As we get older, our bodies start to break down and aches and pains start to become part of our everyday lives. The areas that seem to take the most abuse are the joints, with arthritis, inflammation and stiffness making tasks that we used to find easy to perform, painful and uncomfortable. The good news is that there are steps we can take to prevent deterioration of the joints, or help improve the health of our aching knees and elbows in a relatively short time.

It’s a good idea to think of your body as an engine and realize that if you don’t look after it and provide it with the proper fuels and lubrication, it will begin to fall apart on you. A low-impact exercise routine should become part of your daily schedule with yoga and stretching exercises being particularly helpful in the care of your joints. Food intake also plays a very important part in the overall health of your body, with many different foods proving effective in the battle against deteriorating joints.

1. Fatty acids, particularly omega 3’s, have long been known to be very good for many parts of the body; studies have revealed that omega 3’s contribute to a healthy heart, as well as a healthy mind. They are also good for the joints, and increasing your intake of certain seafood’s will provide your body with those essential fatty acids. Salmon and sardines are rich in omega 3’s, but it’s not just fish lovers that will benefit; almonds, whole grains, green vegetables and seeds will also do the trick.
2. Glucosamine has also been shown to aid in joint health, and adding a daily supplement to your diet will help you reach the necessary intake. If taking a supplement doesn’t appeal to you, then eating shrimp, which are high in glucosamine, will help.
3. Antioxidants are also key in joint health, and those can be most commonly found in foods that are high in vitamins A, C, E, as well as selenium.
4. Fruits and vegetables are extremely high in vitamin C with grapefruit, orange, pineapple, asparagus, red peppers and broccoli being the most common.
5. For vitamin E, avocados, whole-grain breads and cereals are your best bet, and to get your selenium intake, go with salmon (also with omega 3’s; a double whammy), oatmeal and brown rice.

By choosing to adopt this healthier lifestyle, you won’t only notice an improvement in your joints, but also in your overall health as many of the aforementioned foods are good for parts of the body other than your joints. It’s important to keep on with it even after you start to feel better because, just like that engine, the problems can quickly flare back up if proper maintenance doesn’t become a regular habit.

We just had to share this video. Check out Remmy the Bear’s best attempt at pronouncing this ever-elusive pronounciation of Acai!

The knee is a complicated joint because of all the muscle that attachment and cross the knee joint. It is no wonder that joint pain in the knee is quite common.

The major muscles in this category are:

• quadratus femoris
  
• rectus femoris
  
• vastus lateralis
  
• vastus medialis
  
• vastus intermedius
  
• biceps femoris,
  
• semitendinosus,
  
• semimembranosus
  
• gracilis
  
• sartorius
  
• gastrocnemius
• popliteus
  
• plantaris
  
• tibialis anterior and posterior
  
• extensor digitorum longus

These are a few of our favorite stretches for this area:

1. Stand, placing the front (ball of foot) of your right foot on a step or curb. Keeping your knees and back straight, bend over to touch your toes. (If you can’t touch your toes bend as far as comfortable). Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with other foot
2. Stand with lower back against an exercise ball of about 25 inches that rests against a wall. Feet are shoulder-width apart and a comfortable distance from the wall. Body is erect. Slowly bend knees and lower body until thighs are parallel with the floor do not go lower and do not allow knees to extend beyond feet. Keeps abs contracted and back straight.Pause at the bottom, then roll back up. Repeat 8–12 times, working up to 2 sets.
3. Stand about a foot from a wall (or other solid object) and place your hands on the wall at shoulder-height, shoulder-width apart., Take a step back with your right foot while pushing into the wall. Keep your back straight and press your right heel into the floor. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with other foot.
4. Sit on the floor with one leg out straight. Bend the other leg at the knee and press the sole of that foot against your opposite inner thigh. Bend at the waist keeping your back straight and touch the toes of your extended leg. (If you can not touch your toes reach as far as comfortable.) Hold 20 seconds, relax. Then stretch the other leg.
5. Stand. Keep back straight, knees hip-width apart and pointing straight ahead. Slowly lower and move your buttocks backward as if you were sitting in a chair (don’t bend your knees beyond a 90-degree angle, if 90 degrees is too difficult bend even less). Hold position for a count of 5. Do ten squats. Stop if you feel pain in your knees.
6. To stretch left calf muscle, step back with left leg, forward with right. Bend right knee (keep left leg and back in a straight line as you lean forward) until you feel a gentle stretch in the left calf. Do not roll foot out to side. Keep heel flat, foot forward. Hold 30 seconds. Repeat on other side.
7. Sit in chair, with knees bent to 45 degrees and heels on floor (toes lifted up). Don’t move heels but pull back on them, digging heels into floor. You will feel tension in you hamstrings. Hold for count of 5 – 10 seconds. Relax for count of 3. Do 10 repetitions.

