Sports Injuries

Even though chiropractic medicine is quickly becoming popular among most Americans, there are still many myths about the field. 

Over the last few decades, chiropractic medicine has become more widely accepted by the conventional medical community. Unfortunately, there are still a number of myths and misconceptions that affect the public’s view of chiropractic care.

1. Chiropractic physicians are mistrusted by other doctors.

At one time, it was common for chiropractors or chiropractic physicians to be viewed with skepticism and contempt by other doctors, such as general practitioners. This misconception, however, was formed mostly in the mid-20th century and is no longer present. In the 1940s, a number of conservative physicians belonging to the American Medical Association (AMA) publicly scorned chiropractic medicine, trying to eliminate the profession by portraying chiropractic physicians as uneducated and unscientific charlatans. This persisted until a 1980s lawsuit found the AMA guilty of conspiracy against the chiropractic practice.

Today, support for chiropractic medicine within the medical community continues to grow. Academic studies showing the effectiveness of chiropractic care have been published in major medical journals, including this study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. In February 2017, the American College of Physicians also updated their guidelines suggesting those with low back pain use various conservative, non-invasive therapies such as spinal manipulation before resorting to pharmaceuticals.Presently, the effectiveness of chiropractic treatment is largely accepted by medical doctors, and many hospitals even have chiropractic physicians on staff.

2. Chiropractic adjustments are dangerous.

Another common myth is that chiropractic adjustments are dangerous. In fact, chiropractic care is less invasive than many other forms of medicine, and a number of studies have proven its safety and effectiveness for patients of all ages.

Chiropractic medicine is a natural and safe alternative to other treatments, including conventional pain management such as steroids, anti-inflammatory medication, and surgery, which are associated with risks, side effects, and complications. All doctors, including chiropractic physicians, are required to pay for malpractice insurance — however, chiropractic doctors pay much less for this insurance than medical doctors because injuries resulting from chiropractic care are so uncommon. According to NCMIC, a major malpractice insurance company for the chiropractic industry, medical doctors pay annual premiums as high as $18,000 compared to about $3,750 paid by chiropractic physicians.

3. Chiropractic physicians are less educated than “real” doctors.

Due to the holistic nature of chiropractic medicine compared to more conventional approaches, many people who are unfamiliar with the profession, regard chiropractic physicians as less rigorously trained than other doctors. This, however, is simply false; chiropractic physicians are required to earn a Doctor of Chiropractic degree (or DC) and a state license in order to practice in the United States.

Obtaining a DC degree at National University for example, requires five academic years of additional education on top of an undergraduate degree. Similar to the training undergone by medical doctors, DC students gain a solid foundation in the basic sciences with coursework in anatomy, physiology, neurology, pathology, and pharmacology, before going on to their clinical science training. A year of clinical internships and rotations completes their medical training.

Chiropractic physicians must pass four sets of national board exams in order to obtain a license within the United States. To maintain their license, they must complete continuing education to be sure they are current on the latest natural medicine practice innovations and research.

4. Chiropractic physicians only treat back pain.

Though chiropractic medicine is most widely known for treating spinal disorders, it is actually used to resolve or manage a variety of health conditions, including acute and chronic pain, fatigue, chronic gastrointestinal infections, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, and headaches. It is often used by women to treat pregnancy-related pain and conditions at any stage of planning.

At National University, students are trained to become primary care physicians and thorough diagnosticians. No matter what the illness, students are taught to focus on the complete health and function of the patient, not merely specific issues or symptoms. They are taught to consider a wide range of factors that may impact health, such as biomechanical dysfunction, genetics, trauma, hygiene, microorganisms, nutritional status, exercise, posture, environment, and stress. Students graduate with many tools in their tool belt, and can draw upon various treatment modalities and innovations to help their patients.  

5. Chiropractic medicine is only for adults.

Many parents fear that chiropractic medicine is unsafe or unnecessary for children. However, chiropractic care for children dates from as early as 1910. As a natural and non-invasive form of medicine, chiropractic medicine is a safe and effective first line of treatment for a number of child-related ailments. At National University, chiropractic students are trained as first-contact physicians and when necessary, will work integratively with other health care providers to find the best treatments possible for their patients.

Chiropractic physicians also provide preventative care to help establish healthy habits in children at all stages of their lives. For example, posture analysis can help identify posture habits that can greatly impact overall health, including energy levels, breathing, stress, and sleep. Additionally, chiropractic care encourages neuroplasticity, preventing neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and Sensory Integration Disorder.

