Joint Pain is one the most common ailments that people suffer from. According to the medical fraternity, many patients ignore it, assuming that it is a part of growing old. However, nothing could be farther from the truth. It is important to understand that pain of any kind is a warning signal that the body gives us, to seek timely help.

Joint pain, specifically, is any pain that occurs in or around a joint; i.e. the place where two bones meet. Arthritis is the most common cause of joint pain in the UK. It is interesting to note that there are nearly 100 types of arthritis, though the most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. While osteoarthritis is caused by the degeneration of cartilage in the joints, rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory and an autoimmune disease.

There are also non-arthritic joint pains such as bursitis joint pains. These occur when the bursa (a small sac) is infected with bacteria, resulting in a condition called bursitis. Bursae are found in all the joints of the body, and are filled with synovial fluid. Inflammation of the bursa can also occur when a joint experiences repetitive movement. Most joint pains also result in symptoms like stiffness, redness, and swelling.

Doctors recommend many different ways to manage joint pain. A change in your diet is one of them. An anti-arthritic diet includes more vegetables and fruits, and requires cutting down on sugar, salt, processed and fried foods. You will need to exclude some vegetables like brinjals, capsicum, and tomatoes. The use of olive oil is recommended, as also a spoonful of seeds which can be a combination of sesame, flax and pumpkin seeds.

To this diet you can add supplements – multi-vitamins, 1 gm of vitamin C, which is a natural pain killer, or omega-3 which is an essential fatty acid and a natural anti-inflammatory chemical.

Glucosamine sulphate is also recommended and has been proven to have helped patients with joint pains. Supplements of chondroitin sulphate (a major constituent of cartilage), and methyl sulphonyl methane (MSM), an essential building block of proteins, have all been found to alleviate joint pain. You also need to manage your weight to keep joint pain at bay. It is only after all these methods fail that a patient should consider surgery.

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