Weak Leg
It is a condition whereby
the legs are unable to walk long distance and climb slope
or stairs. Untreated they could lead to permanent
disability and permanently wheel chair bound.
When someone suffers from
any of these symptoms below, he or she is deemed to have
a weak leg condition. There are two major causes of such
a problem. One is internal. The other is external cause.
Internal cause:
External cause
-
permanent or temporary
physical injury and damage to leg or hip muscles,
ligaments, joints, bones or nerves
-
injury or other damage
to the neck, back or spine
-
muscle or nerve wasting
diseases
Majority of the causes of weak legs problems are due to
internal cause. Stroke is the third leading cause of
death in U.S.A. and a major cause of disabilities among
adults. In 2005 approximately 5,839,000 persons had
history of stroke. Most stroke victims suffer from weak
limps.
Another cause of weak legs which goes unrecorded is due
to kidney dysfunction. To try to treat weak legs without
understanding the importance of kidneys to leg health is
barking at the wrong tree. To try to treat weak legs by
taking supplements like calcium would only give poor
result at best.
TCM Kidneys
The
Chinese through 5,000 years of experiential science
understand how the body works through the concept of Yin
and Yang.
Yin yang theory is a kind of logic, that gives us an
understanding of how physical things work
in relation to its whole.
In
simple layman term it is the cause and effect of nature. Yin
and Yang
combine in a complementary manner. It is basically a form and method for
explaining relationships between objects. Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses yin yang theory to
understand complicated relationships in the body.
In TCM it is used
to explain the changes of the human body
(structure, physiological functions and pathological).
With this deep and accurate understanding it is used to
guide clinical diagnosis and treatment and prevention of
diseases.
In TCM kidney
yin moistens and nourishes the organs and tissue whereas
kidney yang warms and promotes the functions of the
organs and tissues. Kidney yin provides energy for
physiological functions while kidney yang promotes
storage of kidney yin. They are therefore mutually
dependent on one another. How can we understanding this
in more scientific terminology? Let us look at the bone
in terms of kidney yang and yin concept.
In TCM, kidneys rule the bones. Kidney yin (essence) is
needed for healthy bones. This yin essence is used by
the kidneys to transformed into bone marrow (kidney
yang). Bone marrow is the source of healthy bone (bone
development) and blood formation (Herbs
can be used to stimulate the liver and kidneys in the
production of somatomedin. Somatomedin stimulates growth
of bone and muscles and promotes cell growth and
division and also influences calcium, phosphate,
carbohydrate and lipid metabolism).
When kidney essence or yin is in abundance (somatomedin),
there will be plenty of bone marrow and therefore the
bones can be strong. Therefore TCM concept of kidneys
govern the bones is correct. Now one understands why the
solution for weak legs is not high intact of calcium.
Healthy
kidneys are needed before
they can contribute to bone growth and reconstruction.
When the kidneys are weak (in TCM terms it is depletion
of kidney essence) the bone cavity is empty, as marrow
is no longer occupying the space. Based on ying yin or
cause and effect concept this results in bone weakness
or growth retardation.
Symptoms of Weak Kidneys:
-
soreness and weakness of the lumbar regions and knees
-
a hot sensation in the palms, soles and chest
-
spontaneous sweating
-
aversion to cold,
-
cold limbs
-
spiritual fatigue
-
difficulty in urination
-
declining libido or impotence
-
general edema may also appear.
TCM Treatment for Weak Legs
Researches by scientists has discovered that herbs can
be used to strengthen the legs.
