Page 13 - Acupuncture explanation electronic version_Neat

The Extracellular Matrix

and Pharmaceutical Drugs

If your extracellular matrix is all clogged up, the

medicine has a more difficult time reaching your cells.

(Think back to the overgrown forest analogy and how

difficult it was to traverse that terrain).

If the extracellular matrix is clogged up, less

medicine reaches your cells per unit time, making the

medicine less effective. To increase the effectiveness of

the medicine, your doctor may increase the dosage of

your medicine so more reaches the cells per unit time.

The downside to this strategy is that many

medications affect not only the cells they are targeted

for but also other cells in the body. This is why you see

side effects with many drugs. As you increase the

dosage of a drug, there is an increased probability of

seeing side effects.