Bottom Line Health
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| Heat is usually a better treatment than cold for chronic pain (i.e., arthritis pain) or for muscle relaxation. info
The National Institute of Arthritis and
Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases has more information about sprains and strains at www.niams.nih.gov. Click on "Health Information" and scroll down to "Sprains and Strains, Q & A."
Mayo Clinic news release.
'Talk Test' Means Better Exercise
Gauge your best level of exercise intensity with the talk test. If you can converse easily while exercising, you aren't working hard enough for maximum benefit. |
J. Douglas Bremner
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 Although glucosamine and chondroitin (alone or in combination) did not result in a statistically significant reduction in pain, combination therapy was superior to placebo (but not to Celebrex) in a subset of patients with moderate to severe arthritis pain.
Overall the studies of glucosamine and chondroitin show some evidence for efficacy of the combination, although the results are not definitive. These supplements do not have potentially dangerous side effects, unlike other medications for arthritis, like Celebrex. |
| If you have arthritis pain I recommend medications that are sold over the counter and therefore don't require a doctor's prescription, including ibuprofen (Motrin,
Advil) and naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve). Because these medications can be associated with stomach bleeding, it is advisable to take a medication like Prilosec with them (see Chapter 9). Another alternative to COX-2 inhibitors for pain relief is enteric-coated aspirin or acetaminophen (Tylenol). For rheumatoid arthritis there are unfortunately no silver bullets. You will have to see what medication treatment strategy works for you. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Physical activity increases blood flow, which reduces pain in the long-term and helps improve the mobility of arthritic joints. But arthritis pain and concerns about joint injury can make people reluctant to exercise.
Solution: Do stretching exercises, yoga or tai chi in a warm room or warm pool—the warmth relaxes the muscles and eases pain. Exercising in a pool also reduces the impact on the joints.
MIND OVER PAIN
Stress-reduction techniques reduce the pain caused by arthritis and allow natural remedies to work more effectively.
•Visualization is particularly helpful. |
Hyla Cass
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 In this form, sulfur is a mild anti-inflammatory and has been found to help relieve arthritis pain. A study published in 2005 found that a combination of glucosamine (see above) and MSM were more effective, more quickly, than either one alone. Even separately, both significantly relieved OA pain. Another study of MSM alone, this one from 2006, enrolled fifty men and women aged forty to seventy-six, all of whom had knee OA. They got either 3 grams of MSM daily or a placebo twice a day for twelve weeks. |
Mike Adams
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 In contrast, Vioxx, an arthritis pain drug, was linked to the deaths of 60,000 Americans and was allowed back onto the market by the FDA.
The FDA used its position of power to control the flow of information about Rezulin, to delay its removal from the market, and to deny any evidence of its harm, all against its stated mission of actually protecting the public.
In other words, the FDA feels no need to protect Americans from unsafe drugs, but it feels mysteriously compelled to protect Americans from anything "alternative" or "natural. |
| Cherry extract manufacturers, for example, cannot state that cherries reduce arthritis pain and joint inflammation (unless they wish to have their entire product inventory confiscated and their business shut down).
If that's not medical madness, I don't know what is. Drugs are legal to prescribe for everything, but foods, herbs, and nutritional supplements are approved for absolutely nothing. That's how twisted the Food and Drug Administration has really become. It all comes down to a simple three-step formula:
1. Push the drugs and disease mongering.
2. |
| So even when one drug, such as Vioxx, kills an estimated 60,000 Americans, the FDA can claim those deaths are worth it because the drug eased the arthritis pain for millions more.
But when it comes to herbs, there is no discussion of benefits versus risks. It's a blanket statement that the herb is "dangerous at any dose." And therefore, all people should be denied the herb, regardless of their state of health or how the herb might help them. |
Greg Critser
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 For a small portion of people taking traditional anti-inflammatories for arthritis pain — aspirin, naproxen, ibuprofen — that was important; these patients indeed had gastric bleeding, gastric congestion, and ulcers, which were antagonized by the older nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Clinical trials showed that such patients might be better served by the COX-2s.
