There are more than 200 rheumatic diseases and are affecting more and more people of all ages. We spoke to the medical director of Biosalud Day Hospital, Dr. Mariano Bueno, a specialist in this type of pathology for more than 30 years.

Pain, disability and impaired quality of life are some of the consequences of rheumatic diseases, above lung and heart disease. On the occasion of International Rheumatic Diseases Day, we wanted to find out how rheumatic diseases have evolved and how biological medicine is a great ally for patients. 

More than 30 years specialising in rheumatic diseases Why did you start your career with this speciality?

My father was a doctor, and one of the most prestigious rheumatologists in Spain at the time. He was the one who He conveyed to me the suffering of the rheumatic patient, as the common symptom in all of them is pain, And at that time it was very difficult to control it, especially because the patient lived with a more advanced pathology, with pain and with the side effects of the anti-inflammatory treatment, which sooner or later took its toll.

That is why I decided to dedicate myself to the treatment of rheumatic diseases, in order to alleviate the suffering of these patients. That is also why, guided also by my father, I went into the field of medical techniques to treat pain without side effects and effectively, such as acupuncture (very common nowadays in the pain units of the most prestigious hospitals in the world), mesotherapy, magnetotherapy, osteopathy, etc. These techniques are now very familiar to us, but forty years ago they were little known.

"There is an increase in cases of degenerative rheumatic diseases at younger ages due to sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise or poor dietary quality".

What has changed in these diseases in the last 20 years?

We can distinguish two main groups of rheumatic diseases: inflammatory diseases (in general), autoimmune) and degenerative diseases (osteoarthritis).. Both are growing exponentially. The former are caused by an immune problem, where the patient's own defence system attacks the body's own structures because it recognises them as foreign. In this way, it chronically inflames them as a pathological defence mechanism and gradually destroys them, causing functional problems and major pain that in many cases reduce the patient's quality of life. This type of rheumatic disease is on the increase, and is even more common in children than it was a few years ago. Today our immune system is constantly bombarded by chemicals, radiation of various kinds and emotional problems of various kinds. which in many cases activate the patient's genetic predisposition to them, activating the expression of these genes, what we nowadays call epigenetics.

The latter, degenerative diseases are caused by a deterioration, a "wear and tear" of the articular cartilage, which causes functional impotence and also pain of greater or lesser intensity when we use the joint, when one bone rubs against another because there is not enough articular cartilage to facilitate this friction. They are increasing every day, firstly because we are living longer and more diseases are appearing in connection with ageing. In a way, osteoarthritis is joint ageing. In addition, there is a increase of cases at younger ages due to sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, poor quality of nutritionlacking essential nutrients for good joint health.

What do we know about the causes of rheumatic diseases?

Although we have discussed this before, I will be more explicit. In general, when we talk about rheumatic diseases, we are talking about chronic diseases. As with any chronic disease, there are a number of common factors that are sustained over time and that accumulate. Often, a predisposing genetic load is added that ends up activating and causing epigenetics to set them in motion.

Lo common to all chronic diseases is fundamentally:

– acidification of the extracellular environment,  produced by our bad eating habits, with an excess of proteins and above all refined carbohydrates, industrial foods, saturated (bad) fats;

– poor nutrition, lacking in unsaturated (good) fats, vitamins, minerals, fibre, etc.

– oxidative stress, accumulation of oxygen free radicalswhich deteriorate cell membranes and accelerate the ageing of our structures.

– accumulation of toxins from toxic chemicals, heavy metals, toxins from moulds, etc.

– endocrine disruptors which alter cell metabolism, mainly present in the food we eat, cleaning and hygiene products, etc.

In addition, we take into account the drug toxicity, especially those with chronic treatments, the electromagnetic pollution (radiation from mobile phones, microwaves, high-voltage networks, radio, television and telephone antennas, mobile phones, video game consoles, and so on).

"Biological medicine is that it looks in each case for the factors that have set the pathology in motion".

What does biological medicine bring to the treatment of rheumatic diseases? Why is it more effective?

Knowing what has just been said, what precisely does the biological medicine is that it looks in each case for the factors that have set the pathology in motion. We are going to go to the cause, not to treat the symptom, full stop. Of course we will treat pain and inflammation if necessary, but always as allies of the immune system. What we do not do is to create a situation of apparent health, as happens when only the symptoms are treated, which will not prevent the disease from progressing and the patient will eventually suffer from his or her evolved disease and the side effects of the treatment. It can be done much better and with good results. It can be done much better and with good results, the patient must take responsibility and change his or her bad habits for goodThe main focus is on diet and nutritional supplementation, and moderate exercise, as well as some therapeutic guidelines that one can easily carry out at home.

