Unfortunately, it’s common for older adults to feel pain in the back, knees, legs and ankles. This is especially true for people who spend most of their day sitting or live an inactive lifestyle.
In one national survey, about one-third of adults reported having joint pain within the past 30 days. (source) Many different conditions can lead to painful joints, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, gout, strains, sprains, and other injuries (1).
Most instances of back pain will heal with time: approximately 50% of patients will feel relief from low back pain within two weeks, and approximately 90% within three months, regardless of the treatment (2). However, people who experience back pain chronically may find it difficult to lead their everyday lives, finding it hard to sit, lie down and even stand.
When it comes to leg pain, it often results from wear and tear, overuse, or injuries in joints or bones or in muscles, ligaments, tendons or other soft tissues.
Some types of leg pain can be traced to problems in your lower spine. And poor circulation can also lead to leg pain (3).
Pain Relief Smoothie
Ingredients:
- One orange
- Two cups of pineapple
- Two celery stalks
- Two pears
- One lemon
- One inch of fresh ginger root
- Two inches of raw turmeric root
- a dash of black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil
Instructions:
- Peel the lemon and orange as well as the ginger and turmeric.
- Chop and core the pineapple and pears.
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend at high speed.
- Serve and enjoy immediately or keep in a closed jar for up to 3-5 days.
Using a blender ensures that dietary fiber stay within the juice. If you were to use a juicing machine, the fiber would be filtered out as waste.
A few studies have found that people who eat diets high in fiber have lower C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in their blood. CRP is a marker of inflammation that’s been linked to diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), heart disease and diabetes (4).
See also: anti inflammatory foods