Collagen as a potential source of relief for joint pain and soft tissue injuries.  

At SoleFit, we’re always looking for ways to help speed up the healing process when injury strikes or, ideally, trying to find ways to prevent those injuries from occurring in the first place!  We do see a number of patients coming through our clinic suffering from joint related pain and/or soft tissue injuries and we will sometimes recommend for them to look into collagen.

Collagen is like the ‘glue’ that holds us together.

Collagen is the most abundant protein found in the body and is basically the ‘glue’ that holds the body together. There are plenty of high quality supplemental collagen sources available but they tend to get a bit expensive. One of the most cost effective ways to get collagen is through the use of bone broth. Either made on your own (check out this recipe here) or bought in the stores, it’s very important to ensure you get the highest quality bone broth that you can find. This often means a visit to your local butcher’s freezer section to find broth made from grass fed animal bones. Unfortunately, most bone broth found in stores contains lots of ‘less than ideal’ ingredients that we don’t really want to be putting into our bodies (definitely check the labels!).

Collagen for osteoarthritis
Bone broth for joint health

There are lots of high quality collagen supplements available but it’s hard to beat the low cost of high quality bone broth.

Let’s look at a couple of ways in which collagen can be helpful from our pedorthic perspective.

REDUCE SOFT TISSUE INJURIES

Collagen helps us to move without pain and discomfort. Although our bodies do naturally produce collagen, for heavy exercisers and those that might be suffering from joint pain and/or recovering from soft tissue injuries, supplemental collagen can potentially help speed up the healing process. Studies have shown that supplemental collagen use by those suffering from osteoarthritic conditions can lead to a marked decrease in discomfort. 

HELP REDUCE INFLAMMATION

Many of the injuries that we see coming through our clinic are exacerbated by systemic inflammation in the body potentially caused by gut permeability issues otherwise known as 'leaky gut'. To make a long story short, collagen can help to 'seal and heal' the protective barrier of the GI Tract. For more information check out this article.

For those suffering from an arthritic condition or dealing with a soft tissue injury, collagen through bone broth can be an inexpensive way to potentially provide relief and/or speed up the healing process.  

 

As always, we’d love to hear from you if you have any questions/comments.  To keep up with blog posts, health tips, and upcoming events be sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter!

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