Long-term treatment of rheumatic illnesses like arthritis using cortisone (a type of glucocorticoids) can cause osteoporosis. Cortisone is a steroid hormone and reduces allergic-like reactions. According to the German Society for Rheumatology (DGRh), as a preventive measure, you should accompany it with calcium and vitamin D. 

What is a good source of calcium and vitamin D? 

Yung Kien Bee Pollen. Because it is Natural, there is no Preservatives, it doesn't contain Antibiotics and it is Complete with Enzymes and Coenzymes which aids in better digestion and absorption of the calcium and vitamin D. 

Knee osteoarthritis is the deterioration of the cartilage in knee joints, leading to pain and difficulty walking. Injections of hyaluronic acid have been prescribed since the 1970s to treat this problem. Hyaluronic acid, a gel-like substance, is injected into the joint aiming to lubricate movement and decrease pain. The treatment is known as viscosupplementation.

A meta-analysis published in The BMJ looked at 169 previous trials that compared the injections to a placebo (no treatment). The researches then whittled that down to 24 large placebo-controlled trials involving nearly 9,000 patients, in what is the largest review of the available data so far.

These are some of the Conclusions:

> Strong conclusive evidence that viscosupplementation is associated with a clinically irrelevant reduction in pain intensity.

> The treatment is associated with a higher incidence of serious adverse events.

> It is not only ineffective compared with a placebo but might also be seriously harmful.

One of the study's authors, Bruno da Costa of the University of Toronto said that for a typical patient, it should be a last resort. Several large-scale, industry-funded studies were carried out that found negative results about the treatment. But those studies were never published, da Costa said. He added this is concerning, and perhaps mainly driven by commercial interests.

What are some countries doing

> France's social security system stopped offering reimbursements for the treatment a few years ago.

> England's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends against viscosupplementation.

> A quarter of the money that US Medicare spent on viscosupplementation in 2018 went towards treating infections in joints following an injection, one of the most common side effects.

(Source: StarHealth, 18/7/2022)

What can you do

Click on this link to read the story of how my mother overcame her osteoarthritis problem with Vitaking collagen..

http://www.pingofhealth.com/2011/09/my-mums-knee-pain-collagen-did-job.html

Neck pain can be due to many reasons. It is very disabling and some can last for a long long time, severely affecting your quality of life.

Some of the causes of neck pain are:

• Injury affecting muscles or ligaments.
• Inflammation due to rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
• Infection due to discitis, epidural abscess and meningitis.
• Infiltration by tumours.

Do you know that low back pain is the second largest cause of work absence, after common cold? The majority of low back pain disappear by themselves after awhile, but be cautious as it could be something as serious as cancer or aortic aneurysm.


The intervertebral disc is a common source of pain. Genetic studies have found that deficiency of collagen and vitamin D result in degeneration of these discs. A quality collagen plays an important role to calm down the inflammation that is causing your back pain. Click on this link to discover How to Choose a Good Collagen.

Causes of Low Back Pain


1) Sciatica (pinched nerve). Usually caused by a herniated or slipped disc, which then compresses on a nerve root. Depending on the nerves that are compressed, pain can be experienced at different locations, known as dermatomal distribution.

2) A pain may be due to poor posture, prolonged sitting at a computer or other job-related tasks. Pressure in the disc increases with sitting and this can worsen back pain. You will feel better lying down as this position puts the least amount of pressure on the disc.

3) Narrowing of the nerve openings, around the spinal cord or nerve roots. It can also cause leg pain and reduce the distance a person can walk.

4) Localised pain arises when an area is stretched or its muscles overused. The cause is more difficult to pinpoint.

5) Back arthritis affects the joints, and results in stiffness and pain. Click on this link to learn more about Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Learn how to prevent destruction of your cartilage arising from oxidative stress. If you know how that works, your will manage your arthritis condition and your back pain will be significantly reduced.

Warning signs of back pain that warrant urgent medical attention:

• Fever
• Progressive movement of the pain from the back into the leg
• Numbness down the leg
• Bowel or bladder incontinence
• Pain that is unrelieved at rest or disturbs sleep.

Cervical spondylosis is a degeneration of the joints in the neck, where there is abnormal wear on the cartilage and bones. It is a form of arthritis, but rarely becomes crippling or disabling. It is a very common cause for long-term neck pain. It is estimated that more than 85% of people over 60 are suffering from it.

Our spine is divided into 3 segments:

1) cervical spine (neck region), comprising 7 vertebrae
2) thoracic spine (chest region), comprising 12 vertebrae
3) lumbar spine (lower back region), comprising 5 vertebrae.

The vertebrae are joined to each other via ligaments. In between, there are intervertebral disks, which consist of jelly-like material encased by a fibrous ring. This helps cushion our spine from external forces.

These disks degenerate and lose water content as a result of age. The facets of the vertebrae experience increased pressure and start to degenerate too. The cartilage wears away. Bone rubs on bone. As a result, arthritis develops.


Our body may respond to this increased pressure by trying to grow new bones in the facet joints, resulting in an overgrowth of bone, called Spurs. These spurs may press against our spine, compressing the nerves in our spine, causing pain.

