I’m at Killington mountain, the nation’s top ski area in the northeast talking with Dr. Matthew Gammons, MD who specializes in sports injuries and family medicine. He sees lots of injuries daily especially during ski season and works with a team of doctors and physical therapists to determine the best sorts of treatments for sprains, ligament tears, bruises, etc. The most common ski-injuries he treats with a variety of methods, including PRP injections, are knee ligament tears. Killington boasts: “200 trails, 31 lifts (31 including 2 heated express 8 passenger gondolas), 87 miles of skiing terrain, a vertical drop of 3050 feet, with an elevation at the summit of 4241 feet, on 1,209 skiable acres.” This is definitely foreign territory for me, but I’m collecting information and natural approaches for treating pain for a book I am writing. The website for Ram’s Head ski area, a ski school for kids, lists places to buy pizza, crumb-topped mac and cheese, deli sandwiches, and something I can only imagine in a nightmare called fried brownie nuggets with vanilla ice cream. They are conscious of mountain safety here and suggest tips, including this “Factoid – At 27mph You Need 60 feet and 1½ Seconds to Avoid a Tree” — another reason why I spend winter in Miami.

Dr. Matt is friendly, a family man with a tiny daughter who will soon be on skis. Here they strap skis on 2  and 3 year-olds. I ask him if there is an optimum age to begin and he says, “From 3 – 5 is fine. Little ones are like rubber bands. They bend and do not break. Older people have more injuries. They have stiffer bones. Adults have more mineralized bone and are, therefore, less flexible. It is hard to say who injures more often – the younger or older skiers, because those in good shape who are fit or who have revved testosterone, take bigger risks and injure more often. The more exposure you have to sports, the greater the risk.”

He takes a look at us, two mature writers, stuffed into chairs most of the day and advises: “Older folks should stay active. From age 30 on we lose muscle strength. We need to push through exercise even if there is pain. That makes us stronger.” I sit straighter in my chair and ask, “What’s the best exercise for older people?” He smiles and says, “The exercise they will do! Genetics play a part in fitness, but even people in their 70s and 80s can be fit. Often they weight-train.”

There is a big difference between chronic and acute pain, he says. For chronic pain, such as arthritis or ordinary backache from overwork, he advises massage, swimming.” He also says, “How we experience pain depends on many things besides the injury. There is also our expectation. One person with a dislocated shoulder can sit in a chair waiting to see an doctor and not say a word. Another person with the same injury may be screaming in hysterics. That is not to say that it shows a lack of courage, that one person can deal with pain better than the other. There are other factors. The person strongly reacting may feel “injured.” Fear plays a part in pain.

RSD

One of the most interesting discussions we had was about the kind of pain that seems to take on a life of its own. The pain is way out of proportion to the injury. A person may have a light injury that the doctor cannot even touch. It results in physical and neurological changes: The skin is red, hot, burning, and there may be other changes as well. That is RSD Reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Here is an article on it by an MD.

Most of us have not heard of RSD, it’s a term used by physicians and chiropractors. But once there were no words designating PMS or fibromyalgia. RSD may become discussed more frequently as millions of people who suffer from it take note. It can result from injury or certain illness and one-sided paralysis.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), also called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), is a chronic, painful, and progressive neurological condition that affects the skin, muscles, joints, and bones. The syndrome usually develops in an injured limb, such as a broken leg, or following surgery. However, many cases of RSD involve only a minor injury, such as a sprain. And in some cases, no precipitating event can be identified.

RSD/CRPS is characterized by various degrees of burning pain, excessive sweating, swelling, and sensitivity to touch. Pain may begin in one area or limb and then spread to other limbs. In some cases, symptoms of RSD/CRPS diminish for a period of time and then reappear with a new injury. Ouch!

A Natural Approach

It sounds like with RSD the nervous system goes bonkers and takes off by itself in a sort of auto-immune free-for-all. If that is the case, I would think that foods and herbs that ease the overactive immune system and nerve response would be helpful. That could include medicinal mushrooms such as shiitake. Avoiding caffeine (coffee, tea, chocolate) will also improve nerve pain.

For RSD patients with heart disease (heart failure) a tonic such as cordyceps would be useful (pills called Cordyceps PS by Health Concerns) recommended for asthma, wheezing, cough, arrhythmia, heart failure, cirrhosis, impotence, chronic fatigue, and adrenal weakness.

On the other hand, for some people an herbal nerve sedative might work better than the usual anti-depressant drug recommended sometimes for RSD. Skullcap is a safe, easy to find, commonly used herb. Skullcap is rich in scuttelarian. This flavonoid has sedative and antispasmodic properties, and it is considered one of the best and safest sedatives of the plant world. Skullcap is easy to grow from seed.

In the 1770’s, skullcap was thought to be a cure for rabies, and acquired the nickname, mad-dogweed. Today scientists believe that the claim by a Dr. Van Derveer in 1773, may not have been completely without basis, since skullcap does have sedative and antispasmodic properties. It is also an antibacterial, cooling, digestive stimulant, hypotensive, lowers cholesterol levels, and is a relaxing and restorative nervine. Many Native Americans used it as a sedative and to promote menstruation. It treats anxiety and nervous tension. It won’t cure RSD, but it may reduce severity and help prevent relapse.

Skullcap tea is considered excellent for a variety of nervous conditions: hysteria, epilepsy, hypertension, neuralgia, and nervous headaches. Skullcap has good doses of calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and is good food for the nerves. I also recommend it at times for menopausal hot flashes and insomnia. Nicer to have a mild skullcap tea than take Valium.