Arthritis pain relief

Arthritis pain relief
Robert Kokoska

Patients suffering from Arthritis can encounter a whole lot of
pain. During this time it becomes necessary for the patients to
have some pain relief methods at their disposal to feel better.

This article provides several methods that can be used to
provide relief for a small period of time. The method provided
gives patients the opportunity to undertake exercise. The
following methods have been used time and again to provide pain
relief to arthritis patients.

Hydrotherapy can be used to decrease pain and
rigidity in the joints. Carrying out exercise in a large
swimming pool can be better as water can help take off some
weight from the joints and provide temporary relief. There are
many community centers that provide water exercise facilities to
patients suffering from arthritis.

Additionally some people get comfort from the warmth and
movement from by the eddy.

Some of the symptoms from arthritis can be treated with
moist heat. The heat can come from a whole lot
of sources including warm baths, towels and showers for around
15- 20 minutes a day. Also heat can be delivered to non-inflamed
joint areas through microwave, ultrasounds and shortwave by a
doctor. However it is not advisable to patients with deep
inflamed joints.

In everyday life, deep heat is used around the tendon muscles to
make them more flexible and avoid injury during exercise.

Coolness can be supplied by ice or cold
vegetables wrapped in some sheet can help in cooling down the
painful effect and stop swelling for around 10 – 15 min for a
period. This method is often used for people with joints that
are deeply affected by arthritis.

Mobilization techniques can be used to restore
normal movements to rigid joints. It includes techniques such as
massage, manipulation and traction to provide some relief to
stiff joints. The effectiveness of this technique can be
enhanced when carried by a well trained professional. The result
can be more flexible tendons and muscles, as well as better
control over pain.

Acupuncture has its roots in history and has
been used for along period of time to counter the pain caused by
arthritis. The acupuncturist will place needles along certain
energy line which will help stimulate energy and flow in the
body. It is believed that the insertion of needles causes the
nervous system to release pain relieving chemicals.

Relaxation therapy is another effective method
of providing pain relief to arthritis patients. Patients are
taught to help release pain from their bodies. These relaxation
courses can be found at several spas and vocational resorts.

The aforementioned methods provided an insight into possible
ways of achieving short term relief. These must be carried out
on a daily basis, so to increase the effective of the method.
However before any of the methods are implemented, you must seek
your nearest doctor and try the methods that are best suited for
you, as each arthritis case shall be treated on a individual
basis.

About the author:
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Arthritis Of The Foot

Arthritis Of The Foot
Dr. Jeffrey A. Oster, Medical Director Of Myfootshop.com.

