Is Joint Pain Relief Product an Answer to Your Arthritis?

It’s three o’clock in the morning, and you’re wide awake. Your joints are incredibly painful, and they’re letting you know they’re not a bit happy about it. Neither are you – you’ve got to get up and function the next day, and no sleep, on top of arthritis pain, is a real show-stopper. So, what do you do? You get up and take whatever pain relief product you have handy, and hope it will at least let you get some sleep.

Does this sound familiar? If you’re one of the 21 million Americans suffering from osteoarthritis, it pretty much describes how you live. You don’t have to be in agony all the time; there are products providing pain relief, and possibly total alleviation (but no cure) out there – you just have to find the ones right for you.

Pain Relief Products

The first, and easiest, choices for pain relief are the over-the-counter medications – Bayer, Tylenol, Advil or Motrin, or Aleve. These are the brand names for the most common analgesics available, namely aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and sodium naproxen. All of these medications can provide some relief, but it’s not long-lasting, and it comes with nasty side effects, such as stomach pain, or liver and kidney damage.

A better choice is glucosamine sulfate, available in a variety of joint pain treatments. But be careful when buying a supplement. Most glucosamine-containing supplements sold in the US are glucosamine hydrochloride, NOT glucosamine sulfate.

Glucosamine hydrochloride has been proven, both in the US and in Europe, to be totally ineffective in treating arthritis. European research, however, has proven the glucosamine sulfate supplements to be effective, so much so it has become the first line of defense in arthritis treatment across the Atlantic. Glucosamine sulfate is both an analgesic and a treatment osteoarthritis and knee. It reduces pain, and it builds healthy cartilage. It takes longer to work than an OTC, but it lasts longer when it kicks in. When you go shopping, either online or in a brick-and-mortar store, READ THE LABELS. Don’t waste your time or money on a supplement with glucsoamine hydrochloride. Supplements including chondritin sulfate, or MSM are also very effective, but glucosamine sulfate by itself, or with MSM but not chondritin, is the most effective.

What Works For You?

The only one who can answer this question is you. When searching for a treatment, keep a journal. A journal allows you to track the effectiveness of a supplement over time, and provides you with empirical evidence of your treatment’s benefits. A journal also allows you to track triggers for your pain – do you have flare-ups after eating certain foods? Do you have flare-ups after certain activities? Tracking all these things in a journal lets you formulate a treatment effective for your arthritis, not for Joe Blow. Medications and supplements are marketed to the most people with a condition, not to individuals. And most diseases, arthritis included, can respond to the same treatments. You may be different, and find no relief from the common treatments; in this case, you need to become your own health practitioner, and start looking for the treatments effective for your particular brand of arthritis. You’ll need advice from knowledgeable folks as you journey down this path, so find a holistic physician, a naturopath, and a friendly local health food store, with a staff that knows whereof it speaks. A holistic physician is necessary, as you may find a combination of allopathic and alternative treatments are needed to give you relief.

Conclusion

There are a myriad of treatments available for arthritis. Finding what works for you is a matter of trial and error, and good record-keeping on your part. Educate yourself on what’s out there, and question your practitioners as to why they recommend what they do, and what can you expect from the therapy. Don’t be afraid to change practitioners, either; an environment of mutual respect is the best one for working out your needs. Find people you trust, and whose experience you respect, and walk confidently down the path to a healthier you.