I often have people in my clinics describe their knee pain, hip pain, back pain or any other kind of pain by saying - “It is just wear and tear I am getting old I suppose”. My reply is often along the lines of - “If it is just wear & tear and old age, then why isn’t the other knee painful? It is the same age, and has done the same miles.”

Something that I find commonly involved in the sort of pain described as wear and tear (otherwise known as OA or osteoarthritis) is muscle inhibition. In my experience most of the osteoarthritis I see has either been caused by or aggravated by muscle inhibition.

Before we go too far we need to get a few things clear so that we are all on the same page. Many people are fearful when they hear the word arthritis. What the word actually means is joint (arthro-) inflammation (-itis). Initial signs are a reduction in range of motion, joint stiffness and pain and possibly swelling. Further symptoms include cartilage bony changes to the joint, at which point you will get a medical diagnosis of OA. 

It is important to understand that you do not suddenly wake up one morning with osteoarthritis it develops over time and probably a very long time. There are other forms of arthritis, which are autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid, psoriatic and reactive arthritis and these are outside the scope of this article but you will find other articles about autoimmune conditions here.

There are certainly things that will make arthritis more likely, a previous history of damage to a joint for example a motorcycle accident, a previous fracture around a joint, continuous repetitive damage through sport or work. When these cases present to me they almost always have some level of muscle inhibition and can definitely be helped by figuring out what is causing the muscle inhibition and correcting it.

So what is muscle inhibition and what causes it? Muscle inhibition is when a muscle does not respond correctly or the way it should, and therefore is not providing the correct support to a joint especially when moving.   The way I assess this is through the bodies reflexive system, which actually controls much of the body’s movement through the day. As for what causes it, the list is probably endless but in my experience the following are common, nutritional problems either poor diet or lack of required nutrition, metal interference with the nervous system especially but not always piercings and metal in the mouth, misalignments in the spine and exposure to toxins.

Identifying the cause of any muscle inhibition and correcting it will reduce wear and tear, improve mobility and reduce or eliminate pain. Identifying nutritional deficiencies and taking supplements may not fix arthritis but will support your bodies ability to manage joint inflammation.  The level of damage that has already been caused to a joint will dictate how well your body can repair itself.