Some tell-tale signs you have cervical spondylosis:

• numbness and weakness in your hands, fingers and arms
• neck pain associated with stiffness, which worsens if you exercise your neck
• muscle spasms in neck and shoulders
• hear or feel a grinding or popping sound when moving your neck
• headache which starts at the back of your head.

Risk Factors of Spondylosis

• family history of cervical spondylosis or neck pain
• you smoke
• your job involves a lot of neck twisting (like dancing) and overhead work (like repairing ceiling lights and air-cond units)
• you have depression or anxiety
• you have injury eg. from car accident.

Arthritis literally means joint inflammation. It is used to refer to diseases that cause problems within the joint capsule. There are more than 100 types of arthritis affecting people of all ages.




Osteoarthritis is the most common chronic degenerative arthritis. It most often affects the hands, knees and spine. There is a gradual loss of cartilage from the joints, causing increased stress to the bones, and the sufferers will feel pain when the joints are moving. Morning stiffness, if present, lasts less than 30 minutes. Joint swelling can occur, either as a result of fluid accumulation or due to the growth of osteophytes or bone spurs.
  
One of the main components of cartilage is collagen. Click here to find out what is collagen and why is it important for our health and beauty. Our body needs to build cartilage at the same rate as it's wearing down in order to maintain healthy joints.


Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning our body's immune system begins attacking the cartilage and synovial lining of the joint. This unbalanced inflammatory process causes significant destruction of healthy tissue. It starts insidiously with fatigue, muscle pain and fever and eventually affects our joints, making them painful, swollen and feel stiff. Morning stiffness is prolonged and lasts more than 1 hour. 


Exercise is strongly encouraged for arthritis sufferers. Strengthening exercises help to improve joint stability and thus reduce pain. Endurance exercises improve cardiovascular fitness and help feelings of fatigue. 
  
Low impact exercises such as swimming and riding a bicycle are recommended. 
Start at a low intensity and for a short time. It is normal to feel some joint or muscle soreness after exercising. But if the pain lasts more than 1 day, the exercise was probably too long or too vigorous.


Treatment
  
It is important to note that the destruction of the cartilage in both of these diseases arises from oxidative stress.
  
The basic traditional treatment of both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is painkillers such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and aspirin. While these drugs reduce inflammation in joints, they cause many side effects like stomach ulcers and upper-gastrointestinal bleeding. 
  
In other words, these drugs merely provide pain relief without attacking the underlying cause of the disease - oxidative stress. Antioxidants is your solution to neutralize oxidative stress. For how to increase your body's level of antioxidants, please check out this Article on The Secret Of How To Delay Aging - Antioxidants.
Or you may email me at laifuiping@gmail.com.

(Source: 
StarFit4Life, Where is the Pain? by Dr Yeap Swan Sim, 2 October 2011
Chapter 11, Arthritis and Osteoporosis, What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You, Dr. Ray D. Strand)

My Mum is over 70 years old. She has been suffering from knee pain for many, many years. It's osteoarthritis, where the cartilage padding her right knee joint has slowly worn out over the years. Much like a car's tyre, through daily wear and tear, the tyre gets worn out. Easy - get a new tyre to replace the old one.


Not quite so easy with our knees. My Mum went through a lot of angst. She used to take glucosamine in her early 60s. She didn't experience much side effects but she also didn't recover. In fact, it got worse. She started limping. After a while, she could only walk down the stairs one step at a time, holding on to the railing. She started going to Tung Shin Hospital 2 to 3 times a week to seek acupuncture and Chinese tui-na therapy. The results were not encouraging. This form of knee pain treatment wasn't working and the injury continued to get worse. Trips for holidays overseas had to be cut down. It was so bad my Dad bought a leg brace for her to ease the pressure on her knee. But she wore the brace only intermittently. It's clunky and uncomfortable.

Knee replacement surgery was considered - a last resort form of knee pain treatment. But always set aside, because half of her friends reported positive results but the other half came out of the operation worse off.

And so 1 year dragged on to the next. Until 2 years ago, when I came to know of a collagen product called Vitaking. The collagen "helps in the repair and replenishment activities of the cartilage tissues to promote the renewal of bone tissues, protect the joints and preserve the skeletal health." At this stage where she did not have much options left, she desperately gave it a try.

She started by taking 3 sachets/day for a few months. After about 6 to 9 months, we noticed amazing improvements. Now she doesn't go to the hospital anymore, she doesn't take the glucosamine anymore, she doesn't use the leg brace anymore, she doesn't need to hold on to the stair railings anymore. Looks like she's finally found a workable knee pain treatment solution.

What are the "side effects" of Vitaking? She has much more energy now. She has received numerous compliments on her facial complexion as it is smoother and more radiant. To me, that's the sign of a quality collagen product.

Anyway, now my Mum takes about 2 sachets/day for maintenance.

I'm really thankful to come to know about this Vitaking collagen. Because her time is not bogged down with knee pain treatment and her movements are not hindered by the pain, my Mum can do all her usual daily activities with greater ease - going for her morning walks, going to the market, meeting up with her friends etc. And the best part is, she doesn't need to go through the trauma of a knee replacement operation.

If you want more info on this form of knee pain treatment or if you want to buy Vitaking collagen, please email me at laifuiping@gmail.com.
Click here to refer to Shuang Hor company website for Product Description and Price. I am an Authorized Distributor of this company.