Bone & Joint Health

 

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown and eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. It is a noninflammatory degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage which is composed of protein. Cartilage that cushions the bones starts to erode, eventually allowing the bones to grind or rub together and creating pain and stiffness.The exact cause of osteoarthritis is unknown. Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis and affects many. If it occurrs before the age of 45 years it generally affects males. After the age of 55 years more females are affected.

 

Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in your body,  most commonly affecting the hands, hips, knees and spine. Osteoarthritis typically affects just one joint at a time, though with fingers often two or more can be affected at one time.

 

There are a few foods which can inflame this condition though this may vary from one person to another. Eating foods which have an antiinflammatory effect will help the condition as will making sure one is drinking plenty of water to keep ther synovial fluid between the joints moist. Also eating a lot of acid forming foods may speed up the process of bone degeneration. As most women are affected post menopausally it seems that our hormones are excerting a positive effect to the health of our bones. The use of phytoestrogens within the diet can help with bone mass. it is also important to make sure we minimise the negative effect from other foods.

 

A dietary consultation can help you to minimise any damage to the joints with the careful planning of a suitable diet and the use of relevant supplements.

 

 

Rheumatoid Arthritis

RA is a chronic inflammartory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints and often progresses with destruction of the articular cartilage creating abnormal adhesions and rigidity within the joints. it is an autoimmune disorder which means that the body is mounting an allergic response internally.

 

75 percent of sufferers are women and it most often begins between the ages of 30 and 60, but may develop at any age. Cartilage wears away and the cushioning fluid in the joint becomes inflamed and swollen. Inflammation causes chemicals to be released that damage the cartilage and bone in the affected joint.

 

Some foods eaten may be eliminated from the diet in an effort to reduce symptoms and the diet must be checked to ensure that it in as antinflammatory as possible.

 

Tendonitis

Tendonitis describes inflammation, swelling, and irritation of a tendon. It is an extremely painful condition and the pain is mostly at the tendon insertion site.

Tendons are bands of fibrous material that attatch muscle to bone. There are many tendons in our body with every muscle having a tendon that attatches it to bone. They can be large in size, such as the tendons around our knee joint, or small such as the tendons in our fingers. When tendons are irritated, they may swell and inflamme.

 

Again it is important to minimise ones inflammatory response and this can be helped through diet and naturapathic techniques.

 

 

Osteoporosis

A common condition in the more developed countries it is rare in South Africa where more leafy greens are eaten and less dairy products. It has been speculated that it is the treatment of dairy food that may be the problem and that live yoghurt is a good source as the bacteria make the calcium in this product more easily assimilated.

Weight bearing exercises are essential for building bone mass with sedentary lifestyles being one of the risk factors. In developed countries there are many lifestyle factors which lead to calcium being leached from our bones e.g. high alcohol intake, high caffeine intake. These need to be minimised to optimise bone health. There is a hereditary link so if any parent and grandparent had a problem then one needs to be extra vigilant in minimising their risk.

 

In Scotland we are suffering from a lack of vitamin D which is essential for laying down calcium and therefore we may need to supplement this vitamin over the winter months and for longer periods for people who are housebound.

 

A dietary consultation will be helpful to ensure you are eating sources of the nutritents necessary to optimise bone health whilst minimising any harmful dietary and lifestyle factors. It is really helpful to ensure you minimise the risk of this condition whilst building a good bone mass from an early age.