Health Tips

Health Tips of the Month - Osteoarthritis (OA)

Contributed by
Brad Matthews (Dr. TCM.) (R. Ac),
Luke Lin (R. TCM. P.) (R. Ac)

February 4, 2010

Did you know that more than 2 million Canadians have been diagnosed with OA?
In addition to acupuncture, which the World Health Organization recognizes as being helpful for OA, IMeG Health™ is pleased to provide the following health tips and lifestyle suggestions.


  • Protect Your Joints:

    • Avoid Repetitive Motions and Risky Activities


      Activities such as repetitive kneeling or squatting can contribute to joint injury.

    • Listen to Your Pain


      Pain is your body’s way of telling you that you are overdoing it.

    • Maintain Proper Posture


      Proper posture while standing, sitting and walking greatly reduces unnecessary stress on joints and muscles.



  • Exercise Properly:

    • Proper Exercise


      Gentle exercises such as Tai Chi, swimming, walking, stretching and Yoga can help prevent further deterioration of the joints. These types of exercises can also help to manage your weight, and keep your body functioning well.

    • Muscle-strengthening Exercises


      Weight-training muscle strengthening exercises can help to better support already weakened joints and compensate for any loss of flexibility or mobility.


  • Eat Properly:

    • Select Suitable Foods


      In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), people with OA are often recommended to eat less cold/raw foods, such as watermelon and other raw fruits and vegetables, seaweed, salads etc. These foods interfere with the function of digestive system and induce accumulation of metabolic waste. The result is blockage of the smooth circulation of Qi and blood. In TCM we say “when there is blockage, there is pain”.

      On the other hand, there are certain foods that can be very beneficial to those with OA. These foods include black soybean, black sesame seed and tree mushrooms such as Ling Zhi (Red Reishi – available at IMeG Health™) which strengthen Kidney energy in TCM, and thereby help to nourish the bones and joints…(read more)

    • Maintain a Healthy Weight


      Persons who are overweight are subject to increased stress on the joints which leads to faster deterioration of the cartilage. If you are overweight, begin with moderate, light exercises such as Tai Chi, Yoga, swimming, or walking.

    • Get Enough Vitamins C, D and Calcium

The benefits of TCM as part of your OA treatment strategy


Since the mechanism of pain, disability and progression of osteoarthritis is complicated, a comprehensive therapy is recommended for the best prognosis.

  • Acupuncture: Recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a therapy that can help with the effects of OA, acupuncture is effective in eliminating the pain and improving joint function.

  • Heat Therapy: In TCM theory, the use of heat improves blood circulation which may promote recovery.

  • Chinese Herb: Herbal medicines such as Ling Zhi (Red Reishi), du zhong, gou ji, xu duan etc, all help to support and strengthen the Kidney energy. These medicines can help to prevent deterioration of the joints, while at the same time improving your overall health.

  • Tuina (Chinese Massage) or Cupping Therapy : These therapies relax muscle tension and stiffness and can help to realign the bone.


TCM Characteristics of Food

According to TCM, everything we put into our body has a certain “energy” associated with it. The energies of foods refer to their capacity to generate sensations - either hot or cold - in the human body. The five kinds of energy are cold, hot, warm, cool and neutral, and this refers not necessarily to the state of the food, but rather its effect on our bodies. For example, although tea is typically a hot beverage, it has a cold energy. This means that when we drink hot tea, it generates cold energy and it is therefore considered a cold beverage. The next time you have a cup of hot tea, pay attention to what you notice in your body. After the initial heat produced by the temperature of the tea fades, you will notice that it will begin to generate cold energy internally, allowing your body to cool off.

It is important to know about the energies of food because different energies act upon the human body in different ways and affect our state of health. If a person suffers from a “cold condition”, for example arthritic pain that is particularly severe on cold days, eating foods with a warm or hot energy shall relieve the pain considerably, while cold foods may in fact make the condition worse.

Generally speaking, cold foods tend to interfere with the function of digestive system and induce accumulation of metabolic waste called “dampness” or “turbidity”in TCM. These metabolic wastes block the smooth circulation of Qi and blood resulting in pain. In TCM we say “when there is blockage there is pain”. This is precisely why TCM practitioners will often recommend less cold/raw foods in patients with OA.

On the other hand, there are some foods such as black soybean, kidney bean, tree mushroom (Ling Zhi/Red Reishi), black sesame seed, cherry and mulberry, that support and strengthen the Kidney energy. In TCM, the bones and joints belong to the “Kidney System”, therefore eating these food types can actually help to prevent or slow down the further deterioration of osteoarthritis.

Here are some examples of common foods with different energies :

Food Nature Energy generated Examples of Food
Yin Cold watermelon Bamboo shoot, banana, bitter gourd, grapefruit, muskmelon,, sea grass, seaweed, star fruit
Yin Cool Cucumber, apple, barley, bean curd, eggplant, lily flower, loquat, mandarin orange, mung bean, oyster, pear, peppermint, radish, sesame oil, spinach, strawberry, tangerine, wheat, wheat bran, cream, yogurt and cheese.
Balanced yin and yang Neutral black soybean, kidney bean, tree mushroom, black sesame seed, carrot, castor bean, grape, honey, horse bean, peanuts, potato, pumpkin, red bean, yellow soybean, apricot, beef.
Yang Warm cherry, mulberry, chicken, brown sugar, chestnut, chive, clove, eel, fennel, garlic, ginger (fresh), green onion, guava, ham, kumquat, maltose, mutton, peach, raspberry, rosemary, shrimp, spearmint, squash, star anise, sweet basil, sword bean, vinegar, walnut, wine.
Yang Hot pepper, ginger (dried), soybean oil, red and green pepper.


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