I am not a Tin Man.
I am also not and old lady (no offense, I really respect old ladies).
I am fifteen years old, and before I got sick I loved to run, hike, knit, and write. Joint pain can be really annoying- and, well, painful. Plus really frustrating for whoever has to take care of us! We can’t cook, we can’t clean, we can’t write, we can’t brush our hair- washing it is painful enough!
As a kid and teenager is can be -well- interesting to try to explain to friends why you can’t tie your shoes or why you prefer to sit on the floor to the bench, or why you have joint pain like you’re old. I just want you to know that I sympathize with you.
When my pain started I explained it to my family that every joint in my body hurt. And then, a few months later I changed my mind. You see, renewed pain made me realize that I had more joints that I had originally thought 🙂 Here I want to share with you some things that have helped me a lot. 😀
- Arnica – this has been one of the things that I have used and appreciated the most throughout this entire thing. I cannot emphasize the effectiveness of this enough!
Arnicare Gel Boron
- Essential Oils – My mom used to use the essential Regeneration, and massage my joints, with the goal of getting the fluid in them out. If you choose to do this, make sure that you do not get the oil on clothes or anything like that, it will stain. I usually would shower right after that. And also, it was important that she did it very hard. It was extremely painful while she massaged it, but made such a difference following it.
- Supplements – The supplements that I have found affected my joints the most, were NAC and ALA, however I was taking L-Glutathione regularly at one point, though I didn’t notice a huge help from it.
Active Lipoic Acid (ALA) Country Life, and N-A-C Jarrow Formulas
- Exercise – My mom and I never effectively closed the case on this one. She insisted that taking a walk everyday helped my joints, but for a long time I insisted that they didn’t, that they just caused more pain. Later I did come to the conclusion that it did loosen it up a bit and ease the pain in the long run, if I took a long enough walk. The walk itself, though, was still extremely painful. Sometimes it was worth it though, since in addition to helping my joints slightly, it significantly helped my brain. (I am sorry for my stubbornness, Mama 🙂 )
- Epsom Salt Baths – Epsom salt baths were also very effective in relieving some of the edge to the pain. I could definitely tell if I missed a day. All you need to do it dissolve as much of the salt in the bath as you can, and stay there for maybe 3o minutes. You can add essential oils like peppermint, lavender, or pain-x, or regeneration if you want to, they also help. Don’t buy the salt, though, that comes with oils or stuff already mixed in!