Arthritis is a term used to describe a number of diseases that cause inflammation of joints and results in the progressive destruction of joints. Arthritis is actually a collection of many different joint diseases that affect the body and the foot in many different ways. In this article, let’s talk a bit about arthritis and how it affects the foot. We normally discuss treatment alternative for conditions, but due to the scope of this topic, we will not discuss treatment of each of the individual forms of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is by far and away the most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is known as the wear and tear type of joint disease and will effect most of us at one point in our lives. In our discussion on osteoarthritis, please refer to the nomenclature and anatomy sections below for definitions of the terms that my be unfamiliar to you.
When I think of osteoarthritis (OA), I think of my grandmother’s hands. Those hand have done a lot of work in their time and have a bit of arthritis to show for it. The fingers, crooked and bumpy show many of the changes brought on by osteoarthritis. The bumps on the fingers are called Heberden’s Nodes. Heberden’s Nodes are a very obvious example of how osteoarthritis occurs. If you’ve ever known anyone whose experienced the symptoms of OA, they’ll tell you that a joint will flare for a period of several weeks. It may be mildly painful or even painful to the degree that the joint is unusable. And then suddenly, just as passively as it came, it leaves. Occasional, brief morning stiffness was not unusual for grandma. The pain that had been present in her hands was actually due to a series of small micro-fractures that occurred in the subchondral bone (just beneath the cartilage). It seems that in cases of osteoarthritis, the bone just below the cartilage becomes very fragile. When loads are applied to this fragile bone, it breaks down. The more the joint is used, the more the bone seems to break down.
Over time, as the bone undergoes a series of flare ups, the ability of the bone to support the cartilage becomes unstable. The subchondral bone creates an unstable supporting surface for the cartilage. When the joint tries to complete its’ normal range of motion, the cartilage is irregular and progressively erodes. This moves us into the second phase of OA pain, and that’s when we have joint range of motion that is bone on bone. Cartilage has no nerve endings to sense pain, but bone on the other hand, has plenty. As the joint moves and the bone is eroded, significant pain can be experienced.
This erosive process seen in OA seems to occur at different rates in everyone. In fact, every joint seems to undergo the changes of OA at a different rate. The rate of change does seem to be effected by the history of damage to the joint. In fact the classifications used to describe OA include Primary (idiopathic or no known cause) and Secondary (some known cause for the disease such as trauma). Past injuries seem to accelerate the rate of OA in most joints. We all know someone with that old football injury, right?
The cause of OA is unknown. Many authors have speculated that the cause may be mechanical as described above, but others have described changes such as biologic, biochemical or enzymatic; or even a combination of each of these.
Changes that occur in the foot with OA are numerous. The most common is midfoot pain that is diffuse. The midfoot is a jigsaw puzzle of pieces that are difficult to manage when effected by a systemic disease of this nature. Other finding include atrophy (loss) of the plantar fat pad of the forefoot and heel. The big toe joint is often effected by the changes of OA with bunions and hallux limitus as common complaints.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a very complex and debilitating disease that affects approximately 1% of the general population. Women are 2-3 times more prone to develop RA. RA is a process where the body’s immune system attacks the cell lining the joint capsule (synovial cells). The end result is thickening and fibrosis of the joint with destruction of the cartilage.
Symptoms of RA include an abrupt onset of inflammation. The swelling associated with RA may be isolated to one joint or effect several. Symmetrical involvement is typical with both hands or both feet being affected. In comparison to OA, morning stiffness seen in RA may last more than 30 minutes.
The finding of RA in the foot often progresses to subluxation of the joints, particularly the metatarsal phalangeal joints. Atrophy of the plantar fat pad is common.

Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis (PA) is an interesting form of sero-negative arthritis. PA is associated with psoriasis in many cases, but it is not unusual to find the symptoms of PA in a patient with no previous history of psoriasis of the skin or nail.
The symptoms of PA in the foot include focal swelling of the interphalangeal joint (the toes). The toe will appear to have swollen and become painful with a limited history of injury or pain. X-rays often show slow changes that exhibit erosion called a pencil and cup appearance. This finding is common on the metatarsal phalangeal joint.

Reiter’s Syndrome

Reiter’s Syndrome (RS) is an unusual form of arthritis that is usually found in men.. RS is often described as a sexually transmitted disease due to the history of the disease occurring following sexual intercourse which resulted in a chlamydial infection. It is suggested to treat those with RS, and their sexual partners, for C. trachomatis infections.
The symptoms of RS include burning upon urination (urethritis), dry eyes and joint pain. Joint pain in the back and feet are common. These symptoms occur 7-14 days following sexual intercourse and subside over a period of several months to years. Recurrence of pain is not unusual. About the Author
Jeffrey A. Oster, DPM, C.Ped is a board certified foot and ankle surgeon. Dr. Oster is also board certified in pedorthics. Dr. Oster is medical director of
Myfootshop.com and is in active practice in Granville, Ohio.

