Perna Canaliculus

Inflammation and Arthritis are very closely connected. Inflammation is not necessarily arthritis but arthritis is always paired with inflammation.

Whenever and wherever damage occurs in our body it will call upon white blood cells to come and repair the damage. It’s our immune system reacting to any unusual occurrence in our body.

When we have arthritis the protective tissue around the joint bones wears thin and eventually the bones will rub against each other which will cause damage to them.

The blood flow to the damaged spot will increase and the white cells and their chemicals will try to repair the damage. Wherever there is a large gathering of white blood cells there will be inflammation.  That specific spot will feel hot and often look s swollen.

If the white cells at that location cannot repair the damage the immune system will call up more white cells and send them there.  This might just make the inflammation worse and more painful.

Doctors might suggest NSAID or they will prescribe some anti inflammatory drugs. NSAID stands for Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs.  They’re often over the counter drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen etc. Those medications can cause stomach problems. Especially when they are taken for a prolonged period of time.

The prescribed drugs might have dangerous side effects.  Those side effects are usually only experienced by a small percentage of the patients they were prescribed for.  But why take a chance?  You won’t know till you go through the experience and it can be life threatening, sometimes.

Green-lipped mussel oil is known to really relief the pain of arthritis. The Omega 3 fatty acids in that mussel are extremely anti inflammatory.

This oil is derived from the green-lipped mussel or Perna Canaliculus.

This mussel is found off the coast of South Island, New Zealand. The natives on the island gather these mollusks and eat them regularly as a delicacy.  In order to get at these mussels they have to climb over the slippery coastal rocks.

Elderly men, in their seventies and eighties, clamber around those rocks with the same agility as their sons and grandsons.  No signs of stiff knees, no sign of arthritis.

After some studies by the research community it was determined that eating the green-lipped mussels prevented arthritis to develop.  Everybody was arthritis free.

Many people have been helped by this product. It has  given thousands of people relief from the pain and discomfort associated with this disease.

You can take this product to prevent or otherwise fight the discomfort and pain of inflammation and arthritis

Knee arthritis

Joint anatomy is the explanation of what a joint consists of and how it works.

A joint cosists of two…sometimes more…bones that slide over each other.

Parts of a joint

• Cartilage
• Synovial membrane
• Synovial fluid
• Ligaments
• Tendons
• Bursas
• Meniscus

Cartilage

Cartilage covers the bones to protect them when they need to slide over each other. Its’ a strong, wear resistant connective tissue that helps reduce the friction of the movement

Synovial membrane

This membrane lines the joint. It secretes a clear, sticky fluid that lubricates the joint

Synovial Fluid

This is the synovial fluid secreted by the membrane

Ligaments

They are like elastic bands that keep the parts of the joint together properly

Tendons

They are another type of connective tissue. You’ll find the tendons along each side of the joint. They are attached to the muscle which controls the movement of the joint.

Bursas

They are sacs filled with fluid. They are found between the ligaments, bones and other parts that are next to each other. They are an additional help in cushioning the friction  in a joint.

Meniscus

A curved part of the cartilage. You will find that in the knee joint and some other joints.

All these parts work together like a precision tool. If the ligaments or tendons are damaged they will lose their toughness and might not be able to keep the other joint parts together and/or properly aligned.

If you break a joint it might not heal properly. Just a fragment of bone might heal without lining up properly.  This will cause it to grate against another piece of bone.  It will eventually cause the cartilage to wear thin, an inflammation will develop and this is the onset of arthritis.

Green lipped mussel oil has helped thousands of people to become practically pain free.  It has such powerful anti inflammatory qualities that many other inflammatory diseases are positively affected by the use of this oil.

It’s safe and does not have the side effects prescription drugs often have.  Say goodbye to you arthritis pain now.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis disability can be frustrating and painful

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the joint and is painful.  It can also be very debilitating.

With osteoarthritis the cartilage, that protects the end of the bones in a joint, breaks down and cannot protect the bones any longer. The bones will then grate against each other and will cause pain and the loss of easy movement.

The joint will become inflamed. And that’s not the only problem.

If you break the joint small parts of bone fragments might not heal properly They will then  sort of wander around on their own through the joint space and cause additional pain and maybe more damage too.

Many people develop OA after the age of 45. That’s mostly because the wear and tear on their joints.  Of course, if they were avid athletes and put much strain on specific joints they are more at risk for OA then people that use their joints with the preservation of them in mind.

