The healing power of nutritional enzymes

[Guest guest]

This was the monthly newsletter of one of my nutritional mentors,

Donia Alawi.

 

Enzymes are high on my " she's gotta have it! " list.

I have no digestive problems, so sometimes I forget them.

Then my almost-senior joints start whining. As long as I remember

them nothing hurts or creaks, even when I am a winter-bound fat

couch potato.

 

Fresh pineapples are on special right now. They are a great

source of natural enzymes.

For more on the topic, visit http://enzymestuff.com

 

Hi Everyone:

 

This month's e-newsletter is on the effective use of enzyme therapy

to reduce pain and inflammation for soft tissue injuries. I

personally experienced first hand the effective

use of enzymes therapy when I fell and hurt my back many years ago.

It was a severe injury where I couldn't walk or stand without

extreme pain. But with the use of enzyme therapy, I was able to

walk again within a couple of days with minimal pain. Enzymes are

truly genies in a bottle.

 

 

Treating Soft Tissue Injuries with Combined Enzyme Preparations

 

By Anthony J. Cickoke, MS, DC, DACBN

 

 

Traditionally, protein-lysing enzymes have been used effectively in

treating surgery, sports injuries, and other soft tissue conditions.

Because of their different sites of action, certain enzyme

combinations have proven to be far more therapeutically effective

than individual enzymes.(1,2) The following is a discussion of their

applications and effectiveness.

 

Enzyme combinations work amazingly fast. In a model (artificial

hematoma) Kleine, (1,2) tested the kinetics of systemic enzyme

therapy in the re- absorption of hematomas and reduction of pain. In

a randomized, controlled, double-blind study, Kleine induced

artificial hematomas in 100 voluntary test subjects. He collected

blood from the cubital vein of the volunteers and injected it

subcutaneously into the inner surface of the opposite arm. The

hematoma which developed was comparable to a " normal " hematoma

caused by trauma. For seven days, fifty subjects (29 females, 21

males, average age 25 years) received 10 tablets of a hydrolytic

enzyme mixture three times per day; while 50 subjects (26 females,

24 males, average age: 22 years) were given 10 tablets of a placebo

three times per day. The patients were observed for a total of 14

days. In the enzyme group, the pressure pain persisted for 3.84

days, while in the placebo group, 6.98 days (p <0.001). The average

score total for the pain intensity was 5.66 for the enzyme group,

and 10.48 for the control group. Side-effects of gas and slight

diarrhea were noted in the enzyme group, but only at a minimal

level.

 

Of those patients taking enzymes, 67% were treated successfully; in

the control group, this value was only 14%. In other words, the

group taking the hydrolytic enzyme preparation exhibited not only

good tolerance, but also a statistically significant therapeutic

success in comparison to the control group.

 

Fracture Surgery

 

Dr. G. Masek, (3) investigated pre-and postoperative use of

hydrolytic enzyme combinations in the treatment of fracture surgery.

The effect and tolerance of a hydrolytic enzyme mixture, in

comparison to placebo, was studied using 120 patients in a clinical,

double-blind study.

 

Ten patients received six tablets, four times per day of enzyme

mixture " A, " (Pancreatin 100 mg; Papain 60 mg; Lipase 10 mg; Amylase

10 mg; Trypsin 24mg; Chymotrypsin 1 mg; Bromelain 45 mg; and Rutin

50 mg.) pre-operatively (experimental group) and 20 patients

received a placebo in the same number and frequency (control group).

Postoperatively, 9 patients were treated with mixture " A, " while 11

patients received a placebo.

 

The hospital stay was 16 days for patients receiving mixture " A " pre-

operatively, and 20 days for those given the placebo. On the 5th

day after admission to the hospital, the edema had receded 70% in

the enzyme group, but only 10% in the placebo group. By the day of

surgery, clinical symptoms had improved by 80% in the enzyme group,

but only 10% in the control group.

