Many doctors have refused to accept that both arthritis and
rheumatism, are either caused, or at the very least seriously
affected, by diet. Most people over the age of thirty, will
notice a twinge or an ache somewhere, if they persist in eating
something that is bad for them. In actual fact, both rheumatism
and arthritis are classic examples of masked food allergies at
their rampaging worst. There is a mass of evidence throughout
the world to support this fact.
One example, in many, is research done during a three and a
half year clinical trial, conducted by Dr D.M. Carroll of North
Carolina. In 300 patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis,
98 per cent were found to be severly allergic to different
foods, and some to several foods. The analysis showed 37 per
cent allergic to wheat, 27 per cent to corn, 23 per cent to
milk, 19 per cent to eggs and 12 per cent to tomatoes. Once the
offending foods were removed from their diets, they all showed
marked improvement. That is very conclusive evidence in one
study.
The influence of arthritis on our society is significant. In
1981, according to the Bureau of Statistics, it was responsible
for 25 per cent more lost work time than industrial disputes. It
is known to affect 1,250,000 Australians, many of them children.
Common sense must eventually dictate that the diet and
environment of these people, should be thoroughly examined for
food and chemical intolerances.
At present the most widespread medical treatment for arthritis
is the administration of large daily doses of aspirin, over a
prolonged period. Aspirin is made up of acetylsalicylic acid
which is a salicylate derivative. It is well documented that
salicylates are a potent allergen, affecting many people. Could
this not then be a case of masking the disease with the very
substance which is causing it?
There is virtually no part of the body which may not be
affected, either directly or indirectly, by an allergic reaction
- particularly with respect to food and chemical intolerances.
It is important to understand that the effects of an ongoing
allergic condition, on the body, can ultimately be catastrophic,
by virtue of the cumulative effects over months or years. These
effects certainly go much further than the general,
discomforting symptoms discussed in previous chapters and can
lead to serious degeneration and disease in major organs if
allowed to persist undetected.
Unfortunately, few doctors understand that allergy illness
affects the body as a whole. This problem is well described in a
passage from the Complete Book of Homeopathy by Michael Weiner
and Kathleen Goss.
Yet perhaps the most destructive effect of modern orthodox
medicine lies in the changes that have taken place between
physician and patient... The general practitioner (in the
traditional sense) is almost a thing of the past, and each
specialist treats only that organ system that comes within his
area of expertise. No wonder we feel that our doctors are not
really looking at us as whole beings. Common sense tells us that
many symptoms appearing in different organs systems may be
related - that they at least constitute a whole picture of our
state of health. Yet our trips to the doctor's office must often
result in a sense of frustration when we feel that the specific
organ-directed treatment we receive is not based upon the
doctor's assessment of our entire symptom picture.
About The Author: Author sites: http://www.herbalre
, http://shabi-
http://www.e-
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Arthritis And Allergy
Friday, January 25, 2008
Natural Arthritis Treatments as Complementary Medicine
Because arthritis can be such a painful condition to grapple with, and since many traditional medications have not been proven to be completely successful at alleviating the pain effectively, many arthritis sufferers are turning to natural arthritis treatments that they can use in conjunction with traditional therapies.
As a result of the interest in natural arthritis treatments, many doctors are becoming much more open to advising their patients on different types of natural arthritis treatments that have been proven effective for some arthritis patients in clinical trials. However, the field of holistic and natural medicine is an unregulated one, and care must be taken to ensure that you are not taken in by a scam or a quack that is more interested in making a quick buck than in helping you to manage your pain.
Types of Natural Treatments
There are a number of natural arthritis treatments that you can try for your symptoms, including dietary supplements, acupuncture, biofeedback, therapeutic massage and hypnosis. Another popular arthritis treatment is chiropractic therapy, which has been around for some time, and can help with a host of painful conditions, including arthritis.
Some arthritis sufferers have even turned to aromatherapy, hypnosis and meditation as a way to relax and ease the pain and stiffness that arthritis can bring. With so many natural arthritis treatments to choose from, it is tempting to jump right into the world of holistic healing and try every one to see which treatments will bring relief from the pain. However, it is prudent to exercise some caution and do your homework before you try out any natural arthritis treatment to ensure that the treatment and the professional administering it are both legitimate.
