This was a really interesting question for me to answer (the natural anti-inflammatory part) because I have had RSI before and when I did, the doctor prescribed rest (which wasn't easy because I work on a computer all day long), larger-than-OTC doses of ibuprofen, and a muscle relaxant at night. This went on for about six weeks.
It's important to see if you can cut back on activity if one hand/wrist/arm is worse than the other. This is funny, but simply things like using your dominant hand less will help. I am right-handed, but I trained myself to be left-moused on the computer and to do things like brush my teeth, load the dishwasher and pick up my purse with my left hand (and carry it on my left shoulder instead of my more instinctual right one). I also studied my computer habits and tried to cut back on anything that was more recreational than work-oriented. All these things combined helped me a lot, and now I only get occasional slight numbness, pain or tingling.
But the natural anti-inflammatory part intrigues me. Turns out that a lot of foods have anti-inflammatory characteristics and some actually have pro-inflammatory characteristics (ack! just what we don't need!).
Here's a few things we should be eating less of in terms of inflammation:
- Omega-3 essential fatty acids, such as fish oil, flax seed oil, walnuts and pumpkin seeds
- a balanced daily multi-vitamin
- olive oil
- lean poultry, fish and wild seafood
- nuts, legumes and seeds
- soy products
- whole grains
- fruits and vegetables (especially berries)
- water, and green tea
Here's a great article on all this. I'm printing it out for myself as well =)
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This was a really interesting question for me to answer (the natural anti-inflammatory part) because I have had RSI before and when I did, the doctor prescribed rest (which wasn't easy because I work on a computer all day long), larger-than-OTC doses of ibuprofen, and a muscle relaxant at night. This went on for about six weeks.
It's important to see if you can cut back on activity if one hand/wrist/arm is worse than the other. This is funny, but simply things like using your dominant hand less will help. I am right-handed, but I trained myself to be left-moused on the computer and to do things like brush my teeth, load the dishwasher and pick up my purse with my left hand (and carry it on my left shoulder instead of my more instinctual right one). I also studied my computer habits and tried to cut back on anything that was more recreational than work-oriented. All these things combined helped me a lot, and now I only get occasional slight numbness, pain or tingling.
But the natural anti-inflammatory part intrigues me. Turns out that a lot of foods have anti-inflammatory characteristics and some actually have pro-inflammatory characteristics (ack! just what we don't need!).
Here's a few things we should be eating less of in terms of inflammation:
- sugar
- saturated fat
- junk food
- high-fat meats
- processed meats
- high-fat diet products
- cut back on potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant
and here are a few things that help inflammation:
- Omega-3 essential fatty acids, such as fish oil, flax seed oil, walnuts and pumpkin seeds
- a balanced daily multi-vitamin
- olive oil
- lean poultry, fish and wild seafood
- nuts, legumes and seeds
- soy products
- whole grains
- fruits and vegetables (especially berries)
- water, and green tea
Here's a great article on all this. I'm printing it out for myself as well =)
http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm
And here is another great article about this:
http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/naturalantiinflammatories.aspx
Thanks for asking this question, you may have just changed MY life as well!
June 3, 2009 - 9:46amThis Comment
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