Why do people automatically assume that endless amounts of static stretching and foam rolling will provide them with transferable benefits in the gym, sport and their daily lives? The stretching myths need to be dispelled, especially as it pertains to the most commonly stretched area of the body, the hip.

From attempting to get out of lower back pain to targeting more and more hip mobility to improve squatting and other functional movements, people gravitate towards stretching, but is it really doing them any good?

We have Dr. Zach Long here on DrJohnRusin.com because he wants to put a stop to static stretching of the hips, and rightfully so! He has a better way to improve positions and alleviate pain, and it doesn’t involve sticking lacrosse balls in your butt or holding painful static stretches for minutes at a time. Enjoy.

Here’s What You Need To Know…

1. Many people use foam rolling and static stretching to alleviate tight muscles, but the fact of the matter is that these practices make little to no useable change to the the muscles or movements they control in the short and long term.

2. If you really want to improve your “hip mobility” you better look outside the hip and start targeting stability of the pelvis and spine instead of adding endless mobility to one of the most mobile joints in the body.

3. When it comes to alleviating lower back pain and hip dysfunction, gaining and maintaining pelvic alignment in the neutral zone is pivotal. And guess what, it will improve your strength performances as well.

4. Dynamic stability is the new mobility, so here’s the most effective program that will open up your hips without ever holding a static stretch ever again.

Stupid Static Stretching

The fitness world has come a long way in our understanding of the importance of mobility work and the impact it has on athletic performance and training. It’s safe to say that “mobility” exercises and tools like the foam roller are becoming commonplace in gyms, CrossFit boxes, and on the playing field worldwide.

Unfortunately, most athletes performing these mobility drills have yet to figure out that much of their mobility work does not actually result in real performance gains!

Sadly, their mobility work does not address the true root of their problems and their constant stretching, foam rolling, and joint band distractions get them nowhere. The hips are the greatest example of this problem, with athletes everywhere wasting hours on  useless mobility work! Let’s stop wasting time and start seeing objective results from corrective exercise and training, you know, the kind that shows up in PRs instead of in fluffy feel good effects.

It’s time to quit the static stretching of the hips and start refocusing your “mobility” work on more effective exercises and techniques that will not only improve your mobility, but your athletic performance as well! And did I mention that we can achieve this in a fraction of the time? Yeah, better listen up.

Where Hip Mobility Exercises Have Gone Wrong

Because of the inherent stability of the hip joint provided by the ball-and-socket, many athletes and coaches spend far too much time trying to improve hip mobility by performing stretching and soft tissue work. Months of intense stretching techniques provide little actual change in available motion and only serve to waste time and create pain in the athletes.

Instead, small stability changes at the pelvis can provide drastically fast improvements in performance. Contraction of the muscles around the pelvis can result in changes in pelvic positioning and thus available hip range of motion. For example, a posterior tilt of the pelvis will put the hips in a position advantageous to improve hip flexion mobility, while an anterior pelvic tilt will result in increased hip extension. It’s important to remember that it’s not all about the hips.

The hamstrings are the perfect example of the effects pelvic positioning can have on mobility. I’ve yet to meet an athlete who doesn’t claim to have “tight hamstrings”. Even the elite gymnasts, dancers, runners, and yogis believe that their hamstrings should be further stretched in order to maintain and enhance mobility.

In an anteriorly rotated pelvis, the hamstrings will have increased tension placed on them, thus resulting in a perceived decrease in flexibility. More often than not, simple core stabilization movements will provide immediate improvement in their perceived tightness or chronic hamstring muscle strains.

To test this directly, have athletes perform a straight leg raise while lying on their back. Quite often, simply cueing the athlete to “push your rib cage down” or “flatten your lower back into the floor” will result in a posterior pelvic tilt that instantly improves “hamstring mobility” and decreases the perception of hamstring tightness and muscle strain.

This simple repositioning of the pelvis can provide more gains almost instantly than months of static stretching, manual therapy, and self-myofascial work combined. This effect can also be seen when working to improve hip extension, rotation, and functional patterns such as the squat.

The Hip Mobility Solution 

The self-sufficient solutions to hip mobility deficits are simple. Perform movements that challenge the available active hip range of motion, while engaging the core to stabilize the pelvis. As the athlete learns to better control the core and pelvis, mobility will drastically improve and be transferable into function.

Hip “mobility” work done this way will have two effects.

First, it will reposition the pelvis to a more neutral position, allowing for improved mobility within the hip socket.