Today, we bring to you, a guest post by William Cresie Jr. LMT, William specializes neuromuscular and stretching and we are lucky to have him share his weath of knowledge on the HJC blog.

The hip is a common area related to joint pain. The most common muscles associated with this area are: Piriformis, Obturator Internus, Obturator Externus, Gemellus Superior, Gemellus Inferior, Quadratus Femoris. These are classified as the “Deep 6 Lateral Rotators of the Hip” and are most common for entrapment of the sciatic nerve and other hip pain. The Gluteus Maximus, Gluteus Minimus, Gluteus Medius, TFL, Psoas Major, Adductor Longus, Adductor Magnus, Adductor Brevis, Pectineus, Iliacus, Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Intermedius, Vastus Medialis and Sartorius are also asscociated with the hip area.

Try the following stretches to eliminate tightness and pain.

1) You will need to be by a bed, start with one foot flat on the ground and the other leg will be bent at the knee and placed on the bed with foot outward, line center of chest even with knee, chin straight with correct posture bend slowly till chest meets knee or as far as you can stretch. You should feel this in your buttock area.

2) Lay flat on your back, place the foot of the leg to be stretched on the opposite knee, Place the opposite hand on the knee, pull the knee towards the opposite side, hold for 40 seconds and repeat 3 times each leg.

3) Start on your knees with hand against a wall for support, bring the left knee up into a lunge position, lunge forward to stretch hip muscles, hold for 60 seconds then switch to other side.

4) You need to be by a bed, start facing away from bed then lift right foot up and place on bed, stand straight, rotate pelvis backward, tighten buttocks and place right hand on top of buttock and squeeze, then bend you left knee.

5) Sit on the ground with legs bent in front of you and feet meeting near the center of your chest (butterfly position), take forearms and push on the medial side of your knee to push knees down to ground, the closer you can get your feet to the pelvic area the better.

For more information on Hip Pain please visit medline plus and visit your local health facilities. Remember, seek professional medical advice before starting any type of psychical activities, including stretching!

William Cresie, LMT
EmJoy Massage Therapy, LLC
Milford Massage

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Dog Arthritis Overview – Caring for Canines

Pet’s are like children in the regard that if your dog or cat ever has an injury, it is very painful to witness. We treat our dogs and cats with all the love and compassion we possible can. Whenever they get a little sluggish or peaked we start looking for ways to fix it. Dog arthritis is a very common ailment for older pets. For those of you who have experienced a pet faced with early onset arthritis, you know what a blow the diagnosis can be. We know Syn-Flex can be a godsend for this and wanted to publish a “run-down” on arthritis in dogs.

Arthritis is generally defined as the inflammation of one or more joints, which results in swelling, pain, stiffness, and inhibited movement. Among older dogs over the age of 7 years, it’s commonly caused by the wear and tear of cartilage. As dogs get older, their joints are weakened. However, dog arthritis is not only limited to older dogs. Surprisingly, arthritis can also occur in younger dogs or even puppies. Some certain larger breeds including German Shepherds, Labradors and Golden Retrievers are said to be more prone to canine arthritis.

Causes

Old age. According to statistics, every dog has a 65% chance of acquiring canine arthritis as it reaches 7 to 11 years of age.

Lack of proper nutrition. Just like humans, dogs also need the right amount of vitamins and minerals to stay healthy. Protein is especially very important to keep their bones and joints in good shape.

Being overweight. Many owners feed their dogs left over food that are quite unhealthy. As a result, they don’t get the necessary nutrition and they gain a lot of weight.

Broken bones or injuries affecting the joints. Dogs that were previously injured due to an accident are more likely to develop arthritis. When a dog is injured, it is very crucial for them to receive professional care to make sure they are diagnosed correctly and treated accordingly.

Infectious disease. Canine arthritis can also be cause by an infectious disease such as lyme disease.

