Gout And Exercise Some Surprising News

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

One of the best ways to prevent kidney stones and the recurrence of gout is to exercise. Aside from helping you stay in shape and maintaining a healthy body weight, exercise provides your body with many benefits, some of which include:

- Strengthening, building and maintaining healthy bones, muscles and joints
- Improve mobility and flexibility
- Improves circulation
- Reduces the risk of heart disease and premature death
- Reduces the risk of cancer
- Reduces the risk of developing diabetes
- Reduces the risk of high cholesterol and lowers high cholesterol
- Reduces stress and improves your mental state of mind
- Gives you more energy

All of the exercise benefits listed above help to prevent the recurrence of gout. This is because regular exercise combined with a healthy controlled diet, helps to lower and control uric acid levels. Thus, engaging in regular exercise is particularly important for those who are overweight or obese, as both of these conditions can cause high uric acid levels. That being said, one should not engage in rapid weight loss by overexercising or taking part in crash diets. Losing weight too quickly can have the reverse affect and actually cause the uric acid levels in the blood to rise.

In addition, it is imperative that you learn how to do exercises correctly. The last thing you want is to injure your joints or cause inflammation as a result of excessive exercise or improper movements. Your goal when exercising is to protect your joints at all time.

Exercises for gout ? The following are exercises that are particularly helpful in preventing gout. Note: Always remember to consult your doctor before starting an exercise regimen.

- Range of motion exercises ? This type of exercise is designed to keep your joints flexible and mobile and reduce stiffness. An example, involving your foot, would be rotating your ankle in a circular motion.

- Strengthening exercises ? These exercises are designed to increase and/or maintain the strength of your muscles. Strengthening exercises are usually performed using weights. However, they can also include resistance exercises such as holding a giant rubber band in your hands and stretching it. This type of exercise helps to build muscles.

- Endurance exercises ? These exercises are designed to strengthen your heart, increase circulation, boost your energy and control weight. Exercises include aerobics, walking, cycling, swimming, etc

- Stretching exercises ? Stretching exercises help to increase flexibility and muscle strength. Good exercises including yoga, pilaties and tai chi. However, it is important that you engage in moderate stretching exercises, especially in the beginning, so you don?t risk pulling, twisting or injuring a joint. You should receive proper instructions before doing any of these exercises on your own.

Important information about exercise and gout - Although exercise is ideal for gout sufferers, it is imperative that one knows when it is best to exercise and when it is not. It is also important that one understands what exercise can and can?t do for gout.

First of all, you should never exercise a joint that is inflamed, regardless if the inflammation has been caused by gout or not. Exercising an inflamed joint can worsen the condition by causing more pain and prolonging inflammation. Only begin exercise after the inflammation has eased and take it slow.

When a joint is inflamed you need to focus on easing the inflammation by ensuring the joint is well rested and relaxed. You can also treat the inflammation by applying warm and cool compresses, or with anti-inflammatory medications. Talk to your doctor about the best treatment during this time.

In addition, exercise has no effect on breaking up uric acid crystals, stones or tophi. Exercise helps to control uric acid levels and prevent gout; it can?t do much during a gout attack.

By Lisa McDowell. Sign up for a free newsletter & discover how to treat your gout symptoms with a exercise as an effective natural cure for gout

Benefits of Whey Protein for Gout Sufferers?

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

So, your big toe is red, swollen, and the pain emanating from it is some of the most intense you?ve ever felt. It sure sounds like you?ve come down with a case of gout, but how can you be sure?

The first symptom most gout sufferers feel is the pins and needles sensation that is normally associated with your foot ?falling asleep?. This can be linked to gout?s association with poor blood flow to the limbs.

The next common sign is the appearance of swelling and inflammation in the foot. Sometimes there is a distinct redness to the joint, other times there is only the swelling.

The final symptom to show is usually the excruciating pain associated with gout. Your toe (or other joints that have been infected) will progress to the point where anything touching it will cause extreme pain, even a blanket.

At this point, most of us would be off to the doctor?s office for a diagnosis. Most of the medical tests that you would undergo in a doctors office revolve around measuring the amount of uric acid you have in your body. Uric acid is the nasty little chemical that you need in your body, but when levels get too high, gout can result. The tests are broken down like this:

? A urine test. A doctor will collect a urine sample and then test if for higher than normal levels of uric acid.

? A blood test. A doctor will withdraw blood to see if your uric acid levels are too high

? Joint fluid removal. Definitely the most painful of the three options, a doctor will insert a needle into the joint that is swollen and infected to see if either a high level or uric acid is present or if the small crystals associated with gout are present. It?s suggested that this test be a last resort.

If the doctor confirms the presence of gout, you?re now left with the problem of how to treat it. There are many old-fashioned treatments available for gout, but the newest and fastest way is actually with whey protein.

