These refer to any infection of microorganisms above the “collar”, or from your collar bone up. This includes dental infections, both obvious and hidden, sinuses, tonsils, adenoids, ears, lymph nodes, salivary glands, and so on.
Above the collar infections can impact the body negatively in several ways including:
When those unfriendly germs like bad species of bacteria, fungi, and viruses make it past the stomach into the small and large intestines, they can wreak havoc and cause problems like GI inflammation and digestive issues. These pathogens can also cause trouble in the heart, lungs, and breast tissue, as they enter the lymphatic system and blood stream [1].
These bad bugs cause their damage over time, as they seep into the tissues day by day. One bacteria isn’t going to cause damage or overwhelm the immune system, but a chronic Collar Up infection dripping down day in and day out introducing those same pathogens could help them colonize or cause inflammatory symptoms downstream.
These pathogenic organisms harm the immune system and cause systemic inflammation, then the oxidative stress from the inflammation and immune activation harms the cells of the body.
These inflammatory toxins, as well as antibiotics, shut down the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cell that allows you to have energy to exercise. [2] The mitochondria may additionally switch from “powerhouse” mode to “immune signaling” mode, resulting in fatigue and reduced performance capacity.
Let’s take a look at the most common direct and indirect symptoms of Collar Up infections to make sure you don’t miss out on the warning signs.
Direct:
Indirect:
Collar Up infections can originate anywhere in the head or neck and are most commonly caused by serious or repeated physical injury to an area. This can be a physical trauma like being hit during contact sports, having a tooth improperly extracted, or from a oxidative stress caused by a toxic environment–such as breathing in/inhaling mycotoxins in a moldy home–that constantly overwhelms the immune defenses in the head and neck.
Initially, the immune system is usually compromised for one reason or another, including nutritional deficiencies or excesses, poor diet, overtraining, chronic dehydration, life stress inducing hormonal changes, poor lymphatic flow, physical trauma like a head, mouth, or jaw injury from contact sports [3], surgery, or an improper dental procedure, and overuse of antibiotics leading to antibiotic-resistant strains of pathogens. Apparently, athletes use almost twice the amount of antibiotic doses as the general public! [2].
Contact sports athletes, listen up, because you’re the most likely to experience dental trauma due to your sport. Dental trauma can be the onset of the slippery slope to a chronic Collar Up infection.
The mouth is the most common site for above the collar infections and performance-harming inflammation—mostly because the mouth is a favorable environment for organisms to grow. The junction between the gums and teeth, as well as abscesses in teeth, provide an escape route for bacteria and other organisms to find their way into the lymphatic system and bloodstream [1]. This causes widespread systemic inflammation in the body as your immune system tries to get the bugs in your blood under control. Pathogenic organisms cause harm locally and systemically in the body by these means. Many times, long-term dental infections do not cause pain, yet are still causing damage to the body. 3D scan testing is required to identify these hidden dental infections.
To tie things back to the systemic effects of Collar Up infections, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture principles state that each tooth site on your jaw bone is associated with a meridian that belongs to various organs in the body. For example, the wisdom teeth are associated with the heart and small intestine meridians.
Because of the nervous system link (meridian) between the wisdom teeth and the heart and small intestine, a person who has had their wisdom teeth improperly removed may have a higher likelihood of experiencing cardiovascular or certain digestive issues. All teeth are linked to meridians that affect organs, see the graphic below.
Additionally, poor diet alters the oral microbiome making it more susceptible to infection and inflammation, compounded by invasive dental practices by well meaning but under-informed dentists. When gingivitis, infection of a root canal or extraction site (cavitation) occur or an abscess forms under a tooth, chewing can push bacteria into the lymphatic system and blood stream.
Who would have known the poor dental health could be impacting your cardiovascular health, and in turn, negatively affecting your athletic performance? Time to get brushing!
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