60 Softgels
Osteoarthritis aches and pains
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a gradual chronic disease of the joints and most often affects the hips, knees, fingers, and spine. The disease is primarily associated with aging and injury and was once called “wear and tear” arthritis.

Symptoms—Pain is the main symptom, which usually worsens with exercise and is relieved by rest
Treatments—Relieve OA symptoms with hot soaks, warm paraffin applications, heating pads, and joint-support devices

Self-care for osteoarthritis can be approached in a number of ways—but it can be hard to know just where to start. To make it easier, our doctors recommend trying these simple steps first:

Help prevent joint damage with GS and CS
Take 1,500 mg a day of glucosamine sulfate, 800 to 1,200 mg a day of chondroitin sulfate, or a combination of the two, for pain and to protect joints
Use topical capsaicin
Treat discomfort with an ointment or cream containing 0.025 to 0.075% capsaicin four times a day over painful joints
Add antioxidants
Eat more fruits and vegetables and take 400 to 1,600 IU a day of vitamin E to put antioxidants to work protecting your joints
Get moving
Start a gentle program of walking and strengthening exercise to reduce pain and improve joint function

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full osteoarthritis article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease of the joints, especially the weight-bearing joints that develops when the linings of joints degenerate, leading to lipping and spurring of bone, pain, and decreased mobility and function.

OA is a universal consequence of aging among animals with a bony skeleton. Many factors contribute to the development of OA; the disease is primarily associated with aging and injury and was once called “wear-and-tear” arthritis. OA may occur secondary to many other conditions. However, in most cases, the true cause of OA is unknown.

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What are the symptoms of osteoarthritis?
The onset of OA is gradual and most often affects the hips, knees, fingers, and spine, although other joints also may be involved. Pain is the main symptom, which usually worsens with exercise and is relieved by rest. Morning stiffness is also common and diminishes with movement. As OA progresses, joint motion is lost, and tenderness and grating sensations may develop. OA of the spine may lead to shooting pains down the arms or legs.

Dietary changes that may be helpful
In the 1950s through the 1970s, Dr. Max Warmbrand used a diet free of meat, poultry, dairy, chemicals, sugar, eggs, and processed foods for people with rheumatoid arthritis and OA, anecdotally claiming significant success. He reported that clinical results took at least six months to develop. The Warmbrand diet has never been properly tested in clinical research. Moreover, although the diet is healthful and might reduce the risk of being diagnosed with many other diseases, it is difficult for most people to follow. This difficulty, plus the lack of published research, leads many doctors who are aware of the Warmbrand diet to use it only if other approaches have failed.

Solanine is a substance found in nightshade plants, including tomatoes, white potatoes, all peppers (except black pepper), and eggplant. In theory, if not destroyed in the intestine, solanine may be toxic. One horticulturist hypothesized that some people might not be able to destroy solanine in the gut, leading to solanine absorption and resulting in OA. This theory has not been proven. However, eliminating solanine from the diet has been reported to bring relief to some arthritis sufferers in preliminary research. In a survey of people avoiding nightshade plants, 28% claimed to have a “marked positive response” and another 44% a “positive response.” Researchers have never put this diet to a strict clinical test; however, the treatment continues to be used by some doctors with patients who have OA. As with the Warmbrand diet, proponents claim exclusion of solanine requires up to six months before potential effects may be seen. Totally eliminating tomatoes and peppers requires complex dietary changes for most people. In addition, even proponents of the diet acknowledge that many arthritis sufferers are not helped by using this approach. Therefore, long-term trial avoidance of solanine-containing foods may be appropriate only for people with OA who have not responded to other natural treatments.

Most of the studies linking allergies to joint disease have focused on rheumatoid arthritis, although mention of what was called “rheumatism” in older reports (some of which may have been OA) suggests a possible link between food reactions and aggravations of OA symptoms. If other therapies are unsuccessful in relieving symptoms, people with OA might choose to discuss food allergy identification and elimination with a physician.

Lifestyle changes that may be helpful
Obesity increases the risk of OA developing in weight-bearing joints, and weight loss in women is associated with reduced risk for developing OA. Weight loss is also thought to reduce the pain of existing OA.

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