Your doctor can be a good source for natural arthritis treatments, especially if you are considering any types of herbal remedies or dietary supplements. It is important to make sure that these natural medications will not have a negative impact on your current medications that you might be taking. It is never a good idea to stop a traditional medicine in favor of an herbal one, but some herbal remedies can be effective when taken in conjunction with prescription medicines.
Your doctor can advise you as to which herbal remedies are safe, and how to know if you are purchasing one of good quality. It is also a good idea to talk to your doctor before seeing an acupuncturist, chiropractor or massage therapist, since your doctor can advise you as to which treatments might be most effective for you. He may even be able to provide a referral to a professional in the field that he has confidence in.
Natural arthritis treatments can be an effective complement to the traditional medications that you might already be taking. Talk to your doctor today about the best choices in natural arthritis treatments for you.
Find more Helpful Arthritis Herbal Remedies tips, advice Click Here: http://www.arthritisherbalremedy101.com. A Popular website that specializes in tips and resources to include natural remedy for arthritis
Friday, January 18, 2008
Introduction to Lumbar Arthritis
Back pain is very common. How many times have you lifted something wrong or too heavy and felt a twinge in your back that lasts for days? Back pain is one of the most frequent complaints, and one of the leading causes of disability, and loss of work in the United States of America. Lumbar Arthritis is a form of arthritis that affects your lower back and pelvis. Lumbar arthritis causes pain, inflammation and the loss of motion in these areas. The word, arthritis, means inflammation of your joints and, is used to describe a group of different types diseases.
If you are like most people, you probably will experience some backache in your lifetime. While pain can be a discomfort, it can happen anywhere in your back but most likely affect your lower back.
Factors Of Lumbar Arthritis
Although anyone can have back pain, but there are a number of factors that increases your risk of getting back pain. These factors include: age, being physically fit, your diet, heredity can play an important role, your race, your job, presence of other diseases and smoking. Yes, smoking! It may not be a direct cause, but it can increase you risk of developing low back pain.
Causes Of Lumbar Arthritis
There are a lot of possible injuries of your lower back, and the first priority is to find out what is causing the pain. Usually you will feel, back pain after lifting something heavy, or the wrong way, moving suddenly, sitting in one position for a ling time, or by injury or an accident.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Lumbar Arthritis
Most back problems can get better on their own. However, the key is to know when to see your doctor, as your back pain could get worse overtime. This is because the low back supports most of your body's weight and can easily get injured. Only with your medical history, exam, and possible some tests, can the doctor diagnose lumbar arthritis. Many times, the exact cause is not known but in these cases it may be comforting to know that most back pain gets better whether or nor not you find out what the cause is.
Most tests include blood work, x-rays, and MRI's, to determine what the cause it.
Medications should help reduce the pain and swelling, and short periods of rest. However, it is better to stay active, and to use the lowest possible dose of pain medication. Heat, ice and massage have proven to be beneficial when treating lumbar arthritis and some people find that acupuncture offers relief.
Living with lumbar arthritis is a challenging experience. You should keep well informed about what you can do or use to help reduce the pain and be able to function normally within your range of daily activies.
Find more Helpful Arthritis Herbal Remedies tips, advice Click Here: http://www.arthritisherbalremedy101.com. A Popular website that specializes in tips and resources to include natural remedy for arthritis
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Is Arthritis Becoming More Common?
Arthritis is the most common chronic disease affecting joints
and is also the most common cause of disability in the United
States. Many forms of arthritis are also life-threatening. While
it has been tempting to speculate that arthritis will become
more common as the Baby Boom generation continues to age, there
has been a relative lack of hard data to support that notion.
The National Arthritis Data Workgroup is a consortium of
epidemiologic experts who have collected and analyzed
information from various sources to provide an assessment of the
state of arthritis now and the potential implications for the
future.
