Relieve Arthritis Pain With Honey and Cinnamon

Arthritis pain is nothing to joke about. It makes for miserable lives. While checking into natural remedies, I came across how to relieve arthritis pain with honey and cinnamon. I know it sounds a bit weird - but who cares if it works!

There are a couple of ways to take the honey and cinnamon - as a daily drink or as a tincture to put on painful and swollen joints.

For the drink: For your health, the best quality organic honey would be preferable as well as good quality cinnamon. It seems though there are many 'recipes' out there, so there seems to be no need to obsess about exact measurements. One cup of hot water with two spoons of honey in it and one small teaspoon of cinnamon. This can be taken once or twice during the day (i.e. in the morning and before bed). If this is too sweet, then reduce the honey to one teaspoon. Similarly if the cinnamon taste is too hard to take, then reduce it to half a teaspoon. It seems only important that honey and cinnamon are present in the mix. It really depends on what works for you.
For the tincture: Mix one part honey to two parts of lukewarm water and add a small teaspoon of cinnamon powder until it forms a paste. Massage this paste onto the itching/painful part of your body in a slow circular motion. Many people have found that their pain gets noticeably less within a matter of minutes.

Considering that there are a large number of people being helped every day by taking this concoction of honey and cinnamon to relieve their arthritis pain, I would imagine it's definitely worth a try. If it doesn't work right away (although many people do report an immediate effect), please try it out for a minimum of four weeks. There really is nothing to lose and everything to gain!

It seems that this combination is also helpful for the common cold, coughs and sinus infections, hair loss, bladder infections, stomach aches, high cholesterol and even toothache (where you put the tincture made with honey and cinnamon without any water on the aching tooth up to three times a day. This mixture taken daily also strengthens our immune system, protecting the body from harmful bacteria and viral attacks. Honey itself has various vitamins and iron in large amounts.

To summarize this is definitely something to include in your family's medicine cabinet - even though honey and cinnamon reside in the kitchen!

Arthritis Bracelets - Do They Work?

Many people who suffer from arthritis believe in using arthritis bracelets to relieve their pain. Based on age old wisdom these bracelets are thought to considerably ease the joint pain and inflammation suffered by arthritic patients. When traditional medicines and treatments have not been found to be effective, bracelets are often used as an alternative treatment. Many arthritis sufferers have found that they do work to lessen their pain considerably.

The Healing Metal

Arthritis bracelets are made of either metal or copper. The copper bracelets became popular as a treatment form in the 1970's. The copper in the bracelet is thought to be absorbed into the skin to aid in pain relief. Studies have shown that copper does actually make its way into the skin from these bracelets. This extra copper in a person's system is what lead to pain relief.

Copper is used by the body to carry calcium and aid in the building of bone mass. Some feel that copper also has analgesic potential. These two benefits are the reason for the popularity of using copper in making bracelets for arthritis sufferers.

Magnetic Healing

Magnets are also used in the manufacture of arthritis bracelets. Magnets produce magnetic fields that are felt to aid pain relief in several ways. The most studied use of magnets and pain relief focuses on the magnets ability to change the function of cells in the body. This change is felt to have anti-inflammatory potential.

Magnets may also have an effect on the ways cells grow and how long they live. The magnets are felt to rejuvenate the cells around the joints that have become inflamed. This ability to stimulate new cell growth is currently being studied in depth by many medical centers.

Magnets have also been shown to increase the flow of blood to the different parts of the body. When blood flow is increased oxygen and nutrients are better able to get to the places in the body they are needed. Blood naturally contains iron that is positively affected by the stimulation from the magnets.

Magnets send out very weak pulse signals. A magnetic bracelet sends these weak magnetic pulses throughout the body. The body, in turn, reads these pulses as pain relief signals. This is felt to work in a fashion similar to the use of ultrasound for pain relief. The magnetic pulses that result from wearing an arthritis bracelet appear to work best when the bracelet is worn near the afflicted site.

Magnets and Your Immune System

White blood cells help the body fight pain, infection, and inflammation and boost your immune system. Magnetic force may increase the production of these healing blood cells in a person's system. By wearing an arthritis bracelet a person can build up their defenses, their white blood cells against arthritic pain.

Studies are currently being conducted on the viability of arthritic bracelets. Evidence has been found to support both forms of bracelets, copper and magnetic. None of the studies have yet been wholly accepted by the FDA as of now but natural and homeopathic healers support the use of the arthritic bracelets for patients suffering from arthritis. Many doctors in the medical community also believe in the healing power of magnets and will discuss the use of these bracelets with their patients.