Genetic problem. Arthritis can be inherited. It’s not a good idea to breed dogs with arthritis because their offspring are likely to develop this same disease.

Symptoms

Decreased physical activity. Dogs suffering from arthritis may appear lazy. Because of the pain, they become reluctant to move about. Simple movements like getting up and down could be difficult. They limp while walking.

Loss of appetite. Arthritis can affect the dog’s appetite. Weight loss might be observed.

Pain and fever. These are serious signs that the dog is suffering from an advanced stage of arthritis or another disease.

Other signs are stiff or swollen joints, sensitivity to cold and noticeable changes in the behavior.

Treatment

Dogs suffering from arthritis need professional help because the pain will significantly affect their lives.

Healthy diet and regular exercise. A well balance diet will help avoid weight gain while regular exercise will strengthen the muscles and cartilage. Walking will help increase the blood flow through the joints.

Glucosamine: Great Healer for Dogs

In recent years Glucosamine is being increasingly used as a very popular food supplement for dogs and it has proved to be a great healer for the pets.

The most common conditions where Glucosamine is given to dogs are the diseases related to joints and of them Osteoarthritis is at first place, and like for humans it is quite effective in dogs as well. Osteoarthritis affects different joints in dogs and the most common of them is the hip joint and the condition associated is called Hip Dysplasia. It occurs when the cartilage in the joint undergoes wear and tear resulting in bone to bone contact leading to severe pain. This disease is commonly found in dogs of larger breeds and even ageing dogs are prone to having arthritis. Moreover, dogs with age develop the arthritis of knees, shoulders and elbows. All these conditions occur due to low levels of glucosamine and chondroitin in the cartilage and they can easily be prevented if proper these ‘nutraceuticals’ are given to the pets in time.

Glucosamine is also prescribed to dogs for treating the spinal disc injuries and post-operatively to the dogs that have undergone joint surgery.

Dog owners may have range of questions associated with glucosamine for dogs and here in this article we have tried to address those concerns.

Does Glucosamine really work for dogs?

Hundreds of studies conducted across Europe have shown that glucosamine is very beneficial for joint related studies and it not only repairs and restores the cartilage in healthy state but maintains the health of joints. And the studies have also shown that it works the same way in dogs as it helps humans. Though in the US not much work has been done on the product, but now many studies are underway and the initial results are quite encouraging.

Can Glucosamine be added to pain killers or other drugs for dogs?

It is very common pets are put on pain-killers or NSAIDs whenever they show the signs of pain in joints and it is with time that they are put on glucosamine. It is better not to withdraw the medication at once when glucosamine is started, but the dose of drug may slowly be reduced over a period of six weeks. However, there may be situations your pet is suffering from severe pain, so in that case it is always better to add low doses of buffered aspirin for relief. Moreover, glucosamine is also quite safe with other supplements like multi-vitamins, fatty acids and minerals.

It is always advisable to consult your veterinarian whenever you want to put your dog on supplement or drug, and make sure that it is properly recorded in its medical history.

How Much Glucosamine for my Dog?

It is a always a good idea to follow the instructions of your veterinarian or label on the product. Actually the dosage of glucosamine for dogs is based upon dog weight. Generally, a standard dose per pound dog weight is approximately 10 mg daily. If your dog weighs for example 40 to 50 lbs., it may be given upto 500 mg daily. You can increase or decrease dose depending upon its weight. It is also a good idea to split the daily intake into two doses administered after an interval of 12 hours.

What are different methods for administering glucosamine and which is better?

Glucosamine can be administered to dogs in the form of pills or liquids. Pills are either mixed with the food or given directly to swallow. Liquid is generally sprinkled over the food. It has been observed that liquid is favored by owners as well as by dogs considering the ease with which they can be administered. Moreover, it is also a fact that pills can get stuck in the teeth and liquid glucosamine dissolves better in the organism than pills, so liquid glucosamine supplements are preferred over pills. In addition, once glucosamine is poured over the food, we can make sure that our pet doesn’t spit it later.

Are there any symptoms or side effects when dogs are given glucosamine?

There are no symptoms or side effects associated with glucosamine when it is given to dogs. Though, there have been cases when some a dog will show the signs of vomiting or diarrhea. This generally occurs in situations when a dog is given a strong dose in the beginning itself, so it can be controlled by reducing the dosage. However, it is always good to consult your veterinarian before you start giving any new drug or supplement to your beloved dog.

