2009 was definitely not the best year for Johnson & Johnson. The company went through a product recall streak including millions of bottles of Motrin, Benadryl, Tylenol and Zyrtec, not to mention millions of contact lenses in Asia and Europe and just recently, two hip replacement units.

The ASR Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System are manufactured by DePuy Orthopaedics, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.  The worldwide recall of these two hip replacement units was issued because data provided by the National Joint Registry of England and Wales shows a failure rate of 1 in 8 for the devices, double the industry average. About 12 percent of patients were recipients of the defective ASR systems, which bring them to a second hip replacement surgery to correct the previous operation.

The DePuy ASR System recall was issued on August 26, a mere week after DePuy was warned about two different orthopedic devices:  the TruMatch Personalized Solutions System and the Corail Hip System.  On August 19, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sent a letter to David Floyd, president of DePuy, indicating that both Corail and TruMatch Systems were being marketed illegally.   Particularly, the TruMatch System did not receive any FDA marketing approval or clearance before sailing to the market. The Corail System on the other hand, although approved by the FDA, was not being promoted according to the standards approved by the FDA.

Although the warning did not really suggest a recall, it added to the piling product blunders of Johnson & Johnson, who has recalled ten consumer products in the past year.

But this recent hip replacement product recall is by far the most serious among all mistakes that Johnson & Johnson has to endure. The recall for medication and contact lenses is not really a serious matter, all it did was to humiliate Johnson & Johnson in several levels.  But the ASR hip implants are placed inside a person’s body through surgery, which makes matters very sensitive and complicated. An initial hip replacement is painful and needs more recovery and rehab, so consequently a second surgery will be twice as painful and difficult.

The news keeps getting worse – the cost of every hip replacement device is not cheap, falling from $15 to $40,000.  Although DePuy has obliged to pay for the revision surgery expenses, it has yet to offer a comprehensive plan on giving refunds to patients for pain, suffering, and other miscellaneous expenses.   This is the reason why patients affected by the recall are taking legal actions and filing product liability lawsuits against DePuy Orthopedics.

If you received a hip replacement after July 2003, there is a chance you were implanted with a defective DePuy hip replacement unit.   To make sure, ask your orthopedic surgeon or the hospital where you had your hip replacement surgery.

          

It’s a fact these days that the Baby Boom generation — which consists of those born between 1945 and 1964 — is getting older as each year passes by. And more people within that age group are finding that all of the crazy stunts they pulled when they were younger is beginning to affect how they feel physically, though they don’t let possible health problems impact housework, as a matter of fact.

And this phenomenon — in which they continue to accept that aging doesn’t mean slowing down — is actually a positive sign, for it is the person who gives in to minor aches and pains that begins to age the most. Even those who may need knee or hip replacements, or who just have leg arthritis — trying hard not to let such problems affect their ability to get around the house.

This doesn’t mean that there’s going to be some pandemic of helpless cripples in the country in the next few decades, though. If there’s one thing we know about Boomers it’s that they refuse to go quietly into that good, good night and that’s an admirable trait they bring to the discussion. What it does mean is that they’ll need to be realistic about certain things, however.

For example, it can become very easy to let housework slide if someone’s looking at their Dyson upright vacuum cleaner — to use a popular housework tool — and is also feeling a twinge or two in their knees, hips and ankles. However, those pains can be managed with a little bit of attention to not only pain relief but also weight loss and exercise of a certain type.

That’s why it’s a good idea to refuse to look at any age as being the time to go and sit out on the porch and watch the world go by. What this really does is cause you to begin to ‘rust’ in a way. This is so, even when certain aches or pains might begin to convince one that it’s time to pack it in. That’s probably when it’s more important than ever to keep moving, to be honest.

And if vacuuming the house isn’t one’s cup of tea, consider heading out to the garage and breaking out the garden vacuums that once were a regular part of keeping the backyard and the garden looking good. A recent movie by the 79-year-old actor Clint Eastwood depicted him mowing his lawn and working in his garden, which was quite lush and obviously well tended, so take heart.

