Hi ,

There can be many reasons for joint pain. Sometimes the root cause can be viral, sometimes there are immune complexes building up in the joints, sometimes inflammation can cause swelling in the joints. All cases need a different approach.

Maybe you can help us help you by giving us a few more details about your lifestyle. For example:
• How often did you work out in the last few years?
• What type of workouts do you do? And how long are you exercising for?
• Are you using supplements and if so, what supplements are you using? (Think about protein powder, vitamin D, magnesium, omega 3’s, etc)
• What does your diet look like? Are you consuming a lot of protein since you are working out? 
• How old are you?
• Are you experiencing a lot of stress in your life?
• How is your sleep? Are you waking up refreshed?
• Are there any medications you are currently using? (This includes PPIs, any kind of pain medications, etc)
• Are you having gut related problems? (Blpoating, gas, diarhea, constipation, cramps, etc)
• Do you have allergies or food intolerances that you know of?
• Did you use antibiotics in the past?

Vitamin D/K2
Often inflammation plays a role in joint pain. We can help the body manage inflammation by having optimal vitamin D levels. If you are currently not supplementing, I recommend checking your blood levels and bringing them up if necessary. Where I come from without medical supervision you can supplement up to 4000 IU safely. But if your levels are low, you might need higher dosages. I personally try to keep my vitamin D levels around 75 nmol/l.

Raising vitamin D levels will increase calcium absorption. Vitamin K2 mk7 or mk4 will help calcium directed towards bones. If you like to use higher dosages of vitamin D I recommend you use a nice combination formula like for example this product from Thorne. By the way, this link will bring you to an online supplement store called fullscript. B Better members get discounts, but you need to sign up first. High calcium can build up in joints causing joint pains as well. If you are already supplementing with vitamin D but without K2 I would recommend you add K2 as a supplement.

Magnesium
Magnesium is anti-inflammatory, can reduce pain by influencing receptors in the brain and is needed to relax muscles. Stiff muscles can cause joint pains as well. Magnesium malate & glycinate are well absorbed. Magnesium oils containing magnesium chloride can be applied topically and could provide some relief as well. Although the RDA for men for magnesium is 400mg, a lot of people benefit from dosages between 400 – 1000 mg. Magnesium is also needed to convert vitamin D to its final form, so make sure you are not magnesium depleted. If you would like to know what the signs & symptoms are of a magnesium deficiency, click here. Workouts, sweat, stress, coffee and a refined diet can deplete your magnesium levels.

Specific recommendations for joint pain.
With joint pain, high dosages of DHA+EPA can help. I often recommend my clients dosages of 2000-4000 mg of EPA+DHA (note that I am not writing fish oil or Omega 3). EPA & DHA help resolve inflammation.

Omega 3s in combination with curcumin help often well with pain. Make sure you use a phytosome form of curcumin (Thorne has a nice product called Curcumin phytosome, just click here). I recommend my clients for quick relief 2x daily 500 mg and increase slowly to 2x 1000 mg if needed.

A more specific anti-inflammatory product used for joint pain is Boswellia. An effective dosage I sometimes recommend people could try is 300 mg. Pure encapsulations has a high-quality Boswellia product – just click here.

Immune complexes
Sometimes pain in joints is caused by immune complexes that have built up in joints. Proteolytic enzymes taken on an empty stomach could help to break down immune complexes (Otherwise the enzymes will just help with digesting food – so taking them on an empty stomach is essential).

I had some good experience with IntenZyme from Biotics Research (just click here). Taking these 2x daily for 2 weeks could lead to some relief if immune complexes are causing the pain.

Again – these recommendations might help with pain, but might not help you address the root cause. If inflammation is the root cause, we still need to learn why the inflammation is there. If immune complexes have build-up, it’s still important to need to know why and address this.

We might be able to help you better when you have answered these questions above!

I hope this helps!

 I will be sure to add Joint Pain in the Symptom Dictionary. 

As Daniel shared above, there can be many reasons, but inflammation is at the core. Inflammation is immune generated and can be gut mediated (from bacterial byproducts for example), from food sensitivities, higher histamine due to lower DAO enzyme synthesis, lower cortisol from chronic stress, toxicity/heavy metals, mold, etc.

When do you experience the joint pain? In the mornings, after working out? Is it random or constant pain?