Regarding pain, the enzyme group decreased by 33% by the fifth pre-

operative day, while pain in the placebo group decreased by only 17%.

 

Postoperatively, edema in the enzyme group had reduced 85% by the

seventh day, but the placebo group experienced a reduction of only

77% by the seventh day. Concerning pain, by the seventh

postoperative day, patients in the enzyme group were pain-free,

however, the pain still was 33% of the starting value in the control

group.

 

Two patients under enzyme treatment reported harmless side effects,

one of whom discontinued the therapy. In the control group, some of

the patients also experienced side effects; of these, two patients

discontinued the treatment prematurely.

 

According to Masek,(3) hydrolytic enzymes have proven to be an

effective therapeutic tool in pre-and postoperative treatment of

fracture surgery.

 

Another prospective, randomized double-blind study was conducted by

Rahn (4) to determine whether or not pre-and postoperative

administration of a hydrolytic enzyme preparation could positively

influence the course of surgery on fractures and the general

postoperative recovery. Optimum surgical care and dressing of

fractures most definitely resulted in rapid and effective control of

post-traumatic hematoma formation. This, then, created an optimum

surgical environment, resulting in improved wound healing.

 

During this study, the efficiency of the hydrolytic enzyme

preparation, compared to the administration of placebo, was examined

in 89 patients. In the experimental group, the fracture hematoma

subsided to 53% on the 3rd day, while the figure was 71% in the

placebo group. On the actual day of surgery, subsidence of the

fracture hematoma in the experimental group was 21%, while the

placebo group experienced 57% (4)

 

Postoperatively, no major differences with regard to subsidence of

the wound edema were determined because surgery in the experimental

group was,

on average, carried out on the 6th day after the trauma, while

surgery for the placebo group, on average, took place on the 8th day

after the trauma. Subsidence of pain was identical. Rapid pre-and

postoperative subsidence of swelling and inflammation resulted in a

definite reduction of the stationary recovery period in the

experimental group. When specific enzyme mixtures were administered

to the patients, the average stationary period was 17.7 days in the

experimental group. The stationary period for the placebo group was

24.1 days.(4)

 

The final results of both studies clearly show that pre-operative

application of the hydrolytic enzyme preparation most definitely has

a positive influence on the surgical environment, as well as on the

postoperative healing process.

 

Sports Injuries

 

Worschhauser (5) reviewed conservative systemic enzyme therapy for

sports injuries, noting an increased incidence of this type of

injury. According to Worschhauser, in West Germany, sports

injuries represent more than 10% of all accidents, or approximately

3 million a year. Nearly 80% of these injuries are soft tissue

lesions, such as contusions and vascular ruptures, often leading to

swelling and pain. Immediate therapy, including cooling,

compression, and discontinuation of sports, is obligatory.

Moreover, local and oral drugs are frequently used, sometimes

with considerable adverse reactions. However, when natural

enzyme preparations were employed, patients experienced a very low

incidence of side effects. This made it possible to reduce recovery

time, allowing the athlete to return more quickly to sports

participation. Studies on subjects competing in karate, as well as

ice-hockey players in the German Federal Division (over two playing

seasons) showed early resumption of sports activities was

dose-dependent. Because of these results, Worschhauser

concluded that the prophylactic use of enzymes should be taken

into consideration to prevent tendon pathology and muscular

lesions.

 

Muller-Hepburn,(6) studied the use of a hydrolytic enzyme mixture in

sport traumatology. 0f 45 athletes, 19 showed decreased edema in

five days and an additional 22 experienced a decrease by the tenth

day. Enzyme treatment

resulted in a " cure " for 41 out of 45 seriously injured patients,

with sustained improvement seen in the remaining athletes, according

to Muller-Hepburn.

