Tag Archives: Osteoarthritis

Best Natural Treatments For Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis Meaning

Osteoarthritis is a progressive and a degenerative joint disorder that is characterized by the erosion and damage of articular cartilage and the loss of the fluids that lubricate the joints. There are some causes of osteoarthritis that can make the suffer feel so pain.

While natural remedies for arthritis cannot be as effective as conventional pharmacological treatments that involve the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics, instantly bringing relief from joint pain.

They can certainly help you in averting the side effects like nausea, liver damage, renal failure, heart stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia etc. that are associated with the high dosage containing medications for treating osteoarthritis.

Moreover, medications can only block the pain signals, but they cannot slow the progression of the disease.

The key to exploiting the benefits of natural remedies in achieving long-lasting effects, however, is to make them a regular part of your treatment regimen.

Natural Ways To Treat Osteoarthritis

The following list of remedies have been found quite beneficial in mitigating the symptoms associated with osteoarthritis.

Chondroitin Sulfate

Chondroitin Sulfate Chondrocytes are the cells that stimulate the production of proteoglycans, which are macromolecules that form the basic structural and functional units of the joint cartilage.

Chondroitin sulfate is a compound, which is made up of a chain of sulfated and un-sulfated residues of polysaccharides that promote the synthesis of proteoglycans.

It also aids in drawing lubricating fluids into the cartilage area, thus providing enough nutrition to support the development of healthy joints.

By giving a spongy appearance to the cartilage, it improves its shock absorbing abilities and protects the cartilage from being damaged.

Many randomized double-blind clinical trials support the role of chondroitin sulfate supplements in reducing the pain and stiffness in the joints associated with osteoarthritis.

Result Chondroitin Sulfate Osteoarthritis

It has been found that 400 mg of chondroitin sulfate, taken thrice a day can significantly reduce joint pains in osteoarthritis patients.

The dosage can gradually be reduced, as the symptoms disappear. No serious side effects have been reported so far, by the use of chondroitin sulfate.

In fact, preliminary evidence is available to support its role in influencing the course of the disease by slowing down its progression.

Furthermore, researchers at the American college of rheumatology have found that chondroitin sulfate with glucosamine supplements works as the best combination for enhancing the strength of cartilage, thus helping in promoting joint health.

Vitamin E Rich Foods

Vitamin E Food Vitamin E has been used for the treatment of osteoarthritis, essentially because of its ability to act as a potent anti-inflammatory agent.

It acts by blocking pain signals through the inhibition of the synthesis of prostaglandins, which are primarily responsible for eliciting an inflammatory response by the immune system.

Moreover, it stabilizes the lysosomal membranes, thus inhibiting the release of hydrolytic enzymes that can cause considerable damage to the cartilage encircling the joints.

A number of studies have supported the role of intake of 600mg of vitamin E supplements per day in decreasing joint pains and in increasing the mobility and flexibility of the joints.

Taking some kind of food such nuts, spinach, papaya, wheat, kiwi, etc is strongly suggested as a good natural treatment for osteoarthritis symptoms.


Lower dietary intake of boron by certain ethnic groups belonging to Jamaica, U.S, U.K, Australia, etc., have been attributed to a higher incidence of osteoarthritis in these areas.

Boron is needed in arthritis healing that a critical substance for body in the post-translational modification process or hydroxylation of steroid hormones as it found on estrogen and Vitamin D.

These two hormones are very essential for the absorption of calcium, magnesium and phosphorous from the intestines that play a crucial role in strengthening the bones.

In addition, its anti-inflammatory properties and its role in improving the supply of ATP, makes it a good alternative for speeding up the process of bone and cartilage repair in osteoarthritis patients.

Scientific evidence has proven that a daily intake of 6mg of boron is required for mitigating the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Boron Food Sources for Osteoarthritis

Boron is a natural chemical that known give effect on arthritis. But you have to know, your daily diet intake, by taking about 0.5-2mg of boron, is not sufficient enough for our body.

Furthermore, most of the boron is secreted via bile, urine and sweat, leaving only traces of boron deposits on the bones.

Hence, taking boron supplements or increasing the intake of food sources of boron like green leafy vegetables, soy based foods, avocados, apples, grapes, nuts, cereals, honey, etc., has been found effective in promoting the synthesis of cartilage by the chondrocytes, enabling patients to obtain a great amount of relief from the symptoms of osteoarthritis.

By avoiding kind of food such as tobacco, tomatoes, potato, etc., is so effective for relieving the symptoms of arthritis.

Practice Mind-Body Relaxation Techniques

Mind-body relaxation therapy helps you build a stronger relationship between the mind and the body by strengthening and relaxing your muscles while keeping your mind from focusing on the pain.


