Can fatty acids help in alleviating arthritis pain?

maud · Newbie Joined: 09 Apr 2005 Posts: 4

Hello! My grandmother suffers from arthritis. She has been having problems with swollen and painful joints for years now. She uses some non-steroid anti- inflammatory drugs that help her to reduce pain and inflammation. But, she started to feel some side effects of these drugs. Since she is rather old I am afraid that her health will be even more harmed. I am thinking about some alternative medicines in order to relieve her symptoms. Can fatty acids help in alleviating arthritis pain?

dayna669 · Newbie Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 2

Hello! I have heard that fish oil, rich with omega-3 fatty acids, has been beneficial in many patients with arthritis. Although there were some studies that showed that omega-3 fatty acids had no effect on patient report of pain and swollen joint count I think the main reason for such result was the short period of time the patients consumed fish oil. Patients who were receiving higher dosages of fish oil were not apparent until fish oil had been consumed for at least twelve weeks. It has been reported that reduced intake of omega-6 fatty acids and increased consumption of omega-3 fatty acids reduces the inflammatory mediators of rheumatoid arthritis. As a result there are many patients who reduced or discontinued use of non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs which could be very important for your grandmother.

Can fatty acids help in alleviating arthritis pain?

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