Natural Treatments for Arthritis

The most common question I seem to get is “What can I do naturally for arthritis” followed by “What is better glucosamine, chondroitin, or MSM?”

Those are great questions and first before I begin would like to just start a brief tirade about the use of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) otherwise known as the common pain relievers that we use to treat temporary pain such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.

Now the KEY to the sentence I just typed is the word “temporary”.

NSAIDS and heaven forbid cortisone injections (please only do this as a last resort as cortisone completely shuts down your joints ability to repair as does stress) are simply a quick fix for pain and not a great long term solution as they actually INHIBIT the synthesis of cartilage.

Yikes!

Isn’t that why we have osteoarthritis in the first place? The meniscus (shock pad between joints) is made of cartilage right? As we age it gets worn down and our joint space naturally diminshes, loses lubrication and eventually as a result we are in severe pain because we have bone rubbing on bone. Ouch!

Now that everyone is hip to the fact that NSAIDS are not a great long term solution for joint pain, let’s talk about the things that are.

The answer to the question of “What is better glucosamine, chondroitin, or MSM?” is “all of the above”. A good student when in doubt always picks “all of the above” or “C”. Now you could effectively choose “C” for chondroitin and that would not be a bad answer, but chondroitin is also pretty pricey so most people buy it with glucosamine and MSM. Glucosamine was shown to reduce arthritis symptoms in 80% of people after just three weeks. Now 80% is FANTASTIC for any drug in a research study. So you can’t go wrong with glucosamine on its own.

Personally I am not convinced that glucosamine is better than chondroitin or vice versa. So in this case we can easily choose “all of the above” because great research studies support the efficacy and safety of all three. So why not use them all together for a nice synergistic effect? Especially a great option for those with severe arthritis. You want to make sure that you are constantly topping off these nutrients that help the joints regenerate. MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) is typically the least helpful of the three but is also super cheap so in a pinch is better than nothing, and it is great for irritable bladder and the skin.