1)
Drynariae Rhizoma:
The function of this herb is to strengthen the
myoskeletal systems.
a) Scientific researches on
Drynariae rhizome aka Rhizoma Gusuibu (the Chinese name
translates to "Mender of Shattered Bones"), found that
the herb assists and promotes the mending of sinews and
bones. Drynariae Rhizoma (DR),
a traditional
Korea
medicine, which is known for its effect to strengthen
myoskeletal systems, frequently appears as the main
ingredient in prescriptions for bone injuries. However,
it is unclear how it pharmacologically contributes to
the reformation of bone. In this study, the effect of DR
on bone cells was investigated in vitro for the first time. The human osteoprecursor cells
(OPC-1) were incubated in the medium with different
concentrations of DR and the cell proliferation was studied. When the
concentration of DR was < or = 120 microg ml(-1), the
proliferation of OPC-1 was enhanced. However, the
proliferation of OPC-1 was inhibited by DR with the
concentrations of > 250 microg ml(-1). Under most
treatments, the cells presented very pale expression for
cyclooxygenase-2 protein; slightly intensified band
showed at the highest DR concentration, 120 microg
ml(-1) during the course of culture. On the other hand,
we investigated the immunomodulatory activity of DR on
cellular and humoral immunity. When different doses of ethanolic and water extracts of DR was administered to
mice, it was dose-dependently potentiated the
delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction induced by
both sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and oxazolone. It
significantly enhanced the production of circulating
antibody titre in mice in response to SRBC. But, DR did
not any effect on macrophage phagocytosis. Prolonged
administration of DR significantly ameliorated the total
white blood cells count and also restored the
immunosuppressive effects induced by cyclophosphamide.
The present investigation reveals that DR possesses
immunomodulatory activity. From the results, it was
concluded that DR directly stimulated the proliferation,
alkaline phosphatase activity, protein secretion and
particularly type I collagen synthesis of OPC-1 at
dose-dependent manner, and stimulated both the cellular
and the humoral immunity.
“Effects of
Drynariae
rhizoma on the proliferation of human bone cells and the
immunomodulatory activity”. Department of
Internal Medicine, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,
College of Oriental Medicine, Dongguk University and
National Research Laboratory for Glycobiology, Sukjang-Dong
707, Kyungju, Kyungbuk 780-714, Republic of Korea.
Pharmacol. Res. (2005).
29257
b) Effects of
traditional Korean medicine, Drynariae rhizoma (DR), on
the protease activity of bone loss-initiation in rats
and mice were investigated. Ethanol extracts-DR (EE-DR) and water
extracts-DR (WE-DR) were identified as potent inhibitor
of cathepsins K and L. The original WE-DR inhibits
cathepsins K and L with IC50
values of 3.7 microg/ml and 4.5 microg/ml, respectively.
EE-DR was more potent than that of WE-DR, because the
inhibitions of cathepsin K and L increased to 0.5 microg/ml
and 0.8 microg/ml, respectively. The EE-DR was proved to
be the most potent. EE-DR was found to be a potent
inhibitor of cathepsins K with a Kin value of 5.0 microg/ml
for cathepsin K. The activity was increased by 10-fold
when the assay is performed in the presence of
glutathioneat pH 7.0, which favors the formation of a
GSH thiolate anion. Thus, it is suggested that this
increase in potency is probably due to an enhanced
chemical reactivity of the extract mixtures toward the
thiolate of the active siteof the enzyme. WE-DR exhibited time-dependet
inhibition which allowed us to determine the association
and dissociation rate constants with cathepsin K.
Finally, EE-DR inhibitsbone resorption in an in vitro
assay involving mouse osteocleasts and bovine bone with
an IC50 value of 70 microg/ml. WE-DR represents a new
herbal formulation inhibiting cathepsin K and L activity
and proteolysis of bone collagen. These results strongly
suggest that DR is effective for preventing the
development of bone loss induced by cathepsin K. This
result also suggested that the DR is effective for bone
resorptive action in bone cells. “Inhibitory
activity of Drynariae rhizoma extracts on cathespin
having bone resorption activity”.
Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology. (2004)
18171
c) In the traditional Korean
medicine, Drynariae Rhizoma (DR) [Drynaria fortunei (kunze)
J. Sm] has been reported as a good enhancer for bone
healing. In this experiment, we investigate the effects
of DR on bone resorption using the bone cells culture.
