Arthritis

One of our goals here at Peak Testosterone is to keep you exercising.  Why?  Exercising does it all:  it rebuilds your brain and neurons; it rebuilds your sex life and erections; and it protects you from a host of ills including heart disease, erectile dysfunction, inflammation and on and on.

One of the things that can stop guys dead in their tracks - quite literally - is arthritis, either systemic or in a specific joint.  Many guys have old sports, accident or work injuries that manifest themselves as arthritis later in life.  Any such issue can keep you out of the gym or off the court or field and that's what we don't want.

Below we track some of the natural solutions that can help you out with this debilitating problem:

CAUTION:  Do not discontinue any medication without consulting your physician first.  And if you have any medical condition or are on any medications, check with your physician first.

Do you know the foods and drinks that increase erection-boosting Nitric Oxide? Check out the Peak Erectile Strength Diet where I show you how to dramatically and naturally improve your erectile strength.

1.  Pycnogenol.  Pycnogenol helps with many heart disease and erectile dysfunction risk factors.  You can read my Pycnogenol and Erectile Dysfunction link for more details.  Pycnogenol has also been shown to help arthritis in the knee and it's no wonder since it helps with inflammation. [1]

2.  Tai Chi. Twelve weeks of Tai Chi helped about three fourths of participants with arthritis in their knee. [2]  Tai Chi is known for it's pain management improvement and this study bears out it reputation.

3.  Glucosamine Sulfate.  This supplement has yielded improvments in arthritis as it is a critical component of the fluid in your joints. [3] You want to take specifically glucosamine sulfate and not any of the other forms such as N-acetyl or hydrchloride as these have not performed as well in the studies.

4.  Inflammation.  Reducing your overall inflammatory levels can have a very positive effect on arthritis.  This includes avoiding egg yolks, chicken, turkey and many farm-raised fish, as these are loaded with inflammatory messengers according to David Chilton in his excellent book Inflammation Nation:. He has an entire program that has helped him in his practice with various autoimmune diseases.

5.  Fish Oil.  Fish oil did very well in numerous studies in the 80's with respect to inflammation and arthritis.  Early studies found fish oil to be anti-inflammatory [4] and to reduce the amount of NSAIDs needed by patients for example. [5]  Still other studies showed that fish oil reduced morning stiffness and other debilitating aspects of arthritis. [6][7] I would also suggest reading my link on Fish Oil and Testosterone as well. 

6.  Boron.  Boron is a huge inflammation fighter and one small study showed that it decreased both TNF-alpha and C-Reactive Protein.  It also lowered estradiol and increased testosterone.  See my link on Boron and Testosterone for more information.

7. Cortisol Microdose Therapy.  This novel new approach was recently covered by the Life Extension Foundation. [9]  Of course, cortisol is an old line treatment option for certain arthritis and joint issues, but is considered too dangerous to use consistently.  Cortisol microdose therapy  reportedly produces remarkable results for some in spite of using minute doses of cortisol  that supposedly cannot cause long term issues.  I mention it simply as a strategy to research and discuss with your doctor. NOTE: It does have the reputation for being pricey but then most moderate to severe arthritis sufferers spend a lot on medications and therapies that this may potentially replace. Also, some fibromyalgia sufferers report relief. However the research does not yet show a clear benefit.

8. Bromelain.  Bromelain, a component of pineapple used to tenderize meat, has for centuries been used to relieve symptoms of pain.  It has multiple studies showing it's benefit in this regard. [10]

9.  White Willow Bark. One study showed this ancient herbal remedy was quite effective on osteoarthritis.  [11]

NEWS FLASH:  Scientists have recently isolated a pain killer that is as powerful as morphine with no apparent side effects. [9] Severe arthritis sufferers may want to watch the development of this drug/supplement (conolidine).

REFERENCES:

1) 4) J Phytotherapy Research, April 2008, 22(4)

2) Arthritis Care and Res, Oct 29 2009, 61(11):1545-1553, "Tai Chi is effective in treating knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial"

3) Consumer Reports on Health, Aug 2009, p. 10.

4) Arthritis Rheum, 1987 Sep, 30(9):988-97, "Effects of dietary supplementation with marine fish oil on leukocyte lipid mediator generation and function in rheumatoid arthritis"

5) Br J Rheumatol 1993;32:982-9, "Effects of fish oil supplementation on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug requirement in patients with mild rheumatoid arthritis — a double-blind placebo controlled study".

6) Lancet, 1985 Jan 26, 1(8422):184-7, "Effects of manipulation of dietary fatty acids on clinical manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis"

7) J Rheumatol, 1988, 15:1471-5, "Clinical and biochemical effects of dietary fish oil supplements in rheumatoid arthritis"

8) Life Extension Foundation, "Cortisol and arthritis", Tom Hintgen, Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Minn, Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

9) Scripps Research Institute. "Natural product shows pain-killing properties", ScienceDaily, 23 May 2011, Web. 23 May 2011

10) Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2004, 1(3):251-257, "Bromelain as a Treatment for Osteoarthritis: a Review of Clinical Studies"

11) Phytotherapy Research, Jun 2001, 15(4):344–350, "Efficacy and tolerability of a standardized willow bark extract in patients with osteoarthritis: randomized placebo-controlled, double blind clinical trial†"