Arthritis prevention?

I have heard that people suffering from arthritis should not eat pork. Dunno if it's true though.

Well, it's not about arthritis, but doesn't natural calcium like this have a calming effect and also help joint pain? (or is that crab shells?)
anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=health&thread=946&page=1#24372

Hmmm....Bixa - the molasses must be mixed with the cider vinegar so that it makes the taste more palatable

Tilly - my friend does Pilates....and there is no Tai Chi teacher around town at the moment. I've given it up but would like to start again when a teacher appears...

You are right Casi. My friend was with me this morning and it turns out that she has not been diagnosed by a doctor. Her pain has been going on for a long time. I'm going to insist that she sees a consultant. Thanks for the link. I'll forward it to her.

Spindrift, I totally agree with Casi that your friend should immediately see a doctor and find out what is going on. About 15 years ago I was brought to a literal halt with pain and could barely walk. Since I was relatively young, I didn't even suspect arthritis and when I could walk, I went to a Chinese massage therapist who pronounced within ten minutes of the massage that I had osteoarthritis. X-rays by my doctor then confirmed that I had Severe dengeneration of the lower spine and lower neck. While the damage is irreversible, you can do many things to help the pain and perhaps forestall further erosion.

Much of the advice seems to be commonsense. Good diet, exercise, proper rest. When this first happened I was afraid that I would never be able to walk again. Its important to be calm and start to do some of the what her doctor will suggest. Exercise seems out of the question when you are so dibilitated, but I found that beginning with aquatic exercises in a pool was very effective. The beauty of this is that it is low impact and she doesn't even need to be able to swim. If there is a pool near her with warm water, that is the best. She could begin with taking a formal class and it is very easy then to plan your own customized aquatic exercises.

If she is overweight, it does help to lose weight to lessen the stress on the joints. The good news is that within a few months, and since then, I feel very good, on the whole. The only difference is that due to the disc degeneration, I walk differently. Since I walk long distances both at work and certainly when travelling, I become aware of the pain and simply need to sit for about five minutes, then resume. In my situation, I chose not to take any of the highly used meds. My feeling was that that they masked the symptoms and my body was trying to communicate its problems. I do think awareness of diet and exercise is extremely important for her management of this. Good luck!

Thank you all... Jazz , I shall certainly encourage my friend to have her symptoms diagnosed by a doctor. I shall nag her until she does this. Luckily she is not overweight and she does walk a lot (even when in pain) because she has to walk her Labrador.

Thank you for telline me about your experience. I am sorry that you have to suffer pain. There is nothing worse in life than being in pain.

I've come to the conclusion that we must increase our intake of Omega 3 Fatty acids...I shall send for more tomorrow . The latest research shows that high intake of Omega 3 enhances the length of the telomeres that are at the tip of each chromosome. This is all important in staying young and staving off degenerative diseases.

Mulling this over...At the time, I did a great deal of research, talking to friends who had arthritis, doctors, other specialists, reading etc. Like Lagatta, I doubt that there are any quick fixes. It essence, it all came to this...

Food:

Vegetables: Eat as many as you can. All said to avoid the nightshade family, tomatoes, eggplant etc.

Fruit: Eat fruit in its natural form. Juice, unless it is freshly squeezed, is not as good for you. All said that fresh pineapple was excellent for arthritis.

Perhaps cut back on meat. Not a problem for me since I only eat meat about once a month.

Fish is great!

Avoid, or severely limit alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. This was, and is, hard! I love wine, coffee and smoking.

Sugar: Avoid as much as possible, except when it is natural sugar within food such as fruit, sweet potatoes etc. Be extremely aware of how much sugar and corn syrup is dumped into processed, canned and frozen foods.

Delicious fresh and natural foods are fine. Canned and frozen need to be checked for high sugar and sodium content , but many are excellent.

Movement: I dislike even the word 'exercise'. Dogwalking is perfect spindrift! What is essential is somewhat regular movement on a daily basis. Whatever is most pleasurable for her that does not stress the joints...walking, swimming, pilates, T'ai chi, individual choice. Jogging does not seem to be an option, thudding along concrete is not great for the stress on the joints.

Arthritis doen't seem to be reversible, but with a minimum of awareness and care, you can manage the pain and prevent it from becoming debilitating.

YES, you suffer if you ‘backslide’. The concepts that I seem to be most incapable of grasping are 'regular', 'balance' and 'continuity'. There is untold value in these.. It’s the Holy Grail for me, in any part of my life. In the last 3 years I suffered from two serious injuries. My right arm (took a year out of my life) and my knees, another year and half and still ongoing. Since they were debilitating, I became very sedentary. Our bodies are made up of integrated systems, physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual and I believe that our physical system is the most basic and the most ‘intelligent’. The physical system is capable of bringing all else to a halt.