 

 

Football

 

In another study, hydrolytic enzymes were used prophylactically on

64 football players. Dr. Cichoke and Leo Marty analyzed the recovery

rate from soft tissue athletic injuries during the 1980 spring

football season.(7) This controlled, double-blind study (conducted

through the Department of Sports Medicine, Portland State

University) compared the rate of recovery in two groups. The first

group received an orally-ingested, hydrolytic enzyme mixture. The

second (control) group took a placebo. Neither the participants, nor

the doctors dispensing the tablets, knew which group was receiving

the enzymes. Only the manufacturer knew. Test results indicated that

time lost from play, in the event of an injury, was reduced in the

enzyme group when compared to the placebo group.

 

Results of this study indicate that it is possible to obtain some

protection from injury by taking enzymes prior to competition. In

addition, should injury occur, enzymes help to reduce recovery time

by approximately one-half to one-third.

 

 

Karate

 

Another contact sport, karate, is a martial art in which injuries

occur in every area of the body, much like football. With this in

mind, Dr. Zuschlag used the following double-blind investigation.(8)

 

Ten karate fighters of both sexes were treated prophylactically

(before fighting) with enzyme tablets. The second group of ten

received a placebo. All 20 athletes later sustained injuries

comparable in severity. Findings from the karate study revealed

certain highly significant results.

 

The results were impressive, because hematomas disappeared within

6.62 days in those athletes treated prophylactically with enzymes.

On the contrary, athletes not provided with enzymes took 15.59 days

to recover. Swellings suffered in the enzyme group subsided after

4.25 days, while those in the control group took 9.82 days.

Restrictions of movement as a result of pain and injury disappeared

after 5.04 days in the experimental group, but lasted more than

12.62 days in the control group. When the injuries suffered during

the karate competition became inflamed, they subsided after only

3.83 days for the enzyme group, but took 10.56 days in the case of

the control group.(8)

 

Results of this study and the Cichoke/Marty study' tend to indicate

that when there is a risk of injury, it is possible to obtain some

protection by taking the enzyme mixture prior to competition. This

can help reduce recovery time from injuries. In these studies, when

injuries were sustained, they disappeared in one-half or even one-

third the time when enzymes were taken prophylactically.

 

Soft Tissue Injuries

 

Baumuller (9) investigated the application of hydrolytic enzymes in

blunt wounds to the soft tissue, and distortion of, the ankle joint.

In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial, the efficacy

and tolerance of hydrolytic enzymes as anti- inflammatory and anti-

edematous therapy were tested in sports injuries. Treatment with ice

and tape was used concomitantly in all cases. Recovery was

statistically proven to be better objectively (swelling in

centimeters, joint motility in degrees) and subjectively (pain

during resting or with movement) in the enzyme group. The time

during which patients were unable to work or train was significantly

shorter (reduced by some 50%) with enzyme therapy.(9)

 

Surgery

 

Rahn (4) studied the effectiveness of a hydrolytic enzyme mixture in

traumatology, in a randomized, prospective, double-blind study. Rahn

examined the positive influence of enzymes on the wound-healing

process (after meniscus surgery). Rapid reduction of wound edema

results in a positive effect on early functional postoperative

recovery. Eighty patients participated in this study. The results

showed that there was rapid subsidence of wound edema (which is a

major prerequisite for early functional mobility therapy) in the

enzyme group. On average, patients who were treated with the enzyme

preparation were able to bend the operated knee joint to 90 degree

on the seventh postoperative day, while patients in the placebo

group were able to bend the knee on the ninth postoperative day.

Application of load to the joint could therefore be initiated

earlier. Improvements in the cumulative scores of the main symptoms

(such as edema, pain, and limitations of mobility and flexibility)

provided statistical significance from the first to the seventh

postoperative day in the enzyme group.

