Foods to encourage healing?

[Ruthla]

I sprained my ankle today. Are there any foods that encourage sprains to heal?

[yllek]

Ow!! So sorry you got hurt, Ruth.

Okay, these are not foods, but I didn't want to read and not reply with at least a couple of suggestions. I've heard that high doses of vitamin C can help with injuries and homeopathic arnica also helps with tissue injuries. I'm not at all sure about dosing, however. Hopefully, someone else will chime in with some suggestions.

And whenever I'm sick or hurt (or want comfort in any way), I always vote for soup. My mom's bone broths could fix **anything**!

[Panserbjorne]

Arnica does far more than help with tissue...take the arnica! Also Zhen gu Shui is a topical analgesic that is wonderful. I would think anything that gets collagen and gelatin as well as zinc into you would be great for healing an injury like that. Feel better!

[kdmama33]

Water! Actually, a mixture of 1/8 teaspoon (or less) salt in a quart to 2 quarts of water. Repeat throughout the day. (Be sure to use quality, mineral-rich salt.)

[krankedyann]

Bone broths are high in minerals. Also, Concentrace is a good mineral supplement.

[saratc]

Ditto on everything above plus vitamin E. Vitamin E is used to help in healing and synergistic with many nutrients. Also, in my family traditions, it was thought that eggs and meats high in fat and collagen, like pig's feet are helpful for bodies that are healing. So definitely bone broth, but try to throw in bones with lots of tendons and connective collagen tissues.

[kallyn]

Ruth, I saw this today and I remembered your post! I found it in the WAPF letters archive while looking up butter oil.

RAPID HEALING

I broke my ankle bone (fibula) a month ago, and the doctor said it was a significant injury and may need surgery. I followed the Weston Price protocol for fractures, using 1 teaspoon cod liver oil daily, 1 teaspoon high-vitamin X Factor butter oil daily, lots of raw milk, raw cheese, kefir and bone broths daily, as well as lying in the sun.

Went back for checkup, and doctor said the bone was clinically healed at 4 weeks! I am out of my boot cast and walking all over the place in my sneakers! For a 40-year-old woman, this is quite a testimonial.

I share the beliefs of this organization with everyone, just wanted to say thank you, the diet really works. I have followed a traditional diet for over a year now and really am feeling good these days.

Juliann Rank
Dade City, Florida
http://www.westonaprice.org/letters/L2005sp.html

[Ruthla]

OK, guess I'll have to try to take my CLO daily- it's hard to do that with the crutches!

Ouch ouch ouch, my foot is more swollen today than it was yesterday.

[aprilibarra]

arnica orally,homeopathically 30x 5times a day i think, and keep a cloth soaked in epsom salt on it. I know that many say not to move it, but i moved mine and it really helped the stiffness. get well soon!

[*Di]

Ooooh... I hope you take lots of rest and feel better soon. I don't have any "medical" suggestions for your ankle, except this very informative video which I thought you may like to watch on your computer while resting your ankle on your table The link is in the thread "Food As Medicine" thread...but here it is also:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...medicine&hl=en

[Ruthla]

Video's not working now. Oh well.

I took my CLO and cream (since I don't have any BO right now) this morning, plus I made sure to have some bone broth last night (ended up eating cold leftover chicken soup- it wasn't so tasty, but at least I got the nourishment, right?)

I saw the orthopedist this morning, he switched me to an air cast, and told me that the NSAID was only for pain- it won't affect the swelling or healing at all, so I stopped taking it. He also prescribed physical therapy, but the PT place he sent me to doesn't accept my insurance.

Does anybody know what the PT would do for my ankle, that maybe I could do at home on my own?

[saratc]

In PT, they basically stretch and exercise your limbs for you cause sometimes you are too hurt or weak to do it yourself or just don't know what exercises to do. Usually, I come out more sore than before, but feel much better in a day or two. Sometimes they may give you a cold or a hot pack to stimulate blood circulation in the area. For stubborn pain, sometimes they hook you up with electrodes and stimulate the area with electric currents.

With a sprained ankle, I personally would not try to exercise it. I would massage the area several times a day even if it hurts to do so since blood circulation does wonders for healing. I didn't remember this when you first posted this, but when I bumped into anything when I was little, my Chinese grandma would immediately apply pressure and massage the area vigorously. I didn't like it cause she was massaging where it hurt. But later as I grew up, I noticed that if I did massage the area immediately, a bruise would form immediately and go away quickly. If I didn't, it took awhile for the bruise to form and for it to disappear. You can also try alternate cold and hot compacts to stimulate circulation. Like cold in the morning, then a few hours later, a hot pack. Soaking in hot water is nice too.

[xenabyte]

I ripped out my entire ACL in my right knee (Short version: Tae Kwon Dow Class: Jump, spinning back-kick that landed wrong).

I didn't do NSAIDS at all, just ice packs for the first few days, and then did self massage 'surrounding' the immediate area of swelling, until I could gently work into the more swollen areas.

Massage DEFINITELY helps. The ortho was shocked at how fast I basically 'healed' from this injury. I didn't do reconstructive surgery (didn't want cadevor replacements in me), but I did do some PT (stretches and balance board and weight lifting to build the compensating muscles surrounding my knees). To this day, no problems with that knee.

Sesame seeds and making a 'milk drink' from it is superb for healing bone and soft tissue injuries. I suggest chia seeds, but they are harder to find for some.

Sending you healing vibes! Sprains are more of a pain, as soft tissue can actually take longer to heal than actual bones!

[Panserbjorne]

Traditionally that is exaclty how it's handled. In China they massage vigorously with a "bone setting linament" It's painful as anything while it's happening, but then the injury "disappears." We employ this practice in our home, but also use arnica orally and epsom soaks.

[Ruthla]

Thanks for the tip on massaging! Last night I did some massage on my foot while DD prepared an epsom salt soak for me, then I soaked my foot for a while (and then I soaked my good foot since it's been kind of overused lately!) and I massaged my foot again this morning. What a difference!

The swelling is greatly reduced now. My foot is once again foot shaped instead of looking like a foot shaped balloon! However, I can't fit into any of my shoes quite yet (well, I could probably fit into my sandals if I loosened the straps, but I won't bother since they don't have ankle straps.