Search Joint Pain

Take a Load Off Your Joints

courtesy of Health Central - Rhematoid Arthitis

Published 04/20/09

An ache in your hands on a damp day; a loud crack when you bend at the knees; the need for a hot bath to get moving in the morning—these are some of the signs of early osteoarthritis. Four out of five people over age 55 have it, so if I’ve just described you, you’re far from alone. Approximately 20.7 million people suffer from osteoarthritis, with women three times more likely to be afflicted than men. In fact, the “wear and tear” arthritis is probably the number one degenerative disease in our aging population, and the most common form of joint inflammation.

As we age, systemic inflammation typically increases, while our ability to synthesize and maintain the collagen in connective tissues usually decreases—a typical set-up for osteoarthritis. It takes characteristic joint changes that show up on x-ray to make a definite diagnosis of osteoarthritis, but it’s possible to have pain before any of these changes are visible.

Reversal Is Likely

Although osteoarthritis is painful, there is a growing body of good news about this condition. First, studies done to examine the progress of osteoarthritis show that almost all of those suffering from it experience a spontaneous improvement of symptoms, and even half showed recovery of joint health, without any form of treatment. In one study, this remission was documented by x-ray over a 10-year period in people who were specifically not given a therapy.

Second, the body does know how to heal itself, and, given the right diet, activity, and nutrients, it appears to do so in the case of osteoarthritis S. I want to stress that it’s your body, and not any added nutrients, that repairs and reverses osteoarthritis. The role of nutritional supplementation is to give your body the resources it needs to make the repair. If the regimen you institute is working for you, healing is your body’s natural response. You may have to try different tactics to accommodate your individual biochemistry and lifestyle, but once you hit upon the winning combination, you’ll feel it in your bones—or rather, you won’t. The goal is to get to the root of the problem: improve your bone and joint metabolism, decrease inflammation, and support the repair of the collagen matrix.

Don’t Suffer in Silence

It is not healthy to experience pain every day. In fact, recent research shows constant pain shrinks the brain, so I can understand why people come to rely on drugs that offer a respite. But while drug therapy may be appropriate for short-term relief, it is not the best strategy for the long term.

In the case of osteoarthritis and other problems, drugs do not correct the underlying mechanism and can actually make it worse. Many nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and COX-2 inhibitors—inhibit the synthesis of the collagen matrix and accelerate cartilage destruction. In an unpublished Canadian study, one of the leading arthritis drugs was shown to increase the inflammatory process, even while it suppressed the pain. This drug makes the destruction and pain process worse, even though you don’t feel it. That also means that once you stop taking the drug, your symptoms will likely be worse.

These drugs also come with serious and even deadly adverse effects: tinnitus (ringing in the ears), gastric irritation and bleeding, dizziness, kidney and liver toxicity, and blindness. Conservative estimates from 1996 are that 16,500 deaths related to NSAID use occur each year among people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

If you need immediate pain relief, I want you to get it. Use Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, or whatever works best for you. Meanwhile, I suggest you start giving other modalities, including those described below a try.

1 2 3 4