Research shows about one-third of all adults experience some type of joint pain.
And most people aren’t sure what they can do to ease their joint pain naturally.
Joint pain can be caused by many different factors–overuse of certain joints (e.g. certain physical jobs or sports), arthritis, old age, injuries, being overweight/obese, a sedentary lifestyle, high stress, and/or eating a poor diet.
Recommended: Learn More About How Ideal Collagen Can Help Support the Health of Your Joints
Many people want to avoid taking prescription medication if possible. Here are some natural ways to relieve or get rid of joint pain:
1. Lose weight
Extra weight puts more pressure on your joints, therefore, your weight can make a big impact on the amount of pain you experience. Reducing the stress on your joints by losing weight will improve your mobility, decrease pain, and help prevent future damage to your joints.
2. Exercise
Regular movement helps to maintain flexibility in your joints. Regularly exercising will also help strengthen and stretch the affected joints and muscles, improving circulation and reducing pain. The best exercises for joints are low-impact exercises such as water aerobics, swimming, cycling, using an elliptical, walking or yoga. Wearing a brace or wrap around a painful joint may help as you exercise. There is also the added benefit of exercise helping you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
3. Hot and cold therapy
When it comes to arthritis pain, hot and cold treatments can make a huge difference. Taking long, warm showers/baths in the morning will help ease stiffness in your joints. And at night, using an electric blanket or moist heating pad will keep your joints loose.
A classic remedy for any muscle or joint ache is taking a relaxing bath with Epsom salts. Epsom salts are easily absorbed through the skin to provide quick relief as they lower inflammation, reduce muscle spasms and relax tense areas. You can also try adding lavender essential oil to your bath to de-stress.
Cold treatments can also be used to relieve joint pain, swelling, or inflammation. Simply wrap a gel ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables in a towel and apply it to your painful joints for relief.
4. Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been shown to reduce arthritis pain for some people. It is an ancient Chinese medical treatment that involves inserting thin needles into specific points on your body to reroute energies and restore balance in your body. If you want to try this treatment method, be sure to find a licensed and certified acupuncturist.
5. Meditation
According to the National Institutes of Health, studies have found that the practice of mindfulness meditation is helpful for some people with painful joints. Meditation and relaxation techniques may be able to help you reduce pain from arthritis by reducing stress and enabling you to cope with it better.
6. Massage
Regular massaging of arthritic joints can help reduce pain and stiffness and improve your range of motion. Applying peppermint essential oil and/or eucalyptus oil to areas that are inflamed and swollen by rubbing them into your skin is also beneficial. Other essential oils for joint pain include: frankincense, myrrh, orange and turmeric oils. Work with a physical therapist to learn self-massage, or schedule regular appointments with a massage therapist.
7. Diet modifications
By implementing an anti-inflammatory diet, joint pain caused by inflammation will likely start to decrease. Fresh fruits and vegetables are loaded with antioxidants that slow the effects of aging. Try to limit or remove processed foods, trans-fats and added sugars, as these can cause severe inflammation.
Add these healthy ingredients/foods into your diet:
omega-3 fatty acids – wild caught salmon, sardines, mackerel, grass-fed beef, flax seeds, chia seeds, and walnuts.
Electrolytes from potassium – leafy greens, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocados and coconut water
Calcium & Vitamin D – dark leafy greens, dairy products, almonds, fish, eggs and sunlight (vitamin D) are the best natural sources.
Glucosamine – one way to consume glucosamine naturally is by consuming bone broth (or by using supplements).
Collagen – foods that are very high in protein, such as beef, chicken and fish. Collagen can also be found in supplement form, or obtained naturally from consuming real bone broth.
9. Collagen Supplement
While collagen is vital to the health of your joints, we often notice pain as we age because our collagen begins to deteriorate and our bodies aren’t as efficient at creating more to replace the collagen that is degenerating.
Fortunately, we can increase the collagen that’s available in our joints by taking in more collagen. And that’s what makes Ideal Collagen such an impressive formula to support the health of the joints. Ideal Collagen naturally provides 10,000mg of hydrolyzed collagen in each serving so you can quickly get more collagen where it is needed in your joints.
And Ideal Collagen also includes hyaluronic acid to help the joints stay flexible along with glucosamine and chondroitin to support overall collagen production.
So before you make that appointment with your doctor to discuss treating your joint pain with medication, try some of these natural joint pain remedies to see if one or more can alleviate some of your discomfort and pain.