Secondly, it will serve as a “reset” to muscle tone around the hips. Often times, the body realizes it does not have the needed stability around a joint due to muscle weakness. The body’s response is to increase the tone in a muscle to provide some false-stabilization. The hip flexors (like the hamstrings) are another muscle group that often feels tight in athletes but when proper core stabilization movements are performed, this increased muscle tone instantly vanishes and mobility problems are gone!

Your New Hip Mobility Regimen

The following exercises should be a strong component of any athlete’s hip mobility work, as they will produce faster results than the typically prescribed foam rolling and stretching routines. Lets break these down one by one with a video and my notes on what makes each movement so powerful:

The Reverse Active Straight Leg Raise

Coaching Notes: The Reverse Active Straight Leg Raise is an excellent movement to improve hip flexion and active hamstring mobility. The athlete begins lying on his or her back with both legs vertical and knees straight. One leg is kept in this vertical position (this can be done by using a stretch strap or not using one to increase the challenge) while the other leg is slowly lowered to the floor. The key point of performance is that the lower back remains flat on the ground, ensuring that the core is actively engaged to stabilize the spine and pelvis.

Single Leg Hip Lift

Coaching Notes: Up next for those with hip flexor tightness, the Single Leg Hip Lift and Psoas March variations can be incredible exercises. To perform the Single Leg Hip Lift, the athlete lies on their back with one foot flat on the floor and that knee bent to approximately 90 degrees. The other leg is pulled towards the chest and held in the athlete’s arms. Next, the athlete lifts his or her hips up as high as possible without arching their lumbar spine. The athlete should consciously focus on activating his or her glutes throughout the entire movement.

The Psoas March

Coaching Notes: The Psoas March is an amazing exercise for quickly eliminating hip flexor tightness as it retrains the psoas’ role in spinal stability. The athlete lies supine with a resistance band around both feet. While focusing on maintaining a neutral spine, the athlete lifts one knee towards his or her chest, stopping at ~90 degrees of hip flexion, and then returns to supine. This is then repeated on the opposite leg.

The Goblet Squat

The Goblet Squat may be the most powerful mobility exercise specific to the squat. By holding a weight in front of the body, the athlete is able to better sit back into the squat, maintain a neutral spine and pelvis, and reach better squat depths. When performing Goblet Squats to work hip mobility, we suggest performing a slow negative and pausing for several seconds in the bottom of the squat.

90/90 Breathing with Hip Internal Rotation

Coaching Notes: The 90/90 Breathing with Hip Internal Rotation is another fantastic drill for quickly changing hip mobility. This has repeatedly helped improve rock-bottom squat depth and decreased hip pinching in the elite Olympic weightlifters and CrossFit athletes that I work with.

Start with the athlete lying on his or her back, their feet up on a wall and their hips and knees bent to ninety degrees. After raising the hips slightly off the ground, they inhale through their nose, focusing on filling their stomach with air before allowing the check to rise. As they exhale, the rib cage is pushed down. This movement puts the spine in a neutral position and the pelvis slightly posteriorly rotated. After several breaths, the athlete then lifts one leg off the wall and repeatedly internally rotates it while continuing the breath cycles.

The Anti-Stretch Hip Mobility Program

For an athlete looking to optimize hip mobility and performance, I highly recommend that they do each of the above exercises three to four times weekly, usually as part of their warm up. And hell, if more attention is needed to improve these positions, work this exact program into a cool down after a workout or a stand alone session later on that day.

1. 90/90 Breathing with Hip Internal Rotation
   • 5 breaths followed by 20 internal rotations per side
2. Reverse Active Straight Leg Raise
   • 2 sets to moderate fatigue each leg
3. Single Leg Hip Lifts
   • 2 sets to moderate fatigue
4. Psoas March
   • 2 sets to moderate fatigue
5. Goblet squats
   • 2 sets of 10 reps with 5 second negative and three second pause in the bottom

Alright guys, there you have it! A full “hip mobility” program that is geared towards improving your motor control, stability and of course your movement abilities as a whole, without the need to stretch out that always tight piriformis!!

Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer that can be difficult to treat. New research, however, may have found a drug that can inhibit the protein driving its growth.
Researchers may have found a way to inhibit the growth of brain tumors, here shown in an MRI scan.
Glioblastomas are tumors that form out of the “sticky,” supportive tissue of the brain and spinal cord.

Most of the time, glioblastomas are aggressive malignant; they are made of many different types of cells that reproduce very quickly and receive a significant blood supply. The 5-year survival rate is estimated to be less than 10 percent.

Glioblastoma can be difficult to treat because of the heterogenous nature of its cells. Some of the cells may respond to therapy while others may not.

