Within the human body, bones, especially joints, are covered and cushioned with cartilage or the connective tissue made of collagen. As humans age, cartilage on our joints thins out due to overuse. As cartilage thins out, it causes bone-on-bone contact; thus, producing pain and eventually reduces mobility. According to Michael Clarfield, Director of The Sports Medicine Specialists clinic in Toronto, “The joint will become painful and lose mobility.” He explained that there are many factors that cause the protective cartilage to break down. To prevent this, it is important to practice joint maintenance.
As part of this campaign against joint pain caused by depleting cartilage, there are two important treatments that could be considered: intake of collagen supplements and undergoing ionic foot bath.
Collagen is a group of naturally-forming proteins found in animals. It could be mostly found in the flesh and more importantly, in the connective tissues of mammals. Comprising of about 25 to 35 percent of the whole-body protein content, it is the most abundant protein in a mammal’s body. It is also the main component of connective tissues.
On the other hand, elongated fibrils, another form of collagen, could be mostly found in fibrous tissues such as ligament, tendon, skin, cornea, bone, cartilage, blood vessels, intervertebral disc, and the stomach. In muscle tissues, it also serves as a major component of the endomysium, which constitutes one to two percent, and accounts for six percent of the weight of strong, tendon muscles. To provide muscles and bones with the right amount of collagen it needs, scientists have developed hydrolyzed collagen that will serve as supplements.
According to Roland Moskowitz, Professor of Medicine in Case Western Reserve University School of Medicinein Cleveland, Ohio, clinical studies showed that intake of 10 grams of hydrolyzed collagen decreases joint pain. Patients with the worst symptoms benefited more. They achieved improvement in mobility, showed less manifestation of symptoms, and increased in bone mass density. Scientists agree that the reason for these improvements is the increased production of chondrocytes, also known as cartilage cells, brought about by hydrolyzed collagen intake.
Another treatment for joint pains is the growingly popular ionic foot bath. It works by sending small currents in a circuit through the body and producing positively charged ions. High concentration of ion fields attaches to the negatively charged toxins that neutralize them. The body eventually gets rid of them through pores on the heels. It takes about 30-painless minutes to discharge the body of negative ions. As much as it is painless for old people and children, ionic foot bath is not advisable for people with pace makers and organ transplants, as well as those who are pregnant and nursing women.
Aside from relieving joint pains naturally, ionic foot bath provides several other benefits. These include but are not limited to immune system enhancement; improvement of recovery time from surgery, sleep pattern, kidney and liver functions, blood circulation; and removal of toxins from the body.
