by Dr. Jessica Corbeille Harris, ND

It’s that time of year again – cherry blossom trees are beautifying our world, but oh boy – these pollens are making my eyes water so much I can’t even see the cherry blossom trees! 
 
What are your home remedies for allergies? Do you have to resort to the over-the-counter decongestants? Did you know there are several very effective natural alternatives? Check out my list below of my 3 favorite natural allergy remedies. And if you’re still plugged up even after trying these, you may consider discussing your case with me to see if you’re a candidate for neural therapy for your sinuses! 

1. Quercetin: A potent flavonoid, Quercetin helps to stabilize mast cells thus decreasing the histamine release and the symptoms that go along with that release. Start out with about 500mg 3x/day, but some people need doses as high as 1000mg 3x/day. The worst side effect of quercetin to look out for is loosening of the stool, but I don’t see this very often. 

   

1. Vitamin C: Take 1000mg 3x/day along with the Quercetin to maximize the mast-cell stabilization effects. Vitamin C is also known to loosen the bowels if too high of a dose is taken, so keep that in mind as you increase in dose. 

 

1. Stinging Nettles: If you are from the PNW or lived here for any time at all, you’ve seen this pesky plan growing wild. You may not have known that this plant serves many purposes when it comes to health. The leaves are very helpful for decreasing the allergy response by preventing the body from making inflammatory prostaglandins (chemicals used to signal inflammation). Usual starting doses are 100-200mg 3x/day (ok to take with Vitamin C and Quercetin). 

 
Here are a few of my favorite products that you can find on my online dispensary (https://wellevate.me/jessica-corbeille/#/). Just type in the names as I have them below to find online. Remember you receive free shipping on orders over $49!! 

• D-Hist by Ortho Molecular 
• Nettle Leaf by Gaia Herbs
• Aller-C by Vital Nutrients 

 
As a reminder, always discuss your current medications and problem list with your physician before starting new products – natural or not. Even natural products interact with medications.
 
In health,
Dr. Corbeille

What is prolotherapy?
Prolotherapy is a type of regenerative joint therapy. By this, I mean that it is a therapy that helps your connective tissues to heal and regenerate thus supporting your joints better. There are a variety of prolotherapy types and all different cocktails of combinations of nutrients that are injected and called, “prolotherapy.”  In the case of sore joints and sometimes even sore muscles, often it is the connective tissues – the tendons and ligaments – that are the true root cause of the pain…NOT the “tight” muscles! The connective tissue is not highly vascular, so it does not get good blood supply or delivery of nutrients. Thus, it is easily injured, strained, torn, or degenerated. When the connective tissue is injured, it cannot do its job – so other tissues are recruited to do the work – the muscles and fascia. The muscles and fascia then become tight and are overworked as they work to keep the joints supported and the body moving properly. Overtime, we experience this instability as muscle soreness and pain. 
 
With prolotherapies, we are aiming to treat these injured, strained, torn, and/or degenerated tissues and joints with nutrients (like dextrose) and sometimes stronger things like growth factors (in the case of PRP/platelet rich plasma) or even stem cells. 
 
Once the connective tissues heal, it takes the workload down for the muscles, so the muscles can go back to just doing their normal job of getting the body to move – not also stabilizing and keeping the body together too.
 
Why does prolotherapy help knee pain? 
If you’ve injured your knee, chances are you’ve sprained, torn, or otherwise caused extra strain on some of the connective tissues. This causes the muscles around the knee to tighten, as discussed above, to keep your femur (thigh bone) and tibia and fibula (shin bones) together. The muscles get sore and eventually we experience pain. 
 
If we can treat the injured connective tissue by testing for and treating the connective tissues (i.e. ACL, MCL, meniscus, etc.), then the muscles can relax and go back to doing their normal job. 
 
 
Does Prolotherapy help other joints too? 
Absolutely. If there’s a soft tissue injury, prolotherapy can help! 
 
Am I a good candidate? 
People that tend to do the best with prolotherapy are those that generally take good care of their bodies in the first place. Generally speaking, this includes people who participate in moderate exercise 3 or more days per week and eat a whole-foods based diet low in inflammatory foods (like sugar, alcohol, and preservatives) and high in vegetables and fruit. 
 
The best way to know if you have connective tissue injury and if you would benefit from prolotherapy is to have an initial consultation with your prolotherapy doctor. 
 
What does the treatment look like – is it a “one-shot-wonder”? 
Dr. Corbeille can determine on the first visit if you are a candidate and if you likely have connective tissue injury. You are welcome to bring imaging results if you have them, though they are not always necessary. 
 
Typical treatment plans will be for 3-6 treatments usually at 4-6 weeks apart. Sometimes Dr. Corbeille will recommend PRP or other nutrient additives, depending on your particular condition and overall health. You can expect improvement gradually as you complete the treatments such as improved range of motion, improved function, and hopefully less pain. Dr. Corbeille will always re-evaluate at the end of the treatment plan to determine the next steps for you. 
 
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Stay tuned for a future post regarding which supplements to start taking now to improve your joint and connective tissue health! 

Joint & Muscle Pain
I hear all too often from patients that they wake up with generalized joint stiffness and pain on a regular basis. The follow up comment to this from patients is “I’m just getting old”. A large amount of joint stiffness and pain is actually caused by low testosterone and/or low estrogen. Cells lining joint spaces have both receptors for estrogen and testosterone. When these receptors bind either of these hormones, they produce fluid which lubricates the joint space. Thus when Testosterone and Estrogen levels fall, you start to feel like the Tin Man prior a good oiling. ​

Insomnia
Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep is the second most common symptom I see outside of fatigue in my day to day practice. While there are numerous natural ways to treat insomnia, more often than not the root cause of sleep disturbances are imbalances in testosterone for men and progesterone and estrogen imbalance in women. Working to naturally correct these imbalances can easily regulate a healthy sleep cycle and circadian rhythm.  ​