Inflam-Ease Formula: An Herbal Formula to Fight Inflammation
Chinese medicine has long been used in the world of trauma. In the early days of martial arts training (and still today), Chinese medicine was integral to the recovery and healing process for athletes and fighters. Today they can offer relief for sports injuries and weekend warrior strains and sprains. This herbal formula used to treat general musculoskeletal and joint pain. unblocks painful obstruction and energy and blood (Bi), alleviates pain, increases joint mobility. In TCM, there is a saying: “where there is pain there is obstruction of (healing) energy and blood and where there is free flow, there is no pain;” Painful Obstruction or Bi Syndrome refers to acute or chronic pain and stiffness in the Musculo-skeletal system (bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, muscles) due to the obstructed flow (stagnation) of qi and blood. With Bi Syndrome, there can be varying qualities of pain, numbness, tingling, heaviness, swelling, sensations of heat or coolness, and decreased mobility.
This formula’s name translates as ‘Remove Painful Obstruction Decoction’
Inflam-Ease removes painful obstructions of obstruction of ‘qi’ and blood in the meridian system. Within Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) this formula can be used to the invasion of external pathogenic wind, cold and dampness, where weather aggravates pain in joints and ligaments, that can manifest as soreness, pain, numbness, heavy sensation, swelling of joints and limbs, limitation of movements.
Basic general musculoskeletal & joint pain, a generalized sensation of heaviness in the body, stiffness in the neck, shoulder, and upper back, numbness in the extremities, difficulty in moving. It focuses on the upper body, with the chief herbs targeting specific zones: Many of this formula’s ingredients are used as pain reliever such as for headache, joint pain, painful obstruction in the upper limbs or back. Modern research has verified anti-inflammatory compounds that also help to reduce accompanying pain.
Used in TCM for upper body pain (Joint-Ease Formula for lower body pain) neck,
shoulders arms, hands, and fingers. This formula focuses more on relieving the pains and symptoms aggravated by atmospheric or pressure changes from wind, cold and damp weather, that are common to new or old injury sites or arthritis.
Arthralgia Syndrome
Arms-Difficulty Raising
Feet-Numbness
Hands-Numbness
Joint Pain-Movement
Joints-Pain
Pain
Pain-Lumbar
Pain-Neck
Sinews-Weak
Spasms-Back
Spasms-Neck
Back pain
Bursitis
Fatigue
Muscle cramps
Neck pain
Shoulder pain
Pain Relief
Almost all injuries involve pain. Chinese medicine uses specific herbs with strong pain-relieving effects to both reduce discomfort and speed up the healing process. For healing Dr Gabe Mirkin who coined the phrase ‘RICE’… Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation in 1978, has since he retracted his initial hypothesis. In 2015, writing that “ice may delay healing”, and that “ cold and ice are safe pain medicines, but they delay healing”. These herbs warm and move blood into healing and Remove stagnation from overuse of ice.
Promoting Blood Flow
Proper blood flow is crucial for healing all injuries and trauma. When an injury occurs, blood and tissue in the area can stagnate or clot. While this helps in the initial stages of injury, it can prevent full healing later. Chinese medicine uses herbs that enhance the flow and quality of blood to fully restore and heal the damaged area.
Cooling Inflammation
Inflammation is an important aspect of healing injury and is the immune system’s first response to damage. After the initial stages of the healing have passed, however, ongoing inflammation can cause problems like pain, swelling, and distress. This formula helps to eliminate lingering inflammation and encourage healing.
Removes Wind-Dampness
Disperses Cold
Eliminates Joint Painful Obstruction
Circulates Qi and Blood
Relieves pain*
Work-related repetitive injury and physical trauma
As a popular herbal formula, it’s also used to treat general musculoskeletal and joint pain from stagnating in-place, in one of the dangerous places… your office chair for 8-10 hours a day, carpal tunnel, neck, shoulder, sprain strain etc.
Although the main etiological factor in bi syndrome is weather, there are predisposing factors to consider, such as excessive sports, work activity and repetitive motion. An underlying blood or yin deficiency also leads to dysfunction of the channels, which leaves them more susceptible to pathogenic factors. Trauma and emotional problems can also be significant contributing factors in bi syndrome.
Over Use Of NSAIDs. The most common western medicine used in treating OA is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most widely used medications. It was recently estimated that 19.0% of U.S. adults (43.6 million) ingested aspirin at least three times a week on a chronic basis, while an estimated 12.8% (29.4 million) took NSAIDs at least three times a week for at least 3 months.
Adverse drug reactions to inflammatory drugs NSAIDs. They are responsible for 30% of hospital admissions for Adverse Drug Reactions (UK), mainly due to bleeding, heart attack, stroke, and renal damage. While these agents can be effective in treating inflammation and pain, older adults are at increased risk for adverse. NSAID use causes an estimated 41,000 hospitalizations and 3300 deaths each year among older adults. An estimated 10–20% of people taking NSAIDs experience indigestion. (Wikipedia) It’s believed that ongoing NSAIDs deplete our digestive bacteria, leaving us open to GI issues and dangers. In particular, NSAID users exhibited a different gut microbiome profile than nonusers.
