Friday, September 27, 2013

5 Natural Arthritis Solutions That WORK!

Too often, we assume that our aches and pains are a permanent byproduct of life, and that as the years take their toll, we're condemned to accept these chronic conditions.

In fact, even some MDs believe that "getting old" is part in parcel with new muscle and joint problems; making the pains greater while our movements lessen every year.

If there is one thing that holistic health science has taught us, it's that the symptoms we accept as "normal aging" are not truly "normal", but rather the results of health opportunities which we have missed along the road of life. We'll address muscle pains and other forms of damage in a future blog posting. Below, however, are the cutting-edge, fitness science ideals, as presented from PPT's clinical wellness team, that you need to know to reverse and prevent the most common form of joint pain:  Osteoarthritis (OA).

OA is the actual breakdown of cartilege (the joint's "cushion"), which often eventually leads to the painful "bone-on-bone" action.  This creates pain through an inflammatory response and through other channels as well.

There Are Five Powerful Corrective Actions:
#1: Give the body (and therefore, the joints) high doses of antioxidants to combat destructive free radicals:
Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of antioxidants, as are zero-calorie over-the-counter supplements such as CoQ10 and Resveratrol. Even more beneficial tend to be many natural compounds such as glucosamine and chondroitin, which are effectively used to rebuild damaged cartilege.  Other effective, zero-calorie solutions are healing herbs such as parsley, astragalus, and boswellia, all of which contain antioxidants that have demonstrated an ability to help damaged & inflamed joints heal.

#2: Build muscular strength, balance & flexibility in the joint's surrounding muscles:
PPT's strength-training programs have a much greater ability to improve muscular structures than exercise classes or less-personalized fitness trainer approaches. The reason is that our resistance and programming selections are particular to clinical norms for the improvement of muscular synergy. For many with arthritis, tight muscles with poor ability to contract properly are putting an unhealthy pressure on the joint. By creating healthier muscle tissue around the damaged joint, there is a greater ability for the lost cartilege to rebuild and to reduce inflammation.

#3: Stimulate the rebuilding of cartilege through well-crafted resistive/strength exercise:
Above, we discussed how having healthier muscles can improve a damaged joint.  But the actual act of strength training, when performed approriately, has its own ability to stimulate cartilege re-growth. The movements must be very natural, and the execution should be against the proper resistance for the proper amount of time, with the proper frequency of occurence. When all variables are correct, the action of strength training will actually improve the integrity and life of the joints that are conditioned.

#4: Hydrate the body throughout the day:
Water plays a vital role.  Consume adequate water throughout the day and rely on foods in your diet that are of a higher water concentration.  Your PPT health coach had specific and personalized answers for you.

#5: Avoid abrasive, impactful movements on your joints:
Many popular exercises and sports involve harmful and aggressive movements that wear down the joints. Conversely, there are smooth, steady movements that improve the joints, as described in #3 above.  Keep your daily activities free of pounding motions. Or, if your favorite sports involve these types of movements (ie, hard running, squash or tennis) then plan to trade some of that athletic time for more constructive, clinically-appropriate exercise. The end result will likely be a more pain-free life of richer, more healthful mobility.

Also Helpful: NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are commonly used to mask symptoms of pain, but these can also have some serious side effects. NSAIDs have been clinically-demonstrated to decrease the protective lining in one's stomach, which can easliy lead to ulcers in some users.  One study found that in the US alone, over 100,000 hospital admissions and more than 16,000 deaths each year are due to intestinal bleeding caused by NSAIDs. We recommend the five natural solutions above as opposed to taking NSAIDs.

If you're not yet a client of PPT's, then find out how personalized & preventive our action plans really are:  Just visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com and click Sign Up for your free in-home fitness and wellness assessment.

We look forward to your incredible successes!