Creak and groan

As we get older, it seems to be accepted that we should just accept aching joints as normal.

My question to you is - why?

I know people in their 80's and older who are still extremely active, on no medication of any sort and don't suffer from aching joints. I also know people (and get to see them regularly in my job) who are significantly younger, who complain continually of aching and painful joints.

By definition, an aching joint is known as arthritis.

The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age.

The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.

Uric acid crystals, which form when there's too much uric acid in your blood, can cause gout.

Infections or underlying disease, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.

I too have suffered from osteoarthritis at one stage as a result of having measles as a child. Fortunately I was able to diagnose it early and treat it accordingly. In my opinion (as I have never consulted a physician about it), I have been able to successfully put it into remission.

In summary, arthritis causes a degradation of the cartilage between 2 bones. This results in friction between the bones, which leads to inflammation.

While I don't have space to go into detail in this article, the basic treatment is to reduce inflammation and therefore pain. Medically, there are numerous ways to do this, depending on a lot of factors, your physician will determine the best treatment for you.

I am NOT a medical doctor and I am NOT making any medical claims, but what has worked for me, may possibly help someone else. The effectiveness of treatment relies heavily on the type of arthritis, when it gets diagnosed and how the specific treatment protocol works in your particular case.

In my case, I was able to self diagnose at an early stage, namely pain and discomfort in my wrist. I am fortunate that I am not overweight, which can aggravate pain. I am also fortunately quite active in my daily job as a certified orthotist. Daily activity is good as it keeps your joints flexible. If you think of arthritis as rust, you will have a better idea of what to do.

I am not a big fan of medication, so I started by checking my diet and trying to adapt my diet to high in anti-inflammatory foods. Because I know what I am NOT getting, I also resorted to supplements.

The first thing I use is an omega-3 supplement in the form of fish oil. The next thing I started using is a glucosamine supplement order to help develop my cartilage. The particular one I use, also contains 2 foods that are anti-inflammatory in nature as well as a pain killer type ingredient, all food sourced. I also use a multi-sourced, chelated form of minerals that are helpful for bones, vitamin C to help my body create collagen that keeps my bones healthy and flexible. The other thing I did was to take up running (I know this can be counterproductive in some cases, but it has helped me with bone density). Please consult your physiotherapist to develop a program that will work best for you.

While this is an extremely broad topic, this is just a brief summary of what the condition is and what I have done to help my specific case. I hope it can help someone else, especially in an early stage.

Should you want to know exactly what I use and my protocols, please feel free to message me.