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My Healing Regimen for Injuries and Surgery

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I recently took my daughter Sylvie on a ski trip to Utah. I was looking forward to some father-daughter time (my wife was on a meditation retreat), introducing Sylvie to skiing, and doing some snowboarding myself. However, things didn’t go quite as planned. I had a bad fall on the slopes and ended up with a broken rib. Read on to learn the steps I took to recover from my injuries as fast as possible.

How you heal after surgery is just as important as the surgery itself.
When you get injured or need to have surgery, your long-term healing regimen is just as important to your overall health as the surgery itself.

I’ve been skiing or snowboarding for 35 years, and I’ve never had a serious injury from either during that period. I guess I was due, because halfway through my first day on the mountain I had a spectacular wipeout. Most of the impact of the fall was focused on my left side, around the 9th and 10th ribs.

For the first five to 10 minutes after the fall I could hardly breathe, so I knew it was serious. Long story short, I ended up being transported by ambulance to the hospital in Salt Lake City (with Sylvie riding in the front; she’s still telling that story!). I had a chest x-ray and ultrasound, was diagnosed with a cracked rib (or ribs) and lung contusion, and was discharged with a prescription for Norco and ibuprofen.

My ski trip had obviously come to an abrupt halt, but we stuck around in Utah for the remainder of our trip (two days) so Sylvie could continue in ski school. She loved it and it made the whole experience worthwhile.

Eight natural remedies to help recover from injuries and surgery

Now that I’m back home, I’ve put myself on an intensive healing protocol. Managing pain and inflammation after injuries and surgery is an important part of the healing process, but I don’t think that pain medication and ibuprofen are the safest way to do that. I’m not opposed to them in the short term; I didn’t refuse the morphine they offered in the ambulance, and I did take Norco and ibuprofen the first couple of days while I was still in Utah and didn’t have access to my stuff. But over the intermediate to longer term, I certainly prefer a more natural approach.

I thought I would share what I’m doing, since I imagine it would be of interest to others who’ve been injured or are recovering from surgery. Just five days after the injury, I had already improved significantly—quite a bit more than is typical for cracked ribs, according to what the doctor told me to expect and the anecdotal reports of others who’ve suffered similar injuries.

Here is my regimen:

  • Curcumin (Meriva SR form, which is more bioavailable than standard curcumin preparations), 1,500mg three times a day with food. Curcumin is a potent anti-inflammatory, but it doesn’t have the side effects and risks of ibuprofen. 4.5g (4,500 mg) per day is a relatively high dose, but doses of up to 8g per day have been shown to be safe for short periods, and I believe that higher doses are necessary for short-term therapeutic benefit. (Important note: curcumin is contraindicated if you are taking a blood thinner, which may be prescribed post-surgery.) I like the Thorne Research soy-free brand.
  • Boswellia AKBA (this is an extract of Boswellia that is more potent than the whole herb), 100mg three times a day with food. Boswellia is also anti-inflammatory, but it works with a different mechanism than curcumin, which makes them a complementary pair. I like the Pure Encapsulations brand.
  • Wobenzym PS, three tablets three times a day on an empty stomach. Wobenzym is a blend of systemic enzymes. There isn’t much research behind it, but anecdotally I’ve found it to be helpful (in my own experience, and with patients) for joint pain and inflammation, and there isn’t much risk, so I decided to include it. Even if it’s a placebo, it’s safer than a lot of the other options!
  • CBD oil. CBD is the non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant, and it is anti-inflammatory and analgesic. It is sold legally over the counter (for now; if the DEA gets its way, it won’t be for much longer) because it does not produce the “high” that THC does. I use it regularly in my clinical work with patients, and I’m finding it to be helpful with the pain and with sleep (because of the pain). After extensive research on CBD products available today, Ojai Energetics Hemp Elixir is my top choice. It’s what I use myself and with my family, and what I recommend to most of my patients, because it’s effective, safe, and made from 100% organic ingredients.