Younger people may develop OA after an injury. Of course that injury might be the result of an accident, but it could also be the result of a sport mishap.

Both men and women can get OA.  However, after the age of 50 women seem to be more prone to develop this disease. Hands, knees, hips, neck and spine seem to be the most common body parts to develop OA.

Osteoarthritis disability can become so severe that patients might not be able to work for long periods of time. Or they might have to give up employment altogether.   When that happens they will have to look into what government agencies are able, and willing,  to do for them to help them financially.

How to cope with OA and how to manage the pain.

Everybody has a pain threshold.  It varies from person to person how high this threshold is.  I’m one of the lucky ones whose threshold appears to be high.  High pain thresholds do not lessen the pain but make it possible for people to cope with it better.

Of course attitude plays a big part also.  People will be helpful and sympathize but nobody wants to listen to complaints constantly.  Having OA is bad enough by itself but you do not want to lose your friends by continuously whining.

Personally I tend to enjoy the things I can still do and I just don’t dwell on the things I cannot do anymore.  Try some day to write down all the good things you can still enjoy and make another list of the things you miss doing. And I bet that the first list will have more items on it. That is if you are honest with yourself.

And there are some things that can help the pain somewhat:

• use a heating pad on the worst affected joint
• keep the joint moving so it does not get too stiff
• see a physiotherapist who might give you some ideas on how to cope
• take some non prescription pain killers
• keep your sense of humor

Whatever you do, it’s my opinion that you should stay away from prescription drugs.  Don’t take that as a suggestion to throw out all your prescription drugs. Never do that without consulting your physician. I’m just talking about painkillers. OK?

And if you really are desperate to find something for the pain I suggest that you get a product that has worked for thousand of arthritis patients. Do yourself a big favor and don’t let this osteoarthritis disability take over your life.

Cortisone Shot

Arthritis injections might be suggested by the physician when the arthritis pain seems to become too much to bear for the patient.  The injection will contain  corticosteroids, also known as cortisone.

The injection is given right into the affected joint. This way the doctor drains off the excess lubricating fluid we find in joints and inject the cortisone to help reduce the inflammation. And as the inflammation reduces, so will the swelling and the pain.

Cortisone is an anti inflammatory medication and can reduce the inflammation and lessen the swelling and the pain.

It sounds a bit risky but is actually quite a safe procedure. And it involves little or no pain. The medicine is delivered right to where it is mostly needed.
When a patient gets a cortisone shot he may be able to take smaller doses of oral steroids and less of them.
Those steroids are very toxic.

It’ s funny I should be writing about this today. Especially the part of the “no or little pain”. My doctor has been waving a needle at me for the longest time now. Just the idea of him having to stick that needle inside my joint gives me panic attacks.<g> I don’t believe I’ve the makings of a hero. So far I have given the excuse of not wanting chemicals put into my body.  This is true also but the doctor does know I’m petrified.

One of the results, or side effects from an injection might be a an increase in swelling and pain. But this would be very temporary and only 6% of the people receiving this tratment are affected that way.

If this happens to you the doctor may change the type of corticosteroid he uses the next time.

Cortisone injections can make symptoms of diabetes worse. And some people might  get a mild, temporary flushing and feel agitated.

And all this makes me wonder. Why would people want cortsone injections while there is a wonderful product on the market that will also help them get rid of the pain. And on top of that it has so many more health benefits.

The oil of the green mussels, or green-lipped mussels is extremely anti inflammatory. It also has the necessary Omega 3 fatty acids in  it that are needed for brain development and a healthy cardiovascular system.  And not by any stretch of the imagination am I suggesting your brain might be undeveloped or underdeveloped.

Look at it this way: You get rid of your pain and as an extra bonus you might be able to fend off Altzheimer’s disease when it decides to rear its ugly head.

Why not  get rid of your pain and boost your brain power at the same time

Basal Joint Arthritis

Basal arthritis, or rather basal joint arthritis is arthritis of the thumb.  To be more precise it’s arthritis of the carpometacarpal joint. You will find this joint where the thumb meets the wrist. And since there are acronyms for just about everything, this joint is also called the CMC joint.

You know, the thumb is really an amazing tool. We use it for all sorts of tasks without giving it a second thought. But do stop and think for a minute.  It helps us open jars and use can openers, we can grasp hold of a door knob and twist it so the door will open.  We can hold tools and utensils in our hand.  And we can put our thumb in front of every other digit on our hand or fold it into the palm of our hand.

