The safest, most effective therapies for optimal health!

by Ellen Landauer

How to Help Joint Pain Naturally

How to help joint pain naturally is a question I have been asked many times by customers and coaching clients.

when you know how to help joint pain, life is more enjoyable

In this article, I will be reviewing the most commonly offered 'solutions,' and offering you information ignored or dismissed by most advice you may see online.

Do you just want to mask discomfort - or actually achieve the maximum REAL HEALING that is possible in your particular situation?

Most of the 'natural' solutions on how to help joint pain proffered by sites at the top of the search listings are PALLIATIVE - i.e. do not SOLVE anything much - just help people to be more COMFORTABLE 'living with it.'

So you get to have less discomfort in an area of your body that is continuing to deteriorate! To me, there is nothing 'natural' about such an approach - by not providing certain vital information - it is duplicitous.

How to Help Joint Pain:
What THEY Say

If your online search for how to help joint pain has left you uninspired, you're not alone.

When you search online, the top sites you are presented with all give pretty much the same cookie-cutter answers.

I did a search on the phrase 'how to help joint pain,' and the first 63 sites listed had NOTHING original to say.

None of them aimed high to provide info that could give you the greatest possible benefit. Some of the recommendations, particularly on nutrition, are actually harmful. Articles purporting to advise on natural healing commonly listed drugs like nsaids (non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs like Aleve acetaminophen).

Those first 63 sites in the search (on DuckDuckGo no less) all gave the same bland suggestions I list below along with my comments on them:

Ice. Rest. Heat. Capsaicin creams. Exercise to lose weight and take burden off joints - low impact such as cycling and swimming. (1)

They say 'take tumeric and ginger, eat vegetables, nuts, seeds and grains.' In other words, consume lots of plant toxins like lectins and oxalates - which by the way destroy bones, ligaments and cartilage - as well as ANY part of you!

Also commonly found are such gems as, 'Don't eat sugar and candy.' How clueless do they think we are??!!

The exercise and losing extra weight is obviously good. Ice, rest and heat are fine when applied appropriately to the individual's situation. None of what you are being presented with in those top 63 sites goes nearly far enough AND much of it is wrong!

How to Help Joint Pain: Capsaicin

Topical (applied to the skin) capsaicin creams are another 'natural healing' option offered by the mass consumption sites for how to help joint pain.

This is one of many PALLIATIVE 'solutions' that masks pain but does not heal. You can use capsaicin repeatedly but no real healing will take place. Sure - some increased circulation and inflammation results - but no real repair except what your body can do under the circumstances.

The capsaicin cream idea is dubious. Hot peppers from which capsaicin is derived contain VERY high amounts of oxalates - which are quickly gaining a reputation for CAUSING musculoskeletal damage, among many other ills.

One would need to determine if the capsaicin in the cream 1) contains oxalates and 2) has any damaging effects due to the fact that it is an irritant.

The irritation felt in the tissues upon application of capsaicin cream temporarily drowns out the discomfort in knees or other areas to which it is applied. The relief from said creams are touted to result from body response of secreting more endorphins. Among the reasons endorphins are released is in response to bodily trauma.

Other topical cream offerings include:

Salycilates (pain-relieving compound found in aspirin). Drugs with this compound can be taken orally or applied topically - and are commonly used by people trying to find how to help joint pain. Salicylates are extremely toxic with many undesireable side effects. (2)

Counterirritants such as menthol and camphor which produce a short lived sensation of hot or cold to mask pain.

Topical anesthetics are another class of over-the-counter creams - used to create numbness.

I understand using such drugs temporarily, however none of the above promotes repair and healing.

How to Help Joint Pain:
'Pain Management'

The top search results sites list various drugs for 'pain management' - i.e. living with bodily deterioration more comfortably. It does not denote real healing.

I am not against pain reduction! However, it should be combined with efforts to explore every avenue of healing - of helping your body repair process to bring health to your joints.

