that kind ginger, though, let’s just take a moment to admire the socks and sandals combo.
Not everyone can make those work.
Clearly, I am not everyone.
Take a seat, cross the leg, cheeky smile, BOOM.
Luckily, rumours of our extinction have been exaggerated (ginger misinformation).
This week we are all about this ginger.
This spicy, little root, correctly called Zingiber officinale, has been used for thousands of years for everything from pain to nausea to digestive discomfort.
It is an excellent anti-inflammatory (probably by inhibiting COX-2 and some of the pro-inflammatory cytokines), and may exert some anti-oxidant effects also.
But we are looking today at its use in topical applications.
It was actually a patient of mine that had an ankle fracture missed in A&E, and I subsequently x-rayed and diagnosed it, which first alerted me to its potential.
She had very persistent swelling in her ankle post healing and bought some ginger essential oil in a carrier medium to use to help with the lymphatic drainage.
And it really worked a treat.
This really made me think:
A potent anti-inflammatory and a lymphatic drainer, plus it also smells lush.
Could we combine this with menthol to create something genuinely unique in its actions and results for patients?
Well, it took 12 months of R&D with different %’s of menthol and ginger, and my colleagues and friends consistently had me smear them in minty ginger gels during lunch breaks, but we got there.
The beauty of this is you get an immediate feeling of coolness and quick relief from the menthol and camphor, and then within about 5 minutes you get the heat of the ginger kicking in, plus you smell delicious.
But let’s have a quick look at some studies on ginger in gels vs diclofenac for knee arthritis.
These are pretty impressive.
Now, what constitutes knee arthritis is a relative thing. We are not curing OA here, but reducing inflammation, pain and stuffiness in a relatively superficial joint and increasing patients’ activities of daily living. All without burning a hole in your gut, which is a beautiful thing.
I have been using this on patients and they love it, and they want to get some for use at home and when they are out and about and cannot use an ice pack.
Also, we have managed to have it made without any weird nasty chemicals.
Remember what you put on your skin goes into the blood and thus your cells.
These chemicals, in one off doses, are tolerable, but applied multiple times a day, in combination with other sources (shampoo, shower gel, mosituriser), in combination with other environmental toxins (glyphosate, mercury, benzenes etc) plus nutrient deficiencies (which reduce your ability to remove the toxins) over many many years?
Well, clearly no company producing these is going to study that, even if it were possible.
The reality is, we can make products without them, so check your label.
No weird colours or greasiness.
By the time you read this, we will have taken delivery of Chiro Ice and as soon as they are loaded into the system with our fulfilment house, we will be ready to go.