More Natural Treatments For Joint Pain
Probably most people have suffered from achy or painful joints at some time in their lives. It seems to be inevitable. Unusual exertion or overuse of your joints, possibly causing strains or sprains and injuring ligaments (fibers holding your bones together), can leave you with hot, red, swollen and painful joints.
Fractures from falling, accidents, direct blows, or repetitive forces such as running can also affect your joints, especially the weight-bearing ones. It is possible to get joint pain from septic arthritis, an infection that attacks the joint, or from tendonitis, a problem with the tissue that holds the muscle to the bone.
Unfortunately, joint pain can also be a symptom of an autoimmune disease that is attacking your body. Rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more women than men, often shows up in your wrists, fingers, knees, ankles and feet. It almost always occurs on both sides of your body, both feet, both hands, etc. Lupus affects many more women than men and seems to be more prevalent among Afro-Americans and Asians. It's onset is between the ages 10-50.
While doctors are not always able to pinpoint the cause of these autoimmune diseases, they do know that the joints almost always seem to be targeted. Variations such as bursitis, an inflammation of the bursa in the joint, and gout, an intolerance to uric acid, also can cause very painful joint pain. You can add infectious diseases to the list of offenders as well.
Although we live in a very modern age of specialty drugs and treatments, some older approaches are being simultaneously re-examined. One of these is the application of emu oil. The emu is a non-flying bird found in Australia. For years, the aborigines have used its transdermal properties of skin penetration for a variety of ailments including joint pain.
The emu oil seems to contain an anti-inflammatory quality that reduces swelling, pain, and stiffness, particularly in surface joints such as the hands, knees, elbows, and feet. Applied daily, noticeable improvement can take up to fourteen days. Emu oil can be found in natural health food stores.Check to see if it has been refined and processed according to the very specific American Emu Association standards, especially if you care about the humane treatment of emus.
Glucosamine is another natural treatment for chronic or acute joint pain, albeit a controversial one. This natural neutraceutical supposedly forms building blocks that stimulate your joints to rebuild worn and damaged cartilage. In addition, the glucosamine supposedly slows down the joint deterioration process and reduces pain better than aspirin can.
It boosts the effectiveness of ibuprofen when taken in conjunction and has no adverse reactions that anyone is aware of. Glucosamine can be procured from the shells of crabs and other crustaceans. It is available for purchase in both health food stores and department stores alike. Proponents encourage taking it with chondroitin, a substance found in the tracheae of cows or in shark cartilage.
It is recommended that you take 1200mg of chondroitin daily with 1500mg of glucosamine for optimum results and expect at least a month to pass before you see significant results. While the jury is still out on the effectiveness of some of these natural remedies, if joint pain is interfering with your quality of life, further research and experimentation may be well worth the time and effort.
