We are all O.K...     Until we aren't                An excellent quote from a physical therapist at the Biotensegrity meeting.   Unsolved Problems in Cell Biology  November 2, 2015  Albert Harris   Idiopathic diseases (which means diseases for which the cause is not known), and results of imbalances of physical tensions in lungs, skeleton and other body tissues I) Idiopathic Scoliosis   Sideways bending of the spinal cord For more than 4 out of 5 cases in humans, the cause is unknown. According to one web site: "this is the most common deformity encountered by orthopedic surgeons, whose onset can be insidious, its progression relentless and its end results deadly." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoliosis is the URL of the (very good, in my opinion) wikipedia article on all forms of scoliosis, which is says is a life-long condition, to be managed rather than cured. Management is by bracing, surgery and physical therapy. At that Biotensegrity meeting I attended in September, some of the talks were on new methods for treating idiopathic scoliosis.   II) Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis    "Stiffening" of lung tissue, prgressive loss of flexibility and elasticity; can be fatal within three years after symptoms first appear. One diagnostic symptom seen in X-ray studies is called "honeycombing", a synonym for "Traction Bronchiectasis" URL http://radiopaedia.org/cases/honeycombing-in-an-usual-interstitial-pneumonia-uip-pattern   III) "COPD: = Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(s)" http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/copd This lumps together many different diseases, which all block breathing. All together, they are the third worst killer in the US. Emphysema is the worst of them. For most of these, the cause(s) are known in the sense that they are stimulated by smoking, by air pollution and other irritants. Much less is understood about mechanical causes that cause structural changes in alveoli, loss of elasticity, and other mechanical changes. The lungs are probably the most sensitive of all organs to mechanical contractions & any mechanical change.

 

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