The World Health Organization has attributed a plethora of health benefits to acupuncture that aids in the treatment of many medical disorders, one among them being, joint aches and stiffness associated with osteoarthritis.

Being one of the most ancient Chinese practices, acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles at certain trigger points or acupoints and aims at correcting energy imbalances in the body that lead to medical illnesses.

It also stimulates the synthesis of endorphins in the body, which are natural pain killers that help in suppressing the pain perception by nociceptors (pain receptors) in the brain.

So what’s more? Acupuncture can also boost the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that governs your emotional well-being and helps you beat stress that builds up free radicals in the body, which have the potential of damaging the cartilage and the joints.

Yoga and Tai chi

There is no dearth of scientific evidence that supports the role of yoga exercises in improving the functionality of the joints.

Yoga increase the range of motion of joints, thus increasing flexibility and strengthens your muscles that are required as a support for arthritic joints.

Tai chai is yet another stress relieving technique that combines stretching exercises with pranayam or deep breathing exercises.

This therapy has also been found effective in reducing joint pains and stiffness associated with osteoarthritis.

However, you need to see and consult your doctor or medical adviser in order to avoid worse condition cause over stretching on your arthritic joints .

Some of these natural remedies is already known to give effective result in providing symptomatic relief such as in Aspirin and ibuprofen. They give no side effect, therefore it can be used as a primary alternative way for conventional medicine to treat osteoarthritis.

Nevertheless, you should always seek advice from a medical practitioner to avoid the interference of these remedies with the prescribed medications to prevent your condition from worsening.

How Osteoarthritis Affects Your Body

What Is Osteoarthritis

The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis is primarily a degenerative disease affecting the cartilage present in bone joints.

Osteoarthritis is mostly found affecting aged people. Though there is no complete cure for this ailment, management of the symptoms can be done with know-how about the disease, its causes and symptoms.

Nature of the Disease

Osteoarthritis is a progressive degeneration of the cartilage tissue, which worsens with time.

The disease mostly affects the weight bearing joints and it is most felt on the hip, knee, lower back, neck and hands. It is not true that osteoarthritis is an inevitable feature of aging.

However, the symptoms set in on crossing 40 years of age. Studies done in US and UK reveal that women are more prone to the disease than men.

Sometimes young people also are afflicted with osteoarthritis, subsequent to a joint injury, due to posture problems or some congenital bone abnormalities.

Osteoarthritis is characterized by stiffness at joints coupled with pain and difficulty in moving those joints.

If left uncared, the condition will worsen resulting in disability due to immobile joints.

What Causes Osteoarthritis?

The root cause of osteoarthritis is the wear and tear of cartilage tissue lining the bones in joints.

Cartilage is a soft tissue that provides a cushioning effect between two bones in a joint, which acts as a shock absorber during motion.

Due to erosion of cartilage, there are chances that the bones will rub with each other causing pain.

The cartilage will lose its elasticity, becomes stiff and this affects mobility of the joints.

Eventually the joint loses its shape and sometimes bone spurs are seen growing on the edges of the bones.

General causes for cartilage damage are: wear and tear due to aging, obesity, injury to joints, misaligned joints, genetic defect, stress on the joints due to certain sports / job.

General Symptoms Osteoarthritis

Due to inflammation of the joints, there will be swelling, stiffness and pain. The movement of the affected joint will be restricted and sometimes the patient can feel a cracking sound in the joints.

Most Commonly Affected Areas of the Body

Osteoarthritis Affecting the Hip Joint

People who are overweight tend to get this type of osteoarthritis. Any movement necessitating the movement of hip joint is affected.

The patient experiences pain while moving and for some, due to stiffness, there is difficulty in walking after a while of rest.

In some cases the pain may spread to the thighs, buttocks and even up to the legs.

Osteoarthritis Affecting the Knee

This joint is the most affected as this supports the entire weight of the body. Usually both the knee joints are affected, unless the arthritis is caused due to some form of trauma or genetic defects.

The patient finds walking difficult and painful especially when going up a slope or steps.

Osteoarthritis Affecting the Hands

Here the patient will feel pain and swelling in fingers. Fingers will be stiff and sometimes fluid-filled cysts are found on the back of the fingers.

The movement of the hand itself will be restricted due to pain and stiffness.

Rooster Comb Injections in Knee Arthritis Pain: What You Can Get More?

Injection in knees for arthritis. Hyaluronan or viscosupplementation is kind of rooster comb injections for knee pain. The injections help to relief pain caused by osteoarthritis. Find out more about the injections here. Continue reading