 

In general, hydrolytic enzymes taken prophylactically offer several

advantages to sports participants exposed to injuries (including

boxing, wrestling, football, and baseball). Also nagging problems

such bursitis, tendosinovitis, and tennis elbow can be prevented or

helped by enzyme therapy. According to reports of sports physicians

in Germany, such injuries respond more rapidly to enzyme therapy

than to other, more orthodox modes of treatment.(10)

 

Ischemia

 

Several physicians noticed excellent results in treating ischemia

(lack of blood in a tissue due to obstruction or constriction of

a blood vessel).(11,12) A patient with bimonthly recurring ischemia

participated actively in his sport without an ischemic attack for

over a year while taking four hydrolytic tablets daily,

prophylactically. After interrupting the therapy for three weeks,

the symptoms returned, but disappeared immediately after resumption

of the enzymes.(13)

Conclusion

Other diseases of sensory nerves, bones, or cartilage respond

similarly to enzyme therapy. Fractures heal much faster with fewer

complications. (13)

Hematomas and bruises disappear in a short time.(13) In the above

cases, the purpose of enzyme therapy was to reduce inflammation,

thus restoring mobility to the injured area. This requires resolving

the " wall of necrotized tissue debris " in order to:

1.Restore local circulation.

2.Permit reparative agents normally present in the blood to reach

and leave the injured area, thus increasing the rate of " healing. "

This is one of the most successful applications of systemic enzyme

therapy.

Although enzymes are effective in treating injuries, Dr. Michael-W.

Kleine feels enzyme combinations are more therapeutically effective

than individual enzymes in accomplishing their designed goal. This

may be because of their synergistic activity.

Dr. Cichoke is an internationally-known writer, lecturer, and

researcher. He is the author of over 250 articles and seven books,

and has recently published a best-seller, Enzymes and Enzyme

Therapy: How to Jump Start Your Way to Lifelong Good Health (Keats

Publishing, Inc., New Canaan, CT).

References

1. Kleme, M.-W., " Systemic Enzyme Therapy in Sports

Medicine, " Deutsche Zeitschrift fur Sportsmedizin, 41(4):126-

134,1990.

2. lUeine, M.-W., Pabst., H., " the Wirkung Einer Oralen

Enzymtherapie auf Experimentell Erzeugte Hamatome, Forum des Prakt.

und Allgemeinarztes, 27:42,1988.

3. Masek, G., Working paper on the pie- and postoperative use of

Wobenzym in the treatment of fracture surgery, Wiesbaden, Germany,

1990.

4. Rahn, RD., " Efficacy of Hydrolytic Enzymes in Surgery. "

(Symposium on enzyme therapy in sports injuries)XXIV FINS World

Congress of Sport Medicine. May 29, 1990. PP 5-8. Elsevier Science

Publishers, Amsterdam.

5. Worschhauser, S., " Conservative Therapy for Sports Injuries.

Enzyme Preparations for Therapy and Prophylaxis, " Ailgemeinmedizin,

19:173-177,1990.

6. Mueller-Hepburn, W., " Anwendung von Enaymen in der

Sportamedizin, " Forum Pro/ct. Arzt. 18 " 7-10,1979.

7. Cichoke, A.J. and Marty, L., " The Use of Proteolytic Enzymes

with Soft Tissue Athletic Injuries, " The Amer. Chiropractor,

SeptiOct, 1981, 32-33.

8. Zuschlag, Dr. Double-blind clinical study using certain

proteolytic enzyme mixtures in karate fighters. Working paper. Mucos

Pharma GmbH, 1988. p 1-5.

9. Baumuller, M., " Therapy of Ankle Joint Distortions with

Hydrolytic Enzymes; Results of Double-Blind Clinical Trials, " In:

G.P.H. Hermans, W.L. Mosterd (Eds): Sports, Medicine and Health,

Amsterdam: Excerpts Medica, 1990, p. 1137.

10. Hiss, W.F., Enzyme in der Sport - und Unfailmedizin.

Continuing Education Seminars, 1979.

11. Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield,

Massachusetts: Mirriam-Webster, Inc., 1988, p. 640.

12. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 27th Ed.,

Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1988, p.857

13. Wolf, M. and Ransberger, K, Enzyme Therapy. Los Angeles:

Regent House, 1972.

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