Arthritis News

Arthritis News
Thomas Recker

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis affecting 16 million Americans usually over the age of 40. This condition begins gradually with the deterioration of joint cartilage, the cushion between bones causing stiffness. As deterioration increases the bones rub causing spurs, then the spurs grind together causing pain. Osteoarthritis is considered neither preventable or curable but many advances have been made in efforts to slow the advancement of the disease.
Studies have shown Glucosamine as a major cartilage building supplement that has proven effective and the most popular. Often, MSM is combined with Glucosamine as an effective enhancement since MSM has been shown effective in slowing joint cartilage deterioration. Though not a cure this combination is by far the most popular and effective for most.
Chondroitin Sulfate is another proven cartilage builder as well as Niacin amide, a form of Vitamin B, is popular for knee pain relief. The combination of Glucosamine, MSM, Chondroitin Sulfate, and Niacin amide can be found in separate supplement form or often combined in a joint relief, or joint building, supplement formula.
SAMe (Sadenosylmethionine) is a cartilage builder from the Amino Acid Methionine. It has good anti-inflammatory properties and has proven very effective but it is the most expensive and out of reach for most people at this time. Hopefully the effective supplement will come down in price in the future.
In efforts to reduce joint pain the herbs Boswellia, White Willow, and Brome lain have anti-inflammatory affects and are available separately or often combined with the supplements listed above. Cayenne Cream applied to joints topically blocks the pain signals but the short duration time of 3 to 4 hours is the average expectation and fine if the discomfort is temporary.
A number of inroads surrounding diet and osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis as well have been recently coming around. Carbohydrates are being looked at closely; apparently reduced carbohydrate diets are showing some effectiveness as well as certain food sensitivity towards arthritis. Tracking suspected food in relation to joint pain, or a short term low carbohydrate diet as well, is easily accomplished and recommended in 8 week personal trials.
Suspected foods include sugar, grains, and highly processed foods. A diet high in Omega-3 Fish Oils may help arthritis sufferers. Moderate, low impact exercise is also highly recommended with emphasis towards stretching and strength training. Start slow, keep track of pain and changes, its not an overnight cure but effective stop to the degeneration is the first step.
Thomas Recker is a contributing editor for www.iwantvitamins.com http://www.iwantvitamins.com
About the Author
Thomas Recker Editor for
www.iwantvitamins.com

Arthritis Natural Treatments

Arthritis Natural Treatments
Martin Stone

Arthritis
Natural Treatments
You’ve previously read some of the definitions of arthritis and what their causes are. You’re probably wondering at this time what some of your actual options are other than the medical route?
The scientific research pertaining to alternative or complementary/natural arthritis treatments is truly extensive. For some of the more common arthritis treatments such as glucosamine and chondroitin, there are over 200 separate studies attesting to their effectiveness. No longer do you have to rely on third-party, outdated or unreliable information; many people choose alternative medicine as a result of hearing or reading the uses of botanical medicine/herbs or supplements or as a result of experiences heard from family members, friends or co-workers. Anyone who says that alternative medicine or supplements have not been tested or researched has no idea of what they are speaking of. For example, in the National Library of Congress there are over 300 different scientific papers on the effects of glucosamine on arthritis in humans and animals. It has been my experience the most accurate and useful data bases and compilations of alternative health knowledge have been written for the health professional. The average person has no idea what many of the terms or words mean as science has its own language generally unknown to those outside the field. Of course this is assuming that the average person knows where to begin looking for this specialized knowledge to begin with.
So how do you treat osteoarthritis?
First examine your diet and your hydration levels; how much water do you drink? A simple equation you can use to establish how much water you should drink is half of your body weight in ounces. For example a 200 lb. person should drink 100 ounces of reverse osmosis water per day, on an empty stomach.
If you are not willing to make this one small change the chances of being successful in treating your arthritis using natural and self administered methods are small.
Over 95% of all arthritis patients are dehydrated and have a poor diet, low in essential fatty acids and high in acidic forming foods. Fundamental changes in hydration and diet can have great consequences, dramatically increasing overall health and reducing many of the arthritic symptoms. The great news is that you can also rebuild your damaged joints and reduce overall inflammation throughout the system with the addition of simple supplements designed to speed repair and normalize function of the body.
These supplements include;
Glucosamine
Chondroitin
Omega 3 oils
Devils claw
Hydrolyzed gelatine
Boswellia
White willow bark extract and numerous others.

Remember that just using the supplements without making fundamental changes in lifestyle will give short lived effects. In fact, in way you’re exchanging one set of pills for another, drugs for herbs/supplements; the good news is that herbs and supplements have no side effects.
For more information and natural treatments for arthritis, please visit:
http://www-Arthritis.com
www-Arthritis.com

http://www-Arthritis.com

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About the author:

Dr. Martin Stone is a Naturopath and author with 25 years clinical and writing experience.