Monday, December 14, 2009

How to control arthritis pain first thing in the morning

Serious arthritis pain first thing in the morning is a daily reality for many of us. It is worse if you are former football player. It is worse in winter. It is worse when it rains in winter. It is worse still when you are coming of surgery, as I am. So if you have to haul your ass out of bed as if you are exiting the destroyed body of a badly wrecked car, what can you do about all that pain?

Here is a laundry list of things to do:
  1. Take a 300mg dose of liquid Ibuprofen. I find that Ibuprofen is the only effective drug vs. arthritis. Acetaminophen is a joke. Aspirin doesn't work that well. Naproxen Sodium is less effective (for me) than Ibuprofen. Liquid is far more effective, even in smaller doses, than pills or caplets
  2. Take 3 grams of MSM. MSM really helps me. I feel a lot better on days when I use MSM.
  3. Use DMAE. DMAE is a youth hormone, available over the counter at just about all health food stores. It is the next best thing to HGH.
  4. Exercise with the ROM. The ROM only takes 7.5 minutes tops. It is low impact. It stretches and warms everything. It enhances capillary circulation. It releases a lot of beta endorphins (nature's own painkiller). I feel totally different on mornings when I do the ROM and mornings when I don't.
  5. Do TENS. TENS is a form of electrical muscle & nerve stimulation which is designed to overload pain receptors and deaden them down. Attaching 4 electro stim pads to the region of your lower back, right on the Erector Spinae, and running TENS for about 30 minutes will kill pain like crazy all over your lower body.
  6. Hang upside down on a Teeter hang-up inversion table for 5 minutes. If you are a big guy, and have impact injuries, chances are that you have sciatic nerve problems, and compression in your lower 5th lumbar. This greatly aggravates arthritis pain. You can decompress your lower lumbar and reduce pain in your sciatic nerve by hanging upside down 5 minutes each day. I find it is more effective if I do sets of 2 minutes, 2 minutes, and 1 minute. Between sets, I bend down and touch my toes. This really loosens the lower back.
  7. Eat boiled potatoes. We all eat a lot of potatoes. Whether you think you do or not, you eat a lot of potatoes. The potato is now the most widely cultivated plant in the entire world. It exceeds even rise in the most recent agricultural surveys. That is shocking. The potato is an ingredient in many of your foods. The potato is practically perfect food, but it has some problems. It is a nightshade like the poisonous belladonna. It contains certain natural poisons designed to protect the plant from its predators. The potato contains two Glycoalkaloid poisons called Solanine and Chaconine. These have insecticide and anti-fungal properties. They aren't good for you either. It is a controversial subject among medical researchers, but Solanine is implicated in aggravating arthritis pain. Your french fries are fucking you up, whether you know it or not. If you take a bunch of potatoes, put them in a Pyrex, fill the Pyrex with water, stick it in the microwave, and run the micro on full power for about 18 minutes, then discard the water, you will boil out the Solanine and Chaconine. Discard the water. Never drink it. If the potatoes aren't quite done, rack them on the dry Pyrex, put them back in the micro, hit the sensor cook button, and let it run. You will get a perfect potato, free of natural nightshade poisons that can make you hurt.
  8. Do a few stretching exercises in a hot shower. You need to shower with hot water, and I mean very hot water. A few toe touches and knee bends under hot running water will help loosen those joints.
  9. Sit on an ice-pack. Sciatic nerve pain is highly correlated with inflammation. Ibuprofen helps with this problem, but it is not a perfect solution. Ice is the solution. I have a nice flat-sheet chemical cold pack which I sit on during breakfast or during work. It freezes my butt, which is not nice. However, it brings down inflation in the lower lumbar and kills sciatic nerve pain. You will love what it does for you.