Arthritis Treatment: What Musculoskeletal Problems Can Be Treated With Platelet-Rich Plasma?

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an ultraconcentrate of blood that contains a large number of platelets, roughly four to seven times baseline amounts. For example, normal peripheral blood contains about six per cent platelets. A platelet-rich plasma specimen contains ninety-four per cent platelets.

Platelets are cells in the blood that are responsible for a number of tasks. First, they have factors that aid in forming a clot. Second, they have multiple growth and healing factors that help tissue injuries with recovery. Examples of these factors include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and transforming growth factor (TGF). Healing occurs because platelet-derived growth factors stimulate the growth and multiplication of stem cells that aid in healing.

So where can PRP be used in a clinical setting? Fenton and colleagues have reported that in their hands they have been able to successfully treat a number of musculoskeletal problems including tendinopathies, ligament laxity and tears, osteoarthritis, cartilage injury, stress fractures, and non-unions. There are contraindications to the use of PRP. They are the use of anti-platelet and anti-inflammatory medication such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, warfarin, aspirin, as well as high dose fish oil.

Patients with anemia, low platelet counts, and clotting or bleeding disorders are also not good candidates. There is some evidence that cigarette smoking also has a negative effect on the effectiveness of PRP.

In the spine, the sacroiliac joints, facet joints, costotransverse (rib) joints, and spinal ligaments have been treated.

In the shoulder, rotator cuff injuries, glenohumeral ligament issues, as well as arthritis involving the acromioclavicular joint and glenohumeral joint have been treated.

Elbow disorders such as medial and lateral epicondylitis, ulnar collateral ligament strains, biceps tendon partial tears, and osteoarthritis have been treated with PRP.

Problems in the wrist and hand such as osteoarthritis, tendon problems, and ligament strains have also responded to PRP.

In the hip, hamstring tendinosis, gluteus medius tendinosis, as well as osteoarthritis have responded to PRP.

Knee issues that have responded to PRP treatment include: tendinosis of the patellar and quadriceps tendon, collateral ligament strains, meniscus tears, osteoarthritis, and bursitis.

Disorders in the ankle and foot that have successfully responded to PRP are: tendinosis in the Achilles, peroneal, and posterior tibial tendons, as well as plantar fasciitis, osteoarthritis, ligament tears.

So it is abundantly clear that in the right hands, PRP can be a useful adjunct to current treatment measures for musculoskeletal injuries. One caveat: PRP must be administered using tenotomy technique and ultrasound guidance by an experienced practitioner.

Doctor...I've Been Told I Have Spondyloarthopathy...Spinal Arthritis - What Is It?

Spondyloarthopathy is a long word referring to a group of autoimmune inflammatory forms of arthritis that may affect the spine. Examples of diseases that fall into this category include Ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis (Reiter's disease), juvenile spondyloarthropathy, and the arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel disease.

Factors these diseases have in common are:

o They affect the sacroiliac joints and the spine

o Other joints including the fingers and toes may become inflamed

o Increased family history of the disease

o Lack of rheumatoid factor

The HLA-B27 gene is markedly associated with this set of conditions. This is detected through blood testing.

The back pain associated with spondyloarthropathy has a few distinguishing features that separates it from mechanical back pain due to degenerative arthritis.

Inflammatory back pain cause extended morning stiffness- at least an hour or longer. The pain from inflammatory causes tends to come on after midnight and in the early morning. Exercise improves inflammatory back symptoms but makes mechanical back pain worse. The peak age of onset is usually 12-40 years for inflammatory spine disease and 20-65 years for mechanical.

One major distinguishing characteristic is the presence of enthesitis. This is inflammation where the tendons meet the bone.

Other areas that this type of arthritis may affect include the eyes (iritis), lungs (restrictive lung disease), heart (aortic valve disease, heart block), gut (inflammatory bowel), and skin (psoriasis).

Peculiar sausage shaped swelling of the fingers and toes can also occur. This is called dactylitis.

The inflammatory spondyloarthropathies are a progressive debilitating form of arthritis. The diagnosis must be established as early as possible so that aggressive treatment can be instituted. This group od disorders can be controlled and often may be put into sustained remission.

Tips in Managing The Two Most Common Types of Arthritis

Arthritis is usually identified with growing old. This is not entirely true as it does not only occur with the elderly but can also happen to the younger population. With this in mind, tips on its proper management is crucial to help yourself or others to alleviate the pain it causes.