Like all joints, it’s held together by ligaments. And the end of the bones that form the joint are covered with cartilage. That cartilage makes it possible for the joint to move smoothly.

Let’s imagine you pull the ligaments and they get stretched out of shape. They won’t be able to keep things together as well as they used to.  The joint might get a bit out of alignment.

You know what happens to a precision tool that is not aligned properly. It will wear out faster. It’s the same with our basal joint…all joints for that matter. The cartilage will wear down and the bones will start rubbing together.  They will become damaged and get inflamed.  The same could happen if we broke our carpometacarpal joint and maybe a small bone fragment will not align properly when healing. And it will have the same result.

Pulled ligaments and breaks in the joint are not the only risks to develop basal arthritis.  People in the industry section of society might have a job where they have to use their thumb and wrist repeatedly. Maybe on an assembly line, making the same movements over and over.

I wonder if digging with a shovel is hard on the basal joint. I trust that people will know themselves if they happen to have a job which puts them at a risk for developing  arthritis in the CMC joint .

It starts with a little bit of pain but can progress to quite a lot of pain.  I have basal joint arthritis in both thumbs. I think I mentioned in one of my posts that I was in a car crash .  With both hands on the steering wheel it is not very hard to damage both thumbs.

Prescription drugs are a no-no as far as I am concerned. The side effects can be worse than the reason you take them.

There is a product on the market, green-lipped mussel oil, derived from the green-lipped mussel. This product is hihgly anti inflammatory and thousands of people with arthritis have had great results after taking this supplement.

As soon as my bank account will permit it I will order this supplement. A friend of mine has had such great results he is back jogging again. Oops, I promised “no hype”…but this is just the truth so I’ll leave it.

Get rid of your basal arthritis pain or any other arthritis pain you might experience

Arthritis

Inflammation and arthritis go together. Actually, arthritis is inflammation of the joints.

And what exactly is inflammation?

I’ll try to explain this as best as I can and try not to waste too many words.

Whenever we have an injury or damage anywhere in our body, white blood cells will rush to that location and try to remedy the injury or damage. If these cells don’t succeed fast enough the body will send more white cells.  Wherever large amounts of white blood  cells gather we have an inflammation.

So, actually inflammation is caused by the white cells trying to remedy a situation. And, as I already mentioned,this can get out of hand and the inflammation becomes more severe and painful.

It’s really an over reaction of our body. Some things just cannot be remedied so easily. But nobody has told that to those white blood cells. And they will just keep gathering and make things worse.

Now, I’m not a doctor, nor a health care worker. But this is the way I understand it. I do know that I have arthritis and every now and then I will get a flare-up of inflammation. So I think that when we have arthritis we might always have some inflammation. But at times it gets worse. Maybe the damage to the bones might worsen and right away the white blood cells will rush over again to try to heal.

Doctors give us prescription drugs for inflammation and arthritis.   And yes,  these  drugs are anti inflammatory. But the side effects of those drugs can really be making things worse. Not as far as the arthritis is concerned but they will cause other health concerns.

And painkillers only help to cover up the symptoms. What we need is a product that addresses the underlying cause of the whole problem.

I truly believe that everything health related is dependent on our nutrition. If we get the right nutrients our cartilage should be able to stand up to a little bit of upheaval.

I do know of natural products that contain Omega 3 that has fatty acids that are tremendously anti inflammatory.

Thousands of people have been helped by taking green.lipped mussel oil to combat inflammation and arthritis

Arthritis

The disease of arthritis is a degenerate disease of our joints.

And I like to impress on you we are talking about osteoarthritis

It has two main causes:

Wear and tear of our joints as we age.

It’s not too hard to wear out our joints  by living to a ripe old age. Of course,  our lifespan keeps lengthening and most of us don’t do very much in the area of keeping them in good shape.

And secondly, there are, of course injuries to our joints. It’s not very hard to injure them if you are very involved in sports. Almost any sport will put a strain on one joint or another.

Many professional athletes are at risk of developing arthritis. Of course, we need exercise and we need movement

But sometimes athletes will demand too much of their joints and muscles.

And, of course, our joints can be damaged in accidents. We can break one by falling or we can get a joint crushed in a car crash.

Many of our breaks will heal and we might feel fine again. But, sometimes we will develop  arthritis a few, or sometimes many years later.

