Arthritis Management

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more of your joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age.  The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.

Uric acid crystals, which form when there's too much uric acid in your blood, can cause gout. Infections or underlying diseases, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.  Treatments vary depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life. Something has changed in our environment, which makes all kinds of arthritis increasingly more prevalent.

Inflammation is the most elementary problem in most arthritis, whether it is what we traditionally call "inflammatory arthritis" like rheumatoid arthritis, or arthritis many associated with wear and tear on joints over time, osteoarthritis.

The traditional medical approach to these two types of joint swelling is to use drugs to block the inflammation procedure. Though these can be effective in decreasing symptoms and may sometimes prevent further joint destruction, the drugs do not get at the root cause of why you developed the inflammation, to begin with.

Integrative & Functional Medicine takes a deeper look at the source of inflammation and gives you options for reversing the process where it begins: at the gut, in the gut, from the food, and by the stress reaction.

Traditionally, doctors almost never appraise these factors when fixing joint pain, but fortunately, integrative therapies and functional medicine have a holistic solution to do precisely that.  If you want your body to heal naturally without drugs or other invasive procedures, then you can try Integrative & Functional medicine which focuses on treating the root cause of the disease rather than just relieving the person from arthritis symptoms. 

There are various types of arthritis. In general, rheumatoid arthritis/autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis are associated with the wear and tears on joints over time and are a common cause of disability.  The most basic problem in all arthritis is found to be inflammation which what we traditionally call “inflammatory arthritis”.

Arthritis can be caused due to various factors and functional medicine aims to take a deeper look at the causes of inflammation and thus proves to be a better option for reversing the process where it starts: in the body, gut, mouth, or from the food you consume, and from the stress response.

An Integrative & functional medicine treatment program for arthritis will incorporate nutrition therapy, supplementation, practical neurology to boost brain function, and other alternative therapies to enhance cell function, particularly immune system function.  A practical approach recognizes that the immune system is in control of both inflammation and anti-inflammation. Inflammation is necessary for the body to permit the immune system to do its job and clean up the villain bacteria. The issue of autoimmunity and metabolic syndrome isn't that there is inflammation, but that there's something confusing the body to attack itself and lead to chronic inflammation. Functional medicine exposes the origin of the confused immune system and once we sort this out and treat this, the human body is able to realign the natural immune reaction. 

Various steps involved in this approach: Correcting leaky gut, eliminating anti-inflammatory or allergic foods,physical therapy, weight loss to relieve pressure on joints, detoxify your body and support the immune system through dietary supplements 

Arthritis means joint stiffness with inflammation, but the term is used to describe around 200 conditions that affect joints, the tissues that surround the joint, and other connective tissue. It is a rheumatic condition.

Types:

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Psoriatic Arthritis
• Reactive arthritis
• Ankylosing spondylitis
• Infectious arthritis
• Septic arthritis 
• Juvenile Arthritis
• Gout
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)

Conventional approach of Arthritis:

• Medications
• Non-pharmacologic therapies
• Physical or occupational therapy
• Splints or joint assistive aids
• Patient education and support
• Weight loss
• Surgery, including joint replacement

In fact researches have proven that many long term pain killers will further stimulate degeneration or build stiffness in joints.

One of the fearful and painful disease which contributes to lose our vitality and action, with pain and disability is caused due to progressive joint conditions which are categorized as arthritis (commonly rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis).

Rheumatoid arthritis it is a painful degenerative disorder of the joints in which the joints become inflamed and cause a lot of pain. The person is unable to walk freely. There may be tenderness (pain on touch) and swelling of the joints. Most common site for arthritis are the knees and fingers. But any joint can get affected without an exception.

Fortunately, the age old science of Ayurveda has very good treatment approach and options which can offer relief for arthritis.

Arthritis treatment in ayurveda is based on the understanding of the various doshas or humors of the body. According to Ayurveda, there are four main humors in the body and it is these that govern our health, wellness and our proneness to disease.

According to Ayurveda arthritis is a condition caused due to the aggravation of vata dosha (air). The body produces ama – a toxin that is released as a by product of improper digestion. When toxins is produced, it circulates in the body and gets deposited at sites that have already weakened. So when the vata is already stirring up, these toxins find the perfect place to build up. That is why you experience arthritis in fingers or knees. For most people, arthritis in the knee is more painful than in the fingers because knees are load bearing joints. If you have arthritis in your knees, you will have trouble moving and the range of motion in your joints will be severely restricted.

Ayurveda, an age old treatment approach addresses the problem of arthritis through three main approaches :

• Dietary restrictions
• Yoga and Exercise
• Ayurveda therapies
• Medicines

As mentioned above, Ayurvedic principles of healing is based on three doshas that are present in the body. These are Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Whatever we eat has a direct effect on either of these doshas.

So if you are suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (or any other type of arthritis), a Vata pacifying diet should be adopted. An Ayurvedic diet can help strengthen the digestive system, preventing the formulation of ama. The nutritional plasma that is thus created, is pure and can be assimilated into the body completely and easily. A healthy, balanced diet recommened can also improve lubrication of joints, effectively preventing arthritis or degeneration of the joints.

These Ayurvedic remedies promote natural healing for arthritis, decreasing the rate of progression of degeneration of your joints and promoting their health.

Yoga and Exercise for Arthritis
Yoga is ancient form exercise that focuses primarily on breathing techniques, stretching and light exercise. It improves flexibility, reduce pain, stiffness and swelling, improves body function and lowers stress. There are several yoga poses that targets specific joints and body parts to give relief from arthritis and other joint pains.

Arthritis Treatment in Ayurveda
Since arthritis is caused due to vata aggravation, the main aim of arthritis treatment in Ayurveda is to balance and stabilize vata in the body.This can be done by strengthening the alimentary canal and the metabolic pathway. This ensures that the circulatory channels are not blocked by impurities and are open and performing well, and that nourishment is delivered to joints. Various Ayurveda treatments like Kati basti, Jaanu basti, etc. are few of many treatments recommended.

Ayurveda Medicines
Various Ayurvedic herbs are designed specifically to treat arthritis, to improve the range of motion and give increased mobility such as Ashwagandha, Turmeric, Boswellia serrate, Aloe vera, Eucalyptus, Ginger, etc.

As compared to that, Ayurveda offers natural remedies that are non invasive and effective without any side effects. These remedies treat the underlying cause of the condition and lubricate joints to improve range of motion.