Almost every day in general practice, I see wheatgrass-generated “mini-miracles” – healing phenomena I never saw until I began using a wheatgrass sprout extract in 1995. Here is a recent example.

A 35 year old piano salesman suffered a nasty shoulder injury at work a year earlier. His shoulder “froze”, was painful [...]]]> The Piano Man’s Painful Shoulder

Almost every day in general practice, I see wheatgrass-generated “mini-miracles” – healing phenomena I never saw until I began using a wheatgrass sprout extract in 1995. Here is a recent example.

A 35 year old piano salesman suffered a nasty shoulder injury at work a year earlier. His shoulder “froze”, was painful on movement and pain interrupted his sleep. Steroid injections and physiotherapy gave some temporary relief but had no effect on shoulder movement. The diagnosis? Shoulder impingement syndrome.  When I saw him, he was to have corrective surgery in 5 weeks – a last resort option.

This condition is very common and is thought to be caused by a pinching of one of the shoulder tendons between the top of the humerus (upper arm) and the part of the shoulder blade (acromion) that overlies this area. (See diagram).

Diagram showing Rotator Cuff

Pain and limitation of movement are the prime symptoms of this condition, particularly when lifting or rotating the arm. This patient was unable to lift his arm higher than 60 degrees from the vertical and all other movements including rotation, were severely limited.

I had managed similar problems many times before, and the  audible, palpable crunching sound I detected on examination suggested that impingement might not be the problem. I have seen wheatgrass loosen up  stiffness in osteoarthritic joints by softening the tissues around the joint – often within 10 – 20 minutes. This suggests it is not necessarily roughened joint surfaces that prevent movement, but the soft tissue – muscles, tendons etc. around the joint that stiffen it.

I applied a little wheatgrass Superbalm mostly over the tender areas and worked it in for a few minutes. About ten minutes later, the Piano Man’s shoulder was moving freely without pain, and the crunching had disappeared.  Needless to say, both patient and practice nurse were rather astonished.

The following day, the patient had enjoyed his first painless night’s sleep for a year, and his shoulder movements were perfectly normal. Understandably, he couldn’t see why he needed an operation. I suggested  he seek review by his orthopedic surgeon.

There are of course, numerous types of shoulder injury that will not respond to wheatgrass the way this patient’s did. But if there is a chance that wheatgrass MAY help you recover more quickly (from any injury), that it relaxes soft tissue stiffness and reduces inflammation, wouldn’t you try it before consenting to an operation? I would.

Dr. Chris Reynolds. M.B.,B.S.

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Abductor Muscles

Usually labelled osteitis pubis or “OP”, the pain most often originates from inflammation of the insertion of the large adductor muscles into the pubic bone [...]]]> Athletes frequently suffer from groin pain. This can have a profoundly negative effect on physical performance, mental attitude and the will to win – but it can be cured.

Abductor Muscles

Usually labelled osteitis pubis or “OP”, the pain most often originates from inflammation of the insertion of the large adductor muscles into the pubic bone deep in the groin – so-called adductor tendonitis. These muscles are located on the inside of the thigh and are responsible for pulling the leg in towards the midline. (See figure) Sometimes X-ray examination can show changes to this attachment area, but there is no consensus regarding their significance. Pain can occur while exercising or even at rest and the affected area may be very tender when pressed.

One of the least understood injuries in sports medicine, OP creates heartsink for doctors, physiotherapists, trainers and other sports-related health professionals. Why? Because they know there is little can be done about it other than surgery which doesn’t always work and that the athlete could be out of action for some time.

All manner of treatments are used by trainers, physiotherapists, etc. – ice, heat, rest, exercise, massage, anti-inflammatory medication – oral and topical. Results are usually disappointing and the condition often becomes chronic.

Recently I saw a 40 year old jockey who had suffered groin pain since age 10. The pain was so bad his quality of life was virtually ruined. Surgeons even explored inside his scrotum as they thought the pain may be coming from his testicle, but everything was normal.

My examination revealed marked limitation of leg movement and exquisite tenderness over the insertion of his adductor muscles. A classic case of OP!

I massaged in a little Superbalm over the tender area. Ten minutes later he had full movement of his leg and walked without pain for the first time in 30 years. At follow up a month later, he remained pain-free.

Hard to believe, I know, but you have my word for it…and this patient was only one of many I have treated over the years who also recovered from OP using wheatgrass. So far, I have not had a treatment failure.

How does it work? Wheatgrass can act as a powerful anti-inflammatory. This may have something to do with pain relief, but when it works so quickly as in this case, the cause of OP (generally regarded as disordered musculo-skeletal mechanics) needs to be reviewed. It can hardly be due solely to mechanical causes. One must therefore invoke another mechanism.

My theory, based on thousands of clinical observations and considerable research over 15 years, suggests there may be an autoimmune component to the pain of OP. When an individual is under sustained physical and mental pressure, the body’s immune system can become compromised. The immune system then attacks normal tissue such as tendon attachments in OP and plantar fasciitis. Wheatgrass, being a potent immunomodulator, is able to eliminate part or all of this component.

This may or may not be so, but I think I’m on the right track simply because wheatgrass works for OP.

Dr. Chris Reynolds. M.B.,B.S.
www.drwheatgrass.com.au