Typically, treatment includes a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. So far, this has resulted in a median survival of about 2 to 3 years for patients receiving standard treatment.

Patients with more severe forms of glioblastoma, who receive a combination of drugs and radiation therapy, usually survive for an average of 14.6 months, and the 2-year survival rate is approximately 30 percent. Little can be done to treat recurrent glioblastoma.

In this context, more and more researchers are exploring genetic options for treatment. Recent studies have pointed to mutations in the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) genes as the key driver of glioblastoma, but clinical trials aimed specifically at neutralizing these driver mutations were not successful in treating this form of cancer.

However, researchers from the Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center may have found a way to inhibit glioblastoma cells.

Their findings were published in the journal Cell Reports.

The team – co-led by Dr. Robert Bachoo, of the Annette G. Strauss Center for Neuro-Oncology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and Dr. Ralf Kittler, an assistant professor of pharmacology in the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development – successfully used a drug to target different proteins that drive the growth of glioblastoma tumors.

Mithramycin inhibits glioblastoma-driving transcription factors

The new study suggests that so far, researchers have mistakenly focused on RTK gene mutations, which are only responsible for starting tumor growth, not for the continued growth of glioblastoma.

“Our work shows that the gene mutations which the pharmaceutical industry and clinicians have been focusing on are essential only for starting tumor growth. Once the tumor has advanced to the stage where patients seek treatment, these mutations are no longer required for continued tumor growth; they are in effect redundant,” explains co-senior author Dr. Bachoo.

Instead of the RTK genes, the new study found three transcription factors to be responsible for glioblastoma: Sox2, Olig2, and Zeb1.

As co-senior author Dr. Kittler explains, the study shows that these “neurodevelopmental transcription factors (master proteins that regulate the activity of hundreds of genes during normal brain development) are reactivated to drive the growth of glioblastoma.”

Brainscope is a new and highly advanced medical device that’s relatively cheap to buy and easy to use, and El Paso’s UMC is just one of two hospitals in the nation that has one.
Actually, University Medical Center has two of them. But it shouldn’t be too long before they’re in emergency rooms, neighborhood ER centers, ambulances, professional sports medical facilities and military medical units.
That’s because the hand-held Brainscope One, its formal name, doesn’t just detect brain injuries, it can diagnose them on the spot in minutes.

“This is not quite Dr. McCoy’s tricorder, but we’re getting close,” said Dr. Edward Michelson, the medical director of UMC’s emergency medicine department, referring to the sci-fi device used on the Star Trek Enterprise.
Nationally, more than 150 people die every day from traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, and 3 million people a year are treated for head injuries in hospital emergency rooms, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Emergency room visits for head injuries have increased sharply in recent years as the public has become more aware of the risks of concussions and traumatic brain injuries, or TBI, resulting from sports activities and accidents.
“This is great to have at a time when you have a greater awareness of concussions related to football, car accidents, whatever it is,” said UMC spokesperson, Ryan Mielke. “Equipment like this reduces the expense and the anxiety for the patient.
“You can’t put a price on that.”
The diagnostic tools of choice today for detecting brain injuries are the EEG and the CAT scan, also known as the CT scan, both of which can require time, hospitalization and high-level expertise to use.
They’re also expensive to buy – an EEG reader can go for as little as $9,000, but CAT scan equipment ranges up to $3 million.
The Brainscope – which could be called a smart, hand-held EEG device – will sell for around $5,000 and may cost patients and insurers as little as $200 per use, Michelson said.
The new device won’t replace the EEG or CAT scan, but it can tell doctors and techs whether those exams should be conducted and, just as importantly, whether further testing is necessary at all, Michelson said.
The business end of the Brainscope is a hand-held computer that’s smaller than most smartphones.
“The computer is really a ruggedized cellphone,” Michaelson said, describing the military version of the computer with its protective case.
The computer connects to a rubbery amplifier that fits on top of the head and hooks to a disposable headset with nine electrode sensors that attach at key points on the forehead and face.
Not unlike a radio, the electrodes pick up energy waves emitted by different areas of the brain, send them to the amplifier, which boosts the signals and sends them to the computer.
Within five minutes of being fitted, the Brainscope can diagnose a head injury and, with 97 percent accuracy, tell a doctor whether to order further tests or treatment.
“Think about this, say you’re hit in the head and instead of coming to an ER, which is a trauma center with neurosurgeons, you go to the urgent care down the road,” Michelson said. “They don’t have a CT scanner or a neurosurgeon, but they’re a little worried about you.
“In the past, they would send you to me at the ER, and now you’ve got a second bill for a CAT scan. But, the urgent care center can put this on you and say, based on the Brainscope, you need to go to the ER or you can go home.”
Michelson is a professor and the chair of the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine. He held the same position at Case Western School of Medicine in Cleveland before being recruited to UMC 16 months ago

Super Bowl 50 will showcase the leading players in the National Football League, with Joshua Kollmann, DC and Brad Wiest, DC – team chiropractors for the Carolina Panthers – and Shawn Caldwell, DC, team chiropractor for the Denver Broncos, helping players achieve optimal performance.

