Joint Pain Relief

Want to do something positive to enhance your health? Get in the habit of Adding green tea to your diet. It’s been shown to be beneficial as a health improver for centuries and for many different cultures from East to West.

Green tea has an unusual set of health benefits. It has a reputation for helping with many health issues. Green tea is filled with antioxidants which protect your cells.

Surprisingly, it also has a reputation of being able to prevent tooth decay.

Is high cholesterol problem for you? Green tea has been known to help lower cholesterol. Having lower cholesterol is very beneficial in helping to prevent heart disease and stroke.

Is aging a concern for you? Green tea contains a lot of antioxidants that fight free radicals. Free radicals contribute to health deteriorating that comes with the passing of time.

Most people would like to lose at least a little bit of weight and a lot of people need to lose a whole lot of weight! Assist your body to lose weight by drinking green tea on a regular basis. It just may help raise your rate of metabolism so you can burn calories more efficiently.

Even arthritis has been known to be relieved by drinking green tea. That’s because green tea contains a special substance that protects cartilage. Read more…

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There’s an article in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter discussing the role of inflammation in specific diseases. The article states that

‘Acute inflammation – the kind that protects and heals the body after an injury or infection – is essential and normal. ……..

In the wake of a nasty cut or broken bone, the battle is on! Immediately, a biochemical cascade improves blood flow to the area. Nerve endings and other cells at the site of the injury or infection send out signaling molecules and other chemical components to recruit the body’s equivalent of the Superhero – white blood cells that fight off foreign bodies. …….

That’s acute inflammation. It’s necessary and normal for good health.¹

However, the other kind of inflammation – named chronic inflammation, plays a more obvious role in diseases such as asthma and the inflammatory bowel diseases ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

Consider the vast array of autoimmune disorders such as “rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and polymyalgia rheumatica” where the body’s immune system mistakenly initiates an inflammatory response even though there’s no apparent inflammation to fight off.¹

There are also “not so obvious roles” of chronic inflammation. Research indicates that clogged arteries, heart disease, stroke and bacterial endocarditis may be linked to oral health. Researchers are discovering what role inflammation plays in the development of cancer.

The article goes on to discuss the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) which can be helpful. However, there are risks of gastrointestinal bleeding with regular NSAID use.

The editors of the article mention some dietary supplements that may be of interest, including

“Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) ” It’s credited with anti-allergy, antibacterial, antifungal, antihistamine and anti-inflammatory qualities, and even as a possible cancer treatment. But high-quality human trials are still lacking that support its effectiveness or safety.¹

Dr Bauer recommends to stay tuned to this research. He says there are bound to be discoveries down the road that can improve quality of health and well-being.

1. Buzzed on inflammation, Brent Bauer, M.D.
General Internal Medicine, Editorial Board member of Mayo Clinic Health Letter Online Edition May Clinic Health Letter

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Swimming is a excellent way to get natural pain relief from joint pain, provided you’re in a heated pool of course. There are a number of different strokes you can do for swimming, some may be good for you to do, and some might actually do no good. So, we recommend you speak to your physio therapist before learning any new strokes.

Do you have the style of a breast stroker or is the doggy paddle more your style? A variety of swim strokes can be as simple as the doggy paddle or as difficult as the butterfly swim style.

A swim style is just a way that one moves about a body of water. These activities are performed using your arms and legs against the current of the water, which will cause you to propel through the water. The wise way to perform these special swim strokes is smoothly and without a great deal of splashing in the water. Read more…

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Hello, this is Julieanne here. I contracted osteo-arthritis in my knees ( arthritis knees )after a motorbike accident 30 years ago. After a few years of suffering, I went to see an orthopaedic surgeon who did some minor surgery which helped. However, what helped more than the surgery, was the physiotherapy he recommended.

I visited with the physiotherapist in a gymnasium (or fitness centre as they’re sometimes called), and he showed me some exercises to increase my quadricep muscles (muscles that run along the front part of the thigh), and also to increase the strength in all my leg muscles. I started off with very low weights and low repetition. After I’d learned what exercises to do, the physio said to become a member of a gym and to lift weights regularly. He said that I could do a few months of regular (2-3 times a week), to build up the muscles, then have a break for a few months.

Since those visits to the physio (about 25 years ago), I’ve been going to the gym regularly. Sometimes when I travel, I can’t always get to the gym, and I usually notice my knees starting to ache. When I get home, I go back to the gym, and they feel better again. So, the weight lifting, along with some other arthritis help keeps the inflammation in my knees away. Most of the time, I hardly know I have arthritis in my knees.

Mayo Clinic and Boston University researchers also say people with knee osteoarthritis seem to have less pain and less cartilage loss if they have stronger quadriceps muscles.

I hope that if you have arthritis in your knees, you will do some weight lifting also, and find out how much this helps. As always, consult your doctor first, and ask for a recommendation to visit a physiotherapist.

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Exercise is one way of obtaining arthritis help. A form of arthritis or chronic joint pain is suffered by one in three Americans. Without arthritis help or therapies the pain and discomfort can lead to disability and functional loss.  There are ways to manage the pain though, and one of those methods is to exercise. This is a cost-effective way of arthritis pain relief.

The type of arthritis exercise program will depend on which joints in the body have the arthritis, how stable the joints are, the amount of inflammation and pain, and whether or not there has been a joint replacement.

If the inflammation is severe, it would be best to take an anti-inflammatory for a few days before attempting the exercise program. It is recommended to consult your medical practitioner before starting an arthritis exercise program, so he or she can assist you to work out what exercises will benefit your joints, and which ones might inadvertently cause more damage.

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