How are your joints? (Part 1)
I have just got off the phone speaking with a client in his 70’s. He had damaged his knees playing rugby and now had fairly advanced osteoarthritis in his knees. We started him on a programme for his knees early in the year.
This involved reducing inflammation with some diet changes and adding my high chondroitin joint formula initially at a double dose delivering 1600mg of chondroitin, the same of glucosamine and 400mg of a 95% Curcumin (from turmeric) extract.
He has been genuinely surprised by how much more comfortable he has been. The degeneration is still there but reducing joint inflammation and helping to improve remaining cartilage function can translate to real improvements.
It is all about Chondroitin
High levels of chondroitin are important as this helps to stimulate cartilage production from specialised cells called chondrocytes. Chondroitin is now so widely accepted that in Europe doctors are able to prescribe this for osteoarthritis. It has been proven to be effective with by few side effects.
How do you feel out of 10?
When starting a joint programme I encourage people to regularly assess how they are progressing. A simple way is to do a regular assessment every couple of weeks by rating the pain and mobility out of 10.
Someone with an 8/10 rating may have a 3 month goal to get to 5/10.
Another good way to monitor is the amount of (any) pain relief/anti-inflammatory medication being used. Whatever system of assessment what we are looking for is a reduction in pain and corresponding improvement in mobility.
While diet and supplements can make a huge difference the most important factor is time. Today I created a programme for someone with serious degeneration in both wrists with one so severe that a specialist has recommended surgery. I stressed to her that the critical time period is not so much the first weeks but the 6-12 week time frame when I am sure she will notice a difference.
What to do now?
Give you joints a rating out of 10. If they rate anything above 2/10 you should act now and contact me for personalised advice.
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