ian leahy

I found this video a few weeks ago that I helped me and I wanted to share it, but didn’t get around to it. Then today I saw an episode with Joe Rogan and James Nestor talking about breathing and that reminded me.

They talked about all kinds of things related to breathing: deviated septum’s, athletics, tumo breathing, anxiety, asthma, co2, oxygen, nitric oxide and basically how to breath better.

I found the below video to be quite helpful.

Years ago I had seen some videos of Patrick McKeown and the butego method which is like plugging your nose, nodding your head and holding your breath and then releasing, but that wasn’t that helpful for me.

How to unblock your nose

I found this one and I’ve been doing this daily for probably 2 months or so now. It definitely helps.

It makes more sense to me as you physically manipulating the airways more.

A word of warning…

When you do the last part when you blow hard out through your nose (5 times) you might want to get a tissue beforehand because you are likely to blow snot everywhere :=/.

But I definitely recommend it. I think you will notice a difference. He recommends doing it twice a day for 3 weeks I think. I would do it more than that if needed. I sometimes do it 3 times a day.

I don’t think it has straightened my nose, but it has helped my breathing at least temporarily.

I’ve often thought that if the septum was made crooked by basically being pushed out of shape (struck) then maybe it could be pushed back into shape somehow.

Can you pry it open?

I bought a killian’s speculum about a year and a half or so ago and dabbled a bit with trying to pry my nose open more based on this. But it’s painful and a little sketchy.

I noticed on my right side I can’t insert it as far as I can on the left side.

I remember when I went to the ENT in SF and he used one to look inside my nose and when he did I could instantly breath better. Pushing my nose to my right where it deviates has a similar effect.

Another idea I had was to make some sort of nose guard (out of friendly plastic) at night that would push it back in place or DIY nose dilators. The later would be easier to do

I had surgery (septoplasty) in Taiwan back in maybe 2006, but it wasn’t very helpful. Actually I don’t think it did anything except cause a whole lot of trauma and bloody discomfort following. About 3 years ago I saw a couple surgeons in San Francisco and was considering it again.

One talked about removing a piece of cartilage from my rib or ear to use.

Recently started looking into it again. I remember reading once about using laser to heat and remold the cartilage instead of surgery and found the above video by Austin Goh.

I also learned in SF that I had an allergy to dust mites when I was living in an old apartment with carpets. So if you have an allergy that could affect your breathing problems too. If you have carpets and a stuffed up nose you might want to get rid of them.

Doesn’t matter if you clean them or vacuum.

I don’t think that is going to get rid of them. Dust mites are tiny and it’s not them but their feces that causes the problem so I was told.

I’ve got a crooked nose. How about you?

I broke my nose for the first time when I was 14 years old at St. Johnsbury Academy in VT. There I was standing in line in basketball practice waiting my turn and then suddenly the back of someone’s head came flying into my nose.

Lots of pain, black and blue eyes, a crooked nose and like 30 years of bad breathing habits followed.

Since I’ve had breathing problems mostly in my right nostril. And at least one more broken nose since.

Mouth breathing might have actually changed the shape of my face too and made it longer. I do have a long face. There is research out there that says this happens with mouth breathers.

About 2 years ago or so I started taping my mouth at night time when I sleep.

Research also shows that mouth breathing can also change your teeth, make them crooked, cause an open bite and even affect your posture.

Also as far as sleeping goes it’s better to sleep on your side. Sleeping on your back will make your mouth open or cause snoring.

When I was 25 I started doing something that will help your breathing…

When I was 25 (circa 2000) I started practicing yoga. Initially I trained with several different teachers 3-4 times a week for a year.  Then after that I I have practiced it daily for close to 20 years. I do about 15 minutes a day or so.

That helps my breathing, because in yoga most of the time you are trained to breath through your nose not your mouth. Certain positions also open up your chest and airways too.

Then when I was about 32 or 33 I started practicing meditation which was actually inspired from a book I read that talked about tumo meditation mentioned in the Rogan video above.

Simple meditation is to either sit still or lie down on the floor (without a pillow) and breath through your nose and focus on your breathing.

You can try:

• Slow and steady breaths and maybe…
• Holding your breath after you exhale for maybe 5-10+ seconds and then slowly and deeply inhale and continue.
• 6 seconds in 6 seconds out (or vary the number)

I didn’t really learn how to do the tumo meditation, but I have learned some basic meditation practices since and do it everyday for at least 20 minutes. Again it’s breathing through your nose.

