Do you or someone you know suffer from osteoarthritis? If you’ve got the starting stages of arthritis in the joints of your hands, knees, hips, or fingers, you will want to listen to this information. There are many therapies that can be extremely helpful in reducing inflammation and degradation of cartilage.
Working Through an Injury Instead of Resting
It has always been believed that rheumatoid arthritis patients should rest when inflamed, but there is new information showing that it’s better for the body to exercise through the pain. When the patient is exercising even while experiencing inflammation, there isn’t nearly as much joint inflammation or synovial damage. If we can get the body in a good healing state, the likelihood of experiencing osteoarthritis may be decreased.
Torn ACLs and Preventing Osteoarthritis
Typically when someone tears an ACL, they undergo ACL reconstruction. Unfortunately, I believe there’s about an 80% chance that tearing the ACL and having reconstruction surgery will result in osteoarthritis later in life. Why is that? I believe it’s because the body isn’t in a good healing state. Instead of just fixing the ACL, if we can do things that we know are going to help the body not start down this pathway, we can prevent problems later on in life. What are some things we can do to help support the body through this process?
- High dose Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG). EGCG is one of the few supplements that we know blocks interleukin one beta (IL-1β) really well. We like to use 2 grams a day or more, but it’s best to stay under 4 grams to prevent a liver toxicity problem. Starting the patient on EGCG immediately after surgery is going to help block inflammatory cytokines that start to cause cartilage degradation.
- Pentosan polysulfate. Not only does it block interleukin one beta, but it also blocks interleukin 6 as well. It regulates some of the good anti-inflammatory cytokines like interleukin 10. It’s not only preventing inflammation and degradation but also promotes healing of cartilage and bone.
There was a study performed with the use of pentosan polysulfate in dogs with osteoarthritis, and the results show that the dogs heal dramatically faster after ACL reconstruction using Pentosan polysulfate. Not only is this effective for patients that have undergone ACL reconstruction, but it’s also been helpful for patients that are knee replacement candidates. In fact, when they put patients that needed knee replacements on Pentosan polysulfate, nine out of ten of them ended up not needing knee replacement surgery because the drug had that dramatic of an influence.
Tips to Prevent Osteoarthritis
By following the above tips, you can do your best to try to avoid suffering with osteoarthritis during your lifetime. Blocking inflammatory cytokines using EGCG and taking pentosan polysulfate can be helpful in preventing cartilage degradation. Whether you or a loved one is at risk for osteoarthritis, it isn’t a sentence. Prevention is key when it comes to taking care of your body.
To hear Dr. Yurth speak more on this topic, listen in to Biohacking Superhuman Performance’s Podcast.
