Erin O'Hara: naturopath and wellness expert on managing joint pain and arthritis

October 12 marked World Arthritis Day, a global awareness day to acknowledge those suffering from rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

It’s estimated more than 670,000 New Zealanders have arthritis. 

Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara shares her tips to get ahead of managing joint pain as you age. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks EDB. Grab a cover. It's the Sunday
Session with Francesca Rudkin and whig calls for the best
selections Used Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Coming up on the twelfth of October is Well, that
was yesterday, yesterday, thirteenth yesterday it was World Earth Writer's Day.
So we're going to talk managing joint pain now and
I'm joined by Netrobeth Aaron O'Hara. Good morning, good morning. Gee,
the year is just disappearing, isn't it? October flying on
there to start doing Christmas shopping soon, just to freak
everybody out. Anyway, let's talk about arthritis.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
Yes, So, arthritis is such a common condition and it's
estimated that about six hundred and seventy thousand New Zealanders
have been diagnosed with arthritis, which is about one nearly
one in five New Zealanders, which is huge. And it's
something that causes a lot of you know, joint pain, tenderness,
swelling of the joints, and it can be really did live,

(01:07):
it can really affect you every day life.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
That word.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah, So yeah, it's something that like people have to
live with day by day, causing a lot of joint pain,
maybe stiffness. And it's actually typically more common with women
and especially as we age as well. And there's more
than one hundred different types of arthritis, so it's not
just one thing, the most common being osteoarthritis and also

(01:34):
the second one rheumatoid arthritis. And it can happen at
any age as well, so kids can get arthritis. It's
not just something that we get as we get older.
And genetics play a big role in this. I'm personally
from a family that has genetics with lots of arthritis.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Has blessed you with these wonderful genes.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, something to really look out for and know that
inflammation is part of that concern and causing their joint
pain is the inflammation and the swelling and just managing that.
And you know, there's a lot we can do for
managing it and living that anti inflammatory kind of lifestyle
and managing the pain. And I think the thing when
we have joint pain, the number one thing we think is, oh,

(02:16):
I don't really want to exercise on it because it's painful.
But actually, depending on what level of pain. It's at Actually,
exercise is incredibly helpful for most types of arthritis, is
keeping that lubrication in the joint and moving the body
restoring flexibility. And actually sometimes when people with arthritis wake

(02:37):
up in the morning, they can feel more stiff and
more ach and then as they get moving they feel better.
And that's where kind of moving your body is actually
a really helpful way to kind of keep it managed
and also keep yourself moving and as you age, keeping
the body moving is super important. But also if there
is a lot of pain, sometimes supplements can play a

(02:58):
big role in helping with managing that, and some of
my favorites are using things like cucuminoids, which is your turmeric,
but actually if you're going to do it through food,
you have to eat ridiculous amounts of turmeric. So usually
a supplement form of tumeric can be really helpful for
anti inflammatory supporting the joints as well as another favorite
which usually you wouldn't kind of think of this one

(03:20):
or over the counter, so it's one known as Boswallia
or frankencense. It's a little bit more potent actually than
using turmeric, but really good anti inflammatory for the joints,
and then your typical fish wil, but you actually have
to take a lot of fisher oil to get the
anti inflammatory property, in particular looking at the EPA which
is the anti inflammatory effect and helping with reducing inflammation.

(03:43):
So all of these things are helping support the body
with your diet and your lifestyle and making sure we're
supporting and managing inflammation so we can reduce the swelling,
which also helps with keeping the body moving and reducing
joint pain.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Okay, sounds good, preventing arthriighters from getting worse. It's all
those things that you just mean.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
Chosings as well as your diet is the other big thing.
And also managing a weight because if we're carrying more weight,
we're going to have more load on the joints. And
then when it comes to diet, Mediterranean diets of the
anti inflammatory, lots of good fats through nuts, seeds, good
fish fish like things like salmon and sardines, as well
as good amounts of fruits and vegetables, and maybe be

(04:27):
mindful around the night shade vegetables, so things like tomatoes,
white potatoes, eggplants, and peppers. Those things can link to
more inflammation. And joints, or something to look out for.
Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Erin for more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin.
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