Breath through your nose.

Breath through your nose.

Breath through your nose.

One of the things they talked about was that some people may need surgery to correct a badly damaged or deviated septum like Rogan did. But Nestor also had a deviated septum but said he forced it open through breathing.

Bad habits like mouth breathing may shrink your nostrils.

I notice often during the day at times I can walk around with my mouth partly open. It’s a bad habit.

Mewing might also help your breathing

Another thing I’ve been doing is called mewing.

It’s a relatively new thing named by fans of the orthodontist or dentist Michael Mew. It’s basically about changing your posture, head, neck and tongue position.

You can also look up exercises to improve your posture or “text neck”. Yoga includes many of these exercises.

Some basics…

1. Look up more
2. Squeeze your shoulder blades together
3. Tuck your chin
4. Do sun salutations

It’s hard to change your habits, but if you do you’ll likely see various benefits. It takes discipline and practice like anything.

Conclusion

To breath better you can…

1. Do the exercises above by Austin Goh (you might notice immediate improvements)
2. Close your mouth.
3. Breath through your nose.
4. Correct your posture.
5. Get rid of the allergen (mites, pets, food).
6. Do yoga, meditate and/or exercise with your mouth closed.
7. There are also breathing strips or dilators you could use which I haven’t tried yet.
8. Mew: tongue on the roof of your mouth.
9. Surgery is an option too, but if you get religious about the exercises then you will likely see an improvement.

I need to practice exercising with my mouth closed more. Bit by bit. Practice makes perfect.

If I said, “I’m black” you’d think?

More on that later…

You know I was reading the other day that Google search results are biased. True, everyone is biased including the search engine and what it chooses for you.

Why does it choose the sites that it does?

I’ve learned a lot about that since I started a website about 10 years ago.

But some say Google is politically biased. Google owns Youtube and I’ve heard stories of people’s videos being taken down because they discussed sensitive PC topics.

I think I also read most news media sites out there are left-wing leaning. So that’s maybe something you want to ask yourself.

How objective is this news that I am reading?

I found the article mentioned below about Joe Rogan.

I don’t bow hunt or find myself interested in everything Joe Rogan is or agree with everything he says, but I am interested in many things that he is such as:

• health
• jiu-jitsu
• yoga
• nutrition
• psychedelics
• comedy
• art and music
• learning
• etc.

I think the coolest thing about him is that he’s himself. He’s not pretentious and he can talk about a diverse range of topics including some stuff that’s “taboo” for many.

He’s like a normal guy. He’s not uptight, swears and smokes weed on his show with some of his guests.

He has had many guests on his show like 1,400+ people including: actors, musicians, psychologists, scientists, astrophysicists, fighters, and a whole lot of people with interesting stories.

Some recent shows:

• Tony Hawk (He’s like 52 and still skates awesome!)
• Jordan Jonas (Lived alone in the wilderness for 77 days with 10 items)
• Edward Snowden
• Mike Tyson
• Dr. Rhonda Patrick
• Bernie Sanders

And speaking of Bernie…

I saw this post I mentioned earlier on Vox where the writer Zack Beauchamp quotes Joe Rogan from a video.

I was completely open and liberal about it — until there was a case where a man who had been a man for 30 years became a woman for a little less than two years and then started MMA fighting women. Beating the fuck out of these women, and then not proclaiming that he or she used to be a man … if you ever watch the fights, she wasn’t winning because she was skillful. She was fucking manhandling these women, it was ugly.

Then Zack says…

“This very short paragraph contains all the classic tropes of transphobia: a denial of the authenticity of trans people’s identity, an insinuation that they’re a threat to cis folks, and a claim that they’re using their gender identity to somehow get ahead in life.”

Haha…

I remembered that video. I’ve heard him talk about that and I don’t think that is transphobia. That is just being objective. He’s an MMA commentator and black belt in BJJ and Tae kwon do.

Give him some credit.

He knows something about athletics and fighting.

Why do they have female and male divisions for all kinds of sports?

Is that sexism?

There’s a reason.

Men are typically bigger, stronger and faster. That’s not a mentality that’s a reality.

Men and women have different hormone levels and biological differences.

“Cis”

Hehe…

Call yourself what you want, but don’t tell people what to call you or try to make some rule as to what you should be called.

Your idea is just an idea (or idealogy) and who is to say you are right? There are many people out there in the world that don’t think like you.

And something I read once that I thought was pretty insightful.

