Hello,

Does anyone know if there's a certain vitamin or mineral that might help prevent joint pains?

Thx

Well, it certainly depends on why you have joint pain.

Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are supposed to help in slowing the deterioration of joints through osteo-arthritis and are supposed to reduce joint pain like NSAIDS do.

Omega-3 and 6 EFAs such as flaxseed oil and fish oil are also supposed to reduce inflammation.

You need to be careful though because the supplement industry is un-regulated and there have been cases of people not getting what they paid for. Likewise, not all fish and flaxseed oils are equal. Some fish oils can contain higher levels of mercury and flaxseed oil that is pressed is supposed to be better for you (and more expensive).

Another one that is reported to work, which I haven't tried, is Certo the name brand for pectin used in canning. You supposedly mix this with grape juice. My wife got some after knee surgery but she couldn't stand the taste.

See your doctor before taking any of these.

You need to be careful though because the supplement industry is un-regulated and there have been cases of people not getting what they paid for.

See your doctor before taking any of these.

Very important! Thanks for pointing this out!

Hi. I'm still having pains, mainly in my left ankle, left knee, and right wrist.

I really don't want to see a doctor...not yet, at least. I wonder if I should try a glucosamine supplement, but there's no guarantee it will help. I'm still hoping that my body will become conditioned to this. I wish I had started Karate like 5 years ago.

Why do you have such an aversion to seeing a doctor? That is the one person who can probably help you the most in this situation.

Bushido-man is right again.

After suffering through pain in an ever-increasing number of joints, I finally ditched my Internist at the time (who was treating each joint problem as a separate malady) and went back to see my then retired Internist. She sent me to a Rheumatologist who told me that I not only had arthritis in my feet, knees, elbow, hand and jaw, but also in my shoulders (which hurt but I attributed this to using my arms to save my knees when getting up).

After trying the standard medication for arthritis of this type, she put me on a another that has basically eliminated the symptoms. So, I went from taking 2400 mg of Ibuprofen a day just to function and being "barely able to walk" to being able to do TKD.

My regret is that I was denied correct treat long enough to suffer permanent damage to my joints.

Many arthritis suffers augment their treatment with alternative treatments, I still take glucosimine and chondrotin, but I couldn't function without prescription medication.

This may seem obvious, but have you been throwing hard strikes against thin air? With only your connective tissue to stop the strike, that can cause joint pain...

This may seem obvious, but have you been throwing hard strikes against thin air? With only your connective tissue to stop the strike, that can cause joint pain...

This is true, especially if you are locking out your joints at the end of the techniques.

Yeah never completely lock out a joint from a strike, and i mean never.

So what is a good way to practise strikes against thin air (as we all do) - I'm asking because I have quite a bit of discomfort in my knees and I'm wondering whether that's down to kicking the air.