Different concentrations of crude extract of DR were
added to mouse bone cells culture. The mitochondria
activity of the bone cells after exposure was determined
by colorimetric MTT assay. It was demonstrated that DR
has potential effects on the bone cells culture without
any cytotoxicity. The most effective concentration of DR
on bone cells was 100 micro g/ml. On the other hand,
cathepsin K (Cat K) is the major cysteine protease
expressed in osteoclasts and is thought to play a key
role in matrix degradation during bone resorption. In
this study, Mouse long bone cells including osteoclasts
and osteoblast were treated with the PI3-kinase
inhibitor, wortmannin (WT), and a specific inhibitor of
protein kinase C (PKC), calphostin C. Although WT
prevented the osteoclast-mediated intracellular
processing of Cat K, calphostin C did not. Similarly,
treatment of osteoclasts-containing long bone cells with
Drynariae Rhizoma (DR) extracts prevented the
intracellular maturation of Cat K, suggesting that DR
may disrupt the intracellular trafficking of pro Cat K.
This is similar to that of WT. Since secreted proenzymes
have the potential to reenter the cell via
mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) receptor, to prevent this
possibility, we tested WT and DR in the absence or
presence of M6P. Inhibition of Cat K processing by WT or
DR was observed in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore,
the addition of M6P resulted in enhanced potency of WT
and DR. DR dose-dependently inhibited in vitro bone
resorption with a potency similar to that observed for
inhibition of Cat K processing. “Inhibition of
Drynariae Rhizoma extracts on bone resorption mediated
by processing of cathepsin K in cultured mouse
osteoclasts”.
Int Immunopharmacol 2003
Nov;3(12):1685-97
55293
d) Pharmacological factors
are needed to prevent bone loss that occurs with
increasing age. The chemical compounds that act on bone
metabolism in herbal medicines, however, are poorly
understood. Effects of traditional Korean medicine,
Drynariae Rhizoma [Drynaria fortunei (kunze) J.
Sm] extract (DR), on the osteoblastic proliferation and
differentiation were investigated. The effect of DR, a
natural phyto herb, on the proliferation and
osteoblastic differentiation in non-transformed
osteoblastic cells (MC3T3-E1) was studied. DR
dose-dependently increased DNA synthesis (significant at
50–150 μg/ml). DR increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP)
activity and prolyl hydroxylase activity of MC3T3-E1
cells (50–150 μg/ml). Antiestrogen tamoxifen eleminated
the stimulation of proliferation and ALP activity of
MC3T3-E1, which were induced by DR. DR at concentrations
ranged from 30–100 μg/ml inhibited prostaglandin E2
production in MC3T3-E1. These results indicate that DR
directly stimulates cell proliferation and
differentiation of osteoblasts. These results also
suggest and DR is effective for bone anti-resorptive
action in bone cells. “Stimulative effects of
Drynariae Rhizoma extracts on the proliferation and
differentiation of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 Cells”
Elsevier Science Ltd
Journal of Enthnopharmacology Volume 96, Issue 3, 15
January 2005, Pages 489-495
19569
e)
In a previous study (Jeong et al., 2003, Inhibition of
Drynariae Rhizoma extracts on bone resorption mediated
by processing of cathepsin K in cultured mouse
osteoclasts. International Immunopharmacology 3,
1685-1697), treatment of osteoclasts-containing long
bone cells with Drynariae Rhizoma (DR) extract prevented
the intracellular maturation of cathepsin K and thus, it
was considered that DR is a pro-drug of a potent bone
resorption inhibitor. To further clarify the role of DR
in ossification, we investigated the effects of DR on
the proliferation and differentiation of osteoblastic
cell lines in vitro. In this study, the bone effect of
DR is studied. We assessed the effects of DR on
osteoblastic differentiation in nontransformed
osteoblastic cells (MC3T3-E1) and rat bone marrow cells.
