How Bone Broth Can Help Accelerate Healing
A few weeks ago, what began as a bonding outing with my thirteen year-old son, left me instead with a painful rib fracture. Resilient as I am, I decided to create my own broken ribs treatment with a nutrient-filled bone broth to help my body’s natural recovery process.
When my family decided to go enjoy the last days of ski season, I had the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream of going ice skating with my thirteen year-old son. When you’re a parent to teenagers, you take up any quality-time you can get (while you still can!).
So we laced up our skates and headed out onto the ice. After several laps, I developed confidence and slowly broke away from the railing, gaining momentum. For a moment, I felt like a ballerina on ice and in my spirit, I saw myself doing somersaults in the air.
Moments later, I felt a tug in one of my skates that would dash my joy and bring me crashing down hard on the surface of the ice; the cold surface kissing my face. So much for feeling like a ballerina.
The doctor recommended that I take painkillers every eight hours for two weeks and to expect six to eight weeks until a reasonable recovery could happen. Unsatisfied with that treatment option, I decided to whip up my own broken ribs treatment by resorting to a regimen of bone broth.
How Can a Bone Broth Help Treat Bone Fractures?
Bone broth can make an effective broken ribs treatment because it is rich in minerals, nutrients, vitamins, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and natural compounds that can help stimulate bone strength and growth.
Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and other trace minerals are naturally found in all animal bones. Plus, the connective tissue cartilage contains glucosamine and chondroitin, natural compounds that are known to support joint health.
Animal bones also contain the protein collagen which contains the amino acids proline and glycine. The amino acids facilitate the healthy growth of bones, tendons, and ligaments. Bone broth also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, natural compounds found in cartilage, which help decrease joint pain and lessen the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
How Do Our Bones Heal From Injury?
Our bones are made of two cell types: osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts are responsible for aged bone resorption (the process by which something is broken down and reabsorbed). Osteoblasts are responsible for new bone formation.
When our bones suffer a fraction or are broken, they go through a three-step healing process: inflammation, new bone production, and remodeling
Inflammation starts immediately after the fracture occurs and is assisted by blood clotting to stabilize the trauma site and provide the foundation for new bone production.
After the trauma site is stabilized, bone production and healing begins with the formation of soft tissue and cartilage called soft callus.
Remodeling then begins and can last several months as the new bone tissue formation and regains its former shape and strength.
How Can Bone Broth Accelerate Bone Regrowth?
With a healthy balance of physical activity and natural remedies, I managed to make a full recovery in just less than three weeks. Here’s the regimen I followed:
Stayed active – while I experienced pain the first week, I continued to be active with daily walks and deep-breath work to ensure good blood circulation. Being outdoors also exposed me to the sun and much needed Vitamin D.
Avoided medication - I avoided any anti-inflammatory medications. The body needs a healthy dose of inflammation to clot and begin its natural healing process.
Maintained good nutrition- A diet rich in nutrients which included dairy products, green vegetables, cod liver oil, fatty fish (salmon, sardines, herring, anchovy), nuts/seeds, and eggs helped boost overall healing.
Drank Bone Broth - The not-so-secret power punch in my broken ribs treatment was two daily cups of bone broth. I made my bone broth using grass-fed beef bone.
And just like that, I made my stunning three weeks recovery. I think I'll leave ice-skating to the professionals. The next time I decide to spend quality time with any of my kids, I’ll pick an activity that’s a little less risky than ice skating.
For the full recipe for my broken ribs treatment bone broth, check out this link.