LIFE’S SCARRING PROMOTES POOR HEALTH

When a body meets a body . . . there will be injury.  Living tissue has a limited and consistent response to trauma.  The inflammatory system kicks into high gear. 

This cellular reaction evolved to protect our species from infectious diseases.  The inevitable onslaught of viral and microbial predators has always been the greatest natural risk to the survival of the human race.  When exposed to a pathogen, the immune system activates the inflammatory response.  This prevents the infection from gaining too much ground. 

Not perfect, but adequate for evolutionary purposes.

This protective mechanism is not suitable to the task of repairing an injury.  If there is an infection involved, you certainly are happy to have your inflammatory cells check its spread.  They are a destructive force.

The wound does not heal cleanly because of inflammation.  It leaves a permanent imperfection.  A scar forms.  This is inert, non-living, tissue.

Whenever we cut ourselves, we eventually see some scarring in the skin.  Tiny amounts of scar tissue can be imperceptible.  Abdominal operations result in surface disfigurement and internal scarring.  The former is cosmetic, but the latter frequently causes health issues that can persist for a lifetime.  There is no reliable means to prevent this collateral damage.

Nothing heals back to its pristine anatomy.  A young man’s pain from a broken bone recedes.  But the imperfect repair often results in future symptomatic consequences.  Someone who smokes enough cigarettes will suffer harm to the tissues that does not assert itself for years.  Even if the smoker quits, the lungs never return to the healthy state they enjoyed before that habit began.

The pain of osteoarthritis is a result of living with gravity.  This pulling force contributes to joint and soft tissue inflammation.  Bone spurs (also known as “osteophytes”) are the primary radiological finding in this common disease.  These little calcium deposits are part of the etiology of the discomfort associated with this malady.  They are a direct result of inflammation.  They are scars.

The primary purpose of inflammation is critical for our survival as a species.  But this system activates in association with the course of human events.  Almost every disease we encounter is an example of the inflammatory system gone wild.  Coronary artery disease, cancer (to a significant degree), and any medical problem that ends in “itis” are examples of inflammation gone haywire.  This includes colitis, nephritis, myositis, carditis, synovitis, and hepatitis, to name just a few.  This activity is useless for our survival. 

All these “itis’s” create tissue destruction and scars.  It is all a part of life.  We cannot prevent this from happening.  But there is hope.

Scarring is not merely an anatomical occurrence of dead tissue.  It also occurs functionally, metabolically, and biochemically.  This includes the well-known phenomenon of emotional scarring that results from psychological trauma.  Anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disease, and many other emotional and neuropsychiatric problems are examples of this type of scarring. 

What can we do about this?  In previous blogs, I have discussed solutions that apply.  These include, stretching, nutritional supplements, sleep hygiene, and meditation.  These suggestions, and others to be explored in future blogs, help to mitigate the scarring.  Counseling, physical and occupational therapy, and group support activities are among the options to lessen the trauma of trauma.

What is missing is an institutional approach and emphasis on prevention.  There is a lot known in this field.  It is just not promulgated as loudly and repeatedly as it should be.  For most discussion of health, prevention is an afterthought, if it is addressed at all.

We are all told not to play in traffic.  This type of “common sense” advice stops being given once we pass certain points of childhood.

Watch where you step when you walk.  If you want to look around, stop, and then stare at the scenery.  Pull out the cell phone only at rest stops.  Many injuries occur when inattentively strolling life’s path.

The body does not adjust well to dramatic changes.  Even positive transformation takes a toll.  The consequences of drastic shifts in established routines are both physical and psychological.    When seeking a healthier lifestyle, modify patterns gradually.  Whether alterations of diet, exercise routine, sleep habit, or other patterns, ease slowly from the old to the new.  Give yourself time to accommodate.

Still, “Life is what happens to us when we are making other plans.”  Prepare for surprises.  Have familiar and rewarding pursuits established that you can turn to during times of stress. 

Try to expand life during moments when it is minimally overbearing.  Hobbies can be as simple as number painting and be satisfying.  The list of artistic expressions is broad, and you may be unaware of your own hidden talent.  Playing a musical instrument expands the mind at every skill level. 

Reading is a great healer.  It focuses the mind.  Consider finding books that make you laugh in addition to your other preferences.  There are very funny authors, from comic strips to commentary.  Seek out older publications.  Write a memoir or another manuscript you may have considered.  Consider it your private journal.

From assembling a model airplane to building a room addition. The rewards are gratifying.  Discover your skill and interest. 

Organize anything or everything.  It is a relief to be ordered, collated, and systematized.  Because we ourselves are organized anatomically, metabolically, and functionally, there is a certain harmony achieved whenever someone extends this natural order beyond oneself.

Exercise is a great reliever of burden.  Tension decreases.  This can be in the form of aerobic, strengthening, stretching, yoga, or other approach.  It must be an established practice to be most beneficial.  Proper exercise routines add to good health throughout life.  Set patterns of exercise in life.

Meditation in its many forms helps with everything.  You need not be an expert.  You should practice this as a skill to develop some expertise and basis for applying it when required.

Entertainment of any kind can be fulfilling and distracting at challenging times.

Cleaning (“surprisingly” some might say) relaxes and enriches.  From washing the dishes to the windows, it drives away the gloom.  And it does not necessarily take practice.  Though some wives may disagree with that statement regarding their husbands.

Gardening indoors or outside is pleasurable for many.  It need not be complicated.  Gardening is high on the list with cleaning.  This can be simple with a single houseplant.  Learn on-the-job from a garden store.

The emphasis is to seek out various activities that can be utilized if and when a time of need arises.  Then experiment with and experience your chosen enterprise to learn to enjoy it during the less stressful times.  Create and establish your personal catalog of known and satisfying ventures.  You can anytime count on them if required.  It is part of your insurance to weather the storm.

The above is about discovering your strengths.  Many people intuitively know some of their innate proclivities.  Many never discover others because they find themselves in patterns of the one or the few they have pursued.  For most people, there remain [untested] some lesser but valuable predilections.  Spend some time considering options in life. The last word is to avoid constipation.  Poor bowel hygiene complicates any other negative life event.  Be regular with at least one good movement a day.  And that, finally, is the end.