Herbs That Fight Pain

 

Published in the November 2002 issue of Alive Journal

 

Non steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDS) are one of the 7 most common prescribed drugs in North America. These include Aspirin, Celebrex, Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and Naproxen. Mrs. Roger’s age 55 complained of joint pain and expressed her desire to get off Ibuprofen which she was taking every day in increasing dosages. I concurred with her concerns of the side effects of these medications.  The most common one is damage to the intestinal tract including ulcers and bleeding ulcers. More people die each year of bleeding ulcers caused by NSAIDS than cocaine abuse. Her MD had prescribed Celebrex a fairly new anti-inflammatory. It is a COX 2 (a pain pathway) inhibitor and supposedly has fewer side effects. This is turning out not to be true in practice and Mrs. Rogers wanted to try something natural before trying it. I explained that all of these NSAID anti-inflammatories while inhibiting the pain actually increased joint and gastric damage. This happens for two reasons. One is that COX 1pathway is also inhibited by these drugs. COX 1 pathways protect the gastrointestinal (GI) mucosa and limits gastric output thus when it is inhibited leaves the GI susceptible to inflammation and damage. The second reason is that these drugs fail to inactivate cartilage destroying enzymes (collagenase and phosholipase) that are released when the cartilage is damaged. NSAIDS will control pain and swelling but these enzymes will continue to damage the joint and inhibit cartilage synthesis. NSAIDS will also decrease folic acid and therefore increase homocysteine levels which is associated with an increase risk of heart disease and stroke. They also deplete Vitamin C and sulfur both of which are necessary for the synthesis of cartilage.

The first thing I always instruct these patients to do are: 1. Get off foods that cause inflammation namely the night shade foods i.e. tomatoes, eggplant, potatoes and the pepper family. 2. Stop coffee and pop. 3. Take a good mineral supplement including at least 1000mg of a good quality calcium and 600mg of magnesium sulphate in a capsule form. 4.Drink at least 8-10 glasses of pure water every day.  5. Take a good quality essential fat like Flaxoil or purified Cod Liver oil 1tablespoon per day.  I am frequently delighted in how this simple program works so well in many people.

Mrs. Rogers needed additional support so I recommended a combination of glucosamine, MSM and Devil’s Claw.
 

Glucosamine sulphate is derived from chitin, the exoskeleton of shrimp, lobster and crabs. The body manufactures the simple molecule glucosamine and stimulates the manufacture of glycosaminoglycans, which are the key component of cartilage. Glucosamine also promotes the incorporation of sulfur into cartilage therefore the sulphate form is the best source of glucosamine rather than the hydrochloride form or NAG (N-acetyl-glucosamine). Glucosamine has been studied since the 1970’s and finally some MD’s will recommend it first for the treatment of arthritis as the research is overwhelmingly positive and is 10-30 times more safe than NSAIDS! It stimulates cartilage synthesis and repair, protects the joint against further destruction, has a powerful therapeutic effect in the treatment of osteoarthritis and it inhibits the collagen destroying enzymes. One study indicates that the longer you take it the better. After three years patients are continuing to experience improvement of their symptoms so continued use is recommended. People with sulfur allergies need not be concerned as what they are allergic to is sulphite as found in food additives and drugs. The sulphate form is naturally occurring in high concentrations in human blood and is an essential mineral.

MSM  (Methyl Sulfonyl Methane) is a very inexpensive way of ingesting sulfur into the body. The same doctor who developed DMSO developed it. MSM does not have the annoying odor that DMSO has but some of its benefits. It is important for cartilage synthesis, and repair. Sulphate molecules are important for: 1.liver detoxification (in fact 5 of the 10 phase 2 detox liver enzymes depend on sulfur containing amino acids). 2.formation of glycosaminoglycans including chondroitin sulfate. I find in clinical practice the dosage of MSM can very widely. Some do fine with 3000mg per day while others do better with double that amount. There is no toxicity with MSM. I prescribed for Mrs. Rogers 1500 mg Glucosamine and 1700 mg MSM. These are often prescribed together along with Chondroitin if necessary.

Devils Claw, Grapple plant or Harpagophytum procumbens is a South African plant that promotes flexibility, acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting pro inflammatory eicosanoids and relieves pain. It has been shown to benefit patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip and those with chronic back pain. In one study 6 capsules containing 435 mg of Devil’s claw taken daily worked just as well in treating symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee and hip than NSAIDS and was superior in the lack of side effects noted. Look for standardized harpagoside products. For Mrs. Rogers I prescribed 400 mg per day.

After three months on the above program Mrs. Rogers was able to totally eliminate the use of Ibuprofen, she lost a few pounds avoiding all those potatoes she had been eating previously and her energy improved along with her mental clarity!

 

Dr.Ingrid Pincott, ND graduated from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in 1985.  She received her RN in 1979. She is a general practitioner specializing in women’s health and successful aging. She is currently a board member of the Canadian Naturopathic Association. She practices in Campbell River and can be reached at www.DrPincott.com or 1-800-898-6699.