| A pain in the… (Part 1)
The best part of what I do is to hear back from clients who have less pain and more mobility. If you are in pain the first step should be a visit to your health practitioner for an accurate diagnosis.
Over the next few editions we will look at the most common causes of pain and the measures we can take to help. In all cases these measures are designed to help restore your body’s natural healing processes which can be greatly affected by disease.
Something is broken
By definition the presence of any ongoing health problem indicates that your healing systems are damaged or just not working properly. In some cases such as osteoarthritis it is very difficult for your body to repair. Instead it defaults to a protective mechanism by which your body sacrifices your comfort (read pain) to protect the ends of your bones.
For example when cartilage is largely lost your body reacts to protect the ends of your bones from degeneration. The cartilage that used to protect your bones has gone leaving the ends of your bones (that form the joint) at risk from damage. What happens is your bones grow spurs. While this may protect your bones it greatly increases pain.
Inflammation makes it worse
Most pain is either caused or worsened by tissue inflammation. For example in osteoarthritis the immune system response to cartilage loss is inflammation. This can cause fluid accumulation, swelling, loss of function and invariably pain.
An anti-inflammatory diet combined with well formulated supplements can help. My preference is to have equal amounts of chondroitin and glucosamine with a potent curcumin (turmeric) extract and solid doses of fish oils.
Of these chondroitin sulphate is the most important as it helps support several joint healing processes damaged by arthritis. In most cases I start with 1600mg of chondroitin and glucosamine plus curcumin to help improve cartilage function. Chondroitin is so effective that it is now available in Europe on prescription. Click here for more information
Over the past 6 months I have been helping a man in his 70’s with long term knee osteoarthritis with some damage from his rugby years. He was really struggling with pain and mobility and in his own words is now 95% better. All he has now is a few niggles.
The key is to use multiple measures that target the processes that help maintain healthy joints. The answer is not diet or supplements. The answer is to stimulate dormant healing processes overwhelmed by degenerative changes to joints. Your body does the rest. I have written an extensive Anti-Inflammatory Nutrition Guide. Please contact me to receive an email copy.
John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med.) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health. If you have questions or need help you can contact John 0800 423559. You can email John at john@abundant.co.nz.
Please note that the health advice given through this column is for general educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose or treat any health problem. © John Arts 2019 |
