Sunday, January 18, 2009

Fish oil for joint pain


An effective natural treatment for joint inflammation such as that occurs with rheumatoid arthritis may be high-dose fish oil, according to a study published in 1995 in Arthritis Rheumatology. The study had patients on NSAIDs take up dietary supplementation of fish oil. The patients taking the fish oil showed improvement including a reduction innumber of tender joints after eight weeks. Some patients were able to discontinue NSAIDs without any further flare-ups.

Note: The study used dosages of 130mg of DHA/EPA omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil per kg daily.

Reference

Kremer JM, Lawrence DA, Petrillo GF, Litts LL, Mullaly PM, Rynes RI, Stocker RP, Parhami N, Greenstein NS, Fuchs BR, et al. Effects of high-dose fish oil on rheumatoid arthritis after stopping nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. Clinical and immune correlates. Arthritis Rheum. 1995 Aug;38(8):1107-14.