The Foundation for Chiropractic Progress (F4CP), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the value of chiropractic care, points out that all 32 NFL teams include the professional services of a doctor of chiropractic (DC) as part of their integrated health care team approach.

Marking their fifth year with the Carolina Panthers, Drs. Kollmann (pic. left) and Wiest (pic. right) highlight the integrative role of chiropractic care: “We are in the stadium training room twice a week – and more often during play-offs – addressing specific sports injuries or providing preventive, maintenance care that the athletes want in order to achieve peak performance. Every player is individually assessed and the treatment plan is communicated and discussed with the training staff. Since the physical nature of the sport really impacts body structure, many players look forward to their pre- and post-game spinal and extremity adjustments as well as other advanced approaches.”

Shawn Caldwell, DC, who has served the Denver Broncos since 2004 and is now preparing for his second Super Bowl, says, “I work hand-in-hand with the athletic trainers and focus on performing chiropractic spine and extremity adjustments that restore joint function. The goal is to enable players to perform optimally or heal from injuries. I am at the facility two-three times weekly or more if necessary. Some players get an adjustment every time I am in the training room, while others when they are symptomatic so they can return to the playing field.”

According to Kyle Prusso, DC, team chiropractor for the Oakland Raiders since 2005 and president of Pro Football Chiropractic Society, an organization of chiropractors who provide the highest quality chiropractic health care to the elite athletes of professional Football: “It’s great to see chiropractic care integrated in all facets of health care, especially in professional and amateur sports. One of the reasons is that athletes are asking for us, with increased player requests driving utilization of chiropractic across all sports. Athletes are very in tune with their bodies and recognize that chiropractic care can boost optimal performance levels.”

All doctors are passionate about their roles as team chiropractors to an NFL Super Bowl contender, as Dr. Kollmann says, “I am humbled by this position and want the world to know that this is a great time to be a chiropractor. It means the world to me to ignite and advance our profession – especially for those who are pursuing a chiropractic education as well as veteran professionals. We are igniting the profession and honor those DCs who pioneered the opportunities that have helped us to become a part of the NFL teams.”

Dr. Caldwell, who is also the chiropractor for the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team, sums it up, “Chiropractors are playing an important role in the health care and performance of professional athletes. This is a fantastic experience for us and for the players.”

Doctors of chiropractic receive a minimum of seven years of higher level education, and are qualified to diagnose, treat and manage a broad spectrum of health conditions. They are the primary care professionals for spinal health and well-being. For athletes, chiropractic care helps to reduce the risk of injuries, and improve health and performance through enhancements in range of motion, flexibility, balance, muscle strength and other key factors.

If you are interested in learning more about how to be an NFL Chiropractor you can connect with the Professional Football Chiropractic Association on their website or on their Facebook page.

No matter what the outcome of this weekends game may be, rest assured that both teams will have been well adjusted and their nervous systems tuned on and ready to perform on the biggest stage of all.

There’s a disease that’s often mistaken for another illness or disorder at first since it can cause flu-like symptoms, fatigue, loss of appetite and other problems associated with different health concerns. But it’s much more serious than the flu. In fact, it’s a progressive, debilitating disease that affects about one in every 4,000 people. I’m talking about mitochondrial disease.

Mitochondrial disease is a disorder that’s caused by failure of the mitochondria, which results from DNA mutations that affect how someone’s genes are expressed. What do mitochondria do, and how does their failure impact someone’s health? Mitochondria are specialized “compartments” found within almost every single cell of the human body (all except red blood cells). They’re often nicknamed “the powerhouse” of cells because they help with the process of creating usable energy (ATP) within cells, but mitochondria also have numerous other roles too.

According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, mitochondria are responsible for creating more than 90 percent of the energy needed to sustain the human body (plus the bodies of most other animals too), but what might surprise you is that about 75 percent of their job is dedicated to other important cellular processes besides energy production. (1, 2) Without proper mitochondrial functioning, we wouldn’t be able to grow and development from the time of infancy or have enough energy to carry out bodily functions as adults like digestion, cognitive processes and maintaining cardiovascular/heartbeat rhythms.

