Embrace flexibility and alleviate joint discomfort with our natural remedies. Strengthen your joints, improve mobility, and reclaim an active lifestyle that knows no bounds.
We all have joints. How do you define joints? It’s a connection between two bones that help us to move. Body care or managing health doesn’t include only hair, skin, and mental care. You must take care of your feet, joints, and internal organs like the heart, joints, muscles, etc. We usually don’t pay attention to joint health until it hurts. Am I right? According to International Osteoarthritis Foundation, 21% of the population is suffering from poor quality of life (QoL) due to joint pain. Isn’t that a huge number? There are several diseases leaving a bad impact on your joint health.
Types of Joint diseases:
Some diseases are variously short-lived or exceedingly chronic, they may affect only one joint or many parts of our skeleton. There are 3 major types of joint diseases. Let’s have a look at diseases related to our joint health:
1. Inflammatory joint diseases
When the immune system or damaged tissue releases chemicals due to inflammation, it causes swelling, joint pain, and other symptoms in a joint. Experiencing inflammation is serious enough that it interferes with day-to-day body functions. Symptoms include difficulty in moving, swelling, aching joints, and redness or warmth around the joints. Inflammatory joint pain is also caused due to rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout and ankylosing spondylitis.
2. Non-inflammatory joint diseases
These arise as a result of damage to the different parts of the joints. The key risk factors include genetics, unbalanced body weight, and joint strain. This type of joint pain is usually localized and doesn’t spread in the body. Osteoarthritis is the most common non-inflammatory disease. Degenerative disorders, trauma, spondylitis, and bone dislocation are few non-inflammatory joint diseases.
Some non-inflammatory and inflammatory diseases can be congenital or hereditary joint conditions.
3. Secondary joint diseases
Secondary joint pain usually occurs due to other diseases, infections, injuries, or deformities. For example,
- Secondary osteoarthritis is caused when the cartilage is damaged by primary osteoarthritis, any other disease, or medical conditions.
- Dengue patients can experience severe pain in the muscles and joints.
Management of joint health:
Joint pain is more prone in elders than in young people. It usually worsens in the winter season. The most important thing is management! Let’s focus on a conservative approach to treating joint pain or diseases:
A. Lifestyle changes:
- Keep moving: Movement can ease joint stiffness and reduces pain. It is the key to being physically active when you have joint pain or related diseases. If you care about your joint health, following lifestyle changes can help you.
- Maintain healthy body weight: Carrying excessive weight on the body can increase strain on your joints. Increased weight may also harm weight-bearing joints such as ankles, knees, and hips.
- Adapt a non-inflammatory diet: You must prioritize the consumption of vitamin C and calcium. Dark chocolate, fish, curcumin, and extra virgin olive oil are a few foods that can help you lower inflammation and reduce your risk of inflammation, especially in joint diseases.
- Be addiction-free: Do you know that smokers are at a higher risk of rheumatoid arthritis? Be cautious! Smoking can increase the risk of joint pain and inflammation.
B. Physical Therapy:
- Although it is not very effective and recommended in advanced stages of joint pain, and early onset of diseases even a physician recommends a stretching routine.
- Try low-impact exercises: Swimming, walking, cycling, yoga, etc. are some of the best examples of low-impact exercises. This gives you an opportunity to keep moving while reducing stress and anxiety.
It is usually recommended with caution and by considering the disease stage, pain area, and treatment plan.
C. Medication:
- When it comes to joint health, the first line of treatment frequently involves the non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory medicines.
- Topical gels or lotions works on stimulation of sensory nerve reduces pain signals through the nervous system.
- Steroid injections may be given directly at the site of joint pain. It is preferred as one of the best joint treatment options for short-term pain relief.
- Acetaminophen can sometimes be used to treat basic pain relief.
Although, simple muscle aches and pains can be relieved with anti-inflammatory medicines, in some cases, you may be advised to use painkillers with higher dosages.
If the disease has been caught fairly early, it may benefit you from several natural treatments which can soothe your joint pain.
1. Essential oils are the foundation of aromatherapy! Essential oils are extracted from plants, flowers, herbs, and trees. You may confuse them with the scent. A good blend of essential oils can enhance the reduction of joint pain. The fragrance of Basil, bergamot, lavender, rosemary, and mint conquers mind relaxation and aids joint health.
2. Take a few deep breaths every day to turn off the stress receptors, and pain worsening.
3.Healthy food leads to healthy joints and keeps you happy. When you are struggling with joint pain, antioxidant-packed food is the best way to tackle it. You can consider these foods as a preventive measure for joint health. Let's check out the list for relieving pre-existing pain.
- It is suggested to start your day with a cup of water. But we do start our day with hot beverages such as tea, coffee, milk or hot chocolate. Isn’t that true? Don’t worry, these beverages are beneficial if consumed in a limited amount.
- Curcumin, a NF-κB suppressor, shows potential as a treatment agent for osteoarthritis. It is a natural substance, commonly found in the spice “turmeric”.
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- A study demonstrated improvement in pain, physical function, and quality of life after taking curcumin in osteoarthritis patients.
- Another study suggested that curcumin can lose nearly 2% of body weight in just 4 weeks.
- Many studies proved the effectiveness of curcumin.
Benefits of Curcumin:
- Fish like mackerel, salmon, and anchovies are a great source of omega-3. It maintains the bones and joints by alleviating symptoms. It reduces swelling, pain, stiffness, and tenderness.
- Snacking on dry fruits like cherries, walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds, pistachios, and almonds keeps you away from painful inflammation. It may help you with weight loss.
Conclusion:
Prevention is better than cure! Whether you suffer from joint pain or not, eating healthy foods is an integral part of well-being. Avoiding saturated fats, and maintaining a healthy weight is essential to your bones and joint health.
A nutritious diet, wholesome exercise, and aromatherapy can reduce the risk of joint diseases. Curcumin is a promising natural remedy for joint health. It is used to cure arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.
References:
- 7 out of 10 women suffer from joint pain available on https://www.oafifoundation.com/en/7-out-of-10-women-suffer-joint-pain-from-the-age-of-35/
- Joint pain available on https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/17752-joint-pain
- Joint Pain Series available on https://rothmanortho.com/stories/blog/best-joint-treatment-options
- Best Drinks for Arthritis available on https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/healthy-eating/best-drinks-for-arthritis
- Aromatherapy for Arthritis Relief available on https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/treatment/complementary-therapies/natural-therapies/aromatherapy-for-arthritis-relief
- Chin KY, et al. The spice for joint inflammation: anti-inflammatory role of curcumin in treating osteoarthritis. Drug design, development and therapy. 2016;10:3029.