Arthritis & Natural Alternatives

Omega 3 & Arthritis

A plethora of research studies have investigated the efficacy of fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention and treatment of joint problems, with the majority of studies focusing on rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Researchers at the University of Newcastle in Australia (2000), for instance, demonstrated that fish oil supplements can provide improvement in rheumatoid arthritis. Patients experienced modest but significant improvements in joint swelling, stiffness, and pain.

In a second study, Volker, Fitzgerald, and colleagues (2000) explored the influence of fish oil concentrate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. They noted clinically significant improvements in patients on a supplementation regime that delivers omega-3 fatty acids at a dose of 40 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.

Curtis, Hughes, and co-researchers (2000) examined the impact of omega-3 fatty acids on cartilage degradation. The researchers concluded that dietary fish oil supplementation may help to alleviate several of the physiological parameters that cause and exacerbate arthritis.

Dietary supplementation also appears to help arthritis sufferers to reduce their use of conventional anti-rheumatic medication in its reduction in clinical measures such as joint pain, inflammation, and stiffness (Geusens, Wouter, Nijs, Jiang, Dequeken, 1994).

• Also See our Pain Relief section

References

• Geusens, P., Wouter, C., Nijs, J., Jiang, Y, Dequeken, J. (1994). Long-term effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in active rheumatoid arthritis, a 12-month, double-blind, controlled study. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 37(6), p. 824-829.
• Volker, D, Fitzgerald, P., Major, G., Garg, M. (2000). Efficacy of fish oil concentrate in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Journal of Rheumatology, Oct;27(10), p. 2305-7.
• Curtis, CL, Hughes, CE, Flannery, CR, Little, CB, Harwood, JL, Caterson, B. (2000). N-3 fatty acids specifically modulate catabolic factors involved in articular cartilage degradation. Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 275(2), p. 721-4