Fight Joint Inflammation: How Natural Supplements and Yoga Practice Can Alleviate Pain

So many people who practice and teach yoga suffer from pain. The good news is that pain is optional; what it takes to get pain-free is simply a basic understanding. Which is …

Western Medicine’s Approach to Pain

Pain is not an outside invader. Rather, it is part of our body’s normal and healthy monitoring system, telling us that something needs attention. Think of pain as being like the oil light on a car’s dashboard. The standard medical approach is to put a Band-Aid over the oil light with NSAID medications like ibuprofen or narcotics—or to simply cut the oil light out.

It is no surprise that this approach works poorly, contributing to over 65,000 unnecessary U.S. deaths a year (50,000 from NSAIDs and 15,500 from prescribed narcotics). It also leaves one-third of Americans suffering needlessly with pain.

3 Natural Ways to Become Pain-Free

So how to get pain free? Pain responds best when four key areas are addressed:

1. Structural: This includes osteopathic and chiropractic manipulation and stretching. Yoga excels at this.

2. Biophysics: This includes acupuncture, frequency specific microcurrent, and things as simple as putting heat over an affected joint, especially before trying to stretch it. With yoga focusing on moving energy, it also addresses this key area well.

3. Mind/Body/Spirit: There is a reason why some people are called “a pain in the back,” or even lower! Feelings that are not felt will often be stored in muscles and contribute to pain. Yoga can be helpful in this area as well.

Yet so many people who do yoga long term suffer from pain. So, what is the missing piece?

Addressing Biochemistry When Treating Pain with Yoga

The most common pains suffered by those who do and teach yoga are a mix of muscle and joint pain. Even for what seems obvious, like severe arthritis, muscle pain around the joints is usually playing a major role—regardless of what the x-rays show. It is not uncommon that people who are recommended for joint replacements simply do the treatments below and find that the pain goes away.

Some people can have severe joint degeneration yet remain pain-free, while others can have significant pain with only a moderate amount of arthritis. But X-rays only tell part of the pain story. Pain can emanate from a variety of sources, including connective tissue, muscles, or even the nervous system.

Herbal and Nutritional Mixes for Joint Pain

For joint pain, in addition to doing gentle stretches after applying heat to the joint for 10 to 15 minutes, the key areas to address are muscle shortening, inflammation, and cartilage health. Several herbal and nutritional mixes can be very helpful here, offering dramatic pain relief. These include:

3 Natural Treatments for Inflammation

1. Curamin (by Euro Pharma): This is a mix of the special highly absorbed curcumin, boswellia (also known as frankincense), DLPA and nattokinase. The special form of curcumin is absorbed seven times more than standard pure curcumin. This is achieved by adding back in the turmeric oils called turmerone. Research shows this to be one of the most effective anti-inflammatories available.

   Boswellia balances and enhances curcumin’s action by balancing the lipoxygenase (LOX) inflammatory pathway. DLPA increases your body’s own pain-fighting endorphins. Nattokinase melts away the inflammation, so your body’s healing systems can get to the affected area.

   When I first tried Curamin with people, I expected modest effects but was shocked by the synergy. This mix has been a pain relief miracle, often helping when even narcotics don’t. In head-on studies, it was more effective for arthritis than the medication, Celebrex. Give it six weeks to see the full effect, although it starts working within the hour. It can be combined with other herbals and medications.

2. End Pain (by Enzymatic Therapy): This mix of standardized salicylate, boswellia, and tart cherry adds synergy to the Curamin. Also, give this six weeks to see the full effect.

3. Topical Comfrey (TraumaPlant): This can offer quick relief, while speeding healing.

2 Natural Treatments for Nourishing Joints and Muscles

1. Glucosamine sulfate: 750 mg twice a day plus chondroitin 400 mg 2-3 times a day. This can significantly help joint healing.

2. Energy Revitalization System vitamin powder: One scoop a day mixed with water. This supplies 50 key nutrients at optimal levels in one drink. This includes high doses of magnesium and B vitamins, which optimize energy production allowing them to release so the pain can go away. It also markedly enhances energy.

After doing the above program for six weeks, most people find that their muscle and joint discomfort has dramatically decreased or has gone away. Then they can see what the lowest dose needed to maintain the benefit is, or simply use these nutrients intermittently as needed. I myself take the vitamin powder daily.

Using a comprehensive optimization approach, giving up or curtailing your yoga because of pain is now optional!

Reprinted with permission from Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D.

Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. is one of the most frequently quoted integrative medical authorities in the world. He is the author of the best-selling From Fatigued to Fantastic!, Pain-Free, 1,2,3!, the Beat Sugar Addiction Now! series, Real Cause Real Cure, The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution, and the popular free SmartPhone app Cures A-Z. He is the lead author of 4 studies on effective treatment for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and a study on effective treatment of autism using NAET. Dr. Teitelbaum appears often as a guest on news and talk shows nationwide including Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show, Oprah & Friends, CNN, and FoxNewsHealth. Learn more at Vitality101.com.