Key findings of the group were published recently (Helmick CG,
Felson DT, Lawrence RC, Gabriel S, Hirsch R, Kwoh CK, Liang MH,
Kremers HM, Mayes MD, Merkel PA, Pillemer SR, Reveille JD, Stone
JH, Arnold LM, Choi H, Deyo RA, Hochberg MC, Hunder GG, Jordan
JM, Katz JN, and Wolfe F. Arthritis & Rheumatism. 2008; 58:1)
Among the findings include:
Twenty-one percent of U.S. adults (more than 46 million people)
have arthritis or related conditions. Approximately, two-thirds
of arthritis patients are younger than 65. More than 60 percent
are female. Disease rates are similar for whites and
African-Americans and both have arthritis rates that are higher
than the rates for Hispanics.
By 2030, the number of people with arthritis is projected to
increase to nearly 67 million--an increase of 40 percent.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. It is
a degenerative condition where the cartilage, the gristly that
covers the ends of long bones begins to prematurely wear away.
OA occurs most commonly in weight-bearing joints such as the
neck, low back, hips, and knees. It may also affect the hands,
most commonly the base of the thumbs, as well as the base of the
great toe. Nearly 27 million Americans suffer from
osteoarthritis, an increase from the 21 million found in 1990.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is another common type of arthritis.
It is a chronic, systemic, progressive, autoimmune disease that
affects 1.3 million adults. This last figure was a surprise
because the 1990 estimate was 2.1 million. The reasons for this
decline include the use of more-restrictive classification
criteria as well as what appears to be a real drop in
prevalence.
Trends also indicate that the average age of diagnosis has
increased steadily over time, showing that RA is becoming a
disease of older adults.
Gout is a chronic inflammatory form of arthritis that is due to
deposits of uric acid within joints that induce inflammation.
Gout also adversely affects kidney function. This disease,
according to this recent study, afflicts 3 million Americans.
This number is up from the estimate of 2.1 million in 1990. Gout
is more common in older men. It appears to affect African
American males more than whites or Hispanics.
The spokesperson for the Task Force, Dr. Charles G. Helmick,
acknowledged the difficulty with providing meaningful
statistical estimates. He reminded readers that some forms of
arthritis are episodic and others have no standard case
definition.
Also, estimates for some arthritic conditions rely on older
studies with results that are not necessarily applicable to the
current U.S. population.
Recognizing these shortcomings, the study still calls attention
to the high prevalence of arthritis and the growing burden on
the health care system and on society in general.
While the incidence of arthritis is increasing, research
efforts aimed at finding newer, more effective treatments will
hopefully keep up pace so that the profound physical and
societal impact of arthritis is lessened.
About The Author: Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist
and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of
Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at
the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info:
http://www.arthriti
Saturday, January 5, 2008
What Is Tens And Will It Help Me With My Arthritis Pain?
TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It
describes the delivery of electrical current to peripheral
nerves (nerves located in the skin) using electrodes that are
applied to the skin. TENS can be used either in an office
setting or self-administered by the patient.
A TENS unit consists of a central power source which is shaped
like a small box that looks like a beeper. The box contains
controls that modulate the intensity, frequency, and waveform of
the current. Connected to the central power source are lead
wires. Attached to the lead wires at the other end are
electrodes that are self-adhesive and applied directly to the
skin. The electrodes are designed to conduct the current from
the central power source to the skin.
To use the TENS, the lead wires are connected to the central
power. Electrodes are then attached to the lead wires at the
other end and then applied to the affected area of the body.
Once the TENS is set up, the TENS unit is turned on. The patient
will sense the current which is increased to the point where it
is felt to be comfortable. The patient should leave the TENS at
that setting. During the day, the body accommodates to the
electrical stimulus and the patient may be tempted to increase
the current intensity. That should not be done because,
prolonged intense electrical stimulus can lead to muscle fatigue
and rebound pain!
TENS current can be adjusted for waveform, current level, and
frequency. The medical person, either a physician or physical
therapist, should instruct the patient as to the best setting
for their individual case. TENS frequencies below 10 Hz are
termed low frequency. Frequencies higher than 50Hz are called
conventional or high frequency TENS.
The ability to change frequencies, duration of therapy,
waveforms, and intensity makes TENS a versatile tool in pain
management.
