Is arthritis an autoimmune disease? If so then this might help: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wahls-Protocol-Radical-Autoimmune-Conditions-ebook/dp/B00DMCJOW8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431607664&sr=1-1&keywords=dr+wahls+protocol

sorry I didn't look in the AUS amazon (if you have one), but you'll see the book I mean

Glucosamine is a popular supplement. The jury is still out on effectiveness, but it seems to work on dogs.

Hyaluronic Acid is naturally found in bone broth, Shirataki, and Satoimo Root. Our bodies however need magnesium to synthesize hyaluronic acid. People with zinc deficiencies produce low levels of hyaluronic acid. Many people use cortisol or hydrocortisone to reduce inflammation note that these both stop the body from producing hyaluronic acid at large doses.

HA is still up for much debate. It does have proven benefits for joint lubrication and most notably skin rejuvenation but i was looking into it a while back due to it being in skin products (i make my own soap, moisturizers and personal care products) and it was a no-no for those pregnant. There are claims that it also spreads cancer; meaning if you already have cancer cells and you injest HA it will multiply the cancerous cells. Others claim that it bloats them enough to stop taking it although thy love what it does for their skin.
~Just FYI.

TribalmamaEmily wrote: »

Hyaluronic Acid is naturally found in bone broth, Shirataki, and Satoimo Root. Our bodies however need magnesium to synthesize hyaluronic acid. People with zinc deficiencies produce low levels of hyaluronic acid. Many people use cortisol or hydrocortisone to reduce inflammation note that these both stop the body from producing hyaluronic acid at large doses.

HA is still up for much debate. It does have proven benefits for joint lubrication and most notably skin rejuvenation but i was looking into it a while back due to it being in skin products (i make my own soap, moisturizers and personal care products) and it was a no-no for those pregnant. There are claims that it also spreads cancer; meaning if you already have cancer cells and you injest HA it will multiply the cancerous cells. Others claim that it bloats them enough to stop taking it although thy love what it does for their skin.
~Just FYI.

The evidence about its link to cancer is that there are elevated levels of HA associated with cancers (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25134379). Correlation does not equal causation, though (http://www.denvernaturopathic.com/news/sardiHA.htm). Animal studies actually suggest that HA is higher in people with cancer, because it's the body's response to cancer in an effort to heal it (http://knowledgeofhealth.com/humans-can-mimic-newly-discovered-cancer-proof-state/).

In other words, the conclusion that HA causes cancer, because HA is present in higher levels of people with cancer is like saying white blood cells cause infection/sickness, because people who are sick have elevated white blood cell counts.

That said, as someone with degenerative disc disease, I'll take the small risk of cancer over not being able to move, being in constant pain, and facing the very real and nearly inevitable possibility that my discs will break down to the point that I'll either need invasive, risky surgery to put metal rods in, or end up doing something that results in them shifting and me getting paralyzed from the waist down.

The effectiveness for OA, though, is pretty undeniable -- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15785261, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2012/167928/

TribalmamaEmily wrote: »

@Dragonwolf, I never said HA *causes* cancer, I specifically stated that there are claims (studies as well) that report it multiplies cancerous cells, when one already has them.
And i do feel this is important to note.
I never meant to discredit your experience with HA. I even mentioned that it is proven effective. But there are other things to consider in addition to comfort. And sure we all have the right to choose, I just believe in the right to dicern wisely. I also believe healing can only come from seeking the root cause of an issue in order to seek a proper remedy.

That's why I posted the study in question, as well as articles that suggest such concerns are ill-founded.

Any connections with cancer at all are correlations, regardless of whether the claim is that it causes it or makes it grow faster. The only connection found right now is that people with cancer have elevated HA levels, which is as meaningful as saying people with the flu have elevated white blood cell counts.

In cases like degenerative disc disease, and potentially osteoarthritis, the root cause is essentially HA deficiency. HA is what makes our joints (and our eyeballs) squishy, and lubricates a number of other cells and connections. In these cases, HA supplementation arguably is the proper remedy.

@TribalmamaEmily I apologize if I'm coming off more rough or defensive than I intend. I should rephrase that HA supplementation is a proper remedy, because in pretty much any health scenario, there are usually several options. It very well could be mangesium deficiency that causes the HA deficiency, but the magnesium deficiency is overshadowed by the issues caused by the HA deficiency. Since magnesium is used in far more processes than just HA synthesis, it would be reasonable, then, to supplement both, especially since the longer things like OA and DDD are allowed to progress, the more permanent the damage done, and once that permanent damage is done, no amount of HA will help. Unfortunately, HA as a supplement is less known than something like magnesium.

The study is quite fascinating, but I don't think it supports the idea that supplementing HA will spread cancer.

Hyaluronidase production by HMD CAL 51 cells was dramatically increased in comparison with the original CAL 51 and with the IP CAL 51 cell lines. This finding is in agreement with our observations showing that hyaluronidase production by human metastasis-derived cell lines of different origins was higher than that of the primary tumor-derived cell lines (Victor et al.,1997). We have also demonstrated that hyaluronidase levels were significantly enhanced in breast-cancer axillary metastases in comparison with the primary breast tumors (Bertrand et al.,1997). Other investigators have reported similar results. Cameron (1966) showed that metastatic process was associated with increased hyaluronidase production. Lokeshwar et al. (1996) reported that hyaluronidase activity in prostatic cancer was higher in malignant tumors than in normal tissue. These authors also demonstrated that the level of hyaluronidase was correlated with tumor grade.

