Joints popping/ cracking?

SanteMulberry

What about Glucosmine? My daughter told me to take it to lubricate my joints.. I have that same problem with the crackling in my knees... Does anyone know if it works or helps? (Great topic BTW.. glad you brought this up)

There are a variety of things you can take. I once read that there are over 100 different kinds of arthritis. I have gouty osteoarthritis with some mild rheumatic aspects affecting my hands. What works for me may not work for someone else. The first thing that you must fight in all arthritic conditions is inflammation. MSM is commonly recommended as an anti-inflammatory and it is used in many arthritis products along with glucosamine and chondroitin supplements. It does cause stomach upset for some---but I have been taking an MSM, glucosamine/chondrotin product for many years with good effect. Turmeric (the yellow spice used in curries) is a great anti-inflammatory with none of the serious side effects of NSAIDs (kidney and liver issues and severe gastric bleeding is possible with NSAIDs). You will want to take it with food though as it can irritate the stomach when taken alone and gradually increase the amount you take (I take it in capsules) to let your bowel get used to it (it has also been shown to be a potent retarder of bowel cancer cells as well). Turmeric is probably one of the best all around spices you can take for a variety of ailments (since inflammation is one characteristic of almost all chronic disease). Another great herbal anti-inflammatory is bromelain (an extract from the pineapple plant). It helps with range of motion because it will increase flexibility in the joint over time. There are combination products of turmeric (the active anti-inflammatory in it is curcumin) and bromelain. Another good one is ginger. There are other herbs, but I found most of them to be too irritating to my stomach)---cat's claw, boswelia, celery seed extract. There is one called berberine that should be used VERY sparingly as it tends to be toxic if too much is used too often--you'd probably have a difficult time even finding it as a single product but it is in golden seal. Fish oil is also good as an anti-inflammatory. If you take it in supplement form, the best products are "molecularly distilled" and tested for PCBs and other assorted nasties.

I've heard that chasteberry (also called vitex) is good for rheumatoid arthritis because it promotes progesterone production and progesterone has a very mild immuno-suppressive action (the pregnant woman's body makes a LOT of progesterone in order to force her body to accept the "foreign" DNA of her baby). Since rheumatoid is a result of the victim's immune system attacking the joints, anything that has an immune system suppressing effect can be helpful. I take bio-identical progesterone directly and I believe this helps keep my rheumatoid factors down.

Avoiding sugar is critical for lots of reasons but especially if you have a tendency to gout, as I do. Doctors usually tell those with gouty arthritis to avoid purine-rich food to lower uric acid levels (gout is the result of levels of uric acid that are too high). One thing that they miss though, is that fructose is converted to uric acid in the human body. Since sucrose is 50% fructose, the 500 calories worth of sugar (i.e. sucrose) that the average person eats in a day, is raising uric acid levels across the board. Researchers say that what is considered "normal" now would have been considered as somewhat elevated in the past. A piece or two of low-fructose fruit per day won't cause a problem but large amounts of fructose are detrimental. There are drugs for gout like allopurinol but I'm told that there are lots of side effects.

A note about glucosamine/ chondroitn products. They don't help everyone. Again--each individual case of arthritis has different aspects to it. One product that I especially like is egg shell membrane (you can make your own by boiling organic egg shells---there's a recipe on the web). I buy it in capsule form just because I can't be bothered with making it myself. It is very restorative to the joints and ligaments around the joints. I hurt my knee last May and it is almost back to normal again. I think that the egg shell membrane helped the most when I started using it.

And finally, pool exercise or swimming produces joint magic. I highly recommend it for anyone who is at the beginning stages of joint problems. I know a 78 year old lady who was told 23 years ago that she would likely have to have her knees replaced in five years. She refused to accept that diagnosis and, instead, started religiously attending pool exercise twice a week (and she lifts weights). She's still going strong and has all her own joints.