DR enhanced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and
mineralization in a dose- and time-dependent fashion.
This stimulatory effect of the DR was observed at
relatively low doses (significant at 50-150 µg/ml and
maximal at 150 µg/ml). Northern blot analysis showed
that the DR (100 µg/ml) increased in bone morphogenetic
protein-2 as well as ALP mRNA concentrations in MC3T3-E1
cells. DR (60 µg/ml) slightly increased in type I
collagen mRNA abundance throughout the culture period,
whereas it markedly inhibited the gene expression of
collagenase-1 between days 15 and 20 of culture. These
results indicate that DR has anabolic effects on bone
through the promotion of osteoblastic differentiation,
suggesting that it could be used for the treatment of
common metabolic bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
“Drynariae Rhizoma promotes osteoblast differentiation
and mineralization in MC3T3-E1 cells through regulation
of bone morphogenetic protein-2, alkaline phosphatase,
type I collagen and collagenase-1”. Elsevier Science Ltd
Toxicology in Vitro, 2004 (Vol. 18) (No. 6) 829-834
29834
2) Herba Cynomorium Songaricum:
The role of this herb
is to reinforce the vital function of kidney
a) In order to exploit the
medicinal resources and provide a scientific evidence
for the clinical use and quality of Cynomorium
songaricum control, the chemical constituents and
pharmacological effects of the stem of the plant were
studied preliminarily. METHOD: The chemical constituents
were studied by spectral analysis and chemical method.
The pharmacological effects were studied by an
experiment on the defecation and deficiency of kidney
function. RESULT AND CONCLUSION: Seven compounds were
isolated from the stem of C. songaricum and identified
as beta-sitosterol(I), palmitic acid (II), ursloic acid
(III), daucosterol (IV), (-)-catechin (VI),
naringenin-4'-O-pyranogluoside (VII) and succinicyacid
(XII). Compounds VI and XII were isolated from this
species for the first time. The pharmacological results
show that the different extracts facilitate catharsis
and replenish the deficiency of kidney yang. “Studies
on chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of
the stem of Cynomorium songaricum Rupr”.
Zhongguo Zhong
Yao Za Zhi 1999
May;24(5):292-4, 318-9.
05886
3) Cortex
Eucommia Ulmoides: This has the following
function:
-
Used to replenish liver and kidney
-
Strengthen bones and muscles
-
Treats aching back and knees
-
Tone up liver and kidneys
-
Strengthen tendon and bones
a) The
most interesting study was conducted on an herb called
Eucommia. Eucommia contains chemicals that fit
into the testosterone receptor and cause it to fire as
if testosterone itself were present - causing
androgenic, or male-creating changes. These
phytoandrogens also increase the activity of real
testosterone. The researchers describe a phenomenal
synergy between chemicals in Eucommia, testosterone
receptors, and testosterone. (see abstract of the study
below). Eucommia's value for strengthening the male
system is not news to Asian herbalists. The Chinese have
been using it for millenia, and they call it Du Zhong.
They use it for increasing libido and treating
impotence, as well as for some kidney/adrenal
complaints, high blood pressure, arthritis and
connective tissue diseases. It is one of the 50 main
herbs of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and it has
a long history of safe use. The history of searching for
plant testosterone is an interesting look into what
scientists know, and what they think they know. The
scientific literature of the 1950s is littered with
failed attempts to find plant sources of testosterone.
They all failed because they were looking for a molecule
that was identical to human testosterone. No mamalian
testosterone was found in plants, but plants do produce
some other molecules that hit the testosterone
receptors. It took a laboratory 'bioassay' to convince
scientists of what the TCM practitioners had been saying
all along. The study on Eucommia found that it contains
two classes of compounds that pump up Testosterone
activity - terpenoids and an unusual type of fatty acids.