So, in my case, I think that the arthritis and the ‘knee-walking issue’ are totally related. Yoga and Pilates would be good for many people with arthritis, given that they are gentler and meditative, but you would have to be careful that the instructors are aware of your arthritis problems. I am not interested in gyms, or artificial constructs. Jumping into a car, time spent in transport, and, these courses are very expensive here in Toronto. Gardening is good, but can really stress your body. I can only do about a half hour at a time. Ideally, select a low impact activity that you enjoy and gradually do more of it.

Yes, I like ‘product’. Movement that can be built naturally into my life. Due to the knee relapse (which closely affects the arthritis), I’m into round 2 of physiotherapy. At the moment, I can only walk about 3 blocks without pain. (after a year!)

My plan now, for both the knee and the arthritis, is this: (after talking to both doctor and physiotherapist)

1. Begin by walking 10 minutes a day, at roughly the same time and gradually increase this. Since my immediate neighborhood has most of what I need, this is very pleasurable and meets most of my needs. Another motivation (instead of just walking) would be to do some photo essays for the Port. This would certainly work for you.

2. There is a community swimming pool about 8 blocks away. To begin with, go once a week. Swimming is wonderful for arthritis, I don’t know if you have access to a pool but swimming is wonderfully low impact. I love to swim, but having been brought up with a river running through our property, city pools are not quite the same.

3. Lose weight, too much stress on the knees. (From the photos I’ve see of you Bixa, this isn’t a problem for you at all. )

My motivation for all of this is that I can’t face the rest of my life with such severely curtailed mobility.

For those of you that want to lose weight, and it will also be a part of your 'eating for arthritis', this is a great book, Food Matters, by Mark Bittman. He writes regularily in the New York times.

www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1416575650/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB

Each time my husband does any type of substantial walking,he instantly remarks about how much better his severely arthritic knees feel. He avows to do a regular walking routine/regimen and does not follow through. This is particularly frustrating to witness and live with someone you know is experiencing real physical discomfort.
I have had minor,what my orthopedist tells me, is arthritis in the same knee I had surgery for. I have been doing yoga on a daily basis,for almost a whole year now and have never felt better.
A class is helpful to start with,but,being more of a solitary creature,I learned a dozen exercises,stretches and do on my own now.
A regular bike riding regimen has also complimented this.

Thanks for the very complete response, Jazz.

You're so right about the "exquisitely high resolution internal topo map", Fumobici. You'd think it would be equally noticeable when walking, but that's not so.

I hurt my knee a few months back and it's still bothering me a lot. One problem I have is that there is no level walking surface anywhere near where I live. This means that instead of smooth, consistent walking, I'm forced to be overly careful as any twisting of the knee means pain. This of course means curtailing the very exercise I need. A few nights ago I helped serve & bus tables in a huge concreted area, meaning that I was continuously hustling back and forth. To my surprise, my knee felt better than it had in ages.

It seems that most of you find regular exercise beneficial for the knees and arthritis. I’m surprised that cycling is good, I always felt that it would be particularily stressful for the knees. Although, now that I’m back in physio, she puts me on the stationary bike for about 10 minutes and it does feel much better! (for a while) But, Toronto is not what I would call a cycle friendly city, not like Montreal and Paris… although a friend has a few routes plotted that are less death defying.



This was very interesting. This happens to me and I tread carefully, favoring the knees etc. Yet, when on the bike at physio, as I said, I feel much better. I think there is a misguided primal sense of self-protection and fear at work that may inhibit progress.

Lagatta, did you notice a distinct difference with your knees when you lost weight? Don’t worry about eggplant and tomatoes if you love them. Often I’ve read your wonderful food posts and your diet is so excellent and delicious that it probably wouldn’t matter. Another of my bizarre ideas with respect to our integrated systems, is that if you feel somewhat happier emotionally, this is powerfully linked to how we feel physically. If you feel less stressed and calmer, you may willingly exercise more, initiate new projects etc… which take your mind off physical pain and leave room to progress.

You’ve achieved a great deal and work will pick up, eventually. As you are well aware, free lance is not for the faint of heart! (not from my 30 years of experience) It ebbs and flows, and always will. Bonne chance!

my arthristis is a combination of Orstio and Rhumatoid and my fingers and one instep are the dreaded
receivers of this ugly condition. I can no longer wear some of my rings and am queen of typos. Sometimes when I post after the main OP, ten will have been ahead of me. deformed fingers don't hit the key board, plus I'm completely left-handed.