HA production by HMD CAL 51 was, as for hyaluronidase activity, markedly increased in comparison with the established CAL 51 and with IP CAL 51. This finding is in agreement with Turley et al. (1991), who reported that cells derived from metastatic melanomas released more HA than cells obtained from non-metastatic tumors. HA localization in hepatic metastasis showed that this polysaccharide was concentrated mainly in the invasion area. This latter observation also agrees with our finding (Bertrand et al.,1992) that HA amount was enhanced in the periphery of breast tumors in comparison with the center, suggesting that increased HA synthesis may be associated with the invasion process.

HA, which is concentrated around the metastasis, may play different roles, e.g., it may protect metastatic cells against viruses, bacteria, and immune-cell attacks.

This says that HA production goes up as tumors grow and metastasize, theoretically because the tumors themselves produce it. Again, that means you'll see higher levels of HA production in a body with cancerous tumors, and those levels will be higher still in someone whose cancer has metastasized. That may mean that supplementing HA may be contraindicated for a cancer patient (I don't think there's enough information yet to say for sure, but given the above action, it's reasonable to err on the side of caution in that regard). Again, we're, at least right now, back to the white blood cell correlary - X increases when Y happens, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the increase in X caused or contributed to Y.

However, there also appears to be more to it:

HN, like HA, was strongly expressed in the invasion area. HN is a 45- to 70-kDa glycoprotein which binds specifically to HA and which is associated with HA in connective tissue of several organs (Delpech et al.,1986). The increased co-localization of HA and HN in the invasion area may reflect increased binding of HA to HN, a hypothesis sustained by our earlier observations (Delpech et al.,1986): (i) HA and HN were usually found in the same areas in tissue; (ii) HN when extracted at pH 7 was always found associated with HA. (iii) HN binds with high affinity to HA, suggesting that HA and HN may act together on metastatic cells in the invasion area. Ponting and Kumar (1995) gave data supporting the idea that HN may be involved in metastatic-cell movements. The authors reported that HN was markedly present in extracellular matrix in the form of tracks deposited by migrating cells in vitro, so that HN deposition might be correlated with intensity of cell migration.

Perhaps it's the interaction of HA and HN that aids in cancer cell motion? In which case, it's not HA by itself that is a contributor to these issues.

This is awesome research, but even the writer says that it was a study to find a cancer cell that reliably grows and metastasizes, so that HA's role in the process can be studied:

In conclusion, i.p. injection of the human breast-cancer cell line CAL 51 provides a useful model for studying invasion and metastasis formation in nude mice. Metastasis formation was obtained in almost all mice injected, allowing cytological and histochemical study of the metastases in vivo, and characterization of metastasis-derived cultivated cells. The passage of the CAL 51 cells from the primary state to the metastatic state was characterized by a marked increase of HA and hyaluronidase production, and expression of HA and HA-binding sites. These data demonstrated that the CAL 51 model could be useful for studying the involvement of the hyaluronan system in invasion and metastasis formation.

In other words, it was the cancers being studied in this study, not the Hyaluronic Acid. The CAL 51 cells metastasized in 90% of the subjects, with no other intervention. It opens the door to further study, and does provide some good information, but I think it's disingenuous to attempt to draw any conclusions about HA supplementation in general from it.

I have osteoarthritis in both knees and have had a knee replacement. You can try supplements but eventually they won't help much. There have been times when I took pain NSAID'S around the clock, which helped quite a bit. Regarding activity, I think you can do whatever you can tolerate. With knees you may eventually reach the point of no return. I am very happy with my knee replacement. I waited far too long. I feel like I could walk across the country on it, and look forward to getting the other one done so I can do just that.

Anecdotal, this worked for ME on bad knees: LCHF. Lots of fatty type pork rinds, not the very bubbly type. Astaxhantin supplement. Hilly walking has strengthened ligaments and tendons. Don't overdo it, gradual increase pressure. And working on stronger hamstrings/posterior chain. Sitting all day gives short, weak hams and glutes. Can cause muscle imbalances that destabilize the knee. If walking is painful, try lunges and balancework. Ofc I also do careful foamrolling and I like yoga, cause it's relaxing, which is good for almost everything in life.

Even if he's LCHF, consider lowering carb level for 3 months. Starches are inflammatory. Anti-inflammatory medication only alleviate the symptoms, but can invite more inflammation. Use only in emergencies. I was advised by specialist in hospital to avoid NSAIDs altogether. Good luck!

Edit: Forgot to say that improving cardio vascular health is very important too! Joints like knees are very susceptible to injury, cause there is little bloodflow to those tissues for repairs. Having a good cv health, low Beats Per Minute at rest is a measure of cv function. The lower BPM, the more efficient, less energy the heart spends to pump blood around. Depending on your hubby's form: Do short High Intensity sprints 1x a week on a stationary bike. (easier on knees). For example: 20 seconds x 5 with 1 minute rest in between. Up to 25 secs etc when it feels easy. Short sprints are probably one of the easiest and fastest ways to improve blood pressure as well.

There are apps to make it easy. I use Interval timer from goggle play store and Runtastic Heart Rate measure. But if you want to splash out on tools, the new Garmin Forerunner 225 has an optical HR (without chest strap) so you can see your heart rate at any moment.