Osteo Arthritis Natural Pain Relief
72Whoa! Did you wake up one morning and did your osteo arthritis make you feel 1000 years old? What did you do – reach for a bottle of short acting pain medication?
There is a better way of pain relief for osteo arthritis than aspirin which can cause stomach bleeding or other over the counter medications which can lead to things like kidney damage. Try drinking tea instead. Not just any old tea, but white willow bark tea.
White willow bark contains salicins, and some consider this herb to be the original over-the-counter anti-inflammatory. The use of white willow bark as a medicine goes back in time. Ancient Egyptians used white willow for inflammation. Maybe Cleopatra suffered from osteo arthritis pain, and used it herself.
Hippocrates prescribed chewing on willow bark to his patients to take advantage of white willow bark’s fever reducing and inflammation reducing abilities. During the succeeding centuries, that tried and true folk remedy was used with success as the best pain relief for osteo arthritis available down through the ages.
Back in the early 1800’s the active ingredient of white willow bark was isolated (salicin), and it caught the interest of the German tanning company Bayer. Bayer created a synthetic derivative from a waste by product of their coal tar derived tanning compound called acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and mass-produced it. Think about that the next time you reach for a bottle of aspirin – coal tar! White willow bark truly is the original otc anti inflammatory.
Move forward to the present day. Many recent studies have shown that the combination glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is effective in treating moderate to severe knee pain due to osteoarthritis. One of these was The "GAIT" Glucosamine/Chondroitin Arthritis Intervention Trial - Glucosamine Effectiveness (13 Universities - United States Study).
This study was performed under the direction of the NIH (National Institutes of Health), along with13 highly prestigious research universities in the United States. The study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, parallel assignment, efficacy study on over 1,500 osteoarthritis sufferers.
All study participants’ pain levels were evaluated at the beginning of the study. They were re-evaluated at the end of the four weeks. The Glucosamine and Chondroitin combination was found to significantly reduce pain compared to placebo and the synthetic pharmaceutical Celebrex (celecoxib). There are other credible studies that found similar results.
Another great pain fighting substance is fish oil. Every osteo arthritis diet should contain fish oil but forget the nasty spoonful of cod liver oil from your grandparents’ time. Pharmaceutical grade fish oil has morphed into a smoothie these days. One of the tastiest may be found at your local health food store in the refrigerator case. It is marketed by Barleans and is called Lemon Smoothie – very yummy.
These are but a few from the cornucopia available today. Other pain fighters include: Boswellia Serrata and Omega-6 Fatty Acids like oil of morning primrose, Shark Cartilage, Reishi Mushroom, Capsaicin, Cinnamomum Verum, Magnesium Gluconate, Manganese Ascorbate, Vitamin B6, L-Ornithine, , Turmeric Powder, Feverfew, Zinc, Calcium Carbonate, Fo-Ti, Boron, Yucca, and Folic Acid. Other very helpful ingredients are homeopathic compounds.
There are compounds on the market combining all or most of these wonder herbs and supplements in a convenient, easy to take capsule. And, the best part is that when they are taken together, they act synergistically to provide the best and most effective pain relief possible. Add to that the fact that it’s much easier to let someone else do the measuring for you than to have a zillion bottles and having to measure things out yourself.
