As living beings age, people and animals alike, their bodies eventually begin to break down. Years upon years of movement, physical stress put on joints by exercise, and just the in and outs of everyday life tend to take its toll on a body that relies on effective cellular reproduction to continue functioning properly.

Among the multitude of troubles that arise with aging is joint pain. Some joint pain as we age is not uncommon, but serious illness and internal complications can cause some to experience very serious joint issue, including osteoarthritis, one of the most painful joint issues to deal with.

Fortunately, there is quite an extensive list of treatments available for joint pain, some better than others.

The most common options for joint pain are prescription medications like Celebrex, Relafen, Anaprox, and Feldene, as well as non-prescription options like ibuprofen, aspirin, and naproxen. Neither types are without side effects.

Some of the side effects reported by Celebrex users are diarrhea, hypertension, and abnormal hepatic function tests, and more serious side effects like chest pain, weakness, shortness of breath, slurred speech, problems with vision or balance, bloody stools, coughing up blood or vomit, and more.

A very recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled “Pomegranate extract alleviates disease activity and some blood biomarkers of inflammation and oxidative stress in Rheumatoid Arthritis patients” confirms the anti-inflammatory benefits of pomegranate, specifically testing its efficacy for rheumatoid arthritis.

Because the main characteristics of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) are inflammation, serious pain, and flexibility problems affecting the joints specifically, researchers are actively seeking powerful anti-inflammatory compounds to fight the disease, moving further and further away from side effect-laden prescription medications and studying the benefits of natural anti-inflammatory compounds.

For this study, researchers enrolled 55 participants, each with RA, into two separate groups, one to receive medication and the other as a control. The participants receiving medication were given 250 mg of pomegranate extract for a period of 8 weeks, after which progress was monitored with methods such as a Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and Disease Activity Score (DAS), serum concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), matrix metalloproteinases 3 (MMP3), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) were analyzed.

Compared to the control group, the group receiving 250 mg of pomegranate extract experienced significant improvement in their DAS score, which researchers believe is the result of reduced inflammation in joints. Recipients also reported reduced pain intensity, morning stiffness, and increased levels of GPx concentration, an enzyme whose role is to protect the organism from oxidative damage.

Additional research on the ability of pomegranate to help treat knee osteoarthritis indicates similar results.

Tested on 38 patients over a span of 6 weeks, researchers found that there was significant decrease in pain, stiffness, and physical functioning of the joint. Like the previous study mentioned, this study also found increased levels of GPx which further substantiates the ability antioxidant capabilities of pomegranate, helping to protect the knee from further damage, concluding that “According to the findings of this clinical trial, PJ consumption can improve physical function and stiffness, decrease breakdown cartilage enzymes and increase antioxidant status in patients with knee OA.”

Pomegranate is part of a healthy diet, due to its high concentrations of beneficial ellagitannin compounds like punicalagins and punicalins, which account for about half of the pomegranate’s antioxidant ability. Pomegranate packs more antioxidant punch per pound than other, widely touted foods like acai berries, blueberries, concord grapes, cranberry juice, apple juice, black cherry juice, orange juice, and red wine.

In fact, pomegranate juice was found to be more than 20 percent more powerful than its nearest competitor.

Eastern medicine relies on proper diet and supplementation with natural remedies that are much freer from side effects, and can provide equal if not greater relief from damaging and painful degenerative diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA), a type of arthritis that occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bone wears down, is the most common chronic condition affecting the joints. Essentially, when the cartilage or cushion between the joints breaks down and leads to stiffness, swelling, and often intense pain.

When we’re young, our joints contain a firm, rubbery material called cartilage that covers the ends of our bones. This provides a cushion between bones and a smooth surface that allows them to slide easily. But as the body ages, lifestyle and simply age catch up to the joints and the cartilage breaks down. This deterioration of cartilage causes the joint to swell and stiffens the joint.

As osteoarthritis continues to develop throughout a lifetime, the bones can also break down, sometimes developing growths called bone spurs, causing bits of bone and cartilage to float around in the joint freely. This elicits the body’s release of cytokines and enzymes to the area, which eventually break the cartilage down further. Eventually, osteoarthritis leads to bone on bone contact in the joint, which creates more pain, more stiffness, and makes the joint practically unusable.

Statistics show that half of all people will eventually develop symptoms of knee osteoarthritis during their lifetime, and 25 percent will develop symptoms of hip osteoarthritis by the age of 85.

With it affecting nearly everyone at some point in life, there are a lot of treatments available for osteoarthritis, some require a prescription and others do not. For mild OA, the usual treatment is nonprescription pain relievers like aspirin or ibuprofen, and topical creams. Topical pain relievers are great for isolated pain management when just a few joints are involved.

There are natural remedies for OS that, so far, have been found to have little to no risk of dangerous side effects.

One such treatment option is glucosamine-chondroitin supplements. Glucosamine and chondroitin are naturally found in the joint fluid and thought to trigger cartilage production and reduce inflammation, with some studies showing its ability to relieve moderate to severe pain and slow the progression of OS.

