How can I alleviate the arthritis in my lower spine?

Question

I have recently been diagnosed with arthritis in my L5 and S1 facet joing in my spine. Doctor gave it a 6 on a 1-10 scale of severity. What can I do to help this? I heard shark cartilage and soy help...any suggestions?

Answer 1

Water exercise, high quality fish oil and NSAIDs

See a rheumatologist and find out if you are a candidate for a disease modifier (like enbrel) or retardent (like methotrexate) as these both can make a tremendous difference.

Answer 2

I have osteo arthritis in the severe degenerative stages. I've had nine surgeries in five years on my entire spine, shoulder, both knees and both hands.
I'm on drug control now, nothing helps anymore. Everyday is a new day in pain. They operate and it's good for awhile, then within a few months, it's back, somewhere else.
The arthritis eats the covering and the membrane off and between the bone, leaving it open to wear and abrasion. They can help but, not cure. I'm 68 years old thank goodness and don't have to suffer that long.
It's genetic and runs in our family, my three sisters are as bad as I am.
See a good Rhumatologist, follow his/her directions, stay away from quacks and, they're out there. There's more cures for arthritis than any other disease on the market. That's for sure and, they all want to get in your pocket, once for sure.
Good luck

Answer 3

You can do a lot. The spine has five attributes, vertebra, discs, muscles, tendons and ligaments, all working together keep us upright in perfect posture and pain free. However if you have five men digging a big hole, only four of them are lying on the grass sunbathing, then the one digging is going to get exhausted pretty fast and end up hurting his back. Five men digging the hole, none will get exhausted and they will complete the job sooner. In other words you need to exercise. You need to exercise the muscles tendons and ligaments as they will keep the spine aligned and will help to stop the deterioration of the facet joints. You can also take Omega 3 oils and if you want seek the opinion of a Rheumatologist, just to rule out Rheumatoid Arthritis, or the inflammatory forms of Arthritis. Likewise if you are over weight, diet!

Answer 4

Joint pain due to arthritis and other reasons can be reduced and cured by making small changes in your diet and lifestyle. I found the information at http://aches.in/naturalcuresarthritis.html useful.

Answer 5

NSAIDs won't help. That's for sure. They just relieve temporary pain. The best you can do is find appropriate exercises. Try Glucosamine + Chondritine.