Joint Pain and Dietary Fats

Joint pain can be related to many issues and firstly important causes such as fractures, infections and tumours need to be ruled out. We commonly see joint issues also due to muscle and nerve issues. Low back pain and neck pain are common things we see and help a lot of people with, however something you may not be as aware of is that joint pain can also be associated with inflammation from your diet.

Did you know that Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent type of arthritis in Australia, and it affects about 1.8 million Australians which is about 8% of the total population? Obesity increases the risk of developing OA by 2 fold to 10 fold in the knee joints but OA of the non-weight bearing joints of the hands is also increased in obese patients, clearly indicating that other factors are involved in the relationship between obesity and OA! (1).

By Diet we are specifically focusing on the part here that pertains to the types of fat intake. Sugar also has its issues but we will leave that discussion for another day.
Fatty acids (FA), as part of molecules or acting individually, have diverse functions in cells that range from structural “building blocks” of cell membranes to suppliers of energy and signalling molecules. The FA in cells derive either from outside your body sources or from within the body’s own synthesis. Some organisms require some essential FA compounds that either cannot be synthesized, or cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities (2).

As a result of their anti-inflammatory actions, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) may have therapeutic efficacy in inflammatory diseases. These are some of the oils found in fish oils. Work with animal models of Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), colitis (abdomen pain) and asthma has demonstrated efficacy of fish oil and of mediators derived from EPA and DHA. There have been many clinical trials of fish oil in patients with inflammatory diseases. Many trials in RA report clinical improvements (e.g. improved patient assessed pain, decreased morning stiffness, fewer painful or tender joints and decreased use of NSAIDs), and when the trials have been pooled in meta-analyses, statistically significant clinical benefit has emerged (3,4). A few human trials, supported by findings from animal models, indicate that EPA and DHA have a role in stabilizing advanced atherosclerotic plaques, which could reduce cardiovascular events and mortality (5). Mice studies show that diets higher in specific types of polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased progression of OA and synovitis (joint inflammation).
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If you would like to know more about Fatty Acids and joint pain we would love to see you in our practice.
 
References
(1)Sekar, S., Crawford, R., Xiao, Y. and Prasadam, I., 2017. Dietary fats and osteoarthritis: insights, evidences, and new horizons. Journal of cellular biochemistry, 118(3), pp.453-463.
(2)De Carvalho, C.C. and Caramujo, M.J., 2018. The various roles of fatty acids. Molecules, 23(10), p.2583.
(3)Fortin, P.R., Lew, R.A., Liang, M.H., Wright, E.A., Beckett, L.A., Chalmers, T.C. et al. (1995) Validation of a meta-analysis: the effects of fish oil in rheumatoid arthritis. J. Clin. Epidemiol. 48, 1379–1390 doi:10.1016/0895-4356(95)00028-3
(4)Goldberg, R.J. and Katz, J. (2009) A meta-analysis of the analgesic effects of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation for inflammatory joint pain. Pain 129, 210–223 doi:10.1016/j.pain.2007.01.020
(5)73 Calder, P.C. (2017) New evidence that ω-3 fatty acids have a role in primary prevention of coronary heart disease. J. Public Health Emerg. 1, 35 doi:10.21037/jphe.2017.03.03