These days, there are way too many people who have joints problems. I've heard all over the place from friends, colleagues, relatives, family members, etc. Why is this issue becoming increasingly worrying? Why is it so common these days that even young adults are suffering from joints problem such as back ache, knee pain, etc?
Today, I will write a bit about joint problems and ways on how to ensure we can have healthy joints and improve your condition of joint dilemma and feels better, towards pain free living. First of all, let me ask you, what is the first thing you do, when you have regular joints ache or pains? Take painkillers? Rub DeepHeat cream? How about taking so called 'joints supplementation" such as chondroitin and glucosamine? Before we start off with further discussion about how to maintain and build strong joints, let me describe a scenario for all of you who is reading this right now.
Now, let's take an example of a marathon runner, or someone who loves to run a lot regularly. The person is suffering from a knee pain on and off and has been on chondroitin and glucosamine supplementation. This person, then goes to see doctor and ask for help. What happen next? Doctor A, prescribes him anti-inflammatory drugs to ease off his knee pain. Then, this person goes to see another different doctor, and ask for different opinion and help. Doctor B, then prescribes him some mild steroids and painkillers and tell this person to finish off the drugs and the condition will improve. Then again, this person goes to see another doctor, hoping this other doctor could help him and fix his knee problem. Doctor C, then gave him some oilment cream to relieve his 'soreness' and pain condition.
Alright folks. We have 3 different doctors prescribing 3 different treatments for this reoccurring knee joint problem. Can anyone tell me the solution for this person's knee problem? The answer is common sense. Yes, use your brain and apply common sense! What happen when you want to put out the fire of a burning house? Do you keep spraying water? Or catch the culprit who is hiding and continuously starting the fire? This is no Einstein question and solution. No rocket science, just plain common sense. Of course most of you would by now, realize that the answer to this knee joint problem, is to STOP RUNNING! Torturing your knee joints running or jogging for miles regularly day in day out, especially on hard surface such as pavement of the road, is nothing short of plain stupidity. I know I may sound blunt and mean, but this is unfortunately painfully true. I know a friend, who joins triathlon/Ironman competition in my country, when I told him that all my friends and colleagues who runs and train marathon by running primarily on the road surface, he answered "What? You serious??" "How stupid is that?" Yup, I would have to say he is a wiser athlete who trains smarter.
Let's get started with the discussion about ways on how to build a stronger joints and ensuring it is healthy and flexible. I'm sure all of you want to be able to go outside the park and playground and play with your kids or grandchildren. Perhaps being able to continue play your favorite sport, walk down the stairs properly, and even a simply basic 'squat ' when you go to toilet. Well, below, are some of the key points on how we could achieve that:
Weight management
Achieve your optimal weight to improve your bio-mechanic function. One of the outstanding benefits of exercise is its ability to help you achieve and maintain your ideal weight, which is highly beneficial to your joints. Overweight and obese people compromise joint comfort more than those who are carrying their ideal load. Each additional kilogram (2.2 pounds) of body mass increases the compressive load over your knee by roughly 4 kilograms (nearly 9 pounds). Research shows that a weight loss of as little as 11 pounds can have a positive effect on joint function. And those who are at their optimal weight experience increased joint health as compared to those who are obese or overweight. So you go full circle, losing weight reduces the load on your joints and makes it easier to exercise, and exercising helps you lose weight and supports your joint health.
Eat a higher quality diet.
Eliminate sugar and starchy carbs from your diet. And definitely stop drinking soda. These foods do absolutely nothing to support healthy joints or a healthy body. In fact, their potential for damage is well documented. I believe you should limit your total fructose from ALL sources to no more than 25 grams per day, as it raises uric acid levels, which is hard on your joints. Now, chances are, you consume substantially more than 25 grams per day. Approximately quarter of Americans consume a whopping 134 grams of fructose every day! I wish I could dig out data of fructose consumption by Malaysians(too bad, no luck so far). Also, in my opinion, you should base your food choices on your nutritional type to ensure you optimize your ideal macronutrient ratios.
Exercise
There's a common urban legend that exercise is bad for your joints. Most people have little appreciation for how powerful exercise can be in supporting joint function. Vigorous low impact exercise is beneficial, for your joints, as well as for cardiovascular, pulmonary, and other systems in your body.
It's simply a myth that you can 'wear down' your knees just from average levels of exercise, and/or normal activity. In fact, inactivity causes your muscles to become weaker and actually works against optimal joint flexibility and comfort. One caution, however when using this valuable tool, you need to start slowly if you have not been exercising regularly, and build up to higher activity levels otherwise you risk incurring an injury that could really set you back. If typical vigorous exercise is not easy for you, try walking, tai chi and yoga as they are very low impact, yet offer many health benefits. By all means, reduce or avoid long endurance running on hard surfaces. Non of our primal ancestors jog or run for 21, 42 or even 80km of marathon.
Optimize your vitamin D levels
Vitamin D also supports a healthy immune response. Please recognize that during the fall, winter and early spring in most of the U.S., Canada, and Europe, your vitamin D levels can drop precipitously. If your levels fall, you give up the support this vitamin offers for your joints and your whole body.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Get plenty of omega-3 fatty acids from krill or high quality fish oil. Omega 3's support your joint health.
GlycosAminoGlycan
Introduction of this precious nutritious 'food recipe' is important, and it will certainly help on building and repairing the joints in the body. And No, I don't think you can get it in any form of supplements sold in the market.
By the way, a lot of people came to me and asked "Is Glucosamine or Chondroitin good for the joints?" Well, the answer is yes, it will temporarily ease off for maybe couple hours after the run or training/marathon competition, but it will certainly NOT fix your knee joint problem. Again, common sense. Tackle the root cause, not symptoms.
As for both these supplements, the pills are usually quite large and many may find them difficult to swallow, and you are often required to take large numbers of them every day. Only a small fraction of the glucosamine you take is actually utilized by your body. In the case of pills and capsules, the studies demonstrate that only about 15-20% is absorbed. Much of the glucosamine on the market is derived from shellfish, specifically crab, lobster, and shrimp shells, which is a common allergen. Obviously, you should avoid glucosamine if you’re allergic to shellfish. The long awaited NIH trials on glucosamine showed disappointing results. There were no significant differences between glucosamine alone, chondroitin alone, or the two combined, when tested against placebo. While generally considered to be free of side effects, some people do experience gastrointestinal upset from it. Also, chondroitin molecules are large, making it difficult for your body to digest, which could be what causes problems for some people.
Folks, take care of your joints, if you screw with your joints, you are practically screwed for the rest of your life, it doesn't matter back pain, knee pain or shoulder pain, whichever joint problem. Till then, be consistent with exercise routines, and exercise correctly and stop being a couch potato.
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