You're told that you have arthritis. Is it the knee, hip, back or neck? Well, you're not alone. Osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease can be common if you don't take care and maintain your muscles, bones and joints.
Osteoarthritis commonly affected weight bearing bones and joints such as the hips, knees and spine. The synovial fluid inside the hip, knee and spinal articulations lubricates and nourishes the joints, cartilages and intervertebral discs. Joint and cartilage nutrients are absorbed by osmosis. By-products are also excreted by osmosis.
Osmosis is the movement of things through a pressure gradient. Joint movement and mobility create a pressure gradient inside the joint that pumps and circulates synovial fluid just like the heart pumps and circulates blood and its contents.
If the articulation is restricted and the range of motion is reduced then synovial fluid cannot circulate and nourish the joints, cartilages and intervertebral discs. Restricted joints wear out their bones, cartilages and intervertebral discs quicker than those that are allowed to bend and turn without any hindrance.
Watch how people walk at the mall or on the street. You'll notice that some waddle like a penguin as they walk. Those people have restricted mobility in their hips, pelvic and may be even the knees. Imagine how much extra wear and tear is put on the joints with each step.
Other factors that influence the development of osteoarthritis include lifestyle, nutrition and fitness level. The amount of wear and tear of osteoarthritis is not age-related.
Have you ever wondered why your arthritic knee, hip, back or neck is stiffer in the morning or after sitting down for a while? You may even feel some aches and pain. As you get up, it's quite stiff and sore to take the first few steps. But after moving around for a bit, the stiffness and soreness gradually decrease.
As you begin to move, you're creating a pressure gradient in the joint. And when the pressure is high enough, the synovial fluid begins to circulate and lubricate the joint easing the stiffness. With restricted joints, the range of motion is reduced; it takes longer to reach the required pressure level for circulation, lubrication and osmosis.
A common way to increase joint mobility is to increase flexibility. It's sad, but true. As you get older you lose flexibility and strength in muscles, tendons and ligaments. Daily routine of stretching is a good way to maintain joint flexibility and preventing further osteoarthritis.
Another popular way is to take nutritional supplements, especially glucosamine sulphate. Healthy and unrestricted joints make their own glucosamine sulphate. As you get older, the amount of glucosamine sulphate produces decreases. Glucosamine sulphate prevents premature degeneration of cartilages. It also helps retention of synovial fluid to hydrate the joints. Without glucosamine sulphate synovial fluid level becomes inadequate. Restricted joints do not make and absorb enough glucosamine sulphate which causes the intervertebral discs, cartilages and joints to degenerate quicker.
Guess what? Glucosamine sulphate circulates within the joint and absorbs to the cartilages and intervertebral discs by osmosis.
Consider taking glucosamine sulphate instead of glucosamine chondroitin. The body cannot effectively absorb glucosamine chondroitin; its molecular structure is too big to be absorbed. Furthermore, take glucosamine sulphate with MSM. Methyl Sulfonyl Methane (MSM) improves the absorption of glucosamine sulphate. You may not notice any quick improvement with glucosamine sulphate since it takes about 3-4 weeks to show any results.
And finally, chiropractic treatments are an excellent way to prevent osteoarthritis and maintain any farther degradation of osteoarthritis. Chiropractic treatments improve joint mobility and increase the range of motion which is critical in creating osmosis and pressure gradient. Chiropractic treatments also restore restricted joints to their normal state of function and movement.
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