Most top articles on how to help joint pain suggest use of muscle relaxants, nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as Acetominophin (liver and kidney damage is common), cortisone (cartilage damage, death of nearby bone, thinning of nearby bone, nerve damage, thinning of skin and soft tissue around injection site, tendon weakening or rupture, joint infection, etc.), antidepressants (block normal neurotransmitter production and function), and more. (3)

How to Help Joint Pain: Nutrition

I applaud the idea of using nutritional strategies - however, most information on how to help joint pain through food choices is not only woefully inadequate - but enthusiastically encourages you to eat foods that WILL worsen symptoms AND contribute to cartilage and bone breakdown!

One typical article (4) on 'how to treat osteoarthritis naturally' says to transition to an anti-inflammatory lifestyle, removing wheat products, trans-fats, synthetic foods and excessive sugars. That is very limited advice for mass consumption.

It then proceeds to tell you which foods are very good for compromised ligaments, bone and cartilage: nuts, seeds, 'colorful vegetables,' and leafy greens.

Nuts and seeds are VERY high in oxalates, lectins, phytates, phytosterols and other dangerous plant toxins. Oxalates CAUSE joint damage and much more.

Leafy greens - WHICH ones? They don't tell you to avoid kale and spinach - loaded with oxalates and other plant toxins that destroy joints. 'Colorful vegetables?' Would that include red cabbage high in goitrogens to compromise thyroid function - or beets brimming with oxalates, fiber and saponins?

For omega-3, they suggest organic and grass-fed beef (good), wild-caught salmon (pretty good - but all contain heavy metals), organically-farmed salmon (no - bogus), and walnuts (most are rancid), chia, flax and hemp seeds (extremely high in lectins, oxalates, phytates and phytosterols toxins that destroy health - and also usually rancid).

All the above foods except the beef and salmon are very high in fiber (5) (6), an irritant which damages intestinal walls, CAUSES constipation and prevents absorption of vitamins, minerals, proteins, that omega-3 and other nutrients you need for real healing.

Another bland suggestion is 'modified ketogenic diet.' Keto diet has been hijacked by the conventional food industry so they can sell you high-priced processed keto junk foods with lots of cheap seed oils, chemical 'flavorings,' fructose, grains, nuts and soy.

They say 'cut down on sugary foods and limit these to 1 fruit and 1 portion of starchy foods, such as sweet potatoes, yam, quinoa, or buckwheat per day.' (Fruit is sugar, water and fiber and ALL fruits, even berries are FAR too high in sugar. Sweet potatoes, yams, quinoa and buckwheat are SKY HIGH in oxalates and other damaging plant toxins. Quinoa is very high in saponins, another toxin they're not mentioning)!

REAL keto/carnivore diet foods are the following: pasture raised and finished beef and lamb, raw full-fat grassfed dairy, pasture-raised poultry and eggs, a little wild-caught fish (if you must) and a few ounces of plant foods or spices (if you insist you need them for adding flavor and interest to your foods).

For LOTS more info on species-appropriate human nutrition, see my Diet and Nutrition articles.

Adding Amino Acids and Vitamins/Minerals to your self care program can boost your body's ability to heal.

REFERENCES

(1) https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/guide/joint-pain

(2) https://www.goodrx.com/aspirin/salicylate-toxicity

(3) https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cortisone-shots/about/pac-20384794

(4) https://www.foodmatters.com/a-to-z-conditions/wellness-guide/how-to-treat-osteoarthritis-naturally

(5) https://www.peak-health-now.com/fiber-and-constipation.html

(6) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqUO4P9ADI0

Ellen Landauer is an expert with over 40 years in-depth study and experience of the safe and effective use of nutritional supplements, botanical extracts and detoxification methods.

She is Certified as an Advanced Practitioner of Structural Integration body therapy developed by Dr. Ida P. Rolf - also known as Rolfing. This hands-on therapy is the deepest, most comprehensive body alignment therapy.

Ellen Landauer is also a PUBLISHED AUTHOR!

To learn more about Ellen Landauer, see her detailed bio HERE

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