Arthritic joints causing you havoc?

I played hockey in the Masters Games in the weekend.  I am now sporting a black eye, sore muscles and a dodgy knee – 4 games in 2 days was always going to be a challenge!

To be fair, my knee has been dodgy for a while and my doctor did tell me my hockey days might be best left behind me in favor of a less arduous sport, such as golf.  Naturally, I ignored him and I am then surprised when I hobble for a week after a game.

Inflammation is important in our bodies… until it’s not!

When you suffer a joint injury, like a sprained ankle, inflammation is an important part of the healing process – your immune system has swung into action by sending its molecular and cellular resources to the affected area to remove damage and repair tissue.  

However, sometimes and this is more common as we age, the immune system launches into unhealthy, chronic inflammation mode which can damage cartilage, bones, tendons, or ligaments; irritate nerves; and produce a long list of symptoms, including pain, swelling, and stiffness - known as inflammatory arthritis.  There are different types of inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid- and psoriatic-arthritis.  

Interestingly, osteo-arthritis, a wearing away of the smooth cartilage lining joints, has long been considered a non-inflammatory form of arthritis but it’s now recognized that inflammatory cells are also present in osteoarthritis, although the inflammation is usually less dramatic than in rheumatoid arthritis.

Downgrading chronic inflammation, can be done pharmaceutically, with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, or through drugs which suppress the immune system - like methotrexate, used for rheumatoid arthritis.  There are also biologic injections which can be more targeted in suppressing the immune system.  Long-term use of some of these pharmaceuticals can cause side-effects and longer-term issues, so it’s equally, if not more important, to focus on how to reduce chronic inflammation through lifestyle changes.

Good sleep, gut health and exercise are all focus areas to reduce chronic inflammation and we have written before about this (read here, here and here).

We have also designed all of our Zestt products to reduce chronic inflammation, recognizing that it is the “smoking gun at the scene of every crime.”  Our products reduce chronic inflammation in a number of ways:

1. By down-regulating inflammatory cytokines.
2. They are rich in anti-oxidants which minimizes the tissue damaging activity of free radicals (by taking the free radicals out!).
3. They promote the production of M2 macrophages, a type of white blood cell that help to clear infections and repair tissue.
4. They promote the production of a healthy microbiome in the mouth, lungs and gut which supports the immune system and down-regulates chronic inflammation.
5. They promote oxygen flow throughout the respiratory system and the body.

Other areas to focus on for reducing chronic inflammation and arthritic joint pain include: improving flexibility; managing weight; improving posture; using heat pads; improving muscle support (strength training) around the affected joints and choosing the “right” types of physical activity for your joints – golf instead of hockey for me – well maybe one day!

If you would like to discuss any of this further, please contact Darcy or Anna (who you can contact at 027 599 2255 or 027 4861418 respectively) or via info@zesttwellness.com