TENS is used to ameliorate pain related to a number of
conditions seen in a rheumatology office. These include: chronic
low back pain, osteoarthritis, chronic neck pain, and
fibromyalgia. TENS is covered by most insurances including
Medicare.
Studies regarding the effectiveness of TENS for different
conditions have been, in the past, flawed by poor study design.
However, in recent years, the ability to adequately blind the
patient and the examiner have yielded some excellent studies
showing the effectiveness of TENS in both relieving pain as well
as in reducing the amount of pain medication a patient may
require.
This latter benefit is particularly important when it is
realized that TENS is an extremely safe treatment modality with
virtually no side effects.
How does TENS work? There are a few theories that explain the
effectiveness of TENS. The first is the gate theory. This is the
oldest explanation. According to this theory, application of
electrical stimulus to peripheral nerves sends signals to the
spinal cord and these signals block the transmission of pain
signals by the spinal cord. In essence, this theory is similar
to that offered as an explanation for the effectiveness of
acupuncture. Indeed, the low frequency form of TENS has been
used as a type of "electrical acupuncture.
Studies of high frequency TENS has demonstrated that levels of
glutamate and aspartate (chemicals that may induce pain) are
reduced in the spinal cord. Low frequency TENS increases
serotonin and endorphin levels within the central nervous system
thereby reducing pain.
The effectiveness of TENS has been demonstrated in at least two
trials demonstrating equivalency of TENS against non-steroidal
anti-inflammatory drugs in osteoarthritis of the knee.
TENS can be used as a single therapeutic modality or in
combination with other treatments including medicines.
The demonstration of effectiveness compared with
anti-inflammatory medicines as well as its possible ability to
decrease the amount of analgesics and narcotics a patient may
require is an obvious benefit. Because of these many advantages,
TENS is an attractive treatment modality for use in the
rheumatology office.
About The Author: Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist
and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of
Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at
the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info:
http://www.arthriti
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Got Knee Pain From Arthritis? Stop Smoking!
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. It is
due to premature wearing away of cartilage, the gristle that
cushions the ends of long bones in the joint.
Known risk factors for knee OA include a history of trauma, a
family history of the disease, certain metabolic conditions, and
obesity.
A recent study has confirmed the suspicion that smoking has
another detrimental effect on health. It can worsen the
prognosis of men who have osteoarthritis of the knee. The study,
performed by researchers from Boston University School of
Medicine and the Mayo Clinic and published in the January 2007
issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, followed 159 men
with knee osteoarthritis for 30 months. Nineteen of the men were
smokers.
After the researchers adjusted their study results for age,
body mass index (a measure of weight in relation to height) and
baseline cartilage scores, they found that the smokers were at
increased risk of cartilage loss and experienced more pain than
the men who did not smoke.
"Our findings also suggest smoking plays a role in the
progression of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and, therefore,
is a modifiable risk factor with important public health
implications,
Epidemiology Research and Training Unit and professor of
medicine and public health at Boston University School of
Medicine.
The researchers could not pinpoint why smoking was associated
with knee pain. It is not likely due to cartilage loss, since
cartilage does not have pain fibers, Felson stated.
"Instead, smoking may have direct effects on other articular
structures mediating knee pain or may modify the threshold for
musculoskeletal pain among smokers," he said.
Further study is needed to investigate the effects of smoking
on knee osteoarthritis, the researchers added.
One hypothesis is that smoking may "turn on" proinflammatory
mechanisms in osteoarthritis. This may occur as a result of the
interaction of nicotine or other ingredients and predisposing
genetic markers a patient may possess.
(Interestingly, cigarette smoking also is a risk factor for
rheumatoid arthritis and the turning on of proinflammatory
cytokines is felt to be cause).
It is critical for patients to understand the need to reduce
any risk factors for arthritis they may have. For instance, if a
patient already has a strong family history of osteoarthritis,
they may want to avoid cigarette smoking altogether.
Add this potential medical problem to the long list of things
that smoking aggravates.
About The Author: Nathan Wei, MD FACP FACR is a rheumatologist
and Director of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center of
Maryland. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at
the University of Maryland School of Medicine. For more info:
http://www.arthriti