8 tips to stop osteoarthritis from ruining your life

You aspired to an active retirement full of travel, exhibitions, walks, and playing with your grandchildren. Instead, you're plagued by a nagging pain that disrupts your life and prevents you from realizing your dreams.

Like nearly half of those over 65, you're affected by osteoarthritis, a debilitating condition that degrades cartilage.

However, despite common misconceptions, you're not condemned to suffer or remain confined to your couch.

Solutions exist to limit its progression, reduce pain, and make flare-ups less frequent.

1. Lace Up Your Sneakers

Contrary to what one might think, physical exercise is essential for preventing and relieving osteoarthritis.

It is necessary to continue to work your joints, maintain good muscle tone, and keep your weight in check.

Walking is perhaps the best way to stay active or become active again. It has been shown that walking for 30 minutes to an hour a day can significantly reduce mobility problems in people with osteoarthritis. Equip yourself with a pedometer and start with 3,000 steps per day. Gradually increase your distances to reach 10,000 steps. Make sure you have proper footwear with good cushioning.

If walking is a great start, keep it up by regularly engaging in activities that work your joints. It is crucial to keep your muscles toned, as they pull on the joints and drive movement. Aquagym, stretching, yoga, or pilates are particularly suitable because they gently work muscles and joints, improve posture, and help strengthen the abdominal and lower back muscles, which is essential for improving range of motion.

Avoid sports that cause repeated trauma: running, team ball sports, skiing, tennis, etc.

2. Reach Your Ideal Weight

Osteoarthritis is often associated with overweight and obesity. This is quite logical because extra pounds literally "weigh down" the joints, causing mechanical stress. But that's not the only reason. The accumulation of substances in fatty tissue - cytokines - that move, settle, and nest in the joints contributes to cartilage degradation. In short, adipose tissue is a reservoir of substances that generate osteoarthritis.

To reduce the load on the joints and combat the vicious circle induced by excess weight, it is essential to shed a few pounds.

To do this, adopt a balanced diet, drastically reduce your consumption of fast sugars and other high-glycemic index foods, and limit alcohol.

Physical activity will help you burn calories and increase your basal metabolism.

3. Make a Pact with Devil's Claw

Devil's claw is known to effectively relieve osteoarthritis pain thanks to its active principles: harpagoside, harpagide, procumboside, procumbide, which are anti-inflammatory and analgesic substances.

Studies have shown that it improves mobility while reducing pain. In addition, its use can limit or even eliminate the intake of anti-inflammatory medications with sometimes heavy side effects when taken long-term, as is the case for chronic conditions like osteoarthritis.

On a daily basis or during flare-ups, take the time to massage sensitive areas with a gel containing devil's claw to regain comfort and mobility.

4. Combine Collagen and Silica

A combination of chondroitin and glucosamine has long been recommended to combat osteoarthritis. However, several studies have shown the lack of effectiveness of this combination.

More recently, type II collagen has demonstrated its benefits in relieving pain and slowing cartilage wear.

In the form of tablets to swallow, type II collagen molecules have a triple helix structure that integrates food antigens on its surface. A small daily dose initiates oral tolerance that prevents joint aggression. By acting on the immune system in this way, undenatured type II collagen helps stop cartilage erosion, initiate tissue repair, and improve joint mobility and flexibility. Combined with silica and vitamin C, its results are significant in 70% of cases after 90 days of use.

5. Discover the Virtues of Blackcurrant

Used as an anti-inflammatory agent since at least the Middle Ages, as evidenced by the writings of Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a Benedictine abbess considered one of the first naturopaths, blackcurrant is a precious plant for people suffering from osteoarthritis.

Indeed, the flavonoids, proanthocyanidins, and anthocyanins it contains have the following virtues:

- Cleanse the joint system of accumulated toxins. They protect and regenerate cartilage and restore elasticity to the joints.

- Stimulate the adrenals and cortisol production, a powerful anti-inflammatory. They effectively combat osteoarthritis pain and limit cartilage wear.

Preferably use blackcurrant in the form of a suspension of fresh plants to fully benefit from its active principles.

6. Adopt New Dietary Habits

As osteoarthritis is a condition linked to inflammation, it is important to change your habits and adopt an anti-inflammatory diet.

Unfortunately, our modern diet is often too rich in polyunsaturated omega-6 fats, saturated fats, and sugars, which contribute to inflammation.

Give priority to omega-3s, which are real firefighters in the fight against inflammation. Include fatty and semi-fatty fish, rapeseed and linseed oil, nuts, in your diet. And, if necessary, do not hesitate to take supplements. In return, reduce your consumption of sunflower or grape seed oil, offal, and egg yolks.

Include 8 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. These provide the minerals and vitamins essential for good bone health. They are also rich in antioxidants (vitamins C, E, carotenoids, polyphenols) which neutralize reactive particles called free radicals associated with all inflammatory and painful phenomena. Cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, etc.) and berries are particularly anti-inflammatory.

Spice up your dishes. Cinnamon, black pepper, curry, and especially ginger and turmeric are anti-inflammatory. It's an opportunity to take your plate on a journey and discover Asian and Oriental flavors!

Regularly replace meat with plant proteins (tofu, tempeh, seitan, legumes, etc.)

Limit sugars and refined cereals. It has indeed been shown that high-glycemic index foods, as they contribute to creating hypoglycemia-induced oxidative stress, contribute to inflammation.

This anti-inflammatory, balanced diet, which makes ample room for unprocessed products, will also help you lose weight.

Also, consider checking if you have gluten intolerance. Celiac disease can manifest as inflammatory joint pain without gastrointestinal symptoms.

7. Visit Your Podiatrist

The position of the foot influences many muscles and joints. Malpositions can lead to overuse of the joints in the knee or hip in particular. Poor alignment of the knee - genu valgum (knock knees) and genu varum (bow legs) - can also cause premature cartilage wear.

With orthopedic insoles, the podiatrist will help rebalance the position of the foot and/or knee and thus correct one of the sources of osteoarthritis. They will also advise you on the possible use of an orthosis, the choice of your shoes, or the physical activities to prioritize.

Osteopathy can also be a path to explore. The therapist can, through gentle manipulations, eliminate excessive pressure on the joints.

8. Remember Vitamin D

We know that vitamin D plays a crucial role in bone mineralization, it is involved in the absorption of

 calcium and phosphorus. But less known is the fact that a vitamin D deficiency is often correlated with osteoarthritis. Various studies have highlighted its effectiveness both for prevention and for its ability to reduce chronic pain.

If you limit your outings (and therefore your sun exposure) due to pain, if you live in a poorly sunny region, and/or if your diet is low in butter or fatty fish, you may be deficient in vitamin D, like nearly 70% of French people.

It is therefore recommended to supplement specifically during and just after winter in order to obtain the 5 μg of vitamin D recommended per day.

Osteoarthritis pain is not inevitable, and invasive methods (injections, surgery) are far from being the only possible recourse.

A few efforts to change your lifestyle will help you regain your smile and reconnect with an active life.