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How can I ease knee pain?

1/ 7/2008

Q I have chronic arthritis in my knees. Do you have any suggestions for natural things I can do to help with the pain?

A Well the last time I answered this question we looked at what not to eat, now we are going to look at everything you can eat, and all the positive things you can do to help reduce the pain of osteoarthritis.

In the naturopathic world, osteoarthritis is seen as the body being overloaded with toxins and using the joints as dustbins.

So, everything I advise is aimed at detoxing the body, to put it into an alkali environment and back in to balance.

Urine rubs: Yes, that really does say urine. Rubbing urine over your body before you shower is an extremely effective way of drawing toxins out of the body. Even better if you can leave it on for 10 minutes. This is an ancient technique that many thousands of people swear by. Does it work? Only one way to find out.

Castor oil packs over the liver and knees: Place some castor oil on a muslin cloth and place it over the liver and wrap around your knees. This will draw toxins from both areas. This is different to cabbage leaf packs - cabbage only helps inflammation, by drawing out water, whereas the castor oil draws on the toxins.

Drink two litres of water a day. This is one of the simplest methods of flushing out your system. Your body is 90 per cent water. It needs a lot. Trust me, it will make a huge difference to the overall functioning of your body if you drink enough.

Food-wise, remembering to avoid or at least minimize sugar, dairy, wheat, all fruit except bananas, and minimise caffeine, red meat and red wine.

Taking on these changes is a commitment and will probably be taken only by those in extreme pain. Even if you try out the above for six weeks, you will see if it is worth doing or not.

My final bit of advice is to consult a qualified naturopath or nutritionist before attempting any of the above, as it is important to be supported.

Soothe Clinic, 49 King Street, 0161 8346118, sootheclinic.com