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  • Bone broth, one cup twice a day. Bone broth is rich in a variety of nutrients that support soft- and hard-tissue repair. I prefer the Kettle & Fire brand when we’re not making it ourselves.
  • Chinese “Fall and Hit Medicine” (Die Da Ke 跌打科). Many of you may know that I was originally trained in Chinese Medicine, and I have studied Chinese internal martial arts like tai chi and Bagua for many years. There is a long history within Chinese martial arts of using “hit medicine”—compresses, plaster, and liniments made from Chinese herbs—to help heal injuries. I’m using products from Spring Wind. For those who are unfamiliar with this type of medicine, the company has a great document explaining how to use it for trauma. I am using one of the dissipating plasters, a compress, and the trauma liniment. Unfortunately, I think the compresses and plasters are only available to practitioners, but the liniment is sold to the general public.
  • Acupuncture. I have always found acupuncture to be helpful for pain and trauma. I’m getting treatments three times a week at a community acupuncture clinic, the Berkeley Acupuncture Project. Community acupuncturists are very experienced because they focus exclusively on acupuncture (and don’t use herbs or other treatments, typically). They see a high volume of patients in a large-room setting, which enables them to offer very affordable treatments on a sliding scale of $18 to $40. The secret to using acupuncture to heal trauma (or anything else for that matter) is frequency; two treatments a month, which is what people often go for, isn’t going to cut it. At least two, and preferably three, times a week initially will be much more effective, and then you can titrate down from there.
  • Rest. This might go without saying, but rest is perhaps the single most important part of a trauma recovery program.

Okay, that’s it! I’m about three weeks in, and the ribs are healing well at this point. I’ve got a ways to go—broken ribs don’t tend to heal overnight—but I’ve been able to resume many of my daily activities.

If you’re on any narcotics, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, or blood thinners post-injury or post-surgery, please check with your doctor before taking any of these supplements. The bone broth, “hit medicine,” and rest are obviously fine no matter what!

Hope this is helpful.

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52 Comments

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  1. After grandma’s arrested, jailed at Disney for carrying CBD oil, I have no idea if I can legally order it or not. CBD oil is legal in America, but at the same time not. If that makes sense… Which it doesn’t. Is mailing CBD oil legal?

  2. Thanks for this. I have had a bad case of leaky gut/histamine intolerance for the past few years. I am having hip surgery and am concerned about taking the prescribed NSAID. Any thoughts on adding White Willow bark to the regimen?

  3. My experience taking CBD continues to be nothing short of amazing. I began taking these CBD’s following an extensive 5 hours spinal surgery in early 2016 and this is the only pain medication I have used since the surgery. I saw my surgeon just a few days ago, and when he saw my spinal x-rays, his response was: “This is remarkable. whatever you are doing, please keep it up. Everything looks perfect!” And, I will keep taking the BioCBD+ to ensure my continued health. – Mukara

  4. My experience with cbd oil is a life saver! I can live a normal life despite extensive spine surgery. Many people with that kind of surgery are not able to function in their lives and remain severely handicapped. Because of cbd oil, I can live a normal life and it is a miracle. I have tried other products but they do not have the same effectiveness. Thank you biocbdplus. – Mukara

  5. I’m so sorry to hear about your accident (obviously I am behind on my emails)! I was wondering what your thoughts are on castor oil is for healing after injuries and surgery. I think it can be helpful especially for abdominal surgeries, as well as for women with reproductive issues, such as cysts, fibroids, etc. but I don’t know if there is any science to prove this. Thanks

  6. I had been suffering of lower back pain for quite sometime due to a injury I had few years back and I also found Reiki to be quite helpful in managing the pain.

    You can read a little about it here

    http://reikirays.com/13407/reiki-away-your-lower-back-pain/

    this here is quite helpful and I can say form personal experience Bone broth is easiest and tastiest way to deal with aches .. Thank you chris, one article I am definitely sharing with my friends.

  7. hey chris, thanks for the valuable information here, this is really helpful.