Therefore it is useful for strengthening weak limps.
b) BACKGROUND: Plants
containing compounds such as the isoflavonoids, with
female hormone-like effects that bind to human estrogen
receptors, are known. But none has been previously shown
to have corresponding male hormone-like effects that
interact with the human androgen receptor. Here, we
report that the tree bark (cortex) of the Gutta-Percha
tree Eucommia ulmoides possesses bimodal phytoandrogenic
and hormone potentiating effects by lipidic components.
METHODS: The extracts of E. ulmoides were tested using
in-vitro reporter gene bioassays and in-vivo animal
studies. Key compounds responsible for the steroidogenic
effects were isolated and identified using solid phase
extraction (SPE), high performance liquid chromatography
(HPLC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas
chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), electron spray
ionisation-mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) and nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR). RESULTS: The following
bioactivities of E. ulmoides were found: (1) a
phenomenal tripartite synergism exists between the sex
steroid receptors (androgen and estrogen receptors),
their cognate steroidal ligands and lipidic augmenters
isolated from E. ulmoides, (2) phytoandrogenic activity
of E. ulmoides was mediated by plant triterpenoids
binding cognately to the androgen receptor (AR) ligand
binding domain. CONCLUSION: In addition to well-known
phytoestrogens, the existence of phytoandrogens is
reported in this study. Furthermore, a form of
tripartite synergism between sex steroid receptors, sex
hormones and plant-derived lipids is described for the
first time. This could have contrasting clinical
applications for hypogonadal- and hyperlipidaemic-related
disorders. “Novel phytoandrogens and lipidic
augmenters from Eucommia ulmoides”. BMC
Complimentary Altern Med 2007 Jan 29;7:3
17261169
c) The biologically active
compounds and free radical-/ or reactive oxygen species
(ROS)-/ scavenging effect of water extract from Du-zhong
(WEDZ) were investigated. The WEDZ used included leaves,
raw cortex, and roasted cortex. The hot water extract of
Du-zhong leaves showed marked activity as a ROS
scavenger, and the scavenging effect was concentration
dependent. The extract of roasted cortex exhibited a
modest scavenging effect on ROS, while the extract of
raw cortex had the weakest scavenging effect. The
scavenging activity of WEDZ on ROS was correlated to its
protocatechuic acid (PCA) content. The content of PCA in
Du-zhong determined by HPLC followed the order of leaves
(17.17 mg/g) > roasted cortex (2.99 mg/g) > raw cortex
(1.16 mg/g). The inhibitory activity of leaf extract of
Du-zhong was stronger than that of PCA on the
peroxidation of linoleic acid at the same concentration
of 0.1 mg/mL. The results presented herein indicated
that extract of Du-zhong could possibly. act as a
prophylactic (remedy that prevents or slows the course
of an illness or disease) agent to prevent free
radical-related diseases. “Reactive oxygen species
scavenging activity of Du-zhong (Eucommia ulmoides oliv.)
and its active compounds”. J Agric Food
Chem. 2000 Aug;48(8):3431-6.
10956129
4) Radix
Gentiana Macrophylla: The function of this herb
is to tones up the liver and strengthen bones, tendons
and ligaments.
a)
Gentiana macrophylla is categorized in the Materia
Medica with herbs that expel wind-dampness. The liver is
said to nourish the tendons and ligaments and Gentiana
macrophylla is particularly used in cases where these
connective tissues become hypercontracted due to
insufficient nourishment (e.g., deficiency of liver
yin), yielding spasms that run from the joints to the
muscles. Vangermeersch L and Sun Peilin,
Bi-Syndromes, 1994 SATAS, Brussels, Belgium.
b) Gentiana macrophylla is as often indicated for "bone
fever" in TCM pharmacology. This strange term refers to
syndromes with fever and sweating in which the person
feels as if there is steam coming from the bones,
heating up the skin. It is used by herbal scientists to
nourish and strenghten bones, temdons and ligaments.
State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Advanced Textbook on Traditional Chinese Medicine and
Pharmacology, (vol. 1) 1995-6 New World Press, Beijing.
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