In the end, the result is impressive. And that patient, who already knows what it means to be well, will continue to do well and stay in good health, enjoy healthy ageing and long longevity.

We have such good results because we go to the source of the problem, not just the symptom, treatment is fully personalised, as the same causes can produce different diseases in different people.and different causes can produce similar diseases in different people.

What diagnostic techniques do you use?

In addition to the usual medical, biochemical and radiological tests, we use specific analyses to determine the causes of rheumatic diseases and the consequences for each individual patient. We do heavy metal analysis, toxic chemicals y mycotoxins. We studied in depth the functionality and the state of intestinal healthWe detect the presence of fungal or bacterial infections (very frequent in these cases), dysbiosis, alterations in permeability, etc. We detect nutrient deficienciesWe check for the following: vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, essential fatty acids, etc... We rule out reactivated chronic viral diseases. In addition, we carry out a comprehensive functional study to find out what is going wrong, using American diagnostic equipment that helps us especially to find out what the organism needs in order to improve.

With all this, we can find out why the pathology has occurred, and how we can improve, alleviate or cure that particular patient.

And what therapeutic weapons do they use?

Since these cases are treated as common symptom with painIn the case of pain, we can mention the different techniques to treat such pain.

• MesotherapyA technique in which one or more drugs are injected into the dermis, with a significant analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect, as the active ingredients of these drugs are absorbed exclusively in the planes below the area where they are injected, so that their effect is maximum, with no side effects, even when using conventional (allopathic) drugs.
• Cryoelectrophoresisconsists of making a certain active ingredient of a medicine penetrate by iontophoresis, after freezing the medicine, by applying it to the area of pain/inflammation, penetrating up to 20 cm deep. In Italy it is widely used in pain clinics.
•  Molecular hyperthermiaBiosalud Day Hospital is the only centre in Spain that has this technology. It consists of applying an electrode to the affected area for a maximum of 20 minutes. The system increases the temperature at depth (not on the surface), up to 44 degrees, so that a high concentration of enkephaluins, endorphins and anti-inflammatory cytokines is stimulated to reach the area, stem cells regenerative, etc... It is magnificent, the latest technology for this type of illness. In 3 sessions it eliminates pain in most cases.
• Neural therapyGerman technique consisting of the regulation of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system in the affected area as well as in the whole organism, so that the regulation mechanisms are reactivated, repolarising the membranes of the damaged cells and normalising the transmission of nerve impulses when they are altered by the pathology or by interfering fields.
• DiathermyElectro-medicine technique with a direct effect on pain control through the application of an electrode specially designed for this purpose, with specific application programmes according to the type of pain.

It is also very effective for the treatment of inflammation and of course for the cartilage regenerationcell regeneration techniques.

And for autoimmune diseases of the musculoskeletal system, what therapeutic techniques do you use?

Well, here we do have novel therapies. The first thing we do is rebalance pH and remove acidifying environment of the tissues that produce and maintain the chronic process. We also control the pH and replenish the nutrients that are deficient according to the analyses. We also use personalised serums for each case, ozone therapyneurovegetative injection therapy, bioregulatory therapy and therapeutic apheresis using double plasma filtration, among others.

"Prevention is the ideal and the smartest thing to do if there are already cases of rheumatic diseases in our family.

Can we prevent such diseases?

The Prevention is the ideal and smart thing to do if there are already cases of rheumatic diseases in our family. This means that there is a genetic tendency whose activation we must avoid. It is in the external factors where we can intervene, and take a series of measures so that we never have an internal environment that facilitates that genetic load to be expressed in our epigenetics.

To achieve this we have developed the Prevent programme. After a series of tests, we schedule an annual preventive treatment protocol, with 10 therapy sessions at our facilities, which makes it more difficult, but not impossible, for the disease to develop.

This programme has been set up following the experience of many patient cases those who, having previously had the pathology, have remained asymptomatic for years, following our advice and through this simple maintenance. Of course, one of the most important supports of the programme is the patient's diet and nutrition. It is essential to follow a diet appropriate to our genetics (which will be indicated by one of the previous analyses carried out) and in accordance with what we want to prevent.

Integrative medicine is ideal for the treatment and prevention of rheumatic diseases. It is our experience since 1985. Many patients have passed through Biosalud Day Hospital and today they bring us the rest of their family.