Don’t believe everything you think.

But he’s had a lot of people on his show that aren’t considered “right-wing” not only Bernie Sanders, but Andrew Yang (thumbs up from me), and what’s her name…

Tulsi Gabbard.

IT’S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY.

“It’s still a totalitarian way of thinking… If people don’t comply you’re going after them. That’s everything against being a liberal progressive thinker. Exactly.” – 2 people referring to SJW’s

The my way or the highway diet

What?

What’s the most politically correct diet? Would it be the vegan diet? Because you might as well be a savage if you are eating animal products.

But the vegan diet includes carbs and according to the keto (ketogenic) folks…

“CARBS AREN’T FOOD.”

Someone actually replied to me once with that comment. I said to go look up the Blue zone diet.

Food is one example and…

Religion is another

I once read that “brands” are like religions in a book by Martin Lindstrom. The same part of the brain that lights up with religion is associated with brands (on an MRI).

Your political party, favorite supermarket, sneaker brand are like your religion.

So maybe “keto” is a religion and feminism is a religion and ___ is a religion too.

Different people think differently.

Oh and by the way…

If you were born with a penis and think of yourself as female or want to be called ___.

Or, if you were born with a vagina and think of yourself as a male or want to be called ___.

Then I am black.

And 30% Asian despite whatever my genes say and the fact I might look like a white man.

Nope.

I am not white.

Better make a new box for my ethnicity on that application. I am still working on what I’ll call this new ethnicity.

Hehehe…

It was a joke hope you got it.

I was listening to the Joe Rogan podcast the other day and I learned that the question “where are you from?” is considered a micro aggression.

Fuck you whoever came up with that. Some retarded American SJW.

GO GO GO.

I understand why you did, but it’s really stupid.

I’ve lived in 7 US states, in 4 other countries (7+ years) and traveled quite a bit. Where are you from has been part of my story.

Even if you make it some rule you won’t change what they are thinking.

I’ve lived in Asia for more than 7 years total. And then after around 6 years I went back to the states and I remember asking some people this question.

Where are you from?

And they’d get all touchy and say, “AMERICA“.

No kidding.

To me it’s a conversation starter right up there with how are you?

The whole thing has to do with race.

But isn’t this like the pot calling the kettle black?

The person who has issues with this question has them because they think this is about race, but what if I was the same race as them?

So for them to get offended by me is them taking my race into judgement too.

“Ohh, another stupid ass white boy who thinks I am from Mexico or Asia. No muthafucker I am AMERICAN!”

It’s just a question.

Get over it.

Even if you try to control what they say you didn’t change their mind. You just censored them.

If you were really clever maybe you could start a conversation with them.

No one seems to get offended here in Asia when I ask that question.

When you live in another country people ask you that question too. And let’s say you are white. Some people are going to assume that you are American even if you are not.

I’ve known some people from other English speaking countries that were offended by that.

And some of those people are going to be offended by the word “America” too. I used to say the USA and then many would say, New York, Los Angelos?

Sometimes it could be about your race, but so what… You are not going to change anybody by censoring them.

Just stop fussing about little sh*t.

Is it possible to heal your meniscus naturally without surgery? That’s the question I will answer in this post. Surgery is an option, but you will soon find out that there is some risk involved with that.

I have had a number of knee injuries from sports and tore my meniscus two times in BJJ. I didn’t do surgery on it because all of my research suggested that it was a risky move.

So I took natural, alternative and some definitely non-mainstream approaches to healing and treating it.

So I put some of that research here (in regards to surgery) and a ton (in regards to healing) on a site I made called Healiscus.

DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor and even if I was you shouldn’t believe everything I say because you should know that the 3rd leading cause of death in the US is medical error. You have to do ample research to determine the best course of action for you.

Now…

In this post first I’ll focus on the studies and outcomes surrounding meniscus tear surgeries. Then towards the end I’ll touch on some treatment tips and there’s an FAQ too.

If you are a big thinker and you want to heal your meniscus (ideally without surgery) so you can get back to your game then this is probably for you.

And you might want to read this if you are considering surgery.

WELCOME TO THE TERROR DOME.

Public Enemy said it best, but…

MWAHAHAHA…

It’s like a bad dream…

And it’s called the red and white zone.

Many orthopedic doctors say…

If your tear is in the red zone it has a chance to heal. And if your tear is in the white zone then you are out of luck and you probably need a partial meniscectomy to “fix” it.

But is it really that black and white?

