About Arthritis Pain Relief
Arthritis: Inflammation of a joint, usually accompanied by pain, swelling, and stiffness, and resulting from infection, trauma, degenerative changes, metabolic disturbances, or other causes
Types of arthritis
The symptoms of arthritis
Treating arthritis homeopathically
Natural Tips for Treating Arthritis
Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation. A joint is an area of the body where two different bones meet. A joint functions to move the body parts connected by its bones. Arthritis literally means inflammation of one or more joints. Joint pain is referred to as arthralgia.
Arthritis is classified as one of the rheumatic diseases. These are conditions that are different individual illnesses, with differing features, treatments, complications, and prognosis. They are similar in that they have a tendency to affect the joints, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, tendons, and many have the potential to affect internal body areas.
Types of arthritis
There are more than 100 forms of arthritis ranging from those related to wear-and-tear of cartilage to those associated with inflammation resulting from an over-active immune system. The three most common types of arthritis are:
- Osteoarthritis, also called degenerative joint disease, occurs when the protective cartilage that covers the ends of the bones wears away. When the cartilage is no longer in place, bones rub together and cause friction, which results in pain and swelling. Any joint can be affected by osteoarthritis, but the disease most commonly occurs in weight-bearing joints, including knees and hips. Normal wear-and-tear on the joints due to aging is a major contributor to osteoarthritis. More than 20 million Americans suffer from osteoarthritis.
- Rheumatoid Arthritis is an auto-immune disorder that causes the body's immune system to mistakenly attack joint tissue. This leads to inflammation that can easily spread to surrounding tissues, cartilage, and bone.
- Gout is a painful disorder caused by improper elimination of uric acid in the body. Deposits of excess uric acid crystallize in the joint, causing swelling, redness, and extreme pain.
The symptoms of arthritis
Symptoms of arthritis include:
- Joint pain, tenderness, swelling, redness, or stiffness which is generally worse in the morning and on initiating movement
- Limited joint function
Because many of the forms of arthritis are rheumatic diseases, a person can also experience symptoms that do not directly involve the joints, including nonspecific fever, weight loss, fatigue, and a general feeling of ill health.
Arthritis and fever together are pointers towards septic arthritis. This can indicate a medical emergency, and requires urgent attention by a medical practitioner.
Treating arthritis homeopathically
Homeopathy can be very effective in treating certain types of arthritis, as well as safe and easy-to-use, with minimal risk of side effects. There is an increasing amount of scientific evidence which confirms the efficacy of homeopathic medicines, and more and more people with arthritis gain relief from this natural form of treatment.
From the homeopathic point of view, using drugs such as methotrexate or cortisone to treat arthritis simply masks the symptoms and can lead to more serious health problems. Homeopathic Arthritis Formula from Simple Medicinals includes key remedies to help stimulate joint health and relieve pain and swelling. But for deeper treatment, a constitutional remedy should be chosen by an experienced homeopathic doctor which will help bring all bodily systems into better balance.
Natural Tips for Treating Arthritis
- Arthritic discomfort can be naturally minimized if you:
- Eat more sulfur containing foods. Sulfur helps rebuild bone, cartilage, and connective tissue. So integrate more asparagus, eggs, garlic, and onions into your diet.
- Eat more histadine-rich foods. Histidine helps remove excess metals from the body. So integrate more rice, wheat, and rye into your daily diet.
- Eat fiber every day.
- Reduce the amount of fat you consume.
- Avoid sodium and iron supplements.
- Use cold gel packs to relieve pain.
- Take a hot shower or bath to ease morning stiffness. Then massage Homeopathic Arthritis Formula into effected areas.
- Practice a gentle form of yoga.
- If overweight, shed excess pounds.
This information is not intended to replace the advice of a professional health practitioner.
Bibliography
"arthritis." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 19 Mar. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/arthritis
"arthritis." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Answers.com 19 Mar. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/arthritis
