A lot of people suffer from thumb joint pain due to arthritis. There are only so many things that can be done by doctors. Not everyone qualifies for thumb joint surgery, which may or may not help your condition, and you can only take so much pain medication. So what can be done?
There are actually a number of natural thumb joint pain relief treatments that you can try. These include dietary changes and supplements and creams.
One of the best known supplements for thumb joint pain relief is glucosamine and chondroitin, either taken together or separately. Other supplements that show a lot of promise include ginger, GLA (gamma linolenic acid), bromelain, fish oil, and boron. Taking supplements with bovine or shark cartilage, ASU, and SAM-e could also be helpful, but so far have only been shown to be effective in animal studies. Stinging nettle, either as a supplement or as a cream that is rubbed onto the joints, also seems to be helpful to some people with arthritis pain.
A number of different dietary changes have been touted as being helpful for thumb joint pain relief. Drinking green tea, and switching from foods containing high levels omega-6 to those containing high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, and a vegetarian diet all show a lot of promise in helping to deal with this type of pain. There are a number of different diets that some find helpful, although there is no scientific proof of their effectiveness. These include the alkaline diet, eliminating nightshades, and the Dong diet. As long as you are careful to still get a balanced diet with all the necessary nutrients it won’t hurt you to give these a try to see if they help your condition.
Whatever natural thumb joint pain relief options you are considering trying, it would be a good idea to speak with your doctor first. Some supplements react with other medications, and you want to make sure that you don’t make your health worse by inadvertently reducing the effectiveness of other medications you might be taking. A nutritionist can also be helpful if you want to give one of the diets a try so that you make sure to keep it a healthy diet and don’t eliminate too many foods from your diet.