There is some truth to that to say that the white zone is not vascular.

But to say it can’t heal there…

Not true.

In fact here is a study that says cells were able to migrate from the red zone to the white.

Explant studies revealed that migrating cells were mainly confined to the red zone in normal menisci: However, these cells were capable of repopulating defects made in the white zone.

And you have to consider, how did it grow in the first place?

How did it grow in the 1st place?

You’re not getting the most up to date information when you consult your ‘average’ orthopedic doctor.

You’re not getting the best medical advice or attention you could receive. It’s not up to date.

You’re getting OLD information and practices.

Conventional medicine.

How many years do you think it takes for medical findings (science) to reach practice?

You’ll soon find out.

Do you want to heal your meniscus without surgery?

Chances are you can.

However, if your tear is displaced or it’s completely torn in half then maybe you do need surgery. If it’s catching or locking then maybe you do need surgery.

Although that ‘could’ also be inflammation from trauma and not just a piece of torn meniscus.

I’ve torn my meniscus in judo and jiu-jitsu 2 times (according to the MRI). Aside from that I’ve had countless injuries from snowboarding, basketball and even drunk bike riding at 2am in the morning 20+ years ago.

A torn MCL, fractured arm, fractured clavicle, fractured finger, torn cartilage, torn rotator cuff, dislocated finger, bruised tibia and ribs, and plenty of undiagnosed injuries.

And maybe you too.

So how does your knee feel now?

Does it feel like someone sliced up the inside of your knee with an x-acto and then kicked it?

Are you limping?

Well, I can teach you how to heal it (most likely without surgery) and/or if you decide to get surgery I can even help you recover faster and better from it.

The most common ‘fix’ for a torn meniscus is a partial meniscectomy.

And…

Chances are if you get a partial meniscectomy that you will develop osteoarthritis (OA) in that knee.

One source suggests that if you cut out as little as 10% of your meniscus that it increases joint stress by 70%. Your chances of developing arthritis increase exponentially the more they remove.

If you remove part of your meniscus then you change the biomechanics of the knee.

Some people can quickly return to sports and activity within a few weeks after partial meniscectomy.

Like Bigjitsenergy…

A partial meniscectomy often removes the symptoms (pain) now.

But how will you fare down the road?

1 year, 5 years, 10 years later?

Well, according to this study…

“Nearly 63% of knee meniscus surgery patients developed knee arthritis in the meniscectomy knee within 8 years, on average, following surgery. Compare this to the opposite knee that was not operated on: 28% developed arthritis in that same time period.”

Here’s another…

“Early after surgery, 92% of patients had excellent or good results, in term of knee pain, swelling, ROM, squatting, but at a mean of eight years after surgery, only 62% of the patients rated their knees as excellent or good.” – Source

92% said they felt ok after surgery, but then 8 years later 38% didn’t.

Your odds of needing a knee replacement in the future increase 3 fold when you get a meniscectomy according to this study.

Yeah, but what about a ‘partial’ meniscectomy?

“Partial meniscectomy, the most common orthopedic surgical intervention, is recognized as a strong risk factor for knee OA.” – Source

“However, meniscectomy is not ideal because it disrupts the normal anatomical structure and function of the meniscus.” – Source

Any sort of meniscectomy (partial or full) removes the torn bit before it has any chance to heal.

And of course they’ll tell you that it won’t heal…

But you should be very careful about what any orthopedic surgeon tells you because you are likely getting dated information and practices.

What about meniscus repair vs. partial meniscectomy?

Is repair better?

Yes, it can be. Definitely lean towards this if you are thinking surgery.

But know it is not without risk.

And many surgeons will not decide what treatment they will do until they go inside your knee with a scope. So even if you lean towards repair many will not be able to guarantee you that they will do a repair and you could wake up with less of a meniscus.

In the BJJ forum on Reddit someone commented on their stitches.

“Meniscal repairs have a higher re-operation rate than partial meniscectomies, although they are associated with better long-term outcomes.” – Source

Meniscus repair failure rate?

• In this study the failure rate for 25 year olds and older was just 15%.
• In this study the failure rate was 36%.
• In this study the failure rate was 22%.
• In this study 96% were said to regain their pre-injury activity level.
• It is mentioned here that in one study the failure rate was 29%.

And the weird thing is that many doctors may only try the repair surgery if you’re of a certain age or if the tear is in the red zone.

But if it’s in the red zone why even try to repair it?

It doesn’t make sense.

