·Perfectly working joints ·Flawless skin ·Excellent breathing ·Great sex at all times ·Good sleeping habits ·Clear, mental alertness ·20-20 vision ·Strong bones If you have all of the above, just stop reading now. This article is not for you. Still here? Good. Let me tell you about this miracle that comes in a pill...
Hyaluronic acid, I'll just call, "HA," is a special substance that exists in all living organisms. It's found all over the human body to cushion and lubricate our joints, heart, and eyes especially. Over time, we lose this valuable acid. We start to get creaky, painful joints, lose our eyesight, and generally start to fall apart!
So, what is the solution to this problem? Replace the HA!
Some people take HA injections. I recommend pills-much less painful. Plus, there are NO side effects found to date with pills. Injections have a small list of them reported. I definitely recommend the pills.
Primetime Live did a segment on HA that you really should watch. Connie Chung interviewed an elderly villager that had smooth, wrinkle-free skin, strong muscles, and claimed to have never been sick a day in his life. His village friends enjoyed similar good health. An investigation showed that he and his small Japanese community typically consumed a diet of local root vegetables that contained HA. Not long after that, smart people figured out how to extract the HA and put it in pill form.
The fountain of youth? Possibly. Cosmetic companies have been adding it to their products for years to combat aging and skin problems.
All I know is that I'm a walking testimonial for HA.
I had a terrifying 4-wheeler wreck July 8, 2004 when I fell off a cliff and landed in a heap with my right leg twisted grotesquely behind my head. My little toe was close enough to my mouth to bite my toenail. To make a long story short, I now have a large metal bar where my large leg bone used to be and up to seven short days ago, I suffered severe pain in my legs and hips at all times. Why up to seven days ago? A friend told me about a product called True Essentials with HA. I was skeptical. What could a pill do for my problems? Doctors and chiropractors couldn't relieve the pain. What could a little supplement do? My friend insisted that I needed to try this new product because he swore that he no longer had severe knee pain due to taking the pills.
I decided to keep a blog on my writer's site at http://authorsden.com/kristisayles about the daily progress or failure of my treatment-a kind of experiment. I honestly didn't expect to report much.
But I was wrong.
On the fourth day, I woke up, stretched, and rolled out of bed. At first I was so sleepy that I didn't realize that I had just stood without having to grasp the railing as I always have since my wreck. Then it hit me! I was standing without pain in my knee, hips, or calf! My husband was as amazed as I was. It was nothing short of a miracle! I could even jog in place again! Just a few days before, I was having trouble keeping my balance, since I was trying to avoid putting any pressure on my right leg. Now, I could jog!
It's now the seventh day. Although I will honestly say that I still have some stiffness, I do not have the agonizing pain that has accompanied it for so many months. I can't wait to see what happens after a month - or a year! I'm so excited!
I had an appointment with my chiropractor today. I did a little jog for him.
His words? "I'm impressed. I am truly impressed." Then he picked up the True Essentials bottle I had brought in and read it intently. "Good stuff in here," he declared. "I don't see any reason to keep seeing you." he said.You're doing as well as I can help you be. I'm impressed."
So, do you need HA? You decide.
HA is a major component of synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is the naturally-occurring lubricant found in joints.
HA has a variety of functions within the joint including lubricating effects, water balance, and stress distribution through what are termed "viscoelastic properties." What this means is that at low levels of impact (standing and walking), HA has mostly lubricating properties. At high levels of impact (running and jumping), HA functions to cushion the joint.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is often used as a treatment for osteoarthritis (OA), particularly in the knee. HA therapy supplements HA in the knee, restoring the synovial fluid's ability to cushion, lubricate, and protect the knee joint.
A number of different mechanisms of action are thought to be responsible for the beneficial effects of HA. These include fluid replacement, inducement of the body's own HA production by the knee joint, increase in cartilage synthesis, reduction in cartilage degradation, inhibition of inflammation, protection of the cells that make cartilage, and decrease in pain through inhibition of pain stimulus on nerve fibers within the joint.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. Its hallmark is the progressive breakdown of cartilage. As cartilage becomes progressively more damaged, changes in the HA within the joint also occur. Both the concentration as well as the molecular weight of HA undergo change.
The reduced concentration and molecular weight of HA lead to worsening of cartilage damage, increase in inflammation within the joint, and further reduction of function of synovial fluid.
Synovial fluid in patients with OA no longer performs its normal viscoelastic function. This perpetuates a cycle of reduced cushioning and lubrication leading to more damage and inflammation, and so on.
Both the American College of Rheumatology and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons list HA therapy as an alternative and supplement to oral drugs for patients in whom non-drug therapy and treatment with acetaminophen (Tylenol) has failed, especially if non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and COX-2 inhibitors are contraindicated.
The advantage of HA is not limited to just restoration of the synovial fluid's ability to cushion, lubricate, and protect the knee joint. HA also leads to pain relief and improvement in knee function and health-related quality of life. Finally, it is a localized therapy with no systemic side-effects.
There is also some data that HA therapy may actually postpone the need for knee replacement surgery in some cases.
Side effects of HA are minimal. The most common are local injection site reactions. Different forms of HA are available and these include Hyalgan, Synvisc, Supartz, Orthovisc, and Euflexxa. Most HA products are derived from chicken sources.
The exception is Euflexxa which is bioengineered from a different source.
Different injection schedules are required for the different preparations. Some require weekly injections for 3 weeks; others are weekly injections for 5 weeks.
The important things to remember are that HA should be administered by an experienced rheumatologist or orthopedic surgeon. Either ultrasound or fluroscopy should be used to ensure proper location of the needle and accuracy of HA injection.
Contraindications include active infection of the joint or skin near the joint, history of sensitivity to chicken prodcuts (except for Euflexxa), and prior allergic reaction to HA.
Both Kristi Sayles & Nathan Wei are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kristi Sayles has sinced written about articles on various topics from Health, Computers and The Internet and Hyaluronic Acid. If you would like to follow Kristi Sayles' progress, you are invited to click on her blog.http://authorsden.com/kristisayles. She believes in True Essentials enough to have become a reseller of the products. View the "Fountain of Youth" video online at. Kristi Sayles's top article generates over 880 views. to your Favourites.
Nathan Wei has sinced written about articles on various topics from Arthritis Pain, Health and Arthritis Signs. Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info:. Nathan Wei's top article generates over 550000 views. to your Favourites.