Arthritis is a painful condition that involves slow degradation of the body's joints. The soft tissue between joints not only cushions the weight, but prevents the body's movements from grating on the hard tissue of bones. Some forms of arthritis can be caused by the body's immune system attacking the body's own joints, such as in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Other forms can come as the result of infections, such as septic arthritis. In any case, there are natural remedies for arthritis which advocates claim can help arthritis sufferers get rid of the pain.
There is no known cure for arthritis, so if you are suffering from arthritis and a natural remedy is recommended to you, beware the quack doctor who claims that your arthritis will disappear entirely. Many natural remedies have not yet been studied in great detail, and the definition of "natural" is still debatable. Moreover, do not go into natural remedies without consulting your doctor first; some so-called natural remedies may work against your arthritis medication, or will be useless for your particular case.
Taking the Natural Path by Adding or Taking Away from the Diet
Arthritis is an old disease that has been treated in many ways by ancient doctors. For instance, arthritic or gouty patients were prescribed diets of only apples or rhubarb; they were advised to take large amounts of honey; they were required to eat fresh nutmeg; or they were told to drink gold salts. Although the last option might seem outlandish, it is still being practiced today: gold salts, however, have to be pharmaceutical grade in order to be consumed.
Fasting is another way to relieve the pain of arthritis, but this has to be coupled with drinking large amounts of water. Excessive fasting, however, can make the pain of arthritis worse, especially if other medical conditions exist that might be complicated by fasting. Some natural remedy advocates might also recommend vitamins and vitamin supplements, but these have to be taken in moderation.
Arthritis diets also depend on the kind of arthritis a patient has. Patients with gout will need to avoid high-protein and high-uric acid foods, as these can increase the buildup of uric acid crystals in joints, the main cause of this form of arthritis. This means that patients have to stay away from some mussels, meats, fish, and legumes, as the liver and kidneys can not completely process the proteins from these foods and flush them out of the body. People with gout also need to stay away from alcohol or any food or drink that can increase the liver's or kidney's metabolic load.
Massages and Needles: The Natural Way to Get Your Energy Back?
Acupuncture is an ancient method of rerouting your energy fields. According to acupuncture advocates, our bodies operate with in an energy field that should be flowing in certain directions; sickness, such as arthritis, cause this energy field to lose direction, a phenomenon that leads to extreme pain. By positioning needles on strategic points of the body, acupuncturists hope to reroute the energy field in order to relieve the pain associated with arthritis - and hopefully even cure it.
Another natural remedy for arthritis includes the use of copper or magnetic bracelets, which purportedly increase blood circulation and thus ease the pain of arthritis. Such a method, however, has not yet been proven effective, so be careful about shelling out your hard-earned money to buy expensive bracelets that are supposedly designed to relieve pain.
Giving Back the Body its Own Cells
If natural methods are the way to go, then what can be more natural than using your own body to treat itself? Although spurned by natural remedy advocates, stem cells are gaining promise as a way to treat different diseases. Stem cells are a sort of default cell mode for the body: you can find stem cells in the blood and bone marrow, and your stem cells can be programmed to develop into other body cell types.
In the future, with more scientific research, stem cells can be collected from arthritic patients, and then programmed to develop into joint tissue in the laboratory, with the help of environmental and chemical cues. These tissues can then be returned to the arthritic patients in order to replace their lost joints. Because the stem cells come directly from the patient, there is a vastly decreased risk of tissue rejection.
Today's medically accepted methods for treating arthritis include an exercise and weight loss regimen, physical and occupational therapy, and a variety of medications. There are also natural remedies for arthritis that can be used along with these methods. Whichever method you wish to avail of, talk to your physician first about how such a method can help your particular case, and what other options might be available to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment