Pre-empting arthritis - is that possible?

[mathnerd]

I spent time with all the women older than me in both my family and my DH's in the past month. All of them have various forms of arthritis - ranging from pain to immobility. These formidable women who were movers and shakers just a decade ago are a shell of their older selves. Some are considering surgery (knee replacement etc), some are moving along at a really slow pace and doing what they can - they range in age from 60s to 70s. My 52 year old SIL is having knee trouble already. I am in my late 30s and I believe that when my time comes, I will end up like them.

I do take supplements like Flax Seed oil and omega oils regularly (I was told that these might help the joints to stay healthy), and eat well and exercise well and have slightly creaky joints. I am within 5-10 pounds of my optimal weight and eat healthy always. What can I do to reduce my chances of arthritis? Or is it inevitable if you had family history?

Edited March 21, 2016 by mathnerd

[Chrysalis Academy]

:bigear: My mom is practically paralyzed by arthritis at this point, and has been for a couple of years now. Starting in her mid-60s. I don't want to go down that road either.

[gardenmom5]

I think it depends upon the reason.

 

My SISTER (at 55!), mother (only - no sibs), grandmother - several of her sisters - all had knee replacements. it's safe to say knee problems requiring a replacement are genetically predisposed in my family. they all (except for my sister, but she's 'young') also had tias that eventually led to a form of dementia.

 

MTHF is a genetic mutation - that can lead to joint problems (and vascular - re: tias).  I'm homozygous (I have two copies of the defective gene). I'm currently  being treated for it in hopes I won't go down the knee replacement (and/or tia) road.

I used to get 'annoyances' in my left knee, which have since completely gone away.

 

 

eta: yoga is very good for your joints. something about it triggers a response that will  lubricate the joints.

Edited March 21, 2016 by gardenmom5

[OneStepAtATime]

Following.  Already having joint issues, too.

[madteaparty]

Is it osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis? I understand the two are completely different diseases.

DH has the juvenile form of RA. There were times in his youth he was completely incapacitated, could not get out of bed in the morning owing to joint pain. He was on pretty aggressive medication (chemo meds, essentially). That said, he has been in remission and med free for about 12 years now. We have no idea what did it, I'd like to think it's his healthy diet and supplements I force feed him ;) but this cannot be the only cause because he is really lax in complying with that regime. We try to stay active everyday, hiking, skiing, yoga etc. when I was researching arthritis I read that turmeric, as well as large doses of fish oils help because of the anti inflammatory properties.

Edited March 21, 2016 by madteaparty

[kbutton]

It runs in my family as well. Not many joint replacements, but a lot of RA and OA. You might add glucosamine and chondrointin to your list. It's amazingly helpful for joint pain for me. My supplement has MSM and vitamin D3 in it as well. I think seeing a chiropractor helps, but there are good ones and not so good ones. Good alignment helps wear and tear. 

 

I think it's probably more about minimizing/delaying than preventing, unfortunately. If you have genetic markers like MTHFR, I imagine there are strategies for overall healthcare that could help (to varying degrees in each person). I am hopeful with all the study on epi-genetics that we'll have more answers at some point. 

[JumpyTheFrog]

My mom began to get arthritis in her hands in her 40s. By age 62 or so, they'd often be locked up in the morning. She went off gluten and has had no trouble with them since then. She also has both MTHFR variants and some elevated levels of thyroid antibodies, but she found that removing gluten worked before she knew about the other problems.

Edited March 21, 2016 by HoppyTheToad