by admin on June 23, 2009
A really underestimated form of treatment for arthritis is simply … diet. Firstly because western diet generally nowadays is so aweful, and semi-toxic, to be accurate, and secondly, because the food we eat is such a powerful influencer on the processes in our body. It just stands to reason that if we improve our diet, ie. eat foods with few impurities, higher levels of nutrients, our overall health,not to mention processes taking place within our body benefits.
This article has some enlightening ideas regarding diet for treatment of arthritis, however urealistic it may be for some, given that changing diet can be challenging, at best, to stick with. Interesting though:
Quick Guide To Arthritis Pain Relief
I got rid of my arthritis and arthritis pain for good by doing one single thing. Getting rid of my arthritis pain, without drugs, was one of the best things that has happened to me.
Sometimes arthritis occurs in the wrist, elbows, shoulders, and jaw but you generally don’t find it there. There are more than 100 different types of medical conditions that can affect your joints; it’ll be difficult to treat your condition effectively unless you know exactly what your diagnosis is; get diagnosed as soon as possible. Osteoarthritis affects joints in a different way depending on their location in the body, causing various symptoms.
Cartilage contains a high percentage of water, but it decreases with age. Collagen is the main protein found in all connective tissues in the body, including the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. The cartilage is slippery tissue that coats the ends of the bones.
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by admin on June 19, 2009
Do you have hideously painful flareups in your ankles and knees? When it gets bad enough and it happens often enough you want to know what causes it. I read this article this morning, it does a good job of explaining what knee arthritis is and what causes it.
What Is Knee Arthritis
The most common type of knee arthritis is Osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease, caused by wear-and-tear on the knee joints. Osteoarthritis causes a progressive wearing away of the cartilage of the joint surrounding the knee. When this protective cartilage is worn away by knee arthritis, bare bone is exposed within the joint. It is extremely painful and can become so debilitating that the sufferer can barely stand or walk for any length of time.
What Causes Knee Arthritis?
Arthritis of the knee generally afflicts patients over the age of 50 who are overweight. Genetic predisposition may also be a cause of this chronic condition. Other risk factors that may contribute to developing knee arthritis include:
-Trauma to the knee.
-Meniscus tears or ligament damage.
-Fractures to the bone around the joint.
Symptoms of Knee Arthritis:
Knee arthritis symptoms tend to progress as the condition worsens and may be exacerbated by weather changes and stress to the knee joints. Pain may appear intermittedly, with pain free weeks or months, followed by very painful flare-ups.
Some of the most common symptoms of knee arthritis include:
-Pain with activities.
-Limited range of motion.
-Stiffness of the knee.
-Swelling of the joint.
-Tenderness along the joint.
-A feeling the joint may “give out”.
-Deformity of the joint (knock-knees or bow-legs).
Read the rest of the article here.
by admin on June 17, 2009
Osteoarthritis is the degenerative disease of the joint. On this article, it will discuss more regarding the knee joint. This disease usually will occur at older age. But, it also can occur in younger age especially for those who had a trauma on his joint area.
There are some risks which can lead to this disease. There are:
1. History of trauma – eg. Ligament injuries or fracture of the bone near the joint area
2. Obese person
3. Aggressive sport activity
4. The ageing process
All this process will lead to degeneration process of the cartilage area at that joint. This will lead to progressive loss of the cartilage thickness.
The symptoms of the osteoarthritis:
a) Stiffness of the joint especially in the morning after wake up in the morning (usually around 30 minutes)
b) Progressive chronic pain
c) Swollen of the joint
d) A sound when moving the joint (crepitus
e) Feel pain during:
· On long standing or carry a heavy things
· Pain relieved after rest
Read the rest of this article here:
by admin on June 17, 2009
The Meaning of Arthritis
Joint inflammation is what arthritis means. Arthritis encompasses a wide variety of diseases and is not a single disease.
There are more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions, that can cause pain, stiffness in the body and also swelling of the joints.
When one of these conditions damages the joints of the body this is when it is referred to as arthritis. Arthritis effect and disables our seniors and people 65 and older. There are many different forms of arthritis and they each have there own cause.
What do they have in common, 100 different diseases
We have a hundred different forms of arthritis, so what is common with all of them? The answer to this question is without a doubt pain. The arthritis pain will be different among all of the individuals suffering from arthritis, and the location of the pain will also be different.
Some symptoms of arthritis to warn you of possible problems
Swelling of your joints and stiffness are some of the signs and symptoms that you may be suffering from arthritis.
Are you feeling stiffness and swelling in one or more of your joints and have you been feeling this for a couple weeks or more? If you answered yes to the above then you need to visit your physician and have these warning signs diagnosed and treated.