It is quite possible that you have heard about Glucosamine or Chondritin before, if you are the one who is directly or indirectly affected by the joint problems or any type of inflammatory diseases like arthritis. May be you have been suffering from such problems or someone from your family has undergone the sufferings and agony related to these joint related conditions.

It is also possible that when you were told or you read somewhere about the facts related to Glucosamine, you found them too good to be true, so decided to take it lightly or keep away from them. So it becomes quite imperative to know the facts about human bone structure and Glusosamine before deciding to go for glucosamine supplements. Here, we would like to talk about Ten Things You Never About Glucosamine and will leave it for you to decide your future opinion about them.

1 ) What is Glucosamine?

Glucosamine is a naturally modified sugar, synthesized by the cells of body. It is the only very important component and precursor of GlycosAminoGlycans (GAG). It is also necessary for the formation of collagen. Cartilage cells (chondrocytes) synthesize glucosamine from glucose (blood sugar) and from amino acids – glutamine.

2 ) Why we need Glucosamine, if it is produced naturally by body cells?

It is quite true that Glucosamine is synthesized naturally by the cells of joints. Can our chondrocytes not simply produce enough glucosamine, if it is required for restoration of cartilage?

The answer is yes as well as no. If you are young and healthy, the answer is yes otherwise it would be no. In the process of degeneration of joints and in case of arthritis, chondrocytes have a tendency towards harming the cartilage. Formation of new cartilage doesn’t take place simultaneously with the process of decay. If the joint is seriously damaged, chondrocytes stop synthesizing glucosamine. Why? The reason may be because of ‘bad’ cytokines and prostaglandins, which by biochemical reactions can lead to the decaying of cartilage.

3 ) How does Glucosamine dietary supplement facilitate the restoration of cartilage?

The advantage of using glucosamine as a dietary supplement is that it can be captured by chondrocytes and used to building new cartilage. Moreover, there are convincing evidences that the additional amount of glucosamine can play the role of a switch and make sure that the chondrocytes stopped decaying the cartilage and instead facilitated its restoration.

The reason behind it is that glucosamine can be completely absorbed from intestines into the blood-vascular system. Like other nutrients, some of the glucosamine makes its way into the synovial fluid and blood vessels in subchondral bone, where it penetrates into the cartilage.

There chondrocytes vigorously absorb glucosamine, and thus begins the synthesis of new collagen and GAG. So, now it is up to chondrocytes to decide whether or not they should synthesize additional cartilage, depending upon how much glucosamine is at their disposal: more glucosamine means – more restoration of cartilage, and lesser will mean lesser restoration.

This was, glucosamine, in whatever form you take, facilitates chondrocytes to restore, repair and maintain the healthy condition of your joints.

4 ) What are the conditions associated with low levels of glucosamine?

Though there are many medical conditions associated with the low level of glucosamine in human body, but the main categories include:

- stiffening of joints

- pain during movement of limbs

- bone spurs

- hardening of cartilage

- joint deformities

If not controlled in time, all the above conditions can lead to serious forms of arthritis, which with time become more and more difficult to treat.

5 ) What is the history of clinical studies confirming that Glucosamine restores joints?

Majority of clinical studies on glucosamine and osteoarthritis were initially conducted in Europe. Pharmaceutical companies quickly started appreciating the importance of glucosamine and patented their research studies.

One of the first reports came from G. Crolle, M.D. and E. D’Este, M.D., Hospital ‘G. B. Giustinian’, 1st Medical Division, Venice, Italy. In 1980, they conducted controlled trial on 30 elderly patients (above 70 years age) suffering from osteoarthritis. For 3 weeks, half of them were given glucosamine, whereas others were treated with standard painkillers. Both the groups showed significant relief from joint pain and improved movement. However, after cessation of treatment, during maintenance period health of patients, treated with glucosamine, showed signs of improvement, while nothing like that happened in the other group.

As a result, after complete administration of treatment, symptoms of disappeared fully in four of the patients treated with glucosamine, whereas there was not a single such case in patients treated with standard drugs.

This study shows that glucosamine not only restores the joints but even in severe degenerative conditions, glucosamine can eliminate pain like strong pain killers, that too within a duration as short as three weeks.

Since then, hundreds of other studies have been conducted and are still continuing to find out more about glucosamine. It has been observed that most of them have strongly recommended the usage of glucosamine as diet supplement for treating and even preventing the possible osteoarthritis.

