3 Steps to Natural Arthritis Relief - Part 2

Your body is an exquisite piece of machinery. What happens to that expensive foreign automobile if you forget to give it tune-ups, alignments, tire rotations, lubrication and premium fuel?  Tires wear-out, brakes fail and engines cease - the mechanical equivalent of arthritis!  So treat your body like you want it to take you places.  Follow the steps below to fight arthritis:  

 1.) Align the joint: Just as your car’s tires wear out quicker, if the car’s front end is misaligned, so will your body wear out quicker, if you are misaligned.  If a joint is not moving properly or if the weight of the body is unequally distributed, arthritis is inevitable.  Restoring normal biomechanics to the affected joints is crucial to fighting arthritis.  Adjusting and mobilizing joints works to  realign the joints, break up soft tissue restrictions and restore balanced joint motion.   Balancing the body may even include something like putting a heel lift in a shoe so that the pelvis is level - allowing both feet, knees and hips to bear equal weight.  Chiropractic physicians specialize in restoring biomechanical balance to the body. Physical therapists, massage therapists and other physical medicine clinicans also have techniques for aligning the body. You can even correct some misalignments on your own through stretching and traction techniques - that is one reason why many swear by inversion tables.   

2.) Nourish the Joint:  I call glucosamine the “fountain of youth for the joints.”  Glucosamine is a building block of cartilage.  It actually works to repair damaged cartilage and reverse arthritis.  Glucosamine sulfate is naturally derived from shrimp and crab shells. Glucosamine HCl is a vegetarian option for those who have shellfish allergies. I advise my patients to supplement with 1,000 – 3,000 mg of glucosamine per day, depending on the severity of their symptoms.  Most patients report an improvement of arthritis symptoms within 4 weeks.  I also recommend supplementing with fish oil as a source of Omega-3 fatty acids (1,500mg – 2,000mg EPA/DHA Omega 3s/day). Omega-3s are powerful anti-inflammatory agents that can help stop arthritis pain and progression, while also promoting the health and vitality of the rest of the body.  That is the beauty of natural medicine. By treating the cause of disease, the whole body is strengthened – resulting in positive side effects elsewhere in the body! Click to view the glucosamine I recommend.  Click to view the highly purified fish oil products that I recommend.

3.)  Move the Joint:  During the arthritic process, the body is working towards fusing a joint. Motion is life. Once you avoid moving a joint due to pain, the arthritis process hastens.  By keeping the joint moving, you are fighting arthritis. Non-weight bearing and low-impact exercise, such as swimming, is ideal. It is easier on the joints to move in the water, yet it is much harder on the muscles. In the water, the muscles that support the joints are strengthened, while the joints themselves are finally able to move throughout their range of motion without pain. Any time a joint is moved, it is nourished and adhesions can be broken.  Yoga, stretching, biking, walking, and elliptical machines are also beneficial.  A body in motion, will stay in motion. . . so keep your parts in motion!

If you don’t move it, you lose it!



3 Steps to Natural Arthritis Relief - Part 1

Are your aching joints really just old age? If so then why doesn’t everyone your age have the same pain and why does only one knee hurt?  The most likely cause of your chronic joint pain is degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis, commonly known as arthritis.  Football players often become riddled with it in their twenties and thirties, while some lucky individuals in their seventies have very little of it. Arthritis has everything to do with the injuries of your life. Like the old adage: If I knew I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself! These injuries include major trauma such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, work injuries and sports injuries, as well as repetitive, microtraumas at work or at play.  Even excessive sitting, driving, and obesity can promote arthritis.  In degenerative arthritis, the cartilage, which normally serves to cushion the joints, becomes worn-out, damaged, and hardened, and bone spurs begin to form around the area. Early symptoms of arthritis include: morning pain and stiffness. The weight-bearing joints and the joints of the hands are most commonly affected. As arthritis progresses, patients report pain that is worsened by prolonged activity and rainy or cold weather and relieved by rest and warmth.  

Arthritis patients are frequently given the choice of living with the pain or taking arthritis medication for the rest of their lives.  However, even your medical doctor will admit that:  Arthritis won’t kill you, but the medicine for it will. The truth is that arthritis medication doesn’t actually treat the disease -it just masks the pain while the arthritic process continues. Arthritis medication is simply pain medication, or anti-inflammatory medication, and while it may be helpful in the short term, taken over long periods of time, these medications can be damaging to the kidneys, liver, stomach and cardiovascular system. Most common arthritis medications are in the category of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and include: aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen.  In addition to inhibiting the body’s inflammatory process, NSAIDs can also inhibit many other normal and essential body functions!  Plus, pain is the body’s way of telling us that damage is occurring, and by masking the pain, patients are allowed to perform activities that will further damage their joints. Fortunately, there is another way. Countless arthritis patients have found relief following the 3 simple, natural steps outlined below:

1.) Align Your Joints: Just as your car’s tires wear out quicker if the car’s front end is misaligned, so will your body wear out quicker if your body is out of balance. 

2.) Nourish Your Joints:  I call Glucosamine the “fountain of youth for the joints.”  Glucosamine is a building block of cartilage.  It actually works to repair damaged cartilage and reverse arthritis.  In addition, the Omega-3 fats are anti-inflammatory and also work to relieve the pain, swelling and damage of arthritis.    

3.)  Move Your Joint:  During the arthritic process, the body is working towards fusing a joint. By keeping the joint moving, you are fighting arthritis.

For more details on how to Align, Nourish and Move your joints to prevent, stop and reverse arthritis, stayed tuned for Part 2 - or if you can't wait, check out my website: http://www.smallmiracleschiropractic.com/.