Here's a crazy health-related story:

Most days my finger joints hurt from arthritis, and my shins hurt because I've had two fasciotemy surgeries after suffering from compartment syndrome due to too much running (technically too much running, too fast, while also changing my running surface from gravel to pavement).

The crazy part of the story is this: I recently had a bout with a stomach virus, and after not eating anything but crackers for four days, my fingers and shins no longer hurt. Shortly after I started eating again the pain resumed.

This leads to one obvious conclusion: there's a direct relationship between something I'm eating, or the amount that I'm eating, to the pain in my fingers and shins. So the question becomes, what exactly is the cause and effect relationship here?

Another follow-up note: During the nine-day bout with the stomach virus I had virtually no appetite, which was great, because I am at least slightly overweight. Unfortunately for me, on the 10th day my appetite returned in full force. If someone could bottle the "no appetite" part of the stomach virus without all the bad side effects, wow, you'd be a billionaire.

Final note: I've mentioned here before that Osteo Bi-Flex helps relieve a lot of the finger/arthritis pain, and I recommend it highly. It seems to work great as long as I continue to take it, but the joint pain returns if I go a few days without taking it.