But the initial COX-2 promotional campaigns went much further. It was suggested, repeatedly both in the media and in ad campaigns, that the new drugs were also better at controlling pain. They were "superaspirins. |
| If there was ever a drug that fit Ray Gilmartin's dream, it was one known as L-748, 731, for treatment of arthritis pain. The patient population was huge, by Merck's estimates as many as 40 million in the United States alone. Traditional drugs for chronic pain, known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, could be problematic; if you used them too often, they could cause all kinds of gastrointestinal problems, including perforated ulcers and kidney failure. The reason was their design. Pain is caused by the release of arachidonic acids after a cell is damaged. |
| The result was that a new, expensive drug once intended for a fairly small population became the expensive default prescription for most forms of adult arthritis pain, while many less expensive and equally effective drugs fell by the wayside. By 2002, 74 percent of people taking COX-2s were not considered to be at risk for ulcers. They had received these prescriptions simply because the drugs were new. Even pro-industry research groups concluded that heavy promotion was behind excessive prescribing of coxibs. |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
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 It does a reasonable job of relieving arthritis pain and the effect lasts a little longer than that of ibuprofen. Some researchers believe that it may be less likely to pose cardiovascular risks than other NSAIDs. This is unconfirmed, and naproxen may not be as safe as we would wish. 2
Downside: Damage to the stomach lining. Indigestion, gastritis, and ulcers. High blood pressure, kidney problems, liver complications, rash, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, and ringing in the ears. Cost: Approximately $4 to $5 per month be $10 or less a month. |
| I was taking glucosamine and chondroitin because when I hit menopause I developed arthritis pain in my hands. The folks there suggested I take MSM as well. They said to increase the dose gradually because it gives you diarrhea if you bump it suddenly. I'm taking a great deal of it and I have no unpleasant side effects. It controls the pain beautifully.
I did discover one fantastic side effect. I was also having another issue with menopause. My hair was thinning, falling out in clumps. But as soon as I started taking all this MSM my hair became gorgeous, my skin soft, and my nails fantastic. |
Mike Adams
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| Although these substances don't work very well in the short term to treat acute arthritis pain, they do help your body solve the underlying nutritional problem.
Arthritis sufferers should especially avoid hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils are toxic to the human body. They contain trans-fatty acids. They cause the cells in your body to be built with fats that have an unnatural molecular structure. This unnatural molecular structure results in a loss of tissue flexibility which can affect the cosmetic look of your skin as well as the functioning of muscles in your body, including your heart. |
| Any gentle exercise that moves your joints in their normal, natural range of motion is a good supporting therapy for eliminating arthritis pain.
Top 20 Healing foods for Arthritis
***** yam
***** asparagus ***** celery seeds ***** chile pepper ***** radish ***** cabbage ***** lemon ***** tomato ***** oily fish ***** watercress ? |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
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| One woman told us that she takes turmeric pills instead and they relieved her arthritis pain. When she stopped temporarily, the pain returned. She resumed taking the turmeric pills and the pain disappeared. Another reader reported that she got relief from her aching knees and her desire to gamble.
- All my life my knees have ached at night. I would use Aleve, arthritis-strength aspirin, or Tylenol and usually woke up and had to take more about 3 a.m. I was worried that I was going to burn a hole in my stomach with the amount of aspirin and other pain relievers I was taking. |
| In addition, the arthritis pain in my knee is gone.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar all by itself may have some benefit. According to one reader, "I am 44
þ ? ? ? ? Grape Juice and Certo
You will find more information about Certo and grape juice in our discussion of arthritis (see page 87). Because Certo contains soluble fiber in the form of liquid plant pectin (used to make jams and jellies), we think this combination is a winner. It may do triple duty by relieving inflammation, increasing the flexibility of blood vessels, and lowering cholesterol. |
James F. Balch, M.D. and Mark Stengler, N.D.
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 For some people, the effects of mental and emotional stress aggravate arthritis pain. Changes in the weather—usually, rain and falling barometric pressure—often cau|se arthritis flare-ups
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is quite aiother story. Most experts believe it is caused by an inappropriate immune reaction, ih which white blood cells attack the cartilage in the joints; it can go on to destroy thd bones themselves and even the muscles and the skin. It is often exceedingly painful and can cripple its sufferers. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Cherry extract manufacturers, for example, cannot state that cherries reduce arthritis pain and joint inflammation (unless they wish to have their entire product inventory confiscated and their business shut down).
If that's not medical madness, I don't know what is. Drugs are legal to prescribe for everything, but foods, herbs and nutritional supplements are approved for absolutely nothing. That's how twisted the Food and Drug Administration has really become. It all comes down to a simple three-step formula: 1) Push the drugs. 2) Discredit (or outlaw) the herbs. 3) Repeat. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 For example, the agency recently sent threatening legal letters to 29 cherry growers who were posting scientific studies describing the health benefits of the many phytochemicals found in cherries (cherries work better than anti-inflammatory drugs at easing arthritis pain, rendering COX-2 drugs utterly obsolete, if you didn't already know). |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Cherries, in particular, have been under attack by the FDA, which has censored the very reasonable health claims offered by cherry growers, such as the fact that cherries reduce arthritis pain and prevent inflammation of the joints. Today, if you live in the U.S., you live under a system of FDA tyranny that blatantly outlaws the truth about real nutrition.
