MIRIAM ELKAN IS QUALIFIED IN NATUROPATHY AND OSTEOPATHY, AND PRACTISES IN LONDON. SHE LECTURES FOR THE INSTITUTE FOR OPTIMUM NUTRITION, THE LONDON COLLEGE OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE, THE CENTRE FOR HOMOEOPATHIC EDUCATION, THE JOHN WERNHAM COLLEGE OF CLASSICAL OSTEOPATHY AND THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL OSTEOPATHY
Care of the joints is care of the whole human being. The factors that affect joints are the factors that affect all of the other systems within the human form. Caring for your joints means taking care of everything else and everything else taking care of your joints. If you care for your joints you are looking after your heart, your lungs and your weight. So the good news is looking after one simple thing means you are caring for all of you.
There are so many tissues involved in the working of the joints: bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, joint capsule, synovial fluid and nerves. Each of these depends on having the right chemical environment (eg blood supply and nutrients) and the right mechanical environment - enough pressure to stimulate growth, not so much that the joint is damaged. These factors depend on the health of the body as a whole, so to help our joints, we need to look after every aspect of our health.
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What we need for healthy joints:
Good circulation: This is what transports oxygen and other nutrients to the joints, and removes wastes. Every cell takes in nutrients and produces wastes which, if not removed, are toxic to the body.
Good digestion:
To absorb nutrients from our food we need a healthy digestive system.
Healthy diet:
All tissues, including those of our joints, wear out unless the body is able to repair them regularly. A good diet provides the “building blocks” we need to repair the joints and keep them strong and healthy.
Keep Hydrated:
Joints, like all tissues, suffer if they become dehydrated; recent research suggests that drinking enough water could significantly ease joint pain in many cases. Many drinks (eg tea, herbal infusions and chilled water) tend to be diuretic; other drinks are over-stimulating (eg fruit juice, canned drinks and coffee). Hence what we need is to drink is 1-2 litres of still (not sparkling) water at room temperature or above, per day.
Exercise:
Movement encourages the circulation in the joints and stimulates the rebuilding of worn tissues, so they stay strong and flexible. Some exercise needs to be “weightbearing” - eg walking, where we carry our own weight on our joints - as this stimulates the joints to keep rebuilding themselves in a strong form.
Healthy weight:
Excess weight puts significant strain on the joints. Being underweight suggests that our body is not getting all the nutrients it needs, or else there are digestive problems so that the body cannot absorb nutrients well.
Stress, not overstress:
Challenge is healthy for the body, but where we become overstressed - physically or emotionally - our whole body goes out of balance; muscles become more tense, the digestive system works less well, hormone levels alter and our body does less healing and maintenance (including of joints) while it concentrates resources on dealing with the stress.
Rest and sleep:
Although we need exercise, we also need to take the weight off our tissues. When we lie down our bones recover their full length, and the spinal discs (the bits between the vertebrae that keep our spine moving comfortably) expand. Hence, if we rest properly at night we will actually be taller in the morning! Also it is when we sleep that the body does most of its healing and maintenance; lack of sleep means the body does not do all the necessary repair work, and joints may suffer.
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