Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease that affects our joints. It’s a chronic condition due to the breakdown of our joint cartilage. Cartilage is the substance surrounding the joints which cushions the ends of the bones and allows easy flexible movements of our joints. This degeneration is commonly associated with aging but other factors contributing to the loss of cartilage surrounding our joints can be hereditary, injury, repetitive use of joints, stressing of joints and obesity. It all boils down to wearing out the protective cartilage and our joints become “bone-on-bone” which can be excruciatingly painful.
A gym friend, Janet was telling me how her knees have now been affected and become painful every time she bends them. She lamented that this could be due to her craze in attending Step classes a few years ago. She used to go for those intensive free-style Step classes in the gym at least 3-4 times a week! Later she switched to doing more weights lifting and possibly some wrong postures contributed to more damage to her joints, particularly her knees.
So what are the remedies for this condition? Well, I told Janet she has several choices. The most immediate relief would be to go for surgery and depending on the severity of the degeneration, it could be to either replace the cartilage or even have a total knee replacement. There are always risks involved with surgeries, either during the procedure or post-op. Infection may set in and the recovery process can be long and tedious.
A superfluous remedy would be to get the doctor to prescribe painkillers. We all know that pain relievers do kill the pain and swelling temporarily but once you stop taking them, the problem comes back. Besides, the long term effects of taking pain killers like paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) such as ibuprofen can be very damaging.
How about going for physiotherapy? You see, Janet has a deep fear for hospitals and medicines and she was contemplating going for therapies to relieve her knee pain. Well, there’s nothing bad about therapies but I reminded her that pain
relief will happen after the therapy but for how long? The pain will slowly but surely recur since the root cause is not addressed.
You see, people with osteoarthritis have to understand that their thinning cartilage needs to be nourished and rebuilt. The body needs essential nutrients to build up cartilage and strengthen it. Strong and flexible cartilage promotes healthy joints. With the right nutritional support, people suffering from osteoarthritis can rebuild their worn-out cartilage.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are two clinically proven nutritional compounds used for relief of osteoarthritis and knee pain. Glucosamine exists naturally in our cartilage and functions to repair and stimulate new cartilage regrowth. However, as our bodies age, less amounts of glucosamine are produced.
Chondroitin is another natural compound that is found in joint cartilage, which acts like a water magnet to attract fluid to lubricate the joints. The synergistic effects of these two ingredients can help relieve joint pains and improve flexibility.
As I explained these to Janet, it got her interest peeked and she asked how effective these supplements are. So I told her that supplementation with glucosamine and chondroitin helps relieve joint pains by rebuilding her joint cartilage and as a result, improves joint flexibility.
Feeling excited that she need not go through surgery trauma or take painkillers endlessly, Janet asked how fast she will see results once she takes the supplements. Well, I told her not to expect immediate results because basically, cartilage wear-and-tear does not happen overnight, and likewise, pain relief with glucosamine and chondroitin will not be immediate. She would need to take glucosamine and chondroitin supplements daily, at the recommended dosage, for at least 3-6 months. Once pain is controlled, a maintenance dosage can be followed thereafter.
I told Janet that my mother is taking Live-well OsteSAMIN plus Chondroitin which has helped tremendously in relieving joint pains and osteoarthritis. She has been taking this for the past 6 months and I can see the effects of greater mobility and flexibility in her now. Live-well OsteSAMIN plus Chondroitin is easily available in all leading pharmacies.
Being a gym freak, I advised Janet to avoid high-impact exercises such as doing Step, running or jogging, vigorous dancing, aerobics and jumping as these will aggravate her bad knees. Instead, she should try exercises such as biking, walking and swimming – anything that doesn’t stress the knees, and is easy on her joints.