You finally have a chance to get out and do some exercise and you enthusiastically lace up your walking shoes to go for a good brisk walk.  Either you are not warmed up properly or you did not see it coming, but you have an accident and in a matter of minutes, you are back on your back.  Unfortunately, you have to put your walking shoes away again and the give the injury the time it needs to heal. 

Apply the CURE-formula along with an enzyme product such as Phlogenzym to accelerate the process.

CURE your injury

C stands for both cold and compress.  Press ice on to the affected site to reduce swelling, bruising and pain. Apply enough pressure, but not too much that it may interfere with proper blood circulation.

U stands for “up”.  Put your foot or leg up to reduce swelling and bruising.

R stands for “rest”.  Rest your foot or leg.

E stands for enzymes. Enzymes, taken in tablet form, accelerate the healing process.  Excessive blood clotting components are dismantled allowing immune cells to reach the wound quickly and clean it up.  Depending upon the injury, this can take one day or longer.  Repeat the CURE process several times.  Proteolytic enzymes can be useful to reduce swelling and with less swelling, there is less pressure on the nerves and, therefore, less pain.

Aching muscles – why now?

You finally have a weekend to go biking or trekking in nature.  Anyone accustomed to sitting in the office and unused to lots of exercise can be in for a surprise!  Muscle aches and pains occur with every move and you were planning to go out again the very next day. 

You would be best to  prepare by doing the proper warm-up and cool-down exercises. Furthermore, on the day you plan to exercise in a new way, take enzyme combinations to reduce or completely eliminate exercise-induced muscle aches.  Aching muscles are the effect of excessive lactic acid accumulation and microscopic injuries in the muscles.  By taking proteolytic enzymes, blood flow is improved so the acid can be eliminated more efficiently.

Microscopic injuries are always accompanied by tiny inflammations so the body can repair damaged tissue.  Enzymes will regulate inflammation and will allow the damaged tissue to heal more rapidly.

Persistent bruises
What does Karate have to do with proteolytic enzymes?  Whoever has had the opportunity to try Karate, knows that it is accompanied by a substantial dose of bruises and you often can’t get rid of them between training days.  What can you do?

Twenty men and women were tested. Results were evident. After only 7 days of treatment, all bruises disappeared, instead of the usual 16 days that it took the placebo-treated patients (placebos are empty capsules).
With enzymes, useful sport activities like Karate can be more fun without the pain of bruises. 

This test was carried out in the Sport Medicine Institute in Munich.  100 volunteers were given a haematoma.¹
Half of the volunteers were given an enzyme combination product.  They had less pain and the bruises disappeared faster.  Tip: if you don’t want the bruise to spread, cool the area immediately after the impact.  Note: ¹be alert to a harmless blue spot that won’t go away, since it can be an indication of an inflammatory disorder.

Painful tension
Cold temperatures, wet and humid climates, drafts, as well as psychological or physical stress can cause tension such as stiff shoulders.  This can lead to microscopic inflammation and to pain sensitive neurotransmitter build up.  Unfortunately pain often makes us take on a compensating posture and our muscles cramp, which leads to a cycle of tension, pain and bad posture.  Enzymes can be particularly beneficial to break cycles like this, along with exercise and massage

Tips for an active life style
Make sure you get enough exercise.  Endurance activities like swimming or biking are especially beneficial.  Even brisk walks provide good exercise and lubricate joint tissues.  If you have any health issues, you should consult a health care practitioner before starting with an exercise program.

New sports like Nordic Walking are particularly well adapted for the elderly since almost all the parts of the body get exercised, the joints remain well protected, and the movements are not as hard on the joints as those in regular jogging.
Nutrition is also an important factor.  Vitamins and minerals help us stay fit and they are essential co-factors and activators for our bodies own enzymes.  Eating enough fruit and vegetables is essential in order that our bodies acquire the vitamins and minerals it needs.

¹Source: Winfried Miller: Enzyme – Quelle des Lebens, 2005, Zuckschwerdt Verlag

In spring, gentle and protecting movements may help bring the body back into swing.  However, if your limbs are inflamed and painful, any kind of exercise can be unappealing. Enzyme therapy can help.

Within our bodies there is a constant flow of movement that consists 70% of water.  That is the basic principle behind the body exercise method, “Continuum Movement”, developed in Haiti and New York.  The movements model waves of the ocean and the flow of the river, thereby gently and supporting the regeneration of cells in the body.

Start slowly with gentle movements
If you want to feel comfortable and supple during exercise, body therapist, Divo Müller, from Münich, recommends starting slowly to warm up the muscles and lubricate the joints while your body becomes accustomed to the new movements. Tip: Gentle body exercises are also adapted to rehabilitation programs following sport injury, like contusions, sprains and pulled ligaments/ muscles; and for rheumatism patients.

Examples of gentle exercise include

• physiotherapy
• yoga
• aquaform

Enzyme-based healing
Inflamed joints can heal with the help of enzyme therapy.  The natural active ingredients reduce swelling and improve the blood flow.  Pain and inflammation are reduced quicker.  You can find suitable enzyme combination products over the counter at your local pharmacy.

Renewed energy and no pain
Natural enzyme combinations help relieve inflamed and painful joints.  Recent studies show that enzymes improve blood flow and circulation, accelerate the healing process of inflammatory diseases and have counter-acting effects on malfunctioning immune systems, such as auto-immune diseases like rheumatism.  That means that enzyme therapy reduces inflammation processes quicker, relieves swelling and pain and improves circulation.  Without the pain, you can start having fun exercising again.

If you have suffered a contusion, sprain, or pulled ligament or muscle while training, enzyme therapy can support the healing process along with low impact, gentle exercises.

Even though practicing a physical activity is a healthy habit, it always comes with a risk of injury.  Fortunately, while recuperating from sprains, pulled ligaments/muscles and contusions, you can still tone your muscles and train your endurance with other types of exercise, like Nordic Walking or swimming.  The advantage?  In the water, gentle movements will lubricate the joints, while the body is 10 to 15 per cent lighter.

Train regularly and gently
While practicing Nordic Walking, it is important to move arms and legs in a contra-rotating sequence and hold the walking sticks close to the body.  It is best to learn the right technique under the direction of an experienced trainer.  The regular walks are not only healthy, but are a fun group activity. 

A few tips for your health: Nordic walking helps to loosen the neck and shoulder muscles, strengthens the general body muscles and relieves stress.  In a similar way, swimming can also strengthen the muscles without the unnecessary pressure on the joints.

Recommendations for Nordic Walking after a sport injury

• consult your physician before starting
• do not train every day in the beginning
• warm up, cool down and stretch

Tip:
Key indications to inflamed joints are redness and swelling.  Cold compresses can help reduce the pain and enzyme therapy can alleviate the symptoms, since it supports the inflammatory healing process.  The swelling is reduced, the blood improves its circulation, and the pain disappears.

Natural help
Natural combinations of active substances bring gentle relief to intensive pain following contusions, sprains, and pulled muscles and ligaments in the knee and elbow joints, without adding more pressure to the body.  Enzyme therapy which is available over the counter, travels directly to the affected part within the body.  Taking enzyme combinations gently stabilizes the immune system and brings it back to its natural balance.  The inflammation heals, the swelling reduces and the pressuring pain on the nerve cells disappears.  Furthermore, taking enzymes improves circulation, so the joints, muscles and tendons are properly supplied with life-essential oxygen, nutrients and warmth.  If enzymes are taken regularly, pain is reduced almost immediately, allowing you to painlessly go back to gentle exercise.

© 2010 Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co. KG