Listing all the different types of arthritis would become quite extensive and I am not about to do that here. I will do another article explaining them, but for now here is a list of some of the most common types and the symptoms that are associated with each type of arthritis.
Read more >>
by admin on June 16, 2009
MSM is an interesting compound in that provides the chemical links needed to create and maintain healthy tissue in the body. Mostly in connective tissue of cartilage in joints, but also in the skin, resulting in the pleasant surprise of improved skin when people start taking it. It occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and meat, but in reduce amounts with any kind of food processing, so to supplement your diet with it is a definite plus. When it’s combined with glucosamine and/or chondroitin, both of which help rebuild caratilage, it’s even more effective. You have to try it to really experience how well it works. I’m a runner who ran into really bad ankle and knee pain when training for a half marathon. After taking glucosamine/chondroitin/msm the pain was gone in three weeks.
I was just reading an article called Get Rid of Pain with MSM.
Would you be happy to find a “magic pill” to quickly get rid of joint pain? Unfortunately, there isn’t such a thing as a “magic pill”, but one product can significantly minimize joint pain: MSM.
Methylsulfonylmethane, popular known as MSM, is used around the world for relief from osteoarthritis, muscle pain, joint pain and inflammation.
MSM is a naturally occurring mineral, organic source of sulfur-containing compound, which has anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties and can block pain response in nerve fibers. It can also reduce scar tissue by altering the cross linking process in collagen to allow quicker tissue repair.
Supplements containing MSM are available and have gained considerable recognition for its results in relieving arthritis. But how does MSM work?
You can read the rest of the article here.
I’ve been struggling with pain in my ankles and more recently knees for a few years now.
The first time I noticed (ha ha) it was after a run while training for my first marathon. It was this sudden shooting pain in my right ankle that sent me suddenly hobbling for the nearest chair. It seemed to happen only at certain times when I put pressure on my foot at certain angles. If I didn’t do any more running the pain would gradually go away. If I continued to run though it would happen more often, and sometimes afterward the pain would stay around for a few days, rendering me effectively lame.
Today, ten years later (I’m 44), that general scenario has extended up to my knees. I just feel generally crotchety and am pretty certain if any intense pressure were put on my knees they would basically explode.
This is a problem. It’s been 5 years since I ran my last marathon I and want to get going again, yet every time I run 5K less than 3 days apart I’m walking around stiff as Frankenstein for at least 48 hours.
What’s going on?
After reading up on it a bit it looks like I have osteoarthritis (OA).
Also looks like I’m not alone. Over 20 million other people in the United States also have osteoarthritis.
So what is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis that comes about through the gradual wearing down and loss of cartilage (the protein substance that acts as a cushion between the bones of your joints). In other words, it is degenerative arthritis. Slowly but surely, as time goes by and you get older the cartilage in your joints wears down. Eventually it gets so thin, or completely worn away, there is no more protection and your bones start grinding against eachother. AAaaaaahh!!
image from www.medicinenet.com
It most commonly affects the load bearing joints like the hips, knees and ankles, nut it also shows up in the hands and the spine.
Right now, it’s a knee and ankle issue for me, but I have little needles of pain in my hands and hips from time to time. Looks like there’s some serious OA in the works for me ten years hence if I don’t do something about it now.
Which begs the question … once you have it, what do you do about it?
Well, a good first step might be to figure out what causes it, then try to address that. I’m all for natural treatments to these kinds of things so that’s the route I’m going to take. If I try everything and I still have joint pain five years from now, I’ll go to the doctor then. Before that though I think there’s a lot I can do myself.
The first thing that comes to mind is Glucosamine and Chondroitin as a natural solution, because I saw Paul Zane Pilzer mention it in The Wellness Revolution when I was reading that book. But really, I don’t know anything about Glucosamine and Chondroitin, so I’m going to start from scratch and figure out exactly what’s going on first, then try and find the best solution for it.
I’m off to read about what causes osteoarthritis.
Hello Joint Health Enthusiast!
I’m starting this blog because joint pain has started to impact my life. See, I like to run. I’ve run a marathon and a half marathon, and now in my mid forties I want to run marathons in the great cities of Europe, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Moscow, London. But Alas, any time I train more than twice a week, 5 km or more, my ankles flare up with this shooting pain, and my knees feel decidedly crotchety and weak.
So I have entered the world of joint pain, something I know little about, and at the moment feel captive to. So I’m going to learn everything I can about joint pain, and as I learn, and discover I’ll post it here too so you can also benefit.
Ultimately I want to be free of this joint pain and resume my marathon goals. I’m not sure how long it will take, but I wish that for you too.
Ben
