Joint Pain: Taking the Wide View 

The naturopathic approach is about guiding people towards better lifestyle habits and ensuring that their bodies have everything they need for those maintenance and repair mechanisms. As naturopaths, we educate people on ways to promote recovery. We also assess their needs and recommend dietary supplements to help their bodies reestablish homeostasis.

Naturopaths may also recommend targeted interventions, such as the use of medicinal plants to achieve anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, or refer people to pain- and inflammation-management care, such as kinesiology, acupuncture, osteopathy, and massage therapy.

Joint pain usually has an inflammatory component and can very often be attributed to an over-reactive immune system that’s constantly responding to external triggers. This is the case in people with intestinal dysbiosis and digestive complications that lead to hyper-reactivity in the gut-associated lymphoid tissues. Those tissues release immune signals into the blood, disrupting immunity in other parts of the body. People with these kinds of digestive complications often also develop skin reactions, respiratory allergies, joint pain, and even autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. When treating them, naturopaths strive to determine the root cause of the pain or imbalance, so that we can deliver lasting improvements.

In addition to relieving discomfort and making lifestyle recommendations, naturopaths work to address irritants and imbalances promptly. By paying close attention to the gut microbiome, we can help balance the immune system and keep digestive and assimilation processes running smoothly.

That may involve taking supplements for essential nutrients that are hard to get from our diet:

• Vitamin D3: In addition to regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, it boosts immunity and improves muscle health.
• Vitamin K2: It works together with vitamin D3 to bind calcium in the bones and prevent arterial calcification.
• Magnesium: It reduces cramps, promotes muscle relaxation, and acts as a cofactor in over 300 enzymatic reactions.
• Omega-3 fatty acids: They promote a healthy immune response and reduce chronic inflammation.

Another way naturopaths treat gut bacteria is with probiotics. These can complement our highly sanitized modern diets, which are often lacking in good bacteria. We may also recommend other supplements on a case-by-case basis, such as zinc, turmeric, glucosamine, chondroitin, and collagen, as well as specific plants like devil’s claw and even certain essential oils, which can be applied topically.

Taking an integrative approach to health means considering someone’s entire physiology when choosing a course of action, instead of simply formulating a diagnosis based on the symptoms. We need to take a wider view and consider each patient in front of us as a whole human being. We need to be willing to use multiple tools and engage with different specialties to achieve lasting results. And through it all, we need to remember to keep patients in the driver’s seat.

This article provides general information only and does not replace the recommendations or care of a healthcare professional. The effect of the products presented in this text may vary from one person to another; some of them may be contraindicated for you and may interact with your medication if you are taking it. If you are being monitored for a health problem, consult a health professional before including them in your diet.

Références : 

• Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, T cell trafficking, and chronic intestinal inflammation, National Library of Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3075575/
• Clonal IgA and IgG autoantibodies from individuals at risk for rheumatoid arthritis identify an arthritogenic strain of Subdoligranulum, Science Translational Medicine https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abn5166
• Main nutritional deficiencies, National Library of Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9710417/