I regularly notice examples of outrageous (but popular) grocery products deceiving consumers. Slim-Fast meal replacement powder, which is positioned as a weight loss product, has sugar as its top ingredient. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 There are a huge number of nutritional supplements, vitamins, medicinal herbs and natural health therapies that drastically reduce arthritis pain even better than Cox-2 inhibitors without all of these health risks.
Who benefits? Drug companies
Who, then, really benefits from keeping Vioxx and Cox-2 inhibitors on the market? Well, the answer is clear: Drug companies. The stock prices of Pfizer and Merck benefit; in fact, they shot up the moment this decision was made by the FDA advisory panel. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 This herb is a fantastic tonifier, and this combination really works for reducing inflammation, joint pain and arthritis pain.
There are some claims on the front of this product that are acknowledged by the FDA, but I'm trying to give you a description that goes beyond those claims to look at what these individual ingredients offer. The description I'm offering applies beyond this particular product. In other words, you could go out and buy rosemary extract, turmeric, ginger, holy basil, and green tea. You could take all of these herbs separately and you would get the same positive results. |
| A strange name, but it's a product positioned for those who are suffering from inflammation problems, joint pain, or arthritis pain. Although this is not stated on the box, in the world of natural health and holistic nutrition, people are using this as a replacement for Vioxx, Bextra, or other Cox-2 inhibitors.
We have now learned all of these prescription drugs are very dangerous for human consumption. People are out there saying, "We found out that all these drugs are so dangerous, but we don't have any alternative. Please keep these drugs legal! |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 In some of the research I've done on astaxanthin, I've already seen how the nutritional supplement is practically eliminating arthritis pain in users. It is also making people practically immune to flus and colds, reducing muscle aches and pains, and giving people better mental clarity and higher levels of energy throughout the day. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 What this faulty argument fails to mention is the whole universe of alternative treatments, healing foods and natural health therapies that end arthritis pain at least as well as prescription drugs. Nowhere was there a discussion of other choices these patients might make to treat their pain. Instead, it was a fool's choice: Vioxx or nothing.
And thus the whole FDA panel meeting was a sham. It was contrived from the start and designed to do one thing: to give the panel justification to reinstate Vioxx and avoid banning COX-2 inhibitors as a class of drugs. |
| Astaxanthin supplements, for one, greatly ease arthritis pain. So do whole food concentrates made from cherries, blackberries and other fruits. There are dozens of other natural health strategies that ease pain as well.
To pull off this public charade of a serious meeting about COX-2 inhibitors, meeting organizers paraded a line of pain victims in front of FDA panelists and got them to beg for the availability of COX-2 inhibitors. The implied message was, "If we can't have Vioxx, we'll suffer! |
The Editors of FC&A
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| It may sound like a miracle, but this delicious, vitamin-packed fruit is proven to relieve arthritis pain even better than aspirin, ibuprofen and other drugs — with no stomach upset or other side effects.
The secret lies in anthocyanins. These natural compounds not only give cherries their luscious red color — they also stop your body from making prostaglandins, the hormone-like substances that cause pain and inflammation.
In lab studies, anthocyanins have proven to be about ten times more effective than aspirin at relieving joint pain and swelling. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Had these study participants been given another powerful antioxidant -- astaxanthin -- they would likely have experienced even greater reductions in arthritis pain. Astaxanthin is fast becoming recognized one of the most effective natural antioxidants for reducing or even eliminating arthritis pain, chronic back pain, muscle soreness, and other physical pains. |
The Editors of FC&A
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| Use them 'raw' as a dressing on salads or cooked vegetables to get the most vitamin E
Rub on rapid relief
Tired of popping pills for your arthritis pain? Smooth on soothing creams instead. Certain topical creams contain natural ingredients to ease achy joints.
Apply the arnica. Ointments made from the arnica plant reduce inflammation and soothe mild aches and pains. Arnica can be poisonous if swallowed, so only use it externally. Stop using the cream if you spot signs of a skin rash, itching, blisters, swelling, or pain.
Pass the pepper. |
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