Glucosamine and chondroitin are quite popular supplements that can be found at nearly any drug or grocery store. There is another supplement that is often recommended to be taken alongside Glucosamine and chondroitin that can help boost the effects.

MSM or methylsulfonylmethane is a chemical found in many places like green plants, animals, and humans, and can also be created in the laboratory. While it is also a popular supplement for joint pain, there is only a small amount of research to verify its claims. What little research is available, however, speaks favorably of MSM as a possible treatment for OS.

While MSM is normally taken for joint pain, people take it for a whole range of ailments like People also take MSM by mouth for relief of allergies, chronic constipation, “sour stomach”, ulcers, a bowel disease called diverticulosis, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), mood elevation, obesity, poor circulation, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. MSM is believed to supply sulfur to the body, helping it make other important chemicals.

MSM works by supplementing the body with extra sulfur for creating methionine, which helps in important bodily processes like making other chemicals, forming connective tissue, synthesizing/metabolizing foods and absorbing nutrients to be used for energy. Biologically active sulfur is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body and is necessary in many bodily functions. MSM is thought to help form connective tissue and repair joints, tendons and ligaments.

Researchers conducted the study on 120 participants with arthritis of the knee for a 60 day period. Each participant was treated daily with either 5mg of MSM and 7.2mg of boswellic acids, or 1500mg GS. At the conclusion of the study, as well as 6 months later, each group was tested for pain using a pain scale, and joint function using the Lequesne Index (LI). Results showed that the group being treated with MSM and BA showed improvements in pain and flexibility at the 6 month mark. Researchers concluded from his study that MSM presents another possible treatment option for arthritis, which until this study was basically being treated with glucosamine supplements.

Another form of MSM being tested is Mega MSM. Researchers studies the effects of Mega MSM on participants for 12 weeks on a group of Chinese participants. 100 males and 50 females were given a dose of Mega MSM, and the study concluded that positive effects were observed, including improved joint function, relief of symptoms of joint degradation, and a general positive improvement in quality of life.

Not only has MSM been found to help with joint pain, but it is also being looked at as a possible treatment for many other ailments throughout the body, making it one of those rare substances that is almost a must have for everyone, providing a lot of great benefits in the body with little to no detrimental effects.

MSM can help rebuild the lining of the digestive tract, reduce inflammation, and is also useful in treating leaky gut syndrome, helping to ebb the flow of harmful particles from a leaky gut which cause inflammation.

We’re all going to get older, and with age comes age related illness and a general degradation of the body, but with proper research and an ever-expanding scientific knowledge of wonderful alternative treatments like MSM, joint pain and arthritis doesn’t have to be debilitating.

While joint pain can affect anyone, at any age, the most common cause of joint pain is caused by arthritis, and predominantly affects older people. Overwhelmingly the most common cause, approximately 350 million people worldwide suffer from arthritis, with nearly 40 million in the United States.

Statistics show that one of every two adults will develop symptoms of knee osteoarthritis at some point in their lives. In addition, one in four will develop symptoms of hip osteoarthritis by the age of 85.

• Most treatment plans combine activity with medicine, available in the form of pills, creams, lotions, or even injected directly into the joint. Among the most popular are:

• Analgesics: Analgesics are available over-the-counter or by prescription, and are pain relievers like acetaminophen, opioids and an atypical opioid called tramadol.

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): You’ve probably got a bottle of these in your cabinet right now. NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and celecoxib and are the most commonly used drugs to ease inflammation and related pain. They are available over-the-counter or by prescription.

These treatment options have been, mainly, all that is available to those suffering from osteoarthritis. The unfortunate consequence to receiving these treatments is damage to other parts of the body. Corticosteroids have been known to cause side effects like clouding of the lens in the eye, high blood sugar, increased risk of infections, thinning bones, and suppressed adrenal gland hormone production, while long-term exposure to NSAIDs can result in stomach ulcers, headaches and dizziness, ringing in the ears, high blood pressure, and liver and kidney problems.

For those seeking a more natural alternative to these effective, yet potentially harmful medications, a better solution may be growing right in your garden.

Among all plants, herbs are among the highest in antioxidants, substances that remove potentially damaging oxidizing agents in a living organism. These oxidizing agents are called “free radicals” which when not addressed can cause oxidative damage to cells throughout the body, leading to many of the most common chronic illnesses. Rosemary is extremely high in antioxidants, which helps it fight inflammation in the body, helping with pain and inflammation in the joints in the process.

One study published in 2015 found that carnosol, a phenolic diterpene found in the herbs rosemary and Mountain desert sage, showed potent inhibition of pro-inflammatory and catabolic mediators of cartilage breakdown in chondrocytes, the cells responsible for creating cartilage.

Researchers cultured chondrocytes in either the presence or absence of carnosol, analyzing the gene expression after 4 days. In chondrocytes, type II collagen expression, one of the prominent components of cartilage, was significantly enhanced in the cells exposed to carnosol. In addition, researchers found that this rosemary treatment suppressed the pro-inflammatory response, which can help deter the breakdown of cartilage in the presence of inflammation in the joints.

Another study combined a proprietary combination of reduced iso-alpha acids, rosemary extract and oleanolic acid in patients with arthritis and fibromyalgia, evaluating participants with osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia for pain.

