Natural health: Tendonitis

Q. I am 42 years of age, I have had recurrent problems with tendonitis for about 10 years.

It began shortly after the birth of my second child. It can affect my shoulders, arms, wrists, palms and fingers. It presents with pain, swelling, and stiffness, and can be debilitating at times, other times I can be relatively symptom free. It is exacerbated by gardening, painting, carrying bags and cleaning windows. I feel my strength is reduced in my arms. I have used arnica gel and NSAID gels and tablets during painful periods to some effect. I wonder if the suggestions you made recently for rheumatoid arthritis would also apply to me.

A. The suggestions I made recently regarding natural remedies for rheumatoid arthritis definitely apply. I mentioned therapeutic doses of vitamin C in particular this nutrient helps by reducing inflammation, but is also a crucial component in collagen formation. Healthy collagen levels are important to building and maintaining healthy connective tissue — ligaments, cartilage, tendons — and joints.