Arthritis help & suggestions

[daveyboy]

Do any of you guys/gals have any helpful suggestions on how to deal with arthritis? Are there any new supps out there that you know of that can help alleviate the pain? This stuff has been killing me as of late. I have it in both shoulders & also in my wrist. Here's what Ive done so far : Ice, arthritis ointment (Capzasin HP), naprozen (anti-inflammie's), eccotrin 500mg tabs for pain relief from arthritis(3000mg/day). Oh yeah...also hitting up 1cc (200mgs) of deca every 5 days. You'd think that by taking all of this crap that something would be working for me, right? I have good days & bad days but lately, especially all of last week, it's been pretty bad. I'm also 47yo so maybe the old age factor is kicking in but I can't help but think there's something out there that can help me that I can really depend on.

All replies are appreciated! Thanks, DB

 

[Honey Roasted]

I wouldn't use anti-inflammatories or pain medicine if at all possible because they only mask the pain and inflammation and hinder your body from healing itself. Wean yourself off then if possible. Try something like Icy Hot instead. The best supplements for you would probably be high quality beta glucan and MSM. I'm not sure about this but maybe also gelatin and glucosamine and chronditin. Also, flax seed oil and fish oil. And, if this applies, don't overtrain with respect to your wrists and shoulders. Considering it's the wrists and shoulders that are causing you problems, you might be working on the computer too much, and if so you might want to figure out how to deal with that.

 

[daveyboy]

Thanks for the reply HR. I do work out ~5-6 x's per week so you could be right...I'm probably overtraining a bit. You are right again on the part where you said I might be working on the computer too much. Actually that's what I do all day at work....then play on it some more when I come home. Hey, you starting to scare me! lol! J/K. The fish & flax seed oil sound good. I've tried the glucosamine/chronditin thing before but didn't get much from that. I was also wondering if there are certain foods which you should avoid if you are showing signs of arthritis. Maybe a cleaner diet would help some. I don't know...I'm just guessing at this point. Hey, thanks for the suggestions!! I appreciate it.

 

[Honey Roasted]

You probably are overtraining at 5-6x/wk, especially if it is mostly upper body work. If you did squats or good mornings or cardio or sprints, that would be an off day for shoulders and wrists. Doing deadlifts, chinups, and rows would give a pulling kind of motion at your wrists rather than pushing all the time with presses.

You can try to strengthen shoulders by working on your rotator cuffs (meanwhile, lay off or go light on movements that stress shoulders), and wrists by working your forearms in various ways. Also, make sure you are lifting with proper technique. For example, your wrists shouldn't be all bent back when pressing. You'll also find that keeping your thumb around the bar or not will stress your wrists differently, although it's generally advised to keep your thumbs around the bar.

I lift very heavy weights for my size. I hardly notice muscle soreness at all compared to joint pain. I don't overdo it, of course... I find that MSM and lots of gelatin really help.

As for the computer thing, I'm not sure what to say. I'm sure you already know. Take breaks every now and then... pay attention to ergonomics. Moderate use as much as possible that's in your control. And most of all, just keep reminding yourself that you are trading off time on the computer with being able to lift better and with less pain.

Just taking care of yourself by bettering your diet and sleeping patterns for the sake of growing will automatically help with ailments like arthritis. For instance, one of the most important things one can learn this way is how to manage insulin levels. Chaotic and high insulin levels seem to cause all sorts of problems.