Managing Pain - Part 3
Arthritis & Joint Pain
There are 2 main types of arthritis pain – osteo and rheumatoid. In a nutshell, osteoarthritis is when the cushioning between the joints wear down (and the lack of cushioning can trigger inflammation) and rheumatoid is an autoimmune/inflammatory condition damages the joint.
But…both hurt just the same.
Osteoarthritis specific helpers –
Keep moving!
I know, it hurts…but movement can be helpful for osteoarthritis. But, be very gentle. Walking, cycling, tai chi, qi gong, water activities, and swimming are nice for the joints.
Support your liver
There’s an important connection between your liver’s ability to detox and the cartilage that cushions your joints…and that connection is with sulphur. Both need sulphur, but your liver’s job of detoxing is more important than having cartilage. So, if there’s not enough sulphur OR if your liver is stressed out and needs to do a lot of detoxing, all of the sulphur gets shunted to your liver. Your liver is happy, but your joints aren’t.
Many joint supplements, like glucosamine and MSM are sulphurs which is why they can be effective. Added liver support can also help, like:
Reduce alcohol consumption
Eat lots of cruciferous veggies
Eat lots of garlic and onions
Lemon & water first thing in the morning
Support a fall or spring detox with dandelion root tea or Flor*Essence
Rheumatoid Arthritis specific helpers –
Support a balanced and resilient immune system –
Rheumatoid Arthritis is considered both an inflammatory and autoimmune condition, and both are due to an overwhelmed/overstimulated immune system. Immune balancers are:
Zinc (25 – 30mg per day)
Vitamin D (1000 – 5000IU per day, and get your blood level tested after 3 months)
Medicinal mushrooms (esp. Reishi)
Check out our Immune Masterclass for more
Find any food sensitivities –
Normally, you won’t find me recommending removing foods from your diet…but sometimes it’s needed. I’ve found that food sensitivities can play a big role in increasing pain and inflammation with RA. You can either do an elimination diet and test each food or get food allergy testing done through an ND.
The main culprits are: gluten, dairy, soy, and corn…but any food, even a healthy one like broccoli can be a problem if your body has created antibodies to that food. This is where food allergy testing can be helpful.
Head to Part 5 - Supplements for extra help. There are some supplements that are particularly helpful for arthritis pain.
If you have any questions, jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)