Archive

Archive for the ‘Arthritis’ Category

Ayurvedic Remedies For Arthritis

July 16th, 2012 No comments

HERBS USED IN THE TREATMENT OF ARTHRITIS

Herbs can be very effectively used in the treatment of arthritis.

Some of the most commonly used herbs in the treatment of arthritis are,
1. Cayenne pepper.
2. Licorice
3. Alfalfa
4. Ginger
5. Buchu
6. Chaparral.

ayurvedic remediesCayenne pepper: Cayenne pepper contains capsaicin, the active ingredient which helps to relieving pain by inhibiting the transmission of pain signals from nerves in the muscles and joints when applied to the skin. Topical application of cayenne pepper four times daily on the affected area can give effective result. Prepare the mixture of cayenne pepper by adding 1 oz of cayenne pepper to the 1 quart of rubbing alcohol. Allow the mixture to infuse for three weeks, agitating the bottle each day. Apply this infusion in to affected area for 10 to 20 minutes and wipe away after use.

Licorice: Licorice offers significant anti-inflammatory effect by blocking the inflammation receptors. It has been used effectively in the treatment of arthritis, allergies and other inflammatory disease that put excess stress on the adrenal gland. Long time use of licorice can cause hypertension in some people. Taking two capsules of licorice is recommended in the treatment of arthritis.

Alfalfa: This is a nutrient rich remedy useful in the treatment of arthritis symptoms, nourishes joints and alleviates the inflammation. It is better to use alfalfa tea rather than powder or capsules because it is the pure form and more easily assimilated to the body. Prepare the tea by placing 1oz of alfalfa in a pot and cover with 1 quart of water. Boil the decoction for 30 minutes. Strain and consume the decoction throughout the day. Use the remedy for approximately three weeks and suspend for one week and begin the regimen again as needed.

Ginger: Ginger is primarily known as culinary herb. It contains gingerol the active ingredient can relive the muscle and connective tissue inflammation associated with the arthritis. Sometimes ginger can cause heartburn.

Buchu: This is a herb native of south Africa, Africans are used the leaves of this herb for the treatment of water retention and in kidney problems. The oil contained in the buchu leaves can reduces the pain and inflammation of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. This herb may lower the potassium, a mineral that helps maintain muscles tone and strength.

Chaparral: This is also known as stink weeds. This herbs contain chemicals that offer anti-inflammatory benefits, reduces the pain and stiffness. However the scientific studies are only done in the animals so there is no evidence that chaparral helps relieve arthritis symptoms in human.

Exercise and Arthritis: What to Do And What to Avoid

January 10th, 2012 No comments

Exercise can be a great way to manage arthritis pain. But as arthritis sufferers know, it is not as simple as that. Some forms of exercise can be helpful, while other forms can actually make the problem worse. And unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer when it comes to exercise and arthritis. However, below I am going to share several principles to keep in mind as you attempt to identify an exercise routine that works for your arthritis.

1) Exercise that includes gentle stretching and range of motion activities are generally helpful. Gently stretching arthritic joints can be very helpful in terms of reducing stiffness and pain. Range of motion exercises are a great way to retain flexibility as well. For this reason, Yoga can be a highly effective way to keep your arthritis pain in check. However, it is always important to proceed with caution-pushing your joints too far will make the pain worse, not better.

2) If your exercising is inducing pain, stop. Many forms of exercise, including playing sports or jogging, place a great deal of stress on your joints and muscles. If you are experiencing pain during this type of exercise, stop immediately. You are likely causing further damage to your already tender joints-something you are certain to regret the next morning, if not before!

3) Avoid exercise that leads to joint “pounding”. Running and jogging are often poor choices for arthritis sufferers-because the impact your joints sustain with each step can cause joint damage and pain. Instead, pursue alternatives such as biking-which allows you to reap the benefits of cardiovascular exercise without subjecting your joints to a beating!

4) If even gentle exercise is too painful, try water-based exercise. Exercising in a pool is a great way to relieve stress on your joints. The buoyancy of the water dramatically reduces the burden you place on your knees, hips, and other joints. If you are a member of a local exercise club or a gym, check to see whether water exercise programs are offered. If not, a simple Google search should provide plenty of resources to help you figure out an effective and comfortable routine.

5) Stay consistent. Once you have identified a routine that works for you and your joints, it is critical that you stick with it. Little benefit is derived from random and irregular exercise-if you want to see improvement, exercise multiple times each week. With time, you should see reduced stiffness and increased mobility.

Regular exercise will help you manage your arthritis pain-but not just any type of exercise. The tips we’ve shared above will help you determine a routine that works for you… but feel free to get in touch if you would like further information!

What Causes Uric Acid to Build Up?