    Another treatment that I found quite useful and helped me recover from the spinal injury after my road accident few years back was reiki

    This treat can heal sprains, aches, torn ligaments and breaks, pretty much everything and thus definitely worth a try.

  8. I don’t go for ski but normal injuries happens often, you are a doctor so you know that what you are doing will be good for your health but for a non doctor it could be very risky to take any medicine without consulting a doctor.

  9. Very good suggestion. I’ve also lower back pain which I can use above medicine as a Anti-Inflammatory, and analgesic medicine. I liked your article and would like to share with my friends.

  10. I enjoyed this article, and use all of the methods you have suggested here except for frequent use of acupuncture. Thank you for explaining that acupuncture needs to be given frequently. There is good value in reducing inflammation for trauma injuries.
    My husband had a serious truck wreck 40 years ago which damaged ligaments, and now he has arthritis in both knees . A few months ago he twisted one knee and has hardly been able to walk since.
    We recently visited a DO at a Midwestern University clinic and found out about prolotherapy. He administered one shot, just the dextrose, not platelet replacement. He advised that we should discontinue the herbs, spices and anti-inflammatory medicines because it will be the inflammation induced by the prolotherapy that will stimulate healing of the ligaments around the joint.
    I wonder if you might share your experiences / thoughts about this type of treatment for chronic joint pain?

  11. Chris, So sorry to hear about your accident. Which resort were you skiing? Just curious because I’m a Ski Instructor in Utah.

    The timing of this post is great for me. Three weeks ago I, too, had a hard fall. Shattered my rt clavicle. Two weeks ago I had surgery to reassemble the four pieces of the clavicle back into one bone with the help of a plate and more than a few screws.

    I only took Norco for one day after surgery and now I don’t need even ibuprofen. However, my doctor said to take 3, 800 mg doses a day for inflammation. Occasionally, I’ll feel guilty and try to follow his order, but I just can’t see taking it when I don’t feel I need it for pain. Now you have given me options to deal with the inflammation so I feel good about ditching the pills.

    Thank you.

  12. Chris, Sorry to hear about your cracked rib. I got a rib fracture in an automobile collision years ago and it was painful just to breathe. Nothing seemed to make a difference for me, including the strongest Px pain meds (which I stopped taking when I found they didn’t do anything for me), and the pain would wake me up at night when I rolled over onto the injured area, but with time it healed. My farmer grandparents and their relatives didn’t have emergency access to hospitals or physicians in their youth (and had to set each others’ bones), so they used comfrey (knitbone) compresses to try to aid healing, but I didn’t try that. If it happened again, I would probably try to rig up something (beyond the pillows I tried) to stop me rolling over.

  13. Hi Chris. Your protocol sounds really good – the CBD oil sounds interesting! I broke my dominant hand’s wrist in January and never took the drugs they gave me, though I came really close as it was sometimes so painful I would shake like a leaf. I decided to tried everything in my cupboard first and found to my utter surprise that Ginger worked super good. I researched it and found that Ginger works just as good if not better than pain relievers. Through the days and weeks I ended up taking Curcumin, Serrapeptase, Silica, Concentrace, and MSM. The MSM in the end was the winner. It helped my pain and inflammation so much. My wrist healed without surgery and it it healed perfectly. Now that my cast has finally come off I am bathing my wrist and hand in warm water with MSM and Epsom Salt, It has become so stiff. I believe I will recover more quickly than expected! All the best in your recovery!

  14. I’m thinking meditation is a lot safer 😉 unless of course you are accomplishing yogic flying!

    Get fit soon, we need you!!!

    Kelda, in the audience in London October 2015

  15. I wish I had seen this years ago. Two years I broke my arm in a car accident and it took two years to heal. The consultant had no idea and suggested nothing!!

    I have achey thumbs and big toes now. Again the GP says nothing, or that it’s stress. It’s not gout and nothing shows up in x-rays. I was tested for the auto-immune type of arthritis but that came back negative and all blood tests normal.