But first you must know the difference between the two forms of Arthritis as they require different management techniques. Osteoarthritis is a disease that causes joint paint and stiffness due to the breakdown of cartilage. Cartilage is made up of firm but flexible tissue that is found at every end of the bones called joints to facilitate the smooth movement of bones and prevent them from rubbing against each other.

Rheumatoid Arthritis on the other hand is said to be a chronic autoimmune disease that causes swelling and deformity in joints. Usual joints that suffer from this disease are the hands and fingers, the knees, legs and shoulders. But further studies actually points this type of disease as possible causes to inflammation of blood vessels due to lack of proper circulated to affected areas, growth of rheumatoid nodules that are bumps just below the skin due to inflammation of joints, lung diseases, blood disorder, and the gradual weakening of the bones. Knowing these changes in the physical body can really sound painful and in fact it is.

Hot/cold compressions. One of the most common treatments for alleviating pain caused by arthritis is hot and cold compression applied to the aching joints. The decision to what compression to use is up to the instructions of the doctor or how the body can respond to it. Hot compression usually relaxes the muscles and dilate blood vessels making it more comfortable when stifled blood circulation and stiffness strikes joints. Cold compression does the opposite, being a temporary surface external analgesic to painful joints creating numbness and lessening the pain. The general rule is to prevent the compressions in directly touching the skin's surface and using a buffer (usually a towel) to avoid the direct contact between the skin and extreme heat or cold sources within fifteen minutes of application. This method is limited to people who have poor circulation, diabetes, or nerve disease.

Balance work and rest. Do not take on what you can do for the day. Stress can be an additional factor in your arthritis so schedule a balance between work and rest. You can still normally function in any activities that you had before you got Arthritis but you now have limits on frequency and work load. Protect your joints from unnecessary stress and use the right body mechanics in dealing with heavy tasks or loads. Bigger muscles in your legs and hips should be used in carrying heavy loads and walking using your leg muscles can lessen the impact on your knee joints.

Exercise and eat properly. Having Arthritis does not excuse you to forget about keeping yourself fit and healthy. A doctor of physical therapist can help you create a doable set of exercises that can help your joints in relieving pain. Also, watch out for your diet ingredients and lessen your take on acidic foods like processed foods, dairy products, fried foods and others.

Managing arthritis can be easy and simple without always going for medication and consultation upon the onset of pain. Following the tips above can help you deal with pain gracefully and more sensibly.

Arthritis Treatment: Tibiofemoral Osteoarthritis, Diagnosis and Treatment

The most common presentation of osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) is involvement of the tibiofemoral joint, the space between the femur (upper leg bone) and the tibia (the larger of the two lower leg bones.)

These are the two surface areas that contain the largest amount of hyaline cartilage inside the knee.

As mentioned earlier, hyaline cartilage is the "harder" of the two type of cartilage within the knee. Hyaline cartilage caps the ends of the long bones inside the joint while fibrocartilage, a softer more pliable cartilage is represented by the medial and lateral menisci of the knee. These are semicircular piece of cartilage that give added protection to the hyaline cartilage when it comes to shock absorption, gliding, and rotation.

Symptoms of OAK typically consist of stiffness, swelling, buildup of joint fluid, and tenderness along the joint line. Over time the ability to bend and straighten the knee will be compromised as well. While one compartment, either the medial (inside) or lateral (outside) compartment of the knee may be affected more than the other, often both compartments are affected. This causes diffuse pain.

The diagnosis can be suspected clinically by history and physical examination. It can be confirmed by positive changes seen on standing knee x-rays. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is much more sensitive to changes of OAK which will consist of cartilage defects, bone edema (swelling), and fluid.

The typical treatment regimen is aimed at pain relief and maintenance of function.

If the patient is overweight, weight loss is a must. Regular exercise consisting of low impact aerobic exercise, resistance exercise, and stretching are components of a common-sense program for a patient with OAK.

Addition of non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drugs taken either orally or given as a topical agent may also be used.

Removal of excessive joint fluid followed by Injections of glucocorticoids ("cortisone") are helpful for symptomatic relief. Glucocorticoids have a deleterious effect on articular cartilage and should be used sparingly, no more often than three times per year in a given joint.

The patient may also benefit from viscosupplement injections. These are substances consisting of hyaluronic acid which mimics the characteristics of normal joint fluid. These injections can also help provide symptomatic relief.

All injections need to be administered using ultrasound guidance to ensure accuracy.

Surgery is defined as being cartilage sparing or cartilage sacrificing. Cartilage sparing procedures involve osteotomy- removing a wedge of bone in order to line the knee joint straighter. This is used in young active adults to buy time. Cartilage sacrificing procedures refer top joint replacement. The trend recently has been for patients to get these operations done at a younger age. The downside is that these surgeries are associated with a small but real risk of severe complications including infection, blood clots, and death.

