Arthritis is typically considered to be a health concern for the elderly, but in fact there are rising numbers of younger people developing the condition. For younger people with arthritis,  the use of NSAID's and pain killers cannot be the only solution to the pain as many younger people will need many years of medication for their arthritis, and NSAID's are not suitable for long term use.

 

Alyson Bells, 41, is a stay at home mum to three very active children from Nottingham who developed arthritis in her hips and knees when she was 40.

Alyson says:

"When I started getting pain in my knee and hip about four months ago the thought that it might be arthritis didn’t cross my mind. My mother had just been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in her hips aged 61, which I thought was quite young, so I thought there was no way I had it.

But the more I tried to ignore it the worse it got. Being a mum to three children under the age of 10 (two of them are twins) means I have to be on my feet all the time.

Within two months I was starting to find it hard to pick the twins up and playing with them in the park or every walking to school to collect them was starting to feel like a real feat. I felt like a woman of 90 years old not 40.

As I am sure many busy mums will appreciate I simply didn’t get round to seeing my GP about the pain. I hate visiting the doctors anyway and finding the time to make an appointment just never seemed to happen.

Instead I started taking ibuprofen from the chemists.[quote] Eventually I was on the maximum dose of eight painkillers a day because the pain in my hips was so bad. [/quote] I could no longer sleep on my left side at night and I found it very hard to move my hips and knees for about an hour after I got up.

When we visited mum for Christmas, she found out about my eight a day pain killer habit and went mad, especially as I already have had heart problems due to a viral infection I had when I was younger.  She hates pills at the best of times and was horrified that I was taking so many. She made me promise to stop taking them and ask my doctor ‘s advice.

Mum and Dad left for holiday after Christmas and so I slipped back into taking the pain killers. When mum got back from holiday the first thing she asked me was about my joint problem and I had to admit to her it was just as bad as ever.

[quote]A week later a pot of Boswellia & Commiphora cream arrived in the post with a note from mum telling to stop taking the pain killers and to start using this cream three times a day on the painful areas. She had been using it herself for years and swore by it.  I did as I was told, although I thought maybe she had gone a bit mad thinking a cream would work instead of pills. [/quote]

But sure enough within a week I noticed the pain starting to reduce. Within three weeks of using the cream I had virtually no pain. I was also able to move much more easily when I got out of bed in the mornings and walking to and from the twin’s room during the night was no longer a feat of endurance.

Now I would say I feel only a bit of pain from my knee and hip. I have to be more careful than before about lugging the children about and I try to take it a little more easy these days. But on the whole I can lead an active busy life without too much pain or inconvenience due to my arthritis.

If the pain gets really bad I will take a painkiller but it's as litle as once a month that I need to do that now thanks ot Boswellia & Commiphora cream. "

 Read our review of Boswellia & Commiphora cream here