joint pain Archives - Center for Holistic Medicine

The winter season is almost upon us, and although it may be a time of less sunlight, more sniffles and more morning stiffness, it can also be a wonderful time to experience the quiet serenity of nature and the joy of the first fall of snow.

Here are 10 tips from our practitioners on ways that you can stay healthy and happy all winter long.

3 Tips for Supporting Your Immune System
If there’s one thing we’ve all learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s that respiratory viruses such as colds, the flu and Covid-19, all spread more easily when we spend more time indoors. Here are three tips for keeping your immune system strong throughout the winter months.

Maintain Proper Levels of Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays a hugely important role in our immune system, and if you live here in the Midwest and spend a lot of time indoors, it’s likely that you’re not getting as much Vitamin D as you need. To get the proper amount, Dr. Kelsie Lazzell, DC, DN, a functional medicine practitioner at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says you would need to get 20 minutes of daily full-forearm sunlight exposure. When it’s too cold to spend 20 minutes outside, she suggests using a full-spectrum light box, such as a Happy Light, or taking a vitamin D3 supplement or a cod liver oil supplement. You can also get vitamin D through foods, such as sunlight-exposed mushrooms or cold-water fish, such as salmon.
Take A Vitamin C Supplement
Want to stay healthy all winter long? The best tip from Jennifer Eisenstein, a family nurse practitioner at the Center for Holistic Medicine, is something your mom probably told you, too: Get enough vitamin C. “I recommend at least one gram of vitamin C a day for adults and 500 mg a day for children,” she says.

Research has shown that taking vitamin C can reduce the length and severity of the common cold. That’s because when your body is fighting inflammation or an infection, your immune cells pump more vitamin C to help the cells fight off the infection. You can get vitamin C in foods, such as oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes and more, or take a vitamin C supplement, such as Ester C, or a whole foods vitamin C product that has acerola cherries in it.
Get Enough Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Patricia DeAngelis, a functional medicine nurse practitioner at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says another way to keep viruses at bay is to get enough omega-3 fatty acids, which serve to decrease inflammation, boost your immune system, and can even have a positive effect on depression and mood. One way to do that is to take a fish oil supplement, which is a good source of two types of omega-3 fatty acids. You can get a third type of omega-3 fatty acids in nuts and seeds.

3 Tips for Avoiding Joint and Back Pain
As the weather gets colder, our bodies can often feel achier and stiffer than they do during the summer months. And of course, winter also means more chances of slipping on ice or injuring ourselves shoveling snow, which can lead to even more aches and pains. Here are two tips for keeping our joints and muscles in good shape this winter.

Stretch
“Stretch, especially before going outside or exercising, to loosen stiff joints. This reduces stiffness and prevents joint injuries and will help keep you limber and active,” says Dr. Cheryl Schwartz, DO, a primary care an internal medicine physician at the Center for Holistic Medicine. “Even a short stretch in the morning or before bed can help you reduce chronic pain symptoms in winter months.”

Schwartz suggests trying yoga, pilates, Tai Chi, or QiGong, or just doing some simple stretches on your own at home. “And don’t forget your neck,” Dr. Schwartz says. “We spend so many hours on our computers, phone, and tablets, that our necks suffer.”

Dr. Schwartz says you can do the following neck stretch twice a day, or whenever your neck feels tight. (Note: No part of these stretches should be painful. If you experience pain while stretching, back off a bit. If that does not help, see your doctor).

— Sit straight but comfortably in a chair. Make sure your chin is parallel with the ground. Turn your head to the right. Hold for one deep breath in and out. Turn your head back to center position and hold for one deep breath. Now turn your head to the left and hold for one deep breath. Again, turn your head to center and hold for one deep breath.
–Tip your head to the right (as if touching your right ear to your right shoulder, but do not lift your shoulder). Hold for one deep breath. Tip your head back to center and hold for one deep breath. Tip your head to the left and hold for one deep breath. Tip your head back to center and hold for one deep breath. Tip your head forward (bring your chin towards your chest). You should feel a nice stretch in your lower neck/upper back. Hold for one deep breath.
— Bring your head back up to center and hold for one deep breath.
Wear Smartwool Clothing to Keep Your Muscles Warm
When we feel cold, we tend to tense up our muscles more, causing reduced mobility and flexibility in our joints. To keep your muscles warm and limber, Dr. Jerry Gore, MD, clinical director at at the Center for Holistic Medicine, has a cozy solution. “I have recommended to several people that feel cold in the winter that they should shop for Smartwool products that they can wear as base layers next to the skin instead of cotton. What a difference! The clothing is expensive but worth the investment in my opinion because they really work,” he says.

3. Wear Layers of Clothing Instead of Bulky Clothing
Most people assume that putting on a big bulky winter coat is the best way to keep your muscles warm in the winter. But Mary Ellen Boyte, DN, a naprapathic practitioner at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says it’s better to dress in layers instead. “Layers of clothing act as an insulator, and the air between the layers are insulation as well,” Boyte explains. “However, avoid wearing cotton next to the skin. Cotton is not a choice because it holds water, so when you perspire, that will make you feel cold.”

Learn How to Shovel Snow Correctly
Dr. Mitchell Katz, DC, a chiropractor at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says he always sees more patients every winter when people hurt their lower backs by shoveling snow improperly. To avoid straining your back or herniating a disc, Dr. Katz says you should follow these simple rules when shoveling snow.

