I love a challenge. And that’s probably why at an age when most men think a workout means riding their golf cart from tee to tee, I hiked up Mount Kilimanjaro.
I’ll never forget that view – or the exhilaration I felt up there. It felt like I could see all of Africa laid out before me.
An awful lot of men – and women – my age would never dream of attempting such a climb.
And the most common reason is joint pain. It would stop them before they even reached the mountain’s base.
After years of treating arthritis the experiences in my clinic reveals that joint pain is one of the most frustrating signs of aging you can face.
Nothing says “old” like the slow, shuffling gait of someone with chronic joint pain.
You can spend a million dollars on your appearance, but the pain in your knees or hips will give you away every time.
That’s why I want to talk to you today about a solution that has been extremely successful with my patients – but it’s also been abandoned by the medical mainstream.
I’m talking about hyaluronic acid – an arthritis treatment that does a lot more than relieve pain.
The history of arthritis treatment is full of contradictions.
For example, the more active you are, the less likely your arthritis will advance. It’s taken mainstream medicine a long time to come around… but now they finally agree that “use it or lose it” applies to arthritic joints.
But it’s a different story when it comes to hyaluronic acid.
Over 20 years ago, doctors discovered that injecting hyaluronic acid into arthritic joints eased pain.
At the same time, it also seemed to improve joint heath. This seemed like a powerful anti-aging formula.
So even I was absolutely shocked when the latest guidelines from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons advised against the use of hyaluronic acid
For a start, hyaluronic acid is a common substance in your body. It’s practically everywhere. But it’s especially common in the synovial fluid – the liquid that cushions your joints and reduces the friction between them during movement.
In spite of mainstream medicine’s sudden opposition to hyaluronic acid injections, researchers reported, in an article in January’s Annals of Internal Medicine, that hyaluronic acid beat every painkiller they tested for relief from arthritis pain.
And it beat steroid injections – the “gold standard” of joint-pain relief – for improving joint function.
Less than a month later, scientists from Mexico City reported hyaluronic acid beat steroids in almost every way.1
Steroids provided slightly greater relief initially. But hyaluronic acid relief lasted longer and also improved joint function.2
But more than this, hyaluronic acid injections also triggered repairs to damaged joints!
Steroid injections eased pain, but they didn’t improve joint function.
The Mexican study also found that hyaluronic acid was four times more effective at pain relief than steroids over a three-to-12 moth period.
And here’s the kicker: Hyaluronic acid users in this study started off far worse than steroid users. Even with this disadvantage, they beat the “gold standard” hands down.
Another reason I recommend hyaluronic acid is that it has no serious side effects.
Steroid injections – still recommended by the “respected” medical establishment – can cause weak tendons, weight gain, high blood sugar… and even acne.
If joint pain has been slowing you down, I’d have to say hyaluronic acid injections are the obvious choice.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1. Raveendhara, R., et al, “ Comparative Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Interventions for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis,” Ann Intern Med. 2015; 162(1): 46-54.
2. Walsh, N., “Knee Injections in OA: Which Is Best?” MedPageToday. Feb 16, 2015.