Protease Enzymes for Weekend Warriors!
Whether you are a professional athlete or a weekend warrior sports injuries can stop your game. Sports injuries most often affect the soft tissues associated with proper functioning of the joints and general movement, including muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage. These injuries include sprains, strains, dislocation or partial dislocation (subluxation), torn ligaments or tendons, bone fractures and repetitive stress injuries. The most common cause of sports injuries is a failure to warm up or cool down properly before or after exercise, structural abnormalities (e.g. abnormal joint structure) and weak connective tissues. Some injuries can become chronic, particularly repetitive stress injuries.
Sports injuries are a very common occurrence and many of them can be treated without major medical intervention, the exception being bone fractures and torn connective tissue. Dr Maday Labrador, who holds a PhD in Holistic Nutrition and is the VP for Education for the Digestive Enzyme company Enzymedica, explains “That after a sports injury a series of metabolic processes often known as inflammation takes place. One of the major concerns when treating inflammation is the capillary blood flow, so the RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) treatment method is usually recommended.”
“As the smallest blood vessels in the body, capillaries are responsible for carrying oxygen and nutrition to the cells and removing waste. After an injury, some of these capillaries may be damaged, making them incapable of carrying fluid to and from the damaged tissue. This leads to a fibrin build up and a blockage “walling off” the damaged area. The result is pain, swelling, redness, heat, and loss of function.”
Dr Labrador says “To repair the capillaries and reduce bruising, swelling and pain some type of anti-inflammatory medication is often recommended. However, as the desired effect is to reduce the amount of fibrin in the damaged capillary, improve circulation, and speed healing this can be done very effectively with an enzyme supplement that contains multiple blends of Protease. Once in the blood stream, protease digests the fibrin network and enhances blood flow. These same protease enzymes have been known to stimulate the cells that ingest foreign particles and debris and speed up elimination the unwanted particles by way of the lymphatic system.”
Enzyme supplementation suggestions for sports injury:
• High Potency Digestive Formula, such as Enzymedica’s DIGEST GOLD™ with every meal.
• Anti-inflammatory Formula, such as Enzymedica’s REPAIR GOLD™ away from meals.
• Serratiopeptidase Formula, such as Enzymedica’s SERRAGOLD™ away from meals.
For chronic sports injury conditions:
• pH balancing formula, such as Enzymedica’s pH BASIC™ before bed.
• High Protease enzyme formula, such as Enzymedica’s VIRASTOP™ three to four times a day until healed.
As with all injuries, it is always wise to work with a qualified Health Practitioner.
For further information: Tom Bohager; “Everything you need to know about Enzymes”, GreenLeaf Book Group Press
www.enzymedica.co.uk