There’s still a lot to learn about how mitochondrial disease develops, what risk factors might make people susceptible, how it should be properly diagnosed and what the best treatment options are. Researchers believe that the aging process itself is at least partially caused by deteriorating mitochondrial functions, and today we know of many different disorders that are tied to abnormal mitochondria processes (cancer, some forms of heart disease and Alzheimer’s, for example).

That being said, because there isn’t a cure for mitochondrial disease at this time, the goal is to help control symptoms and stop progression as much as possible through a healthy lifestyle and in some cases medications.

Natural Treatment for Mitochondrial Disease

1. See a Doctor for Early Treatment and Management

Early diagnoses and treatment of mitochondrial disease might be able to help stop cellular damage from worsening and causing permanent disabilities. Early interventions for young children can also help improve functions like talking, walking, eating and socializing.

It helps many patients manage their symptoms when they become educated on mitochondrial diseases and know what to expect. Mitochondrial disease is unpredictable and can change shape day to day, so the more a patient understands his or her own disease, the better that person can prepare for symptoms. Symptoms can worsen and progress if they’re ignored so ongoing support and early recognition are key.

2. Get Plenty of Rest

People with mitochondrial disease often experience chronic fatigue, which makes it hard to go about life normally. Things like digestion, bathing, walking and working can be hard to keep up with, so getting plenty of sleep and not overexerting yourself is important.

Many people aren’t be able to exercise, at least not vigorously, due to trouble breathing and low energy, and require more sleep than a healthy person would to manage symptoms and stay healthy. It’s also helpful to prevent fatigue by eating regularly and avoiding fasting, plus trying to stick to a normal sleep/wake cycle as much as possible.

 


 

3. Eat an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Digesting the foods we eat is one of the hardest processes the body goes through, using a high percentage of our daily energy to metabolize nutrients, send them to our cells and discard of waste afterward. A lot of people with mitochondrial disease experience gut trouble, problems with appetite and eating regularly, and uncomfortable symptoms caused during digestion of foods, which is why a nutrient-dense diet that’s low-processed is most beneficial.

The more processed someone’s diet is (high in things like sugar, artificial ingredients, refined carbohydrates and hydrogenated fats), the harder the organs have to work to extract nutrients and get rid of toxic waste that’s left over. It’s also important to consume plenty of nutrients to help prevent even more fatigue from developing, such as B vitamins, iron, electrolytes and trace minerals.

For some people with mild forms of mitochondrial disease, getting enough rest and eating a healing diet filled with anti-inflammatory foods is enough to help manage their symptoms and improve quality of life. Some helpful tips for improving mitochondrial disease symptoms with a healthy diet include:

Avoid fasting/going too long without eating, and avoid trying to lose too much weight (both can worsen fatigue). Eat small, frequent meals to help with digestion.
Have a healthy snack before bedtime (especially one with a form of complex carbohydrates) and upon waking up.
Healthy fats seem to be helpful for some people with mitochondrial diseases, so in some cases extra fat can be taken in the form of MCT oil. (3) Each person should test his or her reaction to fats since some do better with a lower fat diet, while others must be careful about low-fat diet risks. Some people need to reduce almost all fats and consume more carbohydrates to avoid excess free fatty acids and low-energy ADP production.
Iron-rich foods should be limited and levels monitored since iron can be harmful if it’s overaccumulated. Avoid taking supplements with iron unless you’re being monitored by a doctor, and try to limit vitamin C foods around a meal rich in iron, since this boosts iron absorption even more. (4)
4. Avoid High Amounts of Stress

Stress worsens inflammation and fatigue while also hindering immune function. Stressful situations should be avoided, and many patients find they feel better when purposefully reduce stress by incorporating stress relievers like meditation, journaling, relaxing outdoors, etc. Thermal regulation is also critical for people with mitochondrial disease, which means avoiding stressing situations like very cold or very hot temperatures.