January 6th, 2012 No comments

What exactly are we dealing with when we talk about gout? Basically we’re talking about arthritis. It does in fact account for more than 5% of all arthritis cases. With the redness, sudden warmth, swelling, inflammation and pain in a person’s joints, or just one single joint, a diagnosis of gout is a relatively sure thing. Frequently, a person’s big toe will be one of the first things to suffer from gout, but by no means the only joint to do so.

food that causes gout

Why did I get gout?

Uric acid crystals invade the tissue which connects your joints. The healthy gout diet can help with this. When purines break down in your body, they result in the production of uric acid. Unfortunately, purines are found not only naturally in the body but in an abundance of foods. An unhealthy gout diet would be one that consists of foods that are heavy in purines resulting in hyperuricemia. Unhealthy effects of this are: the kidneys not eliminating uric acid sufficiently and an increased production of the body’s natural uric acid.

How does gout progress?

The worst, most catastrophic stage of gout results in the joint being permanently damaged and usually occurs after years of suffering; it is called chronic tophaceous gout. Something called interval gout offers no warning signs; they are acute attacks that still allow regular function of the joint. Previously mentioned, excessive uric acid crystals in your system can develop acute gouty arthritis, causing intense inflammation and pain. The first initial attacks of this are short but severe and can disappear on their own. And finally, when your body’s uric acid levels are simply elevated, without any swelling, pain or other side effects, this is something called asymptomatic gout.

What is a healthy gout diet?

Foods that will assist you in controlling gout and its symptoms have been listed by the American Medical Association. They have guidelines for gout sufferer’s dietary intake. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains which are rich in fiber are foods which are complex carbohydrate heavy. These are good. Take it easy on the protein. Try getting your protein from lean meats, soy and poultry. Limit them to 15% of your caloric intake. And speaking of caloric intake, take it easy on fats. They should account for no more than 30% of your caloric intake with only 10% of that being animal fat;that’s difficult I know. We are a meat loving society. Even though grilling season is upon us, try to stick to a healthier gout diet if you are a gout sufferer or are in risk of being one.

Categories: Arthritis Tags: ,

What Causes Gout Revealed

December 21st, 2011 No comments

“What causes gout?” is a frequently asked question by more and more people as the numbers of people with this condition is on the rise. Before we can look at what causes gout, it is important to gain a basic background knowledge of the human metabolism. It may surprise you to learn when discussing what causes gout, that gout is actually a kind of arthritis, known in medical terms as metabolic arthritis which affects the joints of your body.

What causes gout can be traced to the malfunctions of the uric acid metabolism in your body. Instead of getting rid of uric acid, levels of uric acid within the blood are allowed to increase to abnormal levels leading to chronic deposits of crystal made up of uric acid (mono sodium urate) within the joints and tendons of the body. This harmful condition can soon spread to the nearby tissues of the tendon or joint regions. This is what causes gout in the first place.

Under normal circumstances, our body has no trouble dealing with the uric acid and this build up resulting in uric acid crystals will never occur, and effectively eliminate uric acid as the main culprit in what causes gout. Uric acid is a product of substances containing purines that is found in lots of the foods we eat such organ meats and shellfish. In many people their kidneys are unable to handle the high levels of this acid in the blood which are normally expelled when we urinate. When this occurs, the uric acid levels contained in the blood continue to rise beginning the process of what causes gout.

Once the accumulation of the acid reaches high enough levels, tiny uric acid crystals start to be deposited in parts of the body known as tendons and joints. Unfortunately these crystals have the potential to create severe pain and discomfort within and round the tendons and joint areas which we identify as being what causes gout.

With the onset of the gout condition the unfortunate victim may endure extreme pain in the affected regions that can last for a few hours or even for days on end, depending on how severe the gout is.

In some instances of gout, the deposited uric acid crystals may continue to grow in size to the point that they become big enough to actual burst through the skin surrounding the affected joint or tendon. This causes the tremendous pain and the affected area soon becomes very sensitive, red, swollen and feels hot to the touch. Often a discharge of a white chalk-like substance can be seen around the cracks in the skin.

Gout problems are not always confined to the affected joint or tendon. In rare cases, patients have even developed fever, feelings of nausea and even vomiting due to severe cases of gout.

For most gout sufferers, the gout conditions generally are confined to the major joint or tendon regions of the body. Our big toe appears to be one of the favorite targets of gout, followed by other joint main joint regions such as the fingers, wrists, heals, knees, the arms and even the spine. Generally any part of the body that consists of joints or tendons can be a target for gout.

