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Interesting info for all osteoarthritis sufferers

Posted , 7 users are following.

Paulus1949
Paulus1949

I happened to stumble upon this podcast the other day..

It's from the BBC radio 4 "Inside Health" programme from 11/09/2012 which can be found as a podcast on the I player radio App.

It gives a great insight into OA,claiming a joint replacement isn't always necessary,and the possibility of stem cell cartilage repair,which could become    possible in the next few years.

It also explains how arthritis isn't necessarily as formerly thought a wasting disease..

Well worth downloading.

1 like, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • joy47826
    joy47826 Paulus1949

    Posted

    Thanks, I do believe that one and HOPE if I can control it all, no more replacements....Mine was at 72 and groin pain did it, pushed me to this.

    Anyway, thanks...and an MD does Stem Cell Therapy now here in So. Cal. for joints and PRP which I posted about months ago here....

    I've had Dextros PROLO in my shoulder and got good 3 yrs of relief.....Dextrose is mildest and least pricey form of this therapy for joint regeneration.

    He is forever saying on his radio program on weekends, to stay healthy, stay away from doctors....and he is ONE.

  • juliette39133
    juliette39133 Paulus1949

    Posted

    I'm not going to be able to listen to it unfortunately but I have been convinced for years that oa is not a wear and tear disease in the way that break pads or a carburettor wear out. There's more to it. I believe it is llinked like many things to the immune and hormonal systems. Unfortunately there does not seem to be the research happening to get to the bottom of the causes. Just more tablets to suppress the symptoms which might kill you in the meantime while waiting for crude and barbaric surgery.
    • Paulus1949
      Paulus1949 juliette39133

      Posted

      Yes..it's well known now that OA is linked to our auto immune system, and there is no known cure as yet.

      What the latest opinion believes is that by keeping the thigh muscles as strong as possible by excercising helps the muscles to support our joints,and that the inflammation in the joints is part of the bodies natural healing process,which is why we get "flare ups" of pain which comes and goes.

      Going against old thinking is we shouldn't sit and rest for to long when we have pain,but make an effort to excercise and keep the joints moving.

      I take the point to avoid Docs as much as possible,but some conditions if ignored can eventually kill you.

      Although a minority of Joint replacements go wrong it is unfortunately our last resort,and is from what I know quite a skilled and technical operation,saving many folks from a life of pain and misery..and I now have little pain from my new hip which troubled me for 20yrs.. worsening significantly when I stopped riding my bike,kind of supporting the theory of keeping the thigh muscles strong??

      I have pain now from my unoperated hip,but only take tablets as a last resort,the side effects of some can long term be worse than the cure.

       

    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee juliette39133

      Posted

      Perhaps our grandchildren and their grandchildren will benefit from all the practice upon us and not have to go through what we have been through.  

      smile

    • marey
      marey DawnDedee

      Posted

      such a lovely sentiment dawn...invokes good karma!
  • juliette39133
    juliette39133 Paulus1949

    Posted

    Sorry but can't go with the keeping the muscles strong idea either. I was a mountain walker, a yoga practitioner and a dancer and a gardener. God, no wonder I was crippled!!! I had to stop doing them as the pain afterwards was unbearable. I did once read a book by an orthopaedic specialist who changed to gynaecology and he noticed that when women took hormone replacement therapy that their arthritic symptoms disappeared. My feeling is that movement causes inflammation that in a non arthritic person is neutralized by a chemical or hormonal process. For some reason that process stops working. I found that being in bed for a few days with a viral illness meant all symptoms of arthritis went completely. As soon as I started moving around again, back came the pain, etc.
    • Paulus1949
      Paulus1949 juliette39133

      Posted

      I take your point..the pain can stop you exercising,it's a viscous circle.

      I was also a landscape gardener and keen squash player for many years.

      Wether or not this contributed to joint wear we will never know,it could have happened anyway?

      I have found that my joint pain worsens a few weeks after a virus has cleared up,possibly caused by the immune system doing its work on healthy joints?

      If the medical profession can't agree on treatment for OA what chance for the rest of us..Hmmmm.

    • joy47826
      joy47826 Paulus1949

      Posted

      I started dancing at about 12 yrs and danced and danced and when I hit 18 I ended up with lower back pain and now at 76 OA is bodywide....

      Sugars are HORRIBLE for arthritis and a lot of other body systems....

      So damn if you do and if you don't....

      All my mother's sisters were horrible with OA but they all ate tons of sugary stuff all their lives, as did I for TOO MANY years.....

      That goes for carbs too as they turn to sugar.

      I go to my integrative MD once a year for my annual check up and labs but don't run to docs for any pain I have....

      And I do a LOT of supps to keep healthier...avoid the pharma drugs as I ended up in the ER with stomach ulcer in the 80's from an anti inflammatory drug....that was my big WAKE UP.

      I soak up alterantives, love the world of alternative healing.

    • juliette39133
      juliette39133 joy47826

      Posted

      Joy, I had two serious bleeds from my stomach and duodenum but I rarely took anti-inflammatory drugs but I did take low doses of codeine. I have been stuck on acid lowering drugs now for five years. If I try to reduce the dose, I become very ill with gastritis even though I don't take the painkillers anymore. I hate taking these drugs and putting up with the side effects. I know you have mentioned taking the liquorice supplements. I am too afraid to drop the dose of omeprazole as the last time I was bed ridden for a week and lost half a stone.Anything to share about this?
    • DawnDedee
      DawnDedee Paulus1949

      Posted

      Amen!  At least they are working on it!  I praise  God for that!  biggrin
    • phyllis10549
      phyllis10549 joy47826

      Posted

      Joy4 what are your alternatives. And what does your diet consist of?
  • joy47826
    joy47826 Paulus1949

    Posted

    Stem cells and PRP are promising and NOW the insurance industry has to get on board.....millions upon millions spent on surgeries and people still suffer.
    • beth2509
      beth2509 phyllis10549

      Posted

      There is no definitive research that it works. There are a lot of claims. Usually from US doctors charging a lot of money for it. At present, research is focused on whether it may be another delaying treatment for OA - in other words it could not be used in end case OA and would not replace hip or other replacements. One day maybe. Or maybe not. But not now. 
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