Tips For Healthy Joints and Pain Management
Do you experience chronic pain from your joints?
Does your body take time to recover after exercise or injury?
Have you tried several things but have not felt a noticeable difference?
We spend a lot of time thinking about joint health and wanted to share some tips for creating healthy, pain -free joints with you!
1. Stretch and stay active.
- Stretching helps to reduce tension in the muscles and helps to improve range of motion and overall mobility, all of which can help prevent the worsening of pain and improve pain.[1]
- A simple way to start would be to try Yoga or a 5-minute stretching routine before bed or as part of your morning routine.
2. Reduce stress.
- Studies have shown that when you are stressed, you have a heightened sense of pain [2], meaning that when you are stressed you feel more pain than usual.
- A simple way to reduce stress is by practicing diaphragmatic (deep belly) breathing. Breathe in for two counts, hold for one and then slowly release. This type of breathing can help slow your heart rate, improve oxygen intake, and reduce the stress in your body.
3. Improve sleep.
- Poor sleep has been linked with increased pain and there is some research showing that improving sleep can reduce pain.[3]
- A simple way to tackle this is to avoid caffeine at least 7 hours before bedtime and blue light for 2 hours before bedtime[4]. Another effective remedy for sleep troubles is a supplement, we created Deep Sleep capsules with gentle ingredients like reishi mushroom that are non-habit forming. Our Deep Sleep product was formulated with a unique blend of ingredients that can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.
4. Try natural health supplements that can help to reduce pain.
- At Genuine Health, we know how overwhelming and confusing it can be to pick a product that may be right for you. That is why we decided to include a quick description of our products for pain!
- A natural, fast, and highly effective way to improve mobility in your joints that has been limited by joint pain and stiffness. NEM (Natural Eggshell Membrane) provides collagen rich in regenerative proteins with glucosamine and chondroitin for improved long-term joint health.
Fast Joint Care with Fermented Turmeric
- The same NEM from fast joint care but with the addition of fermented turmeric this formula goes to work by targeting inflammation. Genuine Health uses fermented turmeric for quick absorption and the NEM provides collagen rich in regenerative proteins with glucosamine and chondroitin
- Fast Arthritis repairs joint damage with, AvoVida®, an avocado extract that will support degenerative changes in osteoarthritis. Bromelain, a natural enzyme found in pineapples, is highly anti-inflammatory, and NEM (Natural Eggshell Membrane) is a rich source of collagen which provides regenerative proteins in combination with glucosamine and chondroitin. You can treat your body naturally and stop taking ibuprofen!
- Finally, Collagen can also help improve pain. Genuine Health Clean Collagen is unflavoured so it is easy to add to your daily routine, mix into your coffee, smoothie or soup, it is soluble hot or cold. One serving of Clean Collagen each day helps to protect against collagen loss and improve skin hydration, joint health, hair, and nails![5], [6],[7]
If none of these approaches are providing relief, then you should go back to your health practitioner to address underlying conditions that might be contributing to your pain.
Pain can be incredibly challenging to deal with and can have a significant impact on our everyday lives, as well as our overall quality of life. Pain is important as our body’s way of telling us that something might be going on. Pain is there to warn us or give us a little nudge in the right direction when our body wants us to do better and to take better care of ourselves and our bodies. We hope these suggestions help you to find relief and eliminate your joint pain and get back to the things that bring you joy!
References:
- Page P. Current concepts in muscle stretching for exercise and rehabilitation. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2012 Feb;7(1):109-19. PMID: 22319684; PMCID: PMC3273886.
- Geva, N, et al. “Acute Psychosocial Stress Reduces Pain Modulation Capabilities in Healthy Men.” Advances in Pediatrics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25250721.
- Choy, E. The role of sleep in pain and fibromyalgia. Nat Rev Rheumatol 11, 513–520 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2015.56.
- Shechter A, Kim EW, St-Onge MP, Westwood AJ. Blocking nocturnal blue light for insomnia: A randomized controlled trial. J Psychiatr Res. 2018 Jan;96:196-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.10.015. Epub 2017 Oct 21. PMID: 29101797; PMCID: PMC5703049.
- Bello AE, Oesser S. Collagen hydrolysate for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other joint disorders: a review of the literature. Curr Med Res Opin. 2006 Nov;22(11):2221-32.
- Dar, Qurratul-Ain, et al. "Daily oral consumption of hydrolyzed type 1 collagen is chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory in murine posttraumatic osteoarthritis." PloS one 12.4 (2017): e0174705.
- Denise Zdzieblik, Steffen Oesser, Albert Gollhofer, and Daniel Koenig. Corrigendum: Improvement of activity-related knee joint discomfort following supplementation of specific collagen peptides. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.
