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moabbeth
Jan 7, 2003, 4:57 AM
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Anyone here tried using flax seed oil for tendon problems? I kinda aggravated my Achilles from limping on the ball of my feet cause of a nasty bruise to the calcaneous. Some people I work with who have had similar injuries said it helps. Anyone here ever tried it with good results?
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rprp
Jan 7, 2003, 5:06 AM
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I put flax seed oil in my smoothie and have been doing so for a couple of years. My reason is to get some omega-3 which is supposed to be good for your cardio-vascular.
I've read somewhere that it is supposed to help dampen inflamation via some effect on the cox enzymes, but I never have seen any good research on this so I am sceptical. Is this why they think it is good for tendons? Or do they have a different argument? I'd like to hear about it.
But you can try flax seed oil since it won't hurt you. The only thing is that it has the same calories as any fat.
[ This Message was edited by: rprp on 2003-01-06 21:07 ]
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bluesky
Jan 7, 2003, 5:20 AM
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Totally anecdotal.. but
I take flaxseed oil as a supplement, and also take Glucosamine+Chondroitin(sp?). When on one vs. the other I find much more help to inflamed tendons from the Glucosamine than the Flax Seed Oil. I think of the Flax Seed as a helper to health and the Glucosamine as a prevention and healing aid for my tendons.
Jesse
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roughster
Jan 7, 2003, 7:44 AM
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[small]This topic was moved to the Injuries & Accidents forum by roughster[/small]
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jt512
Jan 8, 2003, 4:44 AM
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Flax seed oil contains the fatty acid alpha linolenic acid (ALA), which is a member of the omega-3 family of fatty acids. The omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects, and so, flax seed oil could, theoretically, be of benefit in the treatment of tendon or ligament injuries.
Numerous studies have demonstrated that omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory effects in auto-immune diseases; however, the benefits are much greater for two other omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, than for ALA. The reason for this is that EPA and DHA are the biologically active omega-3s. ALA is less beneficial because only a small fraction of it is converted in the body to EPA and DHA.
Whether the anti-inflammatory benefit of omega-3s would extend to tendon and ligament injuries is uncertain. One study found EPA and DHA improved healing of knee ligaments in animals. No human studies, to my knowledge, have been conducted on the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on ligament or tendon healing in humans, and no studies -- either animal or human -- have been conducted using ALA. Since ALA is generally less potent than EPA or DHA, I would not count on ALA, or flax oil, to be particularly useful in the treatment of tendon or ligament damage. Fish oils, which contain EPA and DHA, might have more promise, but this is untested.
-Jay
[ This Message was edited by: jt512 on 2003-01-07 20:47 ]
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rprp
Jan 9, 2003, 2:03 AM
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Thanks Jay.
What I had seen about flax seed oil and inflamation had too much of "new age" ring to it. I had never heard of any well run research that looked into the question.
That EPA and DHA would be more likely to have an effect makes sense. In fact, I sometimes wonder if there is much benefit to flax seed oil at all. I wish somebody would do a large enough study of it to try and answer the question.
Jay, do you think that small amounts of EPA and DHA from eating fish on occasion would matter much? Or would one need daily doses such as from fish oil?
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jt512
Jan 9, 2003, 3:07 AM
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I'd say that frequent consumption of fatty fish would be equivalent to supplementation with fish oil. Clinical trials have used 2 to 6 g/day of EPA/DHA. Four onces of salmon have about 2 g of EPA/DHA, so if you ate salmon or other fatty fish daily, you'd be in the ballpark of the clinical trial doses. Less frequent consumption of fish has been associated with reduced mortality, especially from cardiovascular disease, but I haven't seen any data on fish consmuption and inflammation per se.
-Jay
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