Okay, I admit it: I have spent a high percentage of my waking hours adorned in some sporting colours locked in fierce combat with an opposition team. At the time I loved it and my body seemed like a well oiled machine. As I grow older, though, I begin to feel the physical repercussions of my former life, and this I don't love so much! Can anything be done to help me and the millions of other joint pain sufferers out there? Thankfully the winning combination of glucosamine and chondroitin seem to be winning a lot of fans.
Any good mechanic will tell you that the key to a machine's output is best found in prevention rather than cures. Like machines, our bodies require care and maintenance to ensure we last as long as possible! I think it is a terrible thing to think that the ageing have to suffer joint pain and their only `crime' has been years of physical activity and keeping fit. Amazingly, it is often not our muscle or skeletal systems which give up the ghost, but actually that which hinges those things together, our joints.
It had always been in the back of my mind that one day joint pain and arthritis could plague me due to excessive and constant training and competition. Yet it seemed to rocket quickly to the forefront of my thoughts as seemingly simultaneously my father and father-in-law, both elite sportsmen in their day, started suffering from intense pain caused by degeneration with joints such as knees, neck, elbows and shoulders. Their physicians presented them with two options: invasive means involving joint replacements and the like or proven supplements that improved joint function and relieved pain. The results of choosing the latter were and have been remarkable. The key? The highly researched dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin.
In basic terms, Arthritis and joint degeneration is often when the diminishing level of fluids and breakdown of cartilage that normally creates the easy sliding movement within joints, decreases and corrodes. Then grating and scraping occurs with its resultant increase in pain and discomfort.
After watching a former elite football player who once represented his nation in Rugby League struggle to put his socks on due to joint pain in knees and back, I realized with a start that it's not just the aged who suffer from arthritis, oestoearthritis, and other forms of joint disfunction. Enter: a supplement containing glucosamine and chondroitin. The result for him? Saving grace. This discomfort has been reduced and the function improved remarkably.
Thousands of Oesteoarthritis sufferers throughout the world have been rejoicing at the recent news that studies have confirmed. Glucosamine and chondroitin provide long awaited and anticipated pain relief. The Council for Responsible Nutrition says the clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Health in the USA, showed that the combined use of the two dietary supplements provide significant pain relief for arthritis sufferers. Many believe that the early use of both will significantly slow the onset of arthritis and joint pain.
In the body, glucosamine and chondroitin can be naturally found. Simply put, cartilage formation and repair is the role of glucosamine and the provision of cartilage elasticity is the role of chondroitin. It is the combination of both which seem to enhance the effectiveness of these two and results in pain relief and increased joint movement. Users must realize that it generally takes up to two months of consistent use before the effects kick in.
It would be my strong advice that sufferers of arthritis don't totally rely upon supplements to answer all of their particular questions. There are many physical activities that can also assist in increasing movement and reducing pain in joints. Stretching and warming up the joints should be a common practice as this assists in making joints more flexible. Any exercise generally will help mobility of joints. However, add to this physical activity the combination of glucosamine and chondroitin, and your chances of better movement with less pain are significantly increased.
Before exercise you should warm up by stretching your muscles and joints, but ensuring that you do not overstretch. Certainly do not push yourself too early in your warm-up. Aim for long, fluid movements as opposed to vigorous sharp movements. Stretches should be held for around 15 seconds. A well balanced exercise session includes various movements (dependent usually on your age and mobility), isometrics and weight-bearing activities.
Is there hope for the millions of arthritis and joint pain sufferers out there? I believe so. The research and the anecdotal evidence both seem to be pointing to two supplements called glucosamine and chondroitin. Taken in combination, they are fast becoming the light at the end of the tunnel for myself and for anyone else who's tired of being in discomfort.
