How To Get Rid Of Your Arthritis Pain
by Manny Aragon
Years ago, I trained in a martial arts dojo five days a week, 3-5 hours a day. I was sore. I was tired. In the morning I had trouble getting out of bed. My life revolved around my next double depth charge (coffee with two shots of espresso), carb laden pasta with pesto and veggies, and mint chip mud pie.
I had non stop allergies, sneezing every minute or so like clockwork, absolutely zero sex drive, and took my pizza and beer more seriously than my training. I was 27 years old but I felt like I was 60.
Oh, and did I mention that I had trouble sleeping?
The worst part, though, was that I was getting symptoms of osteoarthritis (at a young age) and my joints weren’t happy.
Now, I live a completely different existence. Even though I exercise many hours per week, I do so relatively pain free. I am sleeping well with no allergies, and my sex drive is back.
Whats changed?
When I first started my foray into Ironman racing a couple of years ago, many of these symptoms came back (as if from the dead). But this time, I knew what was causing all of the mayhem:
But before we go there- this newsletter is focused somewhat narrowly on arthritis based pain and swelling (osteoarthritis) and how to actually minimize or completely eliminate the symptoms from your body.
Lets take a moment to examine the definition of arthritis (from wikipedia.com)
Arthritis (from the Greek arthro-, joint + itis, inflammation) is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints.
There are over 100 different forms of arthritis but the two main classes are osteo- arthritis (or degenerative joint disease) and the autoimmune identified forms of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and the like.
The key takeaway here is that arthritis is a disease brought on by inflammation- specifically systemic inflammation.
Common knowledge has it that the Osteo form of degenerative arthritis (the most common and widely diagnosed type) is a result of age or “wear and tear” on the joints- that we cannot avoid, and something that “just happens to us”.
This is completely untrue- a fallacy perpetuated by the medical community bent on providing palliative care for a misunderstood disease for which they have no cure.
But there IS a cure.
It involves living an anti-inflammatory lifestyle.