Also, if we are involved in an occupation where we use the same joint repetitively we run the risk of developing arthritis in that joint. This happens frequently in the industrial community.  Think of assembly plants where workers often have to use their wrist over and over to push things together.  This is just something that comes to mind as I’m writing. I’m sure there are many, many more examples of  occupations where people use certain joints repeatedly.

We tend to associate the disease of arthritis with elderly people.  But, as you see, they do not have the monopoly on this disease.

The end of the bones in a joint are covered with cartilage. This is a smooth, cushion-like, spongy substance which lets the bones  move smoothly over each other.  When that cartilage wears down or is damaged  it gets thinner and thinner and the bones end up rubbing against each other. This becomes painful.  Also, the joint will become inflamed, red and swollen.  And the joint will become hard to move and feel stiff.

Whenever there’s any damage anywhere in our body white blood cells will rush down to try and remedy the situation.  A gathering of a large amount of white cells constitutes an inflammation.  The cells cannot sufficiently fix the damage and more cells will arrive. So, actually an inflammation is an  attempt at repairing something in our body. Arthritis  is mainly inflammation in our joints and they become red, swollen and stiff.

When the pain gets bad the doctor will give you a prescription for some painkillers. But a lot of those drugs can have serious side effects. Personally I’d rather stay away from prescription drugs. The doctor gave me a prescription for morphine, 50mg twice a day. After about 7 years of taking morphine I decided : “No more”.  And since I took that decision I’ve only taken natural products.

One product I’m waiting for is green-lipped-mussel oil. This oil is extremely anti inflammatory and so many people have seen great results after taking it.

I suggest you go and have a look at the Website and find out what this product can do for you. It’s risk free because it comes with a warranty.  Fight back at this disease of arthritis and get rid of the [pain.

It’s official name is Perna Canaliculus, or green-lipped mussel.  It’s found off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island. That’s a” bit out of the way” area and the waters there are pristine with no contaminants.

The Green mussel is mainly known for the relief it brings to arthritis sufferers. …ehmm sufferers?…weird word…never mind. Anyway,  the Omega 3 of this mollusk contains fatty acids that are extremely anti inflammatory.

Arthritis involves inflammation of the joints so the oil derived from these mussels really does give a lot of relief.

This oil helps people with a lot of diseases that find their cause in inflammation.  For example, people with asthma find that taking this oil makes breathing much easier. That’s not to say they should leave home without their inhalers…..but maybe they need to use them less often.

And this is only the beginning of quite a list. Oh well…to make it easier on you I’ll put it in a list and explain after:

• helps relief arthritis
• improves breathing for people with asthma
• is crucial for brain development
• keeps the cardiovascular system healthy
• helps lower cholesterol
• can prevent thrombosis
• may prevent strokes and/or heart attacks

We only need to discuss the last five since we already discussed the first two. Actually, some of those overlap or one might be the cause of the next one.

The Omega 3 of this mollusk contains DHA – docosahexaenoic acid and EPA -eicosapentaenoic acid.

DHA is needed for brain development. And I mean the thinking part of the brain.  The medical community is trying to determine if an increase in the consumption of Omega 3, containing DHA could prevent the devekopment of Altzheimer’s Disease. Or at least slow it down.

Maybe it might make life easier for children…and adults…that suffer from ADD or ADHD.

And what about Down Syndrome?

And should mothers to be increase their intake of Omega 3? You never know; maybe they’ll all produce a genius.

But all kidding aside, DHA has  definitely a positive effect on the capability of the brain.

DHA/EPA working together could keep our cardiovascular system healthy. They also help lower the risk of heart attacks. They do that by controlling our cholesterol level and keeping the arteries from getting narrower and eventually closing off the flow of blood to the heart.

They also can prevent thrombosis which is an abnormal formation of a blood clot. Blood clots are the cause of heart attacks and strokes.

So the intake of enough Omega 3 of the right type is crucial to our health.

We can get some Omega 3 from flax seed, flax seed oil and wall nuts etc. But the Omega 3 we get from plant food does not contain DHA and EPA.

We will have to eat fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, halibut and last, but not least green lipped mussels. And the green mussels are supposed to have a much more potency in their fatty acids then just fish.  I cannot tell you for certain if that is true. I don’t like to hype things up. But I do know how many people really feel great relief from their discomfort and misery when they take green mussels for arthritis products.