Joint pain is a BIG pain in Australia, with 1 in 6 of us affected. The most common causes are osteo-arthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or gout. But what causes each of those?
Understanding the risks can help you reduce the symptoms of joint pain and inflammation.
In terms of risk, genetics plays a role in all types of arthritis. In osteoporosis, injury, weight bearing, and overuse are involved, while rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune condition. Most other types of arthritis - there are more than 100 - are also thought to be auto-immune (arthritisnsw.org.au).
While causes vary for all types of arthritis, symptoms are similar with varying degrees of joint pain, swelling, stiffness and mobility. There is also cross over in risk factors - especially the modifiable types.
Modifiable risk factors - the ones you can change - are essential to know
A 2021 review on dietary interventions for rheumatoid arthritis stated, “Diet is a major modifiable determinant of chronic conditions with a large body of evidence showing modifications to improve diet quality are directly associated with health benefits.” (Raad et.al., 2021)
Along with diet, other modifiable risks for inflammatory joint conditions are:
- Smoking
- Being overweight
- Lack of exercise
(Coletti & Cicero, 2021, Schönenberger et.al., 2021)
For auto immune arthritis, poor gut microbial balance and compromised gut wall play a role too (Alwarith et. Al., 2019, Schönenberger et.al., 2021).
Knowing risks is one thing. Understanding how to address them is another.
Here’s an overview of the best ways to reduce risk factors for joint pain and inflammation
Based on the risks, research and advice from bodies such as Arthritis NSW and Arthritis Australia, these strategies will help you target key modifiable factors to reduce risk and symptoms of inflammatory joint concerns:
DIET
Diet is first because it can be challenging and because the strategies listed here support reduction of other risk factors, namely weight loss and gut health. There’s no specific diet to follow (eg. Paleo, Mediterranean, Keto etc.), but of the diets studied, features with most benefit for pain and symptom relief in inflammatory joint conditions are:
More anti-inflammatory antioxidant foods. Nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado, oily fish, berries and lots of leafy green vegetables. Vegetables should make up most of your meals (Raad et. Al, 2021, Schönenberger et.al. 2021, Alwarith et. Al., 2019).
Balance Omega 3:Omega 6 ratios. To do this, eat more of the anti-inflammatory oils above, and avoid fried foods and foods containing vegetable oils and hydrogenated oils. Supplementing with fish oils may be additionally useful (Raad et. Al, 2021, Schönenberger et.al. 2021, Alwarith et. Al., 2019).
Reduce inflammatory foods. Reduce gluten, sugar, red meat, processed meat, and dairy. You don’t have to cut them entirely, but they shouldn’t be the main feature of your meals. Limiting these foods also improves gut health (Alwarith et. Al., 2019).
Eat more fibre. You’ll get fibre from all those vegetables, plus lentils, legumes and gluten-free wholegrains like brown rice, oats, buckwheat and corn. Fibre improves the composition of gut bacteria which in turn increases production of anti-inflammatory compounds and protects the health of the gut wall (Alwarith et.al., 2019).
WEIGHT LOSS
While weight loss can be difficult, the diet advice above will help (Alwarith et. Al., 2019, Messier et.al 2019). Losing weight helps relieve joint pain and inflammation first by simply reducing load bearing. Second, fat tissue actively produces inflammatory compounds, so less fat, less inflammation.
IMPROVE GUT HEALTH
There are too many elements of gut health to address in a few sentences, but essentially you want diverse and abundant 'healthy' gut bacteria, with less ‘bad’ bacteria, and a strong gut wall. The diet pattern above is just a start, but an excellent one.
STOP SMOKING
You might need help from a GP, counselor or other therapist, but kicking the habit is vital to reducing risk of joint problems and your chance at symptom relief.
EXERCISE
Arthritis NSW notes the important of exercise, stating it can improve flexibility, mobility, muscle strength and posture, as well as decreasing joint pain, muscle tension and fatigue (arthritisNSW.org.au, 2022). We want that, right?!
I strongly urge you to try these strategies and read some of the research and recommendations for managing joint pain and inflammation (links below).
These are not only good for joint health but improving most chronic health conditions too. And best of all –no side effects!
*This is general advice only and does not substitute for care or advice from your medical practitioner.
REFERENCES
Arthritisaustralia.com.au. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://arthritisaustralia.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ArthAus_HealthyEating_1805.pdf> [Accessed 17 August 2022].
Arthritis & Osteoporosis New South Wales. 2022. Anti-inflammatory diet – made easy | Arthritis NSW. [online] Available at: <https://www.arthritisnsw.org.au/anti-inflammatory-diet-made-easy/> [Accessed 17 August 2022].
Arthritis.org. 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.arthritis.org/health-wellness/healthy-living/nutrition/anti-inflammatory/the-ultimate-arthritis-diet> [Accessed 17 August 2022].
Alwarith, J., Kahleova, H., Rembert, E., Yonas, W., Dort, S., Calcagno, M., Burgess, N., Crosby, L. and Barnard, N., 2019. Nutrition Interventions in Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Potential Use of Plant-Based Diets. A Review. Frontiers in Nutrition, 6
Colletti, A. and Cicero, A., 2021. Nutraceutical Approach to Chronic Osteoarthritis: From Molecular Research to Clinical Evidence. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(23), p.12920.
Messier, S., Beavers, D., Mihalko, S., Miller, G., Lyles, M., Hunter, D., Carr, J., Eckstein, F., Guermazi, A., Loeser, R. and DeVita, P., 2020. The effects of intensive dietary weight loss and exercise on gait in overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis. The Intensive Diet and Exercise for Arthritis (IDEA) trial. Journal of Biomechanics, 98, p.109477.
Raad, T., Griffin, A., George, E., Larkin, L., Fraser, A., Kennedy, N. and Tierney, A., 2021. Dietary Interventions with or without Omega-3 Supplementation for the Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review. Nutrients, 13(10), p.3506.
Schönenberger, K., Schüpfer, A., Gloy, V., Hasler, P., Stanga, Z., Kaegi-Braun, N. and Reber, E., 2021. Effect of Anti-Inflammatory Diets on Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 13(12), p.4221.
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