What people need to keep in mind with all of this is that sitting on the couch all day or convincing one’s self that growing old means slowing down greatly just isn’t the way to go. Keep an active life with a positive outlook and there’ll be no end to the ability to go about keeping the housework going even in the face of health problems, for a fact.

          

JOINT INFLAMMATION is a very painful, with multiple sets of conditions (100), progressively leading to joint damage, deformity and loss of mobility. inflammation and engorgement of the arm and leg joints is characteristic of the disorder. Persistent pain, disability and death are regrettable consequences.

Joint inflammation problems include:

• pain
• stiffness
• damage to joint cartilage (the tough, smooth tissue that covers the ends of the bones, enabling them to glide against one another) and surrounding structures.

Below you will find discusson on how Chinese medicine, pain herbs and food therapy are employed to bring these conditions back to balance.

UNDERSTANDING JOINT INFLAMMATION?

JOINT DYSFUNCTION doesn’t take place suddenly and once grasped, can be transformed faster than you can appreciate. According to Chinese medicine, the primary problem underlying arthritis is obstruction with painful results. In varying amount, there is a weakness of both the Liver and Kidneys and deficiency of the body energy (qi). The blood develops obstruction due to cold weather or internal damp-heat or drying imbalanced characteristics. The condition includes:

• cold or hot and painful joints
• difficulty in flexing and extending the joints
• aversion to cold or hot with attraction to the opposite condition
• In some cases the limbs and joints will be aching, numb, painful
• overall physical body feels heavy.
• tongue is pale or the opposite

   

There are graduating arthritic conditions where the site of pain and deformity is more intense, with heat or cold predominating, however, the primary appraoch is to get the obstruction to move. This is arrived at by altering the inner environment by opposing the wind-cold/hot-damp/dry and varying any external surroundings aiding the blockage. Additional attention needs to be given to the general emotional state that may indirectly support the blockage.

HOW DO WE GET BETTER?

JOINT INFLAMMATION: FOOD THERAPY  & CHINESE MEDICINE

“We are what we eat.” The majority of us would concur that a good number of imbalances are caused by what we swallow. We unkowingly create imbalances by not being aware of how critical this area is, especially in the latter years. If we are choose foods and supplements which worsen our condition then it would serve us well to become very aware of our body type and foods which enhance balance. Below, you can begin to choose foods that deliver balance for this obstructive condition: 

Foods That Benefit & Foods To Avoid

Foods to Counter Joint Pain: Asparagus, Cabbage (poultice & ingestion), Celery, Cod, Cherry, Chives, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Ginger, Goats milk, Grape, Kelp, Oranges, Papaya, Pineapple (Bromelain), Pumpkin Seeds, Royal Jelly, Scallions, Sesame oll, Spelt, Spirulina, Soy products, Strawberry, Sprouts (mung, red clover, radish, mustard, lentil, adzuki, garbanzo, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), Tumeric, Water melon, Barley products, Wheat grass products, Alfalfa products (tablets, tea), Chlorophyll foods, Almonds (5-6 dy.),

Foods to Avoid: Excess meat (some fish is best), Excess protein, Intoxicants (alcohol, coffee, tobacco, marijuana, etc.), refined sugar and other sweets, Oxalic acid foods (rhubarb, cranberry, plum, chard, beet greens, spinach), Solanine foods (Nightshade family veggies: tomato, eggplant, bell pepper, potato, if sensitive), Dairy (cow’s milk & bi-products), Nuts, Nut butters, oil-rich seeds,

HERB FORMULAS FOR PAIN   Formulas are created and rendered, taking into consideration, a person’s constitution, environment, life energy (qi), lifestyle and emotional status to name a few concerns. Chinese medicine focuses on bringing all these areas into balance. The chief focus is to provide a formula that specifically targets the painful site, resolves the underlying imbalance in the body without inciting more physical maladies.