Younger Joints Today
Your 7 Step Plan to turn back the hands of time and get your joints healing, moving and feeling their best
Dr. Angela Cortal
Published by Dr. Angela Cortal ND LLC
PO Box 549, Monmouth, OR 97361
www.drcortal.com
Copyright Dr. Angela Cortal ND LLC 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Dr. Angela Cortal ND LLC does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party websites referred to in this book or accompanying material. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of publication. The author regrets any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization action on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the author.
The author and publisher disclaim, as far as the law allows, any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use, or misuse, of the information contained within this book.
The information in this book has been compiled by way of general guidance in relation to the specific subjects addressed, but is not a substitute for medical, healthcare, pharmaceutical, or other professional advice on specific medical circumstances. Please see your doctor before changing, stopping or starting any medical treatment.
ISBN: PB:978-1-7353689-1-7; eBook: 978-1-7353689-1-7
Illustrations by Warren Muzak
Table of Contents
Preface: How a Block of Ice Changed Everything
Introduction: What Is Actually Going on
STEP 1: Know Your Diagnosis
STEP 2: Eat to Heal Your Joints
STEP 3: Move and Strengthen Your Joints for Recovery
STEP 4: Leveraging Lifestyle Medicine
STEP 5: Get Your Hormones in Check
STEP 6: Supplements Can Help Joints Heal
STEP 7: Regenerative Medicine, the latest in regenerative medicine
Putting it all together: where do we go from here?
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Appendix: Recipes
Bibliography
Preface
Hello, congratulations, and I see you.
Welcome to Younger Joints Today, my revolutionary approach to anti-aging joint health.
Congratulations on taking the first step in regaining your joint health.
If you have been frustrated with lack of support, lack of options, and feeling dismissed by medical professionals while your joints continue to feel worse and worse by the day, I see you. Because I used to be there, too.
If you have achy joints and feel stuck, this book is for you.
There are many reasons for achy and painful joints.
Osteoarthritis, or degenerative joint disease, is the most common diagnosis related to chronic joint pain. Because it is such a common cause of joint pain, I will be discussing it in-depth in the following chapter, and throughout the rest of the book.
However, if your pain is caused by a spinal disc bulge, meniscus tear, ligament injury, or if it started after menopause or an accident or injury, my 7 Step Plan can still help. That is because I will be addressing the underlying factors that all these chronic sources of lingering pain have in common.
Use this book to educate yourself on how and why joints degenerate and, more importantly, what you can do to reverse those underlying processes. After the introductory chapter on osteoarthritis, you will find the following chapters each outlining a step of my 7 Step Plan to Younger Joints Today.
Use this book as a self-study tool. As you read, think about what has been investigated in your case. Perhaps some of the topics here have been ignored because you have been told, Its not relevant. What potential missing pieces could be your next step in joint healing?
Please feel free to journal as you read through my 7 Step Plan to Younger Joints Today. If you are reading this in print form, you have my explicit blessing to scribble all over this book.
To fully understand the 7 Step Plan, read this book in the order it is written. However, if you would just like to learn about individual topics, dive right into the chapters that interest you most. At the end of each chapter, you will see The Joint Gist, which are the highlights and the top takeaways of each step.
I have also created the Younger Joints Today Toolkit as a partner to this book. To keep the flow and pace of the book's material intact, the Toolkit is where you will find all the additional resources, recipes, meal plans, videos, and a ton of other helpful information.
If deep down you know that theres more to your joint pain than just wear and tear, youre absolutely right. There usually is. Addressing those missing pieces of the puzzle just might be your key to Younger Joints Today.
I wrote this book to provide and equip you with information and education. It is not medical advice, should not be construed as a diagnosis, and is no substitute for medical care. Use the information here to begin a conversation with your healthcare provider. If you are not feeling heard, I encourage you to put together a new care team or seek out a different kind of healthcare. Use this book as your springboard towards better joint health.
Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not discuss the timing of this books publication in light of the information that follows. I began writing this book long before viral pandemic and quarantine were household words. I choose not to dwell on our current lifestyle changes (such as my gym being closed at the time of this writing), but instead to focus on the good information that those with chronic joint pain needregardless of the current events and circumstances. Whether at home or out in the world, aching and painful joints can stop us from living our lives to the fullest. With this in mind, Id like to share my plan to change that, starting today.
So, this is how the story begins...
How a Block of Ice Changed Everything
... and how over the course of the following two decades it developed into my creation of Younger Joints Today, a 7 Step approach informed by research to help thousands reclaim their joints, bodies, and lives.
It all began in 2001 on Mt. Hood in Oregon. I was a young adult, out skiing with friends. While out on the slopes, I carved too close to a snowbank and hit an ice block that was completely hidden in the snow. I came down hard, fast, and at full speed.
After a few startled moments on the ground, my brain started screaming, OW! and also, um, Houston we have a problem. The right leg isnt responding.
I couldnt stand up. I could barely move my right leg at all, which made skiing down out of the question. That day was my first (and hopefully the last) time riding down the hill in the ski patrol rescue sled.
The initial excruciating pain subsided but my right leg remained problematic. A few days later, my leg still wouldnt entirely cooperate. It refused to fully bend or straighten, which meant it was stuck in a sort of a half-bend.
I saw an orthopedic doctor right away. The X-ray showed a likely meniscus tear. The meniscus has the important role of being the shock absorber in the knee. Surgery was scheduled within the week. During the surgery, they found it was actually my knees anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which was torn, and not the meniscus.