5. Build Immunity to Prevent Infections

People with mitochondrial disease are more susceptible to infections and other illnesses, so it’s crucial to keep immunity up with a healthy lifestyle. Many different natural antiviral herbs might be able to help prevent frequent infections. Tips for helping to improve immunity include:

conserving energy and pacing out activities to avoid fatigue
getting outdoors and maintaining a comfortable environment/temperature as much as possible
Avoiding exposure to lots of germs, bacteria and viruses that trigger an illness (such as in childcare settings, schools or certain work environments)
staying hydrated and eating a nutrient-dense diet
taking high-quality supplements, including: omega-3 fatty acids, a multivitamin/B vitamin complex, and antioxidants like vitamin C or vitamin E. There’s also evidence that CoQ10, a fat-soluble antioxidant used for energy production, can be helpful and is safe for most people with mitochondrial dysfunction. (5)
Facts About Mitochondrial Disease

Mitochondria disease is actually a term used to group together hundreds of different disorders that all stem from dysfunctions of mitochondria, each one with its own exact cause and symptoms.
It’s estimated that about one in 4,000 people has a type of mitochondrial disease, which is considered progressive in nature and currently without a cure. (6)
When mitochondria stop working properly, the result is that less energy in the form of ATP is generated within cells, and therefore the whole body usually suffers. Cells can become damaged or die all together, sometimes leading to a complete failure of different organs and entire bodily systems.
Damaged mitochondria can affect how the brain, heart, liver, bones, muscles, lungs, kidneys and endocrine systems (hormones) work. (7)
Children are more likely to have mitochondrial disease than adults are, although more cases of adult-onset mitochondrial disease are now being diagnosed. Infants and children might show signs of slow or abnormal development, trouble speaking or hearing, fatigue, and lack of coordination at a young age.
Mitochondrial disease can develop at any age (although it shows up in children most often) and is often mistaken for another illness or disorder at first since it can cause flu-like symptoms, fatigue, loss of appetite and other problems associated with different health concerns.
Some people experience debilitating symptoms from mitochondrial disease, like not being able to talk or walk normally, but others live a mostly normal life as long as they take care of themselves carefully.
Most patients’ symptoms fluctuate over the course of their disease, from severe to being barely noticeable. However, some people develop mitochondrial disease at a young age that causes disabilities that last their whole lifetimes. Older people can develop diseases related to mitochondrial dysfunction, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. (8)
Mitochondrial disease runs in families to some extent, but it’s also caused by other factors. Family members with the same disorder can experience vastly different symptoms even if they have the same genetic mutations.
How Mitochondria Work

It takes about 3,000 genes to make one mitochondria, and only about 3 percent of those genes (100 of the 3,000) are allocated for making ATP (energy) within cells. The remaining 95 percent of genes found within mitochondria are tied to cell formation and differentiation, functions of the metabolism, and various other specialized roles.

Mitochondria are needed to:

build, break down and recycle the molecular “building blocks” of cells
make new RNA/DNA within cells (from purines and pyrimidines)
produce enzymes required to make hemoglobin
help cleanse the liver and detoxify the body by boosting removal of substances like ammonia
for cholesterol metabolism
creating and balancing hormones (including estrogen and testosterone)
carrying out various neurotransmitter functions
protection against oxidative damage/free radical production
breaking down fats, proteins and carbs from our diets to be turned into ATP (energy)
As you can see, mitochondria are extremely important for development and overall health, since they help us grow from an embryo to an adult and form new tissues throughout our lives. All of the roles mitochondria have help slow down the effects of aging and defend us from disease development.

Symptoms of Mitochondrial Disease

Symptoms of mitochondrial disease can manifest in many different ways and vary in terms of intensity depending on the specific person and which organs are affected. When a large enough number of cells in one organ are damaged, symptoms become noticeable. Some common mitochondrial disease symptoms and signs include: (9)

fatigue
loss of motor control, balance and coordination
trouble walking or talking
muscle aches, weakness and pains
digestive problems and gastrointestinal disorders
trouble eating and swallowing
stalled growth and development
cardiovascular problems and heart disease
liver disease or dysfunction
diabetes and other hormonal disorders
respiratory issues like trouble breathing normally
higher risk for strokes and seizures
vision loss and other visual problems
trouble hearing
hormonal disorders including a lack of testosterone or estrogen
higher susceptibility to infections
It’s possible for mitochondrial disease to affect only one organ or group of tissues in some people, or to affect entire systems in others. Many people with a mutation of mtDNA display a cluster of symptoms that are then classified as a specific syndrome. Examples of these types of mitochondrial diseases include: (10)