Whey protein has been on the forefront of all-natural medicine for years, and more and more doctors are beginning to see the benefit. High-quality whey protein (not the stuff bodybuilders use during their workouts, this whey protein is of a much higher quality) is filled with protein and amino acids.

Why is this important for gout sufferers? Whey protein contains high amounts of lactoferrin, which helps the body heal faster. The high amount of amino acids in whey protein also help push the body towards optimum health quickly so that the immune system can take on and beat the gout faster and easier.

While there is no cure-all for gout, medical science is on the march looking for possible new treatments all the time. The discovery of whey protein?s rejuvenating affects on the human body are a step in the right direction towards eliminating gout once and for all.

Lisa McDowell has an interest in Gout. For further information on Gout please visit Gout or Gout Symptoms .

Gout Treatments to Get Rid of That Ouch!

                

>>  Get Your Treatment Now <<

 

A large number of people in all parts of the world suffer from a common form of arthritis known as gout. In the United Kingdom alone, an estimated 600,000 people are afflicted with this painful disease. Fortunately, there are many gout treatments that are available. Choosing the right one would depend on the patient's specific condition; whether he is suffering from acute or chronic gout. A physician may prescribe medication to treat a sudden attack or to manage the condition in the long-term. The goal of gout treatments is fast pain relief and of course, the prevention of recurrence.

Gout occurs mostly in men who are 45 years and older. Typically, many sufferers are overweight and drink alcoholic beverages regularly. The disease can also occur in women (although in much smaller numbers) who are usually at the post-menopausal stage. Some of the historical figures who have suffered from gout include former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, England's King Henry VIII, and the poet Pablo Neruda. The disease usually affects only one joint at a time and largely affects the joint of the big toe, although it can also occur in the ankles, legs, knees, feet, wrists, elbows, and hands. The slightest bit of pressure on the afflicted joint can bring on intense and stabbing pain.

A person may develop gout if he has excessively high uric acid levels in his body, which are not flushed out. Little uric crystals resembling table salt will then form and lodge in the lining of joints and irritate and inflame them. Purines, a kind of chemical that is found in the body and in many kinds of food, play a major role in the elevation of uric acid levels; that's why nutritionists and physicians advise those suffering from gout to lessen their consumption of purine-rich foods, such as so-called organ meats (liver and kidneys), herring, anchovies, and beans. Also, patients should refrain from drinking alcohol, since alcohol can hinder the body's elimination of uric acid.

For rapid pain relief and reduced swelling, doctors will usually prescribe non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as indomethacin or naproxen. Patients with a greater severity of pain might benefit from steroid drugs like prednisone. These medications, and others such as colchicine, are used to relieve pain and swelling, but they do nothing to lower the body's uric acid levels. For long-term prevention of attacks, a physician will prescribe other types of medication. These may include allopurinol, probenecid, and sulfinpyrazone. In many cases, a patient may take a combination of these drugs both to treat sudden flare-ups and for preventive purposes.

There are also a number of gout treatments that make use of the principles of natural or herbal medicine. Many dietary supplements that contain natural ingredients are recommended to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. For instance, turmeric, ginger, and bromelain have strong anti-inflammatory properties. The bark of phellodendron also has similar properties, but it should not be taken internally -- it is applied directly to the skin above the inflamed joint. Dietary supplements that contain fish oils and other essential fatty acids are also recommended for gout sufferers, since they help bring down the body's uric acid levels.

Getting adequate intake of vitamins and minerals is important, but it seems that some vitamins and minerals are more effective than others in providing pain relief and preventing the recurrence of gout. Research shows that vitamin C can help the body get rid of excess uric acid faster, while folic acid can lower the body's uric acid levels. Vitamin E, on the other hand, helps inhibit leukotrienes, which can increase inflammation and promote tissue damage.

Some treatments can seem unusual at first glance, but many swear that they work. For instance, anecdotal evidence suggests that eating about half a pound of cherries a day or drinking lots of cherry juice can significantly reduce pain and swelling. Another home remedy involves the use of a charcoal poultice; it's believed that charcoal draws certain chemicals from the afflicted joint, thus reducing pain and swelling. Then there are those who recommend that people suffering from gout should eat an apple after every meal, drink diluted lime juice three times a day, or drink string bean juice everyday for one month.

Some of these gout treatments may sound funny, while others have the full backing of the medical community behind them. Before you decide to embark on any treatment regimen, consult your physician, who will be best able to map out a plan to rid you of the pain of gout in the fastest and safest possible manner.

Rheumatiq.com provides you with information on rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis help, the symptoms, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, causes of gout, and gout treatments. We help battle your pain. http://www.rheumatiq.com