oh my ... growing more than one trunk.. that is called a birch CLUMP ... and i agree .. a favorable form ... it really has nothing to do with a trunk that is forked at 2 or 3 feet high ... seren ... splinting will not work ... .. you are pulling energy for the other to grow.. by making it struggle to recover a losing proposition ... and in the long run.. many more multiple leaders will take hold just below the break ... let me be very clear.. its your tree.. and you do whatever you want with it ... it will not bother me in the least ... all i am trying to express.. is that you are treating it like a child with a broken arm ... instead of thinking about it as the tree it is ... trees need to be properly pruned to overcome damage .... they do not 'heal' broken WOOD .. as a child might heal broken bone .... its a false equation ... do whatever feels best in your garden.. with your tree .. .. and have a great day ken

I am only 19 years old, I have been suffering from chronic pain for over ten years.. I have been seeing a doctor since age 10 and that is when my file begins. At first I had bad posture. I saw my chiropractor once a week, was in a back brace and forced to perfect my posture.. no fix as my posture was fine. Then I was diagnosed with scoliosis.. at age ten, suffering from chronic migraines and sever constant neck, shoulder, and upper back pain. I was perscribed with Vi-ox, Vicodine and Valuim at age TEN! I cried all day in school, not even able to carry my own back pack.. coming home just to beg and beg and beg my father to rub my back more and more. As he dug his fists into the knots in my neck that refused to loosen a massage that would cripple an average person I found temporary relief. Then Vi-ox was recalled and I was continuously sent to a chiropractor, physical therapy, and a pain clinic that quickly became a financial burden. But it was all they could offer.. as I grew in age the pain worsened.. now to my lower back oh only a new curve? then my hips in which I've torn muscles doing basic exercise or just simply walking because my muscles were so tight and I gained tolerance to the vicodine and valium.. taking it on a regular basis for relief.. as I grew older I got impatient no longer being able to afford my chiropractor or physical therapy and suffering. I saw a specialist, and then a orthopedic surgeon who broke me the news that I indeed was not suffering from scoliosis.. my spine was normal and in perfect health. I began to stretch and run until the muscles in my hips would no longer allow me to do so. I would spend the majority of the day stretching and wake up stiff as a board. I grew helpless, I saw a therapist and was treated for depression because at this point I was suicidal and still with no relief.. in February of 2010 I was diagnosed by the rheumatoid specialist at the University of Michigan with fibromyalgia.. after two other professional opinions with the same answer I was given more vicodine more valium, Lyrica, cymbalta, trazadone, klonzaphan, xanax, etc. AT ONLY 18! I spent time and money with yoga classes more physical therapy and three other chiropractors and now after all my research I feel like I have hit a brick wall. who knows anything about this disease? NO ONE! do you give this diagnosis just to diagnose? I'm scared, I'm confused, and every minute of every day I am aching and aching and aching with the most sever pain you could ever imagine which has now crept into my knees. I cant sleep, I can't eat, I cant work, Focus on my school work, I'm not able to even enjoy the company of family and friends. these drugs do nothing for me.. the muscle relaxers and pain medications numb the pain and continue to kill my liver and my body. The depression has gotten so much worse and I feel there is no help for any of us out there. I am only 19.. how will i feel or cope in 30 years? if i even make it that long.. I need help, I'm desperate for help.. I don't know if I can take this a minute longer.. please, anyone.. save me.

jewel, I'm glad that you had a successful recovery. The NIH page I linked summarizes the findings of formal studies, what is and isn't known. In this particular case, it suggests that evidence of effectiveness is inadequate or lacking. With your experience and that of others, there's no way to know what might have happened to you without ingesting this substance. Would your healing have been the same? Would it have been quicker? Was there some effect from the tea you normally drink? You see what I mean, all the extraneous factors are properly managed in studies so that results are focused and understandable. The experience of one or even several people isn't useful. I'm happy for you, but I find an NIH assessment of "no demonstrated benefit" more persuasive. And unsurprising, the real stories for so many supplements people recommend are similar.

A couple of years ago I slipped walking down a hill, and landed with my full weight on my stiff, straight right arm, jarring and wrenching my shoulder and upper back. I was sure I had torn muscles or bruised something. It hurt, but not so much that I wanted to let it affect me. I continued on with life despite the pain, including playing in my twice weekly volleyball league. The pain continued for weeks, and I wasn't even really connecting the ongoing pain with the earlier fall. On a couple of instances the pain became very much worse, but I thought I had merely over done it. Eventually I went to my PCP and was sent for an x-ray. Upon getting home from the x-ray the doctor called saying I had a broken rib in my upper back, and that it looked "funny" and asked me to go back in for more x-rays, immediately if possible. After the x-rays I was sent for a cat scan and later a bone scan. Because the break looked funny, ie. somewhat raggedy on the margins of the break, and because of its location, completely beneath my shoulder blade they were convinced that it was a bone lesion indicating bone cancer and they were looking for more. In the end though the break was most likely caused by the shoulder blade due to the fall, and the raggedy appearance was due to it partially healing and being rebroken at least twice. So the moral of the story is take it easy, and give your rib time to fully heal before too much physical activity -- such a shoveling snow.