DHs' visit to the GP today netted a recommendation for a bum knee that surprised me. I use ginger for vertigo/nausea/motion sickness/ upset stomach. Osteoarthritis was new to me but apparently not new http://www.umm.edu/altmed/ConsHerbs/Gingerch.html
Has any one else used this ~ with or with out success? The recommended amount was 2 500 mg/ twice daily. Any thoughts please?
Ginger for Osteoarthritis anyone?
pod, I'm hoping someone will answer!
GARDENGIRL... WHERE ARE YOU..............
I haven't tried ginger other than for nausea (love the diced candied ginger from Trader Joe's)... interesting!
The one thing that I really think has helped me as well as several other people I've recommended it to is Evening Primrose Oil. It comes in capsules, not unlike Vit. E, and at one point I was taking a two or three 1200 mg capsules a day... it also comes in 400 mg capsules. My neighbor who has bad osteoarthritis in her knee said it helped tremendously along with the glucosamine-chondroitin supplement her doctor recommended, and it's one of the few things my mom (who has RH) has found that will help with cartelege inflammation.
I think the ginger looks promising, and I also think it falls under the heading of "it can't hurt to try." Go on it for several weeks, then off, then on again and see if you notice a difference. I've done that with a lot of supplements, because I don't want to be taking something (and spending $) that's not effective for me.
podster, your GP is to be lauded for having an open mind! Ginger has been used for millennia to treat a number of conditions such as colds, flus, indigestion, vomitting, belching, abdominal pain, laryngitis, arthritis, hemorrhoids, headaches and heart disease. Ginger has the pharmacological actions of being a stimulant, diaphoretic, expectorant, carminative, antiemetic, and analgesic. Ginger has a warming effect on the body. Dried, powdered ginger is hotter than fresh ginger.
Most herbal healing traditions use herbs in formula combinations, rather than a single herb, to balance the effects of the herbs to match the needs of the person taking them. A "standard recommended amount" assumes that everyone's constitution is identitical. This is far from the truth. 2,500 mg twice a day could be too much for some, and too little for others. Ayurveda treats the person, not the symptom. An ayurvedic pratitioner presented with 10 persons who had been medically diagnosed with osteoarthritis would likely recommend 10 different treatment programs for their bodies' imbalances, one for each, because each person would have different sets of imbalances that let to same allopathic medical diagnosis.
If you want to try a natural approach to the condition, it would be best to seek out someone trained in Ayurveda, Tradtional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Naturopathy or an Herbalist who can help you identify what has gone out of balance to create the condition and help you find the best method to bring YOUR body (versus a statistical sampling of bodies) back into balance.
If you want to try taking ginger internally to see if you find it helpful, I recommend starting with the smallest amount and then build on that while observing how your body responds. If you start to develop loose BMs, redness of skin or rashes, fevers or noticing heated emotions, you are taking too much. Keep in mind that ginger also thins the blood, so if you are on blood thinners you need to be cautious. One other note on herbal supplements, especially if you buy online - make sure that you purchase from suppliers that test for microbacterial and heavy metal contamination. Reputable companies will do this and will gladly let you know this in writing.
Our family would use an herbal combo for the dry Vata type arthritis conditions called Yogaraj Guggul (sometimes spelled Yograj) taken internally and Mahanarayanan oil applied externally to the joint (and then wrapped with a hot moist towel). I would probably add some additional herbs or foods to address whatever else is going on in the individual consitution). If you want to read more about these so that you can discuss with your healthcare practitioner, here are some links:
description/ingredient listing of yogaraj guggul from two US suppliers:
http://tinyurl.com/tl6wo
http://www.banyanbotanicals.com/about.html
http://tinyurl.com/v69yy
http://www.bazaarofindia.com/qa.asp
description/ingredient listing of mahanarayanan oil :
http://tinyurl.com/yypqo3
http://tinyurl.com/t8eo5
http://www.oilbath.com/thailams.html#Mahanarayana
A page on 'The Ayurvedic Approach to Healthy Joints'
http://www.mapi.com/en/self_care/joints.html
Fall is the Vata time of year. Symptoms related to coldness and dryness in the body will be aggravated during this time unless steps are taken to mitigate the excess wind energy in the body.
For most members of my family, conventional allopathic medicine is used for treatment of acute trauma (eg, from an accident, like setting a broken leg/arm/finger or cut needing stitches) only. We use nutrition, homeopathy and traditional herbal medicines to stay healthy and deal with minor complaints.
This is probably not the response you were looking for. Your question is not an easy one to answer. If we have had success with a formula that contains ginger, does that mean we've used ginger successfully? I wanted to give you some food for thought and some leads to explore.
I need to correct something. My post wasn't clear ~ the GP suggested two 500 mg tablets twice a day. My apologies for not being clear on that. I had read the side effects of this and am always aware of any changes brought about by some new med.
Thank you all for the input. I appreciate the informative post Garden_Mermaid and will peruse the links, thank you.
Our GP is younger and has always been an advocate of preventive medicine, recommending vitamins, minerals and herbs. We find it preferable to prescription drugs. Odd how I think the patient can dictate this as he has other patients that tell us about all the medicines he gives them. We have not found that to be true.
I need to correct as well -- all due respect to gardengirl, I meant garden_mermaid! I knew you'd come through! Thanks!