Inflammation is a normal response in the body to protect it from trauma. Our body is designed to produce inflammation to heal itself by increasing blood flow to the injured area. If you think about a broken bone or muscle injury, swelling will occur as a natural process for healing. On another note, chronic inflammation happens when the body is continually trying to repair damage caused to the mitochondria.

 

Detection

Often, people don’t realize they have inflammation until a disease appears and they have to address it. The body can go for long periods of time before any symptoms arise. Chronic inflammation can be caused by several factors, including:

Leaky Gut Syndrome

Environmental Toxins

Bacterial Infections

Viral Infections 

Stressful lifestyles

 

Signs and symptoms of inflammation are pain, heat, redness, swelling and loss of function. Inflammation can also manifest as fatigue, weight gain and stiffness. 

Over time, inflammation can have harmful effects on the body. Here are a few examples:

 

 

Stress Response

Inflammation prepares the body for fight or flight. When the body comes under stress, it releases inflammatory markers into the bloodstream called C-reactive protein (CRP). Once the stress has passed, the inflammatory markers reduce and the body is supposed to return to normal. However, when the body is under chronic stress, CRP is continually elevated in the blood causing chronic inflammation. In effect, the body does not return to normal and continues the inflammatory response.

 

Autoimmune Response

The body can also begin to attack itself. The body begins to see its own cells and even good bacteria as a threat. It can attack the lining of the gut where a major portion of the body’s immune system cells reside. It can also attack muscles and joints as seen in certain types of arthritis. 

Left untreated, chronic inflammation can cause:

Arthritis

Bursitis

Sinusitis

Colitis

High Blood Pressure

Atherosclerosis

Diabetes / Obesity

Accelerated Aging

Alzheimer’s

Cancer

 

Inflammation treated with conventional medicine includes over-the-counter (OTC) meds like Advil, Aleve and Motrin. The problem is these deal with only the symptoms instead of fixing what is actually causing the inflammation in the first place. These OTC meds may help with pain in the moment but they won’t stop it from recurring.

 

 

LifeWorks’ Solution

At LifeWorks, we work hard to find the root cause of a patient’s inflammation. We order the patient to do some blood tests and may also order a variety of other tests such as stool and urine. Digestive balance is a key factor.

We treat the cause of inflammation using several different therapies, including:

Ozone Therapy (including UVBI and HOCATT)

IV Therapy

PEMF

 

Ozone therapy is an excellent treatment to help heal inflammation. The reason for this is ozone increases the amount of oxygen (O2) in the body. Since O2 is made up of two atoms, the three atoms in ozone (O3) supercharge the oxygen in the body to help it heal.

 

UVBI IVs

UVBI (ultraviolet blood irradiation) therapy (also known as Biophoton Light Therapy) utilizes ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light has been used to treat diseases all the way back to the 1870s. However, in the 1950s, more and more mainstream doctors began using antibiotics and vaccines to treat patients and a lot of infections and viruses were resistant to these. Consequently, practitioners around the world had to find other forms of treatment. Photo-oxidation therapy has become more prevalent in treating patients. The UVBI IV is similar to Major Autohemotherapy (MAH). A patient will have a small amount of blood removed into a sterilized IV bag. The bag will be mixed with saline and ozone. As the blood is administered back into the patient’s body, it will be exposed to the UV light.

 

 

HOCATT

Hyperthermic Ozone and Carbonic Acid Transdermal Therapy (HOCATT) is one of our most popular treatments. The HOCATT is an ozone steam sauna in which a patient sits inside with their head exposed to the air. This is a 30-minute treatment where the patient relaxes while the machine does all the work. Heated up to a comfortable temperature, carbonic acid (carbon dioxide) is infused into the sauna. This opens up the body’s pores, allowing the ozone to penetrate. After a few minutes, the carbonic acid is removed and the sauna is infused with ozone. As the sauna fills with steam, the photon infrared light helps to increase blood flow and circulation in the body. This enables the body to accelerate its healing and provides faster pain relief. The HOCATT also helps the body detox, increases the patient’s blood oxygen level and metabolism, and overall increases energy.

 

 

IV THERAPY

IV Therapy provides the body with the vitamins and minerals that it needs to heal. By doing it intravenously, you bypass the broken digestive system and get the nutrients into the cells directly.

 

PEMF

PEMF is Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy. When the cells of the body have been injured due to trauma, they may lose their ability to generate proper energy levels to maintain their health. When this occurs, they will swell and heal slowly or not at all. PEMF helps the body recover by energizing the cells so they can heal faster.

 

Dr. George Springer received his undergraduate BA from the University of Missouri, in St. Louis, and his Doctor of Chiropractic from Logan University where he graduated magna cum laude. He went on to receive his Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine from the American Naturopathic Medical Institute, a division of Breyer State University, in Los Angeles. He is board certified in clinical nutrition and has completed extensive postgraduate studies in numerous areas of alternative clinical approaches not only in treating the causes of chronic disease but also for restoring and maintaining optimal health. 

 

Dr. Springer is a practitioner at LifeWorks Wellness Center, 301 Turner St., Clearwater. For more information, call 727-466-6789 or visit LifeWorksWellnessCenter.com. See ad page 2.