They say your meniscus tear won’t heal because there is no blood flow to part of the meniscus and tears in the red zone have a better chance of healing.

So if it could heal there why even mess with it?

IDK.

But doctors have financial interest$ to mess with it. Your torn meniscus is no tragedy to him – it’s probably money in the bank.

Your doctor is biased like everyone else including me (and more on me later). And while he may be good at using that trimming tool…

BZZZZZ…

There goes your meniscus…

You’re not getting the big picture when you go see an orthopedic surgeon for your knee.

You’re getting a particular orthopedic ‘surgeons’ view on how to fix your meniscus which is routed in dated practices.

Most orthopedic doctors look at the body as if it’s a living organism machine which is just part of it because unlike a machine you are alive.

They don’t all agree and they don’t all use the same practices to surgically repair your meniscus either.

There’s not necessarily one way to heal your knee, but he is likely practicing one way.

And he is working for a slow changing institution – MEDICINE.

Even if you find a great surgeon working privately he still has to confirm to certain ‘standards’.

Medicine like education, government and religion is slow to change.

“Changing clinical practice is a difficult process, best illustrated by the time lag between evidence and use in practice and the extensive use of low-value care.” – Source

And I can guarantee you that the medicine and treatments for a torn meniscus will be very different 50 years from now.

DO YOU THINK I AM TALKING NONSENSE HERE????

Check this out.

“A staggering 36,000 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are published each year, on average, and it typically takes about 17 years for findings to reach clinical practice.” – Source

17 years.

Like I said…

You’re getting ‘old’ medicine.

Old beliefs and old practices.

I can’t say all orthopedic surgeons will do you in and mess up your knee.

You may have good luck and get a great surgeon.

Some people do.

Yet many people don’t.

Here’s another study…

Do you know the search related to feature on the bottom of the Google search results page?

Look how these people faired after meniscus surgery.

This is like a study in itself.

These ones stood out the most to me.

• knee pain one year after surgery
• knee pain two years after surgery

You read above that the chances of getting arthritis after partial meniscectomy are fairly high and that there is a sizable chance of repairs failing.

And what that image just showed you was another metric of what might happen if you get surgery.

Can you heal the meniscus naturally without surgery?

As you can see surgery isn’t going to necessarily ‘fix it’ and in fact it’s possible that it will make it worse.

Those doctors may have told you “it can’t heal”.  And it may be slow or difficult to heal, but you can regenerate cartilage and you can boost your bodies ability to fix itself, but you’ve got to intervene and most likely change some of your habits.

Here’s a BIG tip.

You need to boost growth factors like:

1. Insulin-like growth factor
2. Platelet derived growth factor
3. Fibroblast growth factor
4. Epidermal growth factor
5. Human growth hormone

And stem cells…

In fact you have stem cells in your injured knee right now.

But how do you boost those growth factors?

If you really want to learn how to boost those growth factors and stem cells naturally then take this course on how to heal your meniscus tear without surgery.

FAQ

How long does a torn meniscus take to heal without surgery?

That entirely depends on the severity of the tear and what you do or don’t do to help it heal. It could take any where from a month to a year or more to fully heal. You can’t be passive. It’s also possible that the tear may only partially heal.

Can a meniscus tear heal on its own?

Yes, it’s possible however, your best bet is to take action and do a complete rehab program that covers all angles (see below for more).

A severe tear may not be able to heal well on its own. But I would be very skeptical of any doctor that states, “it can’t heal”. It’s possible that it could get worse with re-injury or it’s possible that it could get better with time.

Here’s a study that shows that 37% of the people with defects in their cartilage showed an improvement and 31% showed a worsening.

Can you walk around with a torn meniscus?

Yes, sometimes you can, however it’s advised that you take it easy initially for a least a few weeks and totally minimize movement as lots of movement may cause further injury and then progressively add motion.

If it hurts stay off it.

Can a torn meniscus get worse over time?

Yes, it could. If it’s a severe displaced tear then the tear could get bigger. On the other hand studies show that some people have asymptomatic tears. In other words they had tears they didn’t even know about.

You can take action and learn:

• what your orthopedic surgeon won’t tell you
• the best exercises for torn knee cartilage
• how to rebuild cartilage in your knee
• how to decrease your knee pain
• the alternatives to surgery
• therapy for your meniscus
• how to strengthen your knees
• how to regenerate cartilage
• DIY protocols &…
• the best diet

Healiscus – learn how to heal your meniscus