— Lighten the load. Don’t lift more snow than you can handle. This might mean using a smaller shovel.
— Push rather than lift. You can simply push the snow up against the side of your driveway.
— Allow for rest time. Unless your muscles are well conditioned for this type of work, they will fatigue rather quickly.
— Wear an elastic back support, which will provide extra support.
— Use a shovel with a curved handle to allow for better posture.
— Incorporate the hip hinge when lifting any loads, especially when heavy, wet snow is involved. The hip hinge lets you keep the curve in your lower back and incorporates the hip (buttocks) into the lift to give you more power and cause less stress on the intervertebral discs and spinal ligaments.

3 Tips for Maintaining Good Mental Health
It’s no secret that darker, shorter days can cause some people to feel more depressed. Here are a few tips to help you stay positive and happy throughout the winter months.

Do Something Kind for Someone Else
Dr. Gore says one way to avoid depression this winter is to give back to others. “Lend a helping hand, call someone you love, start a good habit, and begin the practice of living with a little bit of joy,” he says.
Practice Self-Love
Soula Souflakis, LCPC, a therapist at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says although it may be tough to find ways to alleviate your depression, she says one of the most effective strategies is to make yourself a priority and practice self-love. “Self-love and prioritizing oneself can be expressed in different ways,” Souflakis says. “For example, every morning upon waking, look in the mirror and tell your reflection ‘I love you.’ Exercise regularly. Release your endorphins and take care of and respect your body. Eat a balanced diet. And every night before bed, look back at the reflection in the mirror and tell it one thing that you did that you are proud of.”
Do Things That Make You Happy
Carol Gore, LCSW, a therapist at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says it’s important to take time for the things that bring you joy. “The antidote and the healing to the cold and darkness of winter is to actively and consciously bringing in warmth and light into one’s life in very practical and manageable ways on a daily basis by doing things that uplift the heart and enliven the spirit,” she says. “Examples might be calling a relative you love, meeting a friend for lunch, writing a daily gratitude list, cuddling in bed with a wonderful book or taking a hot bubble bath. The creative possibilities are endless!”

If you suffer from hip or knee pain, your first instinct may be to take an ibuprofen or an aspirin for relief. But it turns out that taking an anti-inflammatory drug may actually hurt more than it helps.

In fact, Dr. Richard Bisceglie, a doctor of naprapathy at the Center for Holistic Medicine, says your body is perfectly designed to heal most injuries on its own. For example, swelling around an injury is meant to serve as a cushion, and the sensation of pain is simply the body sending a signal to the brain to pay attention to the injured spot so you don’t reinjure it.

When you get injured, or with a chronic condition such as osteo arthritis, your body goes into an inflammatory state. “Inflammation is a cascade of bio chemical reactions that happen in your body physiologically,” Dr. Biscgelie says, adding that it signals to other types of cells to come to that site and help either heal the injury or reduce the swelling. “NSAIDs (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs) block an enzyme that stops the inflammatory cycle, instead of letting the body finish its course. When you stop taking the medication, the body goes right back to where it was.”

Dr. Bisceglie says when you take an anti-inflammatory medication, you might feel better, but the body hasn’t fully healed, so you may go out and run on your knee again, only to make the problem worse.

Instead, Dr. Bisceglie recommends using natural therapies to lessen the severity of the pain and swelling while still encouraging the body to complete its natural healing cycle.

So what are some natural things you can do to relieve your hip or knee pain without relying on medication?

Avoid Sugar and White Flour
“Your diet plays a big role in your body’s response to pain,” Dr. Bisceglie says. “And consuming sugar is one of the worst things you can do for inflammation.” According to American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, sugar can trigger the release of cytokines, which send a message to your body to produce more inflammation. That’s why Dr. Bisceglie recommends avoiding refined sugar and simple carbohydrates, such as white flour, and opting for foods that are high in fiber, such as barley or oatmeal, instead. Phytonutrients (nutrients from most fruits and vegetables), are recommended as well.
Eat More Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Eating good fats — such as the omega 3 fatty acids found in salmon, tuna, walnuts and fish oils — have been proven to reduce inflammation and help with arthritis and joint pain. Omega 3 supplementation is also a good idea.
Spice Things Up with Tumeric /Curcumin
Whether you sprinkle it onto your favorite dishes or take it in a supplement form, adding turmeric is a great way of reducing the swelling and pain associated with inflammation.
Take Magnesium
When you injure a joint, Dr. Biscgelie says your body may produce muscle spasms to contract the muscles around the joint to stabilize it, leading to pain and also blocking blood flow to the injured area. Magnesium helps to relax the muscles so you can get back to moving them again. Magnesium is a common nutrient deficiency and is involved in multiple processes.
Take Glucosomine Chrondroitin with Sulfate
Did you know that glucosamine is derived from animals with shells, such as crabs, lobster and shrimp? Seems like the perfect ingredient if we want to build up our own supply of cartilage between our joints and relieve the pain that comes from bone rubbing against bone.
Try Naprapathy
Another way to relieve muscle tension is with naprapathy, a type of hands-on, soft tissue manipulation and mobilization, which can improve mobility, direct fluids away from the injured area and bring blood flow back to the joint.
Stay Active
Although you want to rest after an acute injury, when it comes to chronic pain, keeping your muscles locked up around your joints will only prolong your agony. Gentle stretching and movement is important in relieving muscle tension and getting the blood flowing.

Want to learn more about natural ways to relieve hip or joint pain without medication or invasive surgery? Come to our free workshops on May 17 at 12:30 p.m. or May 31 at 5 p.m. at the Center for Holistic Medicine. Register today!

Tag: joint pain

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