Ahmad (Victoria, Bc, Canada) on 01/05/2012

Almost two months ago I had a knee injury. I'm 26 years old and a few days after I noticed swelling and bubbles on my right index finger (most used joint in my body since I'm a computer user). I discovered I had gout initially and, as a believer in natural healing, I researched this and was lead to ACV. After several days of ACV I noticed the bubbles went away but the swelling remained. It would would rise and shrink over time with the continued intake of ACV (>~2 TBSP a day), and it began spreading to other joints.

I tried milk of magnesia, as suggested in the Bursitis section, and that didn't show any improvement either. But it led me to this discovery: when I am dehydrated the swelling gets worse. It was especially bad when I wake up the morning (since we lose a lot of water during sleep this made sense). I remember someone telling me once something about a sudden increase in water intake having an effect on the body. And thats what I decided to try.

I began taking 1-2 cups of water over 15 minutes (or less) every 2 hours. The results were astonishing: within a few hours 60% of the swelling had disappeared. And now, after 2 days of excessive water intake most of joints are 95% healthy and my index finger is still at about 80% and getting better. My joints feel great and I feel my knee injury is doing so much better.

My recommendations to anyone suffering from joint pains are: - if you're taking in a lot of salt, make sure you drink sufficient water to flush your system out. Those salts might end up in your joints and further progress bursitis. - drink sufficient water to offset the effects of caffeine (especially in coffee and pop). - drink a lot of water in the morning and before going to bed (1-2liters).

The water will cause you to visit the bathroom more frequently, but a small price to pay for healing stiff joints. Life was unbearable with aching joints, and being young and active I just don't know how people do it. Thank God I did not have to resort to poisons (chemical drugs).