Administering 440mg for the first four weeks, and doubling treatments to 880mg for the next four, participants reported “a statistically significant decrease in pain of 50% and 40%… in arthritis subjects.” Reduced C-reactive protein, a common identifier of inflammation in the body, further verified the effects of the treatment. The rosemary treatment relieved pain by as much as 50% and lowered inflammation in the body, all without the report of any serious side effects, making it among the safest treatment possibilities for OA and other diseases of inflammation.

Because the tissue of the joints, like cartilage, ligaments, and tendons, all of which are tissues that usually cannot be healed or regrown naturally, joint damage is not only permanent without intervention, but can be extremely painful. Bones begin to grind together without cartilage on the ends, resulting in loads of pain and eventually, permanent damage to the bone.

The leading cause of joint pain is arthritis, which comes in many different variations. Among the leading types of arthritis are osteoarthritis, a type of arthritis that occurs when flexible tissue at the ends of bones wears down, and rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disorder affecting many joints, including those in the hands and feet.

Between these two types of arthritis, millions of people are suffering with swollen, tender, and painful joints in America, and because these conditions are so common, researchers are naturally constantly looking for better ways to treat them.

Among the newest treatments for joint pain, at least to Western medicine, is Boswellia, more commonly known as Indian frankincense. This biblical plant has a long history of medicinal use throughout Southeast Asia. Aside from wise men handing it out as gifts, frankincense has been used as an anti-inflammatory agent, astringent, disinfectant, digestive aid, diuretic, and an expectorant traditionally. Indian frankincense grows in the mountainous regions of the Middle East, and as the name implies, is related to the tree that produces frankincense.

The resin contains numerous active compounds including the fatty acids palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic, as well as sugars such as glucose, arabinose, rhamnose, galactose, fructose, glucuronic acid, and idose. The gum resin also contains triterpene alcohol, serratol, and triterpenoids. The volatile oil contains p-cymene, d-limonene, terpinolene, bornyl acetates, and methylchavicol.

Researchers, constantly on the lookout for new treatments for common ailments, have conducted exhaustive studies on Boswellia for many disorders, including arthritis and its resulting joint pain and swelling.

A study published in Minerva Medica tested the efficacy of a standardized Boswellia extract called FlexiQule to mitigate the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Researchers provided the Boswellia extract to participants with symptomatic knee arthritis for four weeks, measuring progress via the Karnofsky scale (the Karnofsky Performance Scale Index allows patients to be classified as to their functional impairment. This can be used to compare effectiveness of different therapies and to assess the prognosis in individual patients. The lower the Karnofsky score, the worse the survival for most serious illnesses), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC), and a treadmill test.

At the end of the four week study, those receiving the Boswellia extract noted improvements on all three measurement scales, and even more improvements when combined with the standard management regimen common for arthritis.

Researchers noted that effects for those receiving Boswellia extract were “significantly higher” than the control group receiving only standardized management, and in addition, “The WOMAC Score was decreased significantly more in the supplement group in comparison with controls considering pain, stiffness and physical functions. Social/emotional functions improved better with the supplement. Both groups improved their walking distance at 4 weeks.”

In regard to side effects, Boswellia is very well received, and has a long history of having little to zero side effects. Having been used for centuries in Eastern medicinal systems like Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic medicine in India, Boswellia is trusted by medical professionals across the regions as well as the people who use it to treat a multitude of symptoms, including inflammation and joint pain, especially that which is caused by inflammatory diseases like arthritis.

Another study published in Molecular Medicine Reports expounds on the safety of Boswellia, and its efficacy when coupled with other drugs used to treat joint ailments, reporting that “BSE was well tolerated by the subjects except for minor gastrointestinal ADRs. BSE is recommended in the patients of osteoarthritis of the knee with possible therapeutic use in other arthritis.”

This is why Boswellia performs so well for arthritis specifically. The hallmark of arthritis is inflammation in the joint, which eventually leads to swelling and long term joint damage, harming the tissues that allow the joint to function properly. Because it helps so well to reduce inflammation in the joint, Boswellia is able to reduce the swelling, reduce pain, and reduce the damage that would otherwise be taking place due to arthritis.

The same study also evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Boswellia serrata Extract (BSE) in 30 patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the knee.

For this study, 15 participants received Boswellia serrata extract, and the other half placebo. At the conclusion of the study, 8 weeks, researchers found that “All patients receiving drug treatment reported decrease in knee pain, increased knee flexion and increased walking distance. The frequency of swelling in the knee joint was decreased.”

It’s easy to think of the medicine we see every day in television commercials and magazine advertisements as being the best that medicine has to offer, but this simply is not true. Many of the most revolutionary treatments for our most pervasive illnesses are repurposed or rediscovered remedies long used in Eastern medicine.

Many of the medicines we rely on in America simply treat the symptoms, and neglect to address the cause of the ailment. In addition, many of these medications are very harmful to our bodies, often causing more damage than they relieve. This is a major factor in the resurgence of traditional remedies, and will continue to influence our medicines as we progress towards safer and more effective treatments.