An option that is being proven to be an alternative is the use of autologous stem cells, a patient's own stem cells to help sustain and possibly regrow cartilage in an osteoarthritis knee.

(Wei N, et al. Guided Mesenchymal Stem Cell Layering Technique for Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee. J Applied Res. 2011; 11: 44-48)

Remedies For Arthritis

Arthritis remedies are in high demand since this condition currently afflicts more than 70 million people in America. Natural Remedies for Arthritis are the best choice for your treatment. Natural arthritis remedies are gaining more and more popularity now a days since they are safe, and don't have any side effects as some pharmaceutical anti-inflammatory drugs have. Natural arthritis remedies are available on the shelves to provide some pain relief for sufferers. Most people are able to function with these remedies but cortisone shots as arthritis remedies are for others to ease their pain. Natural Arthritis Remedies are a better way to treat arthritis with fewer side effects. When finding out your options as far as remedies are concerned, it's always best to do your research.  Many supplements marketed as arthritis remedies are not backed by adequate science to determine whether or not they offer any relief. Below I have listed 7 of the best home remedies for suffers.

Home Remedies:

Home remedies for arthritis are a better idea than taking supplements.

#1: Eat Alfalfa or take alfalfa capsules.

#2: Take chondroitin sulfate 700 mg.

#3: Take Vitamin E to protect and improve joint mobility.

#4: Bog bean is an aquatic herb, very powerful herb special for rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis, anti-inflammatory. 

#5: Boswellia has anti-inflammatory effects similar to Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) (Advil, Aleve, Tylenol etc. 

#6: Ginger is the Killer of Arthritis pain, superior to any NASID, it can be applied directly on the affected area or taken orally ether way it relieves pain, inflammation, stiffness, bursitis, and tendonitis.

#7: MSM is rapidly establishing a reputation as a safe, natural effective solution for many types of pain and inflammatory conditions including: degenerative (wear-and-tear) arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic back pain, chronic headaches, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, tendonitis, bursitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, TMJ, post-traumatic pain, inflammation and heartburn.

Drinking Juice for Arthritis Relief:

Juice of green leafy vegetable mixed with beet, carrot and celery is specific for arthritis. Juice enough potatoes to produce 4 ounces of raw potato juice. The first thing in the morning is to have fresh juice extracted from potatoes and diluted with water on 50:50 bases. Mix 1 tablespoon liquid pectin with a glass of Concord grape juice once a day. Two teaspoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon of honey mixed in a cup of warm water taken twice a day are good for curing arthritis. Add one tablespoon cod liver oil to the juice of one orange, whip and drink before going to bed at night.

Supplements:

Nutritional supplements: Boron, calcium, magnesium, glucosamine sulfate, omega-3 fatty acids, pantothenic acid, selenium, and Vitamin B complex are important nutritional supplements that play an important role in arthritis pain relief. If you are taking A and D supplements, check the dosages carefully. Please be sure to consult your physician or other qualified medical professional before taking any arthritis natural remedies or other supplements as an alternative to prescription of over-the-counter (OTC) arthritis medications. Be sure you are aware of all the possible side effects before you take supplements. Many arthritis patients take glucosamine and chondroitin for joint pain, but research has yielded mixed results about these supplements. A proper intake of ginger supplements help in getting rid of muscular and joint pains. When boron supplements were given to hospitalized arthritis patients, some 90 percent reported "complete remission" of symptoms. Some dietary supplements have documented benefits; the advantages of others are unproven and claims about those products may be false or misleading. In addition to lacking documented effectiveness, some dietary supplements may be harmful under some conditions.  For example, many herbal products and other "natural" supplements have real and powerful pharmacological effects that could cause adverse reactions in some consumers, or cause dangerous interactions with other medicines. One specific area which is attracting the interest of researchers is glucosamine chondroitin supplements. So I usually recommend using them as supplements. Combining treatments, such as taking joint supplements and attending hydrotherapy or acupuncture sessions, may have the greatest impact on your symptoms and on the pain relief.

Conclusion:

Arthritis Remedies: There are many different Remedies which really can help relieve the symptoms of Arthritis. Remedies can also be found in the form of joint protections like knee supports and back belts. Arthritis remedies that are easily available do not always work as they are perceived. Many people do suffer badly from arthritis. Arthritis remedies that include a regimen of exercise are very effective in building bone mass and retaining more supple movement in the patient. It is always better to look for Home remedies for arthritis because they are safer for the body.