Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Natural Supplements...

Hi all:

Can you recommend some natural supplements that would help with pain/stiffness/flexibility for my neck? My range of motion is horrible. What are some good exercise videos?

C

C,

My sister has cervical spurs and spondylitis. She has controlled it by taking serapeptaise, fish oil, magnesium, msm. She lives in Florida so she has the warmth on her side, not like the northeast. She also rubs a heat rub on her neck before any activities to relax her muscles. She went this way because she didn't have good insurance and although she has it now, it's working for her so she hasn't tried dx meds. Hope this helps.

Concerto, have you seen some of the posts and info about the MacDougall diet? It seems to really work for some people. Also, I see many people talk about most of the supplements that lynnie lists, although serapeptaise is a new one to me.

I have also seen discussion of a Lidoderm patch. That is a prescription, but it sounds like it might be something you could try. It has lidocaine in it, and you could put it right on your neck area.

It would be cool if we could get a list of all the natural supplements/remedies that people have found helpful all in one place.

p.s. When I wrote "McDougall diet", I thought I was referring to the low starch diet that many people use. The low starch diet is discussed in the September 2003 issue of Spondylitis Plus. The McDougall diet is something different. Sorry for the confusion.

I use fish oil, magnesium and MSM. They seem to work very well for me with the low starch diet, but I have never heard of using serapeptaise.
However, I have a lot more flexibility in my neck than before, although, I have to admit I feel I am struggling to get that 45% turn I used to take for granted years ago! A bit of a nusience for backing the car.

We're thinking of trying out Omega 3 fish oil, and possibly ... magnesium, omega 6, and/or glucosamine. Though, we can't decide which ones out of the last 3 would be best. Any suggestions?

I would say magnesium would be the best out of the three mentioned as it stops so much pain, and is so important in dealing with fibromyalgia which often follows AS. Foods containing Sulphur are important as well, also the supplements that contain it.