If you have joint pain, you may not think twice about taking a couple of aspirin or ibuprofen pills for relief. But perhaps you should, as this incredibly common class of medications — non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — may actually harm your joints and ultimately make joint pain worse…
As written in the Journal of Prolotherapy:[i]
“One of the best documented but lesser known long-term side effects of NSAIDs is their negative impact on articular [joint] cartilage.”
NSAIDs May Cause Your Cartilage to Breakdown More Quickly
It’s a sad irony that one of the most common uses for NSAIDs is for treating osteoarthritis, a leading cause of joint pain in the United States. NSAIDs include aspirin, Celebrex, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), Aleve and others. But clinical studies show that NSAIDs disrupt cartilage synthesis and actually speed up the destruction of cartilage and joints. According to one study in the American Journal of Medicine:[ii]
“NSAIDs may have deleterious effects … on knee cartilage.”
The Journal of Prolotherapy similarly reported:[iii]
“It is clear from the scientific literature that NSAIDs from in vitro and in vivo studies in both animals and humans have a significant negative effect on cartilage matrix which causes an acceleration of the deterioration of articular cartilage in osteoarthritic joints.
The preponderance of evidence shows that NSAIDs have no beneficial effect on articular cartilage and accelerate the very disease for which they are most used and prescribed. While the rapid deterioration of joints after long-term NSAID treatment can be from a loss of proactive pain sensations, it is much more likely that it is a direct effect of NSAIDs on cartilage.”
Some of the negative cartilage effects linked to NSAID use include the inhibition of synthesis of cellular matrix components, collagen synthesis and chondrocyte proliferation. In the latter case, chondrocytes are essential for healthy joint function, as they are the only cells that produce cartilage tissue. According to some reports, NSAID use may actually be a key reason for the rapid rise in knee and hip replacements in recent years!
“The long-term consequence of the deterioration of the joint is a need for joint replacement. This author notes that massive NSAID use in osteoarthritic patients since their introduction over the past forty years is one of the main causes of the rapid rise in the need for hip and knee replacements both now and in the near future.” [iv]
Some of the effects of NSAIDs on joints include:[v]
- Acceleration of radiographic progression of oseoarthritis
- Decreased joint space width
- Increased joint forces/loads
- Increased risk of joint replacement
- Inhibition of chondrocyte proliferation
- Inhibition of collagen synthesis
- Inhibition of glycosaminoglycan synthesis
- Inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis
- Inhibition of proteoglycan synthesis
- Inhibition of synthesis of cellular matrix components
The graphic below, from the Journal of Prolotherapy,[vi] illustrates how joint damage is accelerated by NSAID use.
Did You Know NSAIDs Also Carry Steep Heart and Gastrointestinal Risks?
NSAIDs are notorious for increasing your risks of heart attack (Vioxx, anyone?). A National Cancer Institute study found taking 400 mg of the NSAID Celebrex twice a day for about 33 months increases your heart attack risk by 340%!
Even aspirin, which is actually a type of NSAID, carries significant risks, including serious gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney damage, stroke, cataracts, hearing loss and a risk of chronic overdose when taking for a long period of time. Aspirin’s side effects are so severe researchers have recommended it be changed to prescription-only status.
And all NSAIDs are hard on your gastrointestinal tract, leading to potentially fatal side effects such as bleeding in your digestive tract, ulcers and perforation of your stomach or intestines.
All of this, plus they may further damage your joints while offering only temporary pain relief at best? Why risk it when there are better ways…
An All-Natural Joint Replacement in a Bottle!
This is how many describe Super Joint Support, a blend of all-natural ingredients designed to nourish, support and possibly even regenerate your joints, thanks to the hydrolyzed collagen type II and other joint supernutrients that it contains.
With chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, glucosamine sulfate potassium and more, packaged in a formula that contains 72 ionic trace minerals to ensure rapid absorption and assimilation into your body, this is a groundbreaking way to reduce and even eliminate joint pain while rebuilding and regenerating your cartilage.
Don’t risk further damage by relying on NSAIDs… try the Super Joint Support® formula that’s got everyone talking.
Well this leaves the elephant in the room (me) with a question:
WHAT CAN I TAKE FOR JOINT PAIN, BACK PAIN HEADACHES, ETC?? I was avoiding acetominifin because IT supposedly had numberous nasty side-effects and potential dangers. What now?
Dan,
Heal n Soothe, is a Proteolytic Systemic Enzymes formula, designed for two primary purposes,
To breakdown and remove excess metabolic waste including excess scar tissue, that can build up inside the Joints, Blood Vessels, Soft Tissues and in our Organs. Once the enzymes attach to that metabolic waste, it is then processed by the body and removed from the body.
The second specific function of the enzymes is to regulate the biological processes that control the bodies inflammatory response, so if you can remove the metabolic waste from the body and then control the bodies inflammation, your body will then be better to be able to repair is self…
and Yes, the enzymes can give relief from Back Pain as well as Headaches
Now…
Super Joint Support, is a specific blend of Type II Collagen, Glucosamine, Chondroitin and MSM, designed to help the body stimulate Chondrocytes, the very cells that can regenerate joint cartilage.
Further 72, Water soluble Ionic trace minerals were added, for bone, joint and ligament support as well as support the body with a balanced approach to having the body be and function in a balanced state again allowing the body to heal its self.
We added Vitamin K2, D3, and B12 , as co-factors to the Minerals and the Collagen to help them work even better, and finally we added a natural analgesic in the form of White Willow Bark to help the body deal with pain as well as ALA for nerve based pain.
That said, they both are great products for helping to control Inflammation and to help heal soft tissue so for optimal results, we would suggest one of several options:
1. Each product can be taken separately and at different times, meaning only taking one product for several months at a time, and not using the other product during those months, this way you can gauge the effect of each product separately .
2. Heal n Soothe can be taken first for several months, to clean out and prepare the joint for recovery, before starting Super Joint Support, and after several months, both Heal n Soothe and Supper Joint Support can be taken daily till results are achieved.
3. For optimal results, we suggest taking both Heal n Soothe and Super Joint Support, daily till results are achieved
Note: Results do very and there is no way to gauge a time line for use of these product, however, we have seen Heal n Soothe produce results in a matter of days and from clinical results it takes about 12 to 16 weeks for metabolic optimization to start to take place in the joint.
Thanks for asking…
Steve