Recovering with supplements

As some of you may know, I have suffered from an unfortunate string of injuries over the past couple of years. Starting with a  badly bruised knee cap, which led to over-training to compensate for lost time. This, combined with a moderate sprained ankle, resulted in plantar fasciitis and compensating from that caused Achilles Tendonosis in the opposite ankle. I have tried everything I could think of and taken advice from a lot of different people (including other runners, doctors, massage therapists, etc.) to speed the healing and recovery. I’ve changed shoes, changed inserts, and added inserts to my daily shoes. I’ve learned a lot from my research and the advice others have given me, so I’m hoping some of you will benefit from my learning.

First, there are many things I could have done to avoid the injuries in the first place. Like not rushing to train when I had missed training time, thus over-training. Stopping when I got hurt. Stretching better. An acute injury, like a sprain, or a bone bruise, will heal in its own time. On the other hand, fatigue injuries can be avoided. Once injured, however, recovery and avoiding further injury become the focus.

I am not a doctor, nor a physical therapist. What I am is a runner who has experienced injury and learned what helps the recovery process and what does not.

Total rest does not help Achilles injuries nor Plantar Fasciitis. To heal, these tendons need increased blood flow. Stretch, massage (Trigger Point worked well for me), and mild running. I was very tight each time I first started running, but it would loosen up as I warmed up. I stayed off of pavement and stopped if the pain started coming back. Shorter and less frequent runs seemed to help more than taking an absolute break. I also found that a good sports massage therapist can really work the right muscles and ligaments. The pain experienced during really deep massage gives great relief over time.

After about a year, a friend mine suggested some supplements that might help. Although the FDA does not back these claims, there is a lot of significant research that indicates some supplements aid in healing joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons. My friend happens to be a representative for Young Living Essential Oils. The company offers massage oils and supplements to aid in general health and well-being. The combination she suggested is specifically designed for bones, ligaments, and muscles (BLM). I decided to give it a try.

The suggested dosage for my weight is 1 tablet 4 times daily. A 90 count bottle costs $53.62, retail, and will last me about 3 weeks. There is an option to open a wholesale account and purchase it at 24% discount ($40.75). More information here. You do not have to sell anything in order to remain a member and receive the wholesale pricing. The included information claims that results will start being evident in 4-6 weeks, so I obtained two bottles and started taking the suggested dosage in addition to my regular supplements. I also continued my running in moderation, as well as stretching, trigger point massage, and foam rolling my calves.

I am not one to follow blindly in most cases, so I did some research outside of the Young Living website, into the ingredients and what they claim to do. Here it is:

Manganese Sulfate – believed to aid in bone and blood health
Glucosamine – for healthy joints, tendons, and ligaments (I give this to my dogs for the same reason)
Callogen – promotes cell growth
MSM – reduces swelling and pain
Balsam Fir Oil – aids in relaxation (I can find no research supporting the ingesting of this)
Wintergreen – pain relief, in particular nerve pain
Clove – reduce inflammation and pain

My Results

After 3 weeks, I had not noticed any significant change. I started the second bottle and at the end of the 4th week I started to notice that I was not waking up with the pain and stiffness I had previously experienced. My recovery after a run took less time and I did not have as much pain during the run. I still feel some mild discomfort, especially when I run on pavement. The most discomfort is during the first mile or two of my run, but then it subsides and only mildly returns when I stop running. This continued to improve for the remainder of the second bottle.

I did not notice any side effects, although my frequency of burping greatly increased and there is a strong influence from the cloves and wintergreen.

I’m not going to claim that the supplements healed me, but I’ve been out of them for about two weeks now and I have noticed an increase in morning stiffness in my ankle again. It certainly appears that the BLM supplements have been a significant part  of my healing process.

Truth be told, it is important to realize that these injuries happen over a period of time and healing usually takes time as well. Be patient. Take care of yourself. Staying healthy is easier than recovering.