Arthritis and its natural treatment

There are 2 main medical conditions referred to as arthritis, Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. While different in their pathology they both produce joint pain and the eventual loss of joint mobility. Today you have a number of clinically trialed natural supplements that are very effective in reducing both pain and loss of mobility.

The most useful of these is Glucosamine sulfate. All connective tissue is composed of collagen and substances called glycosaminoglycans or GAG's. Gag's are made from glucose one of the essential monosaccharides that are so important for cell communication. and glutamine, an important amino acid. The bodies ability to repair connective tissue after injury is controlled by its ability to produce GAG's. In fact your capacity to produce new GAG's limits the rate of repair and is known as 'the rate limiting step'. Glucosamine belongs to a class of compounds known as glycosaminoglycans and is an amino sugar.Hence after injury, such as cartilage damage, the body is not able to convert glucose and glutamine to glucosamine at a sufficient rate to allow healing. When taken orally, glucosamine helps build more complex gel-like sugars that are used by the body to make new connective tissue and joint fluid, which helps the joint move more freely. In a series of peer review journal articles Dr. Setnikar and his colleagues showed that oral glucosamine can increase the level of GAG synthesis by 170%. Glucosamine works directly on the ligaments, joints cartilage, tendons and spinal discs and may even help restore joint health after injury, inflammation or degeneration.

In a six month clinical trial, reported in the journal, "Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research,"in 1991, found in their trial of 200 elderly patients with degenerative joint disease that glucosamine when given orally or by injection improved both joint pain and mobility. In a further placebo controlled study it was found that 55% of the 155 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee had marked improvement of their joint when taking glucosamine. You should always use glucosamine sulfate supplements as sulfate also plays an important role in connective tissue remodeling. Sulfur is one of the original ingredients used in homeopathic medicine for the treatment of arthritis and is very useful for treating pain in the joints of the upper body, the shoulder, arms and elbows.

Vitamin C is also an important addition to any joint flexibility relief supplement. In a study in 1996 with 640 man and women with osteoarthritis, a higher intake of Vitamin C was associated with a three fold decrease in the risk of disease progression. A further study in 1998 found that the addition of Manganese, Vitamin C and glucosamine was found to produce the highest efficacy amongst patients and was considered to be best combination in a formulation.

While glucosamine is known to be successful for treating osteoarthritis, do you also get improvement with rheumatoid arthritis? Yes, but not to the same extent as in osteoarthritis. To achieve a high degree of improvement in rheumatoid arthritis your supplement should contain a well proven Ayuruvedic herb know as Boswellia serrata. In a number of clinical studies Boswellia has been shown to be high effective in reducing pain and inflammation associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

References

• McAlindon, TE, RB etal, Arthritis and Rheumatism, Vol. 39 (4):pp648 - 656, 1996.
• Olivierio, U et al, Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research, Vol. 21 (3) XVII (I):45-51, 1991.
• Setnikar, I., Pharmatherapeutica , Vol. 3 (8): pp538-550, 1984.
• Setnikar, I., Arneimittelforschung, Vol. 36 (2) : pp 729 - 736, 1991.