The One Food That Helps You Avoid Shoulder Surgery

A few months ago, I was awakened by a condition that was unfamiliar to me. It seemed I was injured, yet I didn't recall experiencing a specific injury. Suddenly and seemingly out of nowhere I was suffering with a swelling in the front of my left shoulder that traveled down the side of my arm. Smack out of the blue, pain was triggered by raising and lowering my arm with a clicking sound in my shoulders and neck. Reaching behind my back was out of the question and I felt jolting pain that was causing me to lose sleep. By all accounts, I suffered with a complete loss of mobility and strength in that left arm.

Stunned by the swift and mysterious lack of mobility, I did what any other person with shoulder pain would do -- I went to a doctor. After a brief examination and a few injections of lidocaine to mask the pain, the good doctor diagnosed me with rotator cuff tendonitis/bursitis. He said pain was the result of:

Tendinitis. Irritated or damaged rotator cuff tendons.Bursitis. An inflamed bursa that swelled with fluid causing pain.Impingement. Difficulty raising the arm to shoulder height, narrowing the space between the acromion and rotator cuff. The acromion rubs against (or "impinges" on) the tendon and the bursa, causing irritation and pain. 

The good news was, most people with this type of rotator cuff issue would be able to regain full function of the shoulder without any significant pain. Unbeknownst to the doctor, I intended to be one of them.

Without considering my medical history or the fact that anything else could be contributing to this condition, the good doctor recommended a bursectomy -- removal of the bursa -- the small sac filled with fluid that reduces the friction in joint movement. The procedure is usually done laparoscopically and is known to "relieve chronic inflammation" (bursitis) or infection (see the procedure in the video below.)

As nice as it would have been to regain the use of my arm again, surgery was out of the question. As I sat there and considered my options, it occurred to me that I had this pain once before -- in my right hip, and considered that "there are about 160 bursae in the human body. Was I going to rip out a bursa each time one became inflamed? No. 

At the very least, I left the doctor's office knowing what I didn't want -- surgery. In an effort to heal the inflammation in my bursa(s) on my own, I did the only thing I knew would be effective, and took an honest look at my diet. 

As a rule I avoid eating most animal products, wheat, gluten, refined sugar and processed foods as these are inflammatory. Typically, my diet is high in fruits and vegetables and plant-based sources of protein. But, it was when I began incorporating coconut yogurt into my life each day, that I begin to see a noticeable -- no drastic reduction in mobility of my joints. It was purely coincidental that I discovered coconut's amazing healing powers for myself and to my surprise research backs this up:  researchers in India extracted the antioxidants unique to virgin coconut oil from the oil and injected them into rats with induced arthritis and found that the unique coconut antioxidants reduced inflammation associated with arthritis more effectively than current pharmaceutical drugs.  

About 1/4 cup of coconut yogurt in a high-antioxidant fruit smoothie daily does wonders for overall health , and not to mention ending joint pain. Researchers at Harvard have also confirmed that coconut as a good saturated fat gives “good” HDL cholesterol a boost.

While coconut oil can be used as anything from sunscreen to a dental rinse I was particularly excited to regain the use of arm so quickly (two weeks) and avoid shoulder surgery. So many people I've known felt they 'had' to go with the bursectomy. 

There's one last thing you should know about coconut yogurt other than it being delicious. Coconut yogurt should not to be mistaken with coconut flavored yogurt. These are not one in the same. One product is inflammatory (dairy), the other is healing. Coconut yogurt is non-dairy. It is not found at your local supermarket, but is easy to make at home in a high speed blender.

Check out the video below to learn an easy way to make your own coconut yogurt and know that if you're feeling rotator cuff pain or any joint pain that is chronic and not associated with a specific injury, that it can be one hundred percent healed with proper diet and lifestyle choices. Give yourself the chance to heal (I saw results in two weeks) so that you can avoid unnecessary and painful shoulder surgery.