6 ) Can glucosamine accelerate wound healing?

Researchers from Columbia University in New York have found that glucosamine if applied directly to surgical wounds accelerates their healing by 10%. One can certainly say that this is not good enough to be considered as a wound healer, but it is also a fact that there are not many things around that would accelerate the healing of wounds more significantly.

When the surgical wounds are treated with chitin (found in cell walls fungi, base of exoskeleton of crabs, lobsters and insects), healing was 30% much faster. A remarkable coincidence: as chitin is a polymer that includes glucosamine. Researchers believe that after chitin is introduced into the healing tissue the enzymes, which generally facilitate the process of healing, as per requirement release glucosamine from chitin. The data in this series of experiments is consistent with the results of experiments on adding glucosamine to the culture of cartilage tissues. In other words if the tissues being healed have sufficient level of glucosamine, the wounds get healed quicker.

7 ) Is Glucosamine an anti-inflammatory drug?

Many studies in animals have shown that glucosamine is not a pain killer like aspirin or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). How we explain the results of clinical studies in which patients got complete relief from pain after they were given glucosamine? Now, after many studies it has been established that glucosamine in some way can be called an anti inflammatory substance. But it doesn’t work like aspirin, NSAID’s or corticosteroids. Unlike these drugs, glucosamine in high doses inhibits the formation of free radicals and suppresses the quantity of dangerous enzymes, released during inflammation.

This concept was confirmed when glucosamine was orally given to rats, and it prevented them from developing arthritis induced by chemicals. These models simulate arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in humans. Unfortunately, no clinical trials have been conducted yet to asses the effects of glucosamine on rheumatoid arthritis.

Drugs generally used for arthritic pain relief, in fact, suppress the recovery of cartilage. Clinical studies have shown that glucosamine sulfate can partially restore the damage caused by aspirin and NSAIDs (including ibuprofen). This goes on to prove why people suffering from joint problems get relief by adding glucosamine as a supplement to their diet.

In European countries glucosamine is currently a very popular drug for treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases of bones and joints viz. tendovaginitis, myositis, osteoarthritis, arthritis, and degenerative disc disease.

8  ) Is glucosamine a FDA approved drug?

Glucosamine products are already being consumed as diet supplements, and going through the procedures of getting it approved as a drug will be time consuming with financial expenditures. No sensible company (in financial terms) would want to carry the trouble of getting it transferred to drugs from the category of dietary supplements. This also makes sense for the consumers also as labeling of glucosamine as drug will make it a costly affair. So, it is better for all that glucosamine is not labeled as a drug for many more years to come.

9 ) Can doctors prescribe glucosamine?

Yes, doctors have the right and privilege to prescribe any ‘thing’ they deem suitable for better health of patients. Thus, your doctor may recommend you to take glucosamine in the form and compound he considers suitable depending upon your individual parameters and prescribe the dosage. Generally, if you have enough knowledge about glucosamine, you can buy glucosamine supplement for any purpose you consider necessary. Till the time manufacturers don’t apply for its approval as a drug, glucosamine in different forms is sold completely freely as per law.

10 ) Which glucosamine compound and which of its forms are best?

As we have already talked about diet supplements of glucosamine, and they are the best way to raise the level of this vital nutrient in your body.

There are mainly three types of glucosamine compounds available: glucosamine hydrochloride, glucosamine sulfate, and N-acetylglucosamine (N-AG).

It has been observed that no matter whatever the compound of glucosamine – sulfate, hydrochloride, or something else. Virtually, there is difference between different forms of glucosamine supplements. This has been established in experiments with cell cultures of cartilage tissues. All the compounds act equally, of course if the ratio of glucosamine is kept the same.

Some manufacturers claim that glucosamine sulfate is the most effective and thus most preferred form of glucosamine. But the fact remains, sulfates (and other ions like hydrochloride) are used for different purposes and they get separated from glucosamine during digestion. Sulfate gets excreted from the body and virtually has no effect on cartilage.

Different manufacturers put forward different arguments while promoting their products regarding in which form the nutrient must be taken. Some say liquid is better for better digestion, others favor injections or tablets, but the fact remains in whatever form you take, glucosamine supplement is definitely going to help you not only get rid of your everyday agony but make your joints healthy also.