Recent studies show Inflam-Ease’s ingredient turmeric, helps prevent and reduce joint inflammation. This reduces pain, stiffness, and inflammation related to arthritis. Turmeric’s antioxidant qualities help with damage prevention and repair. One of the Anti-Inflammatory stars of this formula is Turmeric’s compound curcumin. Scientists now believe that chronic, low-level inflammation plays a major role in almost every chronic, Western disease. This includes heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome, Alzheimer’s and various degenerative conditions.
Curcumin is strongly anti-inflammatory. In fact, it is so powerful that it matches the effectiveness of some anti-inflammatory drugs, without the side effects. It blocks NF-kB, a molecule that travels into the nuclei of your cells and turns on genes related to inflammation. NF-kB is believed to play a major role in many chronic diseases. Curcumin is a bioactive substance that fights inflammation at the molecular level
The combination of herbs of this formula were among a 2018 study published in Frontiers in Pharmacology that reported that rats with chemically-induced arthritis experienced less joint damage and bone loss when provided these herbs, compared to those that weren't.
Herbs in Inflam-Ease stimulate regulatory T-cells (Tregs) whose role it is to temper the immune response and, with it, the generalized inflammation that causes joint swelling, pain, and progressive bone damage.
While it is unclear precisely why these herbs works, some scientists believe that thunder god vine (Tripterygium wilfordii) contributes significantly. Within the plant are compounds known as triterpenoids that appear to block the production of inflammatory proteins (called cytokines) while bolstering the production of Tregs.
Combined with Joint-Ease. For more chronic ongoing inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, (in all its forms) Inflam-Ease can be added for flare-ups, to the long term ongoing Joint -Ease formula.
Joint-Ease formula works on the underlying, on-going deficient causes of arthritis, but when this chronic inflammation increases into a crises Inflam-Ease can be added to better manage the flare-up.
References
Li, J., Rong, B., Jia, J., and Pan, M. (2017). Effect of modified juanbitang on inflammatory factors and serum MMP-3, OPG and RANKL in synovial fluid of patients with wind-cold-wetness type rheumatoid arthritis [in Chinese]. Chin. J. Exp. Tradit. Med. Formulae 22, 165–170. doi: 10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.2017220165
Wu, C., Shu, F., and He, J. (2015). Analysis of clinical efficacy of qianggui juanbi capsule combined with western medicine treatment of cold dampness blockage type of rheumatoid arthritis. J. Military Surg. Southwest China 17, 664–666. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-7193.2015.06.027
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Wang Tengteng, Jia Qingyun, Chen Tao, Yin Hao, Tian Xiaoting, Lin Xi, Liu Yang, Zhao Yongjian, Wang Yongjun, Shi Qi, Huang Chenggang, Xu Hao, Liang Qianqian
Alleviation of Synovial Inflammation of Juanbi-Tang on Collagen-Induced Arthritis and TNF-Tg Mice Model . Frontiers in Pharmacology. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphar.2020.00045
Fundamentals of Managing Sports Injuries. Acupuncture Today – June, 2000, Vol. 01, Issue 06., Herbert Chang
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Zhao H, Xu H, Zuo Z, et al. Yi Shen Juan Bi Pill Ameliorates Bone Loss and Destruction Induced by Arthritis Through Modulating the Balance of Cytokines Released by Different Subpopulations of T Cells. Front Pharmacol. 2018;9:262. Published 2018 Mar 27. doi:10.3389/fphar.2018.00262
The Protective Effect of Yi Shen Juan Bi Pill in Arthritic Rats with Castration-Induced Kidney DeficiencyHongyan Zhao,1 Jian Li,2 Xiaojuan He,3 Cheng Lu,3 Cheng Xiao,4 Xuyan Niu,3 Ning Zhao,3 Dahong Ju,3 and Aiping Lu3
Exploring the molecular mechanism of Juan-Bi-Tang for Feng-Han-Shi-Bi syndrome in rheumatoid arthritis. December 2013 DOI: 10.1109/BIBM.2013.6732769
Immunomodulatory activity of a Chinese herbal drug Yi Shen Juan Bi in adjuvant arthritis April 2010Indian Journal of Pharmacology 42(2):65-9 DOI: 10.4103/0253-7613.64489
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents differ in their ability to suppress NF-kappaB activation, inhibition of expression of cyclooxygenase-2 and cyclin D1, and abrogation of tumor cell proliferation. Yasunari Takada 1, Anjana Bhardwaj, Pravin Potdar, Bharat B Aggarwal