Kearns-Sayre syndrome
chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia
mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes
myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers
neurogenic weakness with ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa
many people also experience symptoms that cannot be easily classified, so they don’t fit into one particular category
Whether they’re grouped together under a specific condition/syndrome or not, research suggests that people with mitochondrial dysfunctions experience higher rates of these symptoms and illnesses than people with mitochondrial diseases:

drooping of the eyelids (ptosis)
autoimmune disorders like Hashimoto’s disease and fluctuating encephalopathy
disorders that affect the eyes, including external ophthalmoplegia, optic atrophy, pigmentary retinopathy and diabetes mellitus
exercise intolerance
irregular heartbeat rhythms and functions (cardiomyopathy)
seizures
dementia
migraines
stroke-like episodes
autism — a child with autism may or may not have a mitochondrial disease (11)
mid- and late-pregnancy loss (miscarriages)
The Causes of Mitochondrial Disease

Mitochondrial disease is the result of spontaneous mutations in mtDNA or nDNA. This leads to altered functions of either proteins or RNA molecules that live within mitochondria compartments of cells. In some cases, mitochondrial disease only affects certain tissues during the time of development and growth, which are referred to as “tissue-specific isoforms” of mitochondrial dysfunction. Researchers don’t fully understand yet why people are affected so differently by mitochondrial problems and what leads to experiencing symptoms within various organs/systems.

Because mitochondria perform hundreds of different functions in different tissues throughout the entire body, mitochondrial diseases produce a wide spectrum of problems, making proper diagnoses and treatment hard for doctors and patients. (12)

Even when researchers are able to identify that an identical mtDNA mutation occurred in two different people using genetic testing, both people still might not have identical symptoms (the term for diseases like this that are caused by the same mutation but cause different symptoms is “genocopy” diseases). Mutations in different mtDNA and nDNA can also cause the same symptoms (known as “phenocopy” diseases).

Risk Factors for Mitochondrial Diseases

The exact causes of mitochondrial disease aren’t entirely known at this time. Risk factors for mitochondrial disease and related illnesses, however, include: (13)

Having nuclear gene defects that are inherited in an autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant manner (they’re transmitted by maternal inheritance more often but can be passed on from a parent). (14) Mitochondrial disease has an approximate recurrence risk of one in 24 within the same family. Parents can be genetic carriers of a mitochondrial disease and not show symptoms of their own but still pass the defective gene onto their children.
High levels of inflammation. Inflammation has been linked to multiple degenerative diseases as well as the aging process itself, and mitochondrial alterations play a central role in these processes. (15)
Other compounding medical conditions. For example, in adults many “diseases of aging” have been found to have defects of mitochondrial function, including type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, atherosclerotic heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer.
In some cases, patients receiving immunizations show abnormal mitochondrial symptoms for the first time, or symptoms become worse. But it still isn’t totally clear if the immunizations can be blamed and how they’re involved. Some evidence suggests children should not receive vaccinations if they have underlying mitochondrial disorders that make them exponentially more vulnerable to vaccine damage. (16, 17)
Some evidence shows that inflammation and “medical stress” — caused by an unhealthy lifestyle or conditions like fevers, infections, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and other illnesses — can activate the immune system, which worsens metabolic disorders and mitochondrial functions.

Mitochondrial Disease Takeaways

Mitochondria disease is actually a term used to group together hundreds of different disorders that all stem from dysfunctions of mitochondria, each one with its own exact cause and symptoms.
Mitochondrial disease is often mistaken for another illness or disorder at first since it can cause flu-like symptoms, fatigue, loss of appetite and other problems associated with different health concerns. It’s a progressive, debilitating disease that affects about one in every 4,000 people.
Some people experience debilitating symptoms from mitochondrial disease, like not being able to talk or walk normally, but others live a mostly normal life as long as they take care of themselves carefully.
To treat mitochondrial disease, see a doctor for early treatment and management, get plenty of rest, eat an anti-inflammatory diet, avoid high amounts of stress, and build immunity to prevent infections.
Symptoms include fatigue; loss of motor control, balance and coordination; trouble walking or talking; muscle aches, weakness and pains; digestive problems and gastrointestinal disorders; trouble eating and swallowing; stalled growth and development; cardiovascular problems and heart disease; liver disease or dysfunction; diabetes and other hormonal disorders; respiratory issues like trouble breathing normally; higher risk for strokes and seizures; vision loss and other visual problems; trouble hearing; hormonal disorders including a lack of testosterone or estrogen; and higher susceptibility to infections.
Risk factors include nuclear gene defects that are inherited in an autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant manner, high levels of inflammation, and other compounding medical conditions. Some evidence shows that inflammation and “medical stress” — caused by an unhealthy lifestyle or conditions like fevers, infections, dehydration, electrolyte imbalances and other illnesses — can activate the immune system, which worsens metabolic disorders and mitochondrial functions.