osteoarthritis

Hi altantic pearl

Before I had my hip done I was getting pain down the shin. It was referred pain which they expected to go away after the op. It did persist for another 5 to 6 weeks but eventually went completely

I cannot help with advice about her pain though apart from the best apin killers her gp will prescribe !

Hiya
I'm in much the same condition as your Mum, believe it or not! It could be sciatica she's got combined with osteo of the hip. The X ray will show whether there's any osteo, and then she may well be referred for physio.

I'm helped most by heat pads, hot water bottles, heated seats... she could try these, they're non-invasive, and you don't have to take any pills. As to the side effects of the analgesics, she may decide to put up with either the pain or the side effects - it's a choice many people make on a daily basis. She needs to trust herself at each moment and do what feels right at that time without worrying about it.

Not sure I understand the statement about being unable to have osteopathy?

The first step in osteopathic thought is to consider the toxic state. In your mother's case this most likely arises from medications, usually the first thing I would advise is to go through the medications list with a fine toothcomb - it's amazing what this will sometimes throw up.

Firstly, request that any medications that aren't necessary and that can be withdrawn harmlessly be stopped. For example statins, I have seen people with a prognosis of days to live still being pumped full of these things. If someone's life is misery now, what use considering their cholesterol levels years down the line? (quite aside from the controversy surrounding statins, but that's another story)

Then what about aspirin - this affects repair of collagen, ie it has potential to damage joints. The guidelines for aspirin have now been changed, most people who were recommended to be on it now shouldn't be. Even if she falls into the bracket whereby it is still recommended to prevent, say, heart attacks, this should be weighed up against possible risks and harm.

Consider this: apririn has a 5-year NNT (number needed to treat) of 44. In other words, to prevent a single heart attack 44 people would need to take it for five years. Set this against the benefit of reducing a medication load, which can often be quite dramatic by comparisson. And the fact that aspirin is not by any means harmless.

Then look at all the possible adverse reactions and side-effects of what is left. Could there be any of these that might account for some of your mother's problems? I'd take pretty good odds that there are. So discuss with the doctors the necessity of continuing on these medications. If any are absolutely necessary, or it is impossible to reduce or remove them without dangerous withdrawal, then have the doctors consider replacing them with something else to do the same job.

Anything that is clearly causing an adverse reaction ought to be stopped, in consultation with the prescribing doctors, of course. The first rule is do no harm, it's arguable that there is no benefit in taking something that is clearly harming the patient, even if 'they are supposed to be on it'.

Then see if whatever is left can be reduced - if thanks to medication she has 'the blood pressure of a teenager', then perhaps it would be better to have the blood-pressure of a 35 year old and a smaller dose of meds?

Very often when we it is proposed to put a heavily medicated person onbto more medication, we find that taking them off something instead has a huge benefit.

Constipation is a big problem, given the accumulation of metabolites in RA and OA, any obstruction to the channels of elimination offers potential for further problems, for example itching and eczema, or actual worsening of the joint pain. Far be it from me to suggest your mother should not have pain relief, but a good target would be for a sufficient reduction in symptoms by various measures to allow her to manage without the opiates/opioids. They are, of course addictive, so the longer she is on them the harder this may become.

Then consider the vital but not always obvious, eg dehydration, increasing water intake can have an beneficial effect on joint pain, if she's on diuretics, then make sure these are necessary and being taken for the right reasons.

So that's where I would start, it's all general advice really, you'd need to discuss the specifics with the doctors, and osteopathically speaking this process would be the first step in treatment.

She might gain enormous relief from this process, it may even help other things recover enough to repeat the process in a few weeks or months. For what it is worth, my own mother was on quite a few drugs, and after five years of work she's off everything, her blood pressure is back to normal, and she can manage her arthritic pain with daily hand and footbaths in epsom salts.

An excellent post, as ever, kvdp. I endorse all you say. I might add that taking omega-3 and -6 oils (essential fatty acids) can be beneficial in joint problems and helps reduce inflammation.

Other points may include tuning up your diet - the following dietary factors are all strongly associated with arthritis:

• A diet high in saturated fat (meat and dairy produce)
• Too much animal protein (again meat and dairy produce)
• A high intake of refined sugar
• High consumption of stimulants (coffee, tea, chocolate, alcohol).
• A deficiency of a wide range of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids could lead to joint problems.

There are other factors that need consideration too:

• Weight control
• Eating a diet rich in antioxidants - all the brightly-coloured plant foods, like cherries, berries, green, orange and purple veg etc.
• Vitamin D - at this latitude we are all deficient in this vitamin and lack of it is associated with arthritis
• Essential fatty acids - as above
• Hormonal balance - abdominal fat cells make pro-inflammatory hormones
• Cooking methods - no deep fried, B-bq, but steamed or steam stir-fried is best, and an adequate intake of uncooked/salad foods, juicing can be helpful too - Google it for arthritis
• Allergies and food sensitivities - cause inflammation and RA is closely associated with permeable gut, as a result of poor recovery of gut flora after antibiotics or imbalanced gut flora or toxins (more likely with constipation). Get her tested to find out what may be causing the problems - see
• Controlling blood sugar levels - sugar is pro-inflammatory
• Avoiding the nightshade family of plants - tomato, peppers, aubergine, chilli, and potato often cause inflammatory reactions in susceptible people.
• A vegetarian/vegan diet has been shown in several tests to reduce the pain and inflammation in RA and OA.

From the above you can see that diet can have an enormous impact on these diseases. A consultation with a registered nutritional therapist - see - could be enormously helpful. S/he will be able to tailor a programme suitable for your mother, and offer suggestions of herbal support like bromelain, psyllium husk, etc.

Yes, there is a lot that can be done!

my father suffer osteoarthritis for almost a decade. good thing the my friend advices me to use [url]MX Joint Care[/url] and it works for him.

Arthritis treatment

Hello everyone,
I am new to this forum, and I have heard some people say apple cider vinegar may help Arthritis too along with honey... but I was just wondering weather anyone has tried another more powerfull alternative?

I have been using a particular Aloe Vera drink with added chondroitin, glucosamine and MSM to help treat a client of her arthritis, and its almost unbelievable.

Its a story that I tell everyone because she used to be on 6 strong pain killers a day for her joints, being very hard for her to walk, but the tablets made her very lethargic and tired... then within her first few days of using this product went down to just 4 painkillers that whole week, to then being able to go swimming in spain on her family holiday with little or no painkillers at all... because the ingredients combined with aloe vera allowed her to rebuild and strengthen the root cause.

I would be happy to send some more information/videos and see what other people on here think... I'm sure it wont be the first story thats to come from people using it.

Thank you 🙂

ali_tabrizi_@hotmail.com