What causes gout is certainly explained by the build up of uric acid in the blood stream, followed by the uric acid crystal deposits, however there are other conditions which may play a role when discussing what causes gout. These include genetic traits passed from one generation to another, malfunctioning kidneys, obesity, high consumption of foods rich in purine, and even previous injury to joints or tendons of the body can make a person more prone to getting gout, especially later in life. Often these conditions are what causes gout to appear in older people rather than in the young.

Understanding what causes gout should make it easier to determine the best gout treatment option for your needs be it prescribed medication or gout home remedies.

Categories: Arthritis Tags: ,

Preventing Arthritis As We Get Older

October 17th, 2011 No comments

To an extent, we all experience some degree of osteoarthritis as we get older as our joint cartilage wears down from age and use. But, some people have a lot of osteoarthritis at a relatively early age and others have very little at an advanced age. The goal with arthritis, as with other aspects of aging, is to slow the development. This is best begun early in life, but the lifestyle choices that help postpone arthritis help at any age and also help the heart and blood vessels. The following three principles may sound very familiar to some people but have some many benefits to your health.
Discount ed meds
The first principle is to keep fit. Exercise increases the overall strength of your bones and the stability of the supporting ligaments and tendons. Exercise feeds the joint cartilage by bringing nutrients to the cartilage and removing waste products. Performing regular, low impact exercise that is a permanent part of your lifestyle is required to gain these anti-arthritis benefits.

Controlling your weight is the next principle in slowing down the development of arthritis in you joints. Being overweight places unnecessary stress on your joints by changing the angles at which the ligaments attach to the bone as well as the additional impact on the feet, ankles, knees, hips and lower back.

The third important principle is the need to protect your joints. You should always listen to the pain messages that your body sends you and perform the activities that cause those signals in a less stressful way if at all possible. Your joints, ligaments and tendons can be damaged by misuse of a part that is already injured. Unfortunately in today’s society it is common practice that is something is causing you pain to just pop a pill and just continue the activity. By doing so the injury is still there, you are just not hearing the messages from your body to stop. This is actually causing more damage and more pain in the future. Listen to your body and change the activity as appropriate.

As we get older suffering from arthritis becomes more and more of a reality, especially when you start to consider elder care health. Some people never suffer or have extremely minor symptoms of arthritis. For many others, arthritis can be a crippling condition that limits or completely eliminates any ability of mobility. By taking low impact and sensible actions you are able to postpone if not completely avoid the symptoms of arthritis.

For almost 20 years I have been an active contributor to many online publications. The topics I find interesting range from hobbies such as jewelry making to much more serious topics as healthcare.

Considering Exercise With Osteoarthritis

October 12th, 2011 No comments

osteoarthritis exercisesIt goes without saying that with respect to the symptoms of osteoarthritis your ability to exercise will be limited by the degree of severity and the area of your body afflicted. In this matter I certainly have first hand experience and am well aware of the pain that can be involved, as well as the loss of supportive muscle structure that is common when activity levels decrease as a result of the ever increasing discomfort. This is complicated by the fact that symptoms of osteoarthritis normally occur at a time in your life when, as a function of your age, muscle mass has already become more challenging to maintain. Further complicating your situation is the NSAID issue. If you decide to heed the evidential warnings regarding the dangers of these pain management drugs and stop using them, you are left with increased levels of discomfort. In case you haven’t come across them yet, you can find alternative suggestions for pain relief in my previous articles on this site. Obviously, the degree to which these factors will effect you will be a function of the point to which your symptoms have progressed. For the sake of the following discussion, we’ll assume that you are progressed enough that surgery has become the only conventionally available option.

The first thing you need to do, as always, is to simply analyze the facts in order to determine a logical strategy. If your joints are already deteriorated to the point where you have areas of spurring or bone on bone, then no amount of exercise is going to benefit them in any way. The reason that doctors will prescribe NSAIDs and tell you to keep exercising is simply an attempt to maintain the supportive muscle structure. Don’t forget that in their minds the joints are irreparable and the need for artificial replacements is a given. Even given this ultimate installation of replacements, they understand the importance of maintaining supportive muscle structure.
Canadian generic levitra
If you’re not interested in having your joints replaced, your only option that I know of is to use dietary and supplemental means to rebuild your metabolism from its foundation. An exercise routine is easily added as you gain relief from the symptoms holding you back. However, at this time, a degree of patience and dedication to the protocols you adopt will be required. Grinding away at your joints under these conditions is unnecessarily painful and will only result in increased inflammation, both of which you’ll no doubt agree are somewhat less than desirable.

Once again, try to keep in mind that you did not find yourself in this predicament overnight. The breakdown of your metabolism is something that has occurred over the course of your lifetime, as has the bio-accumulation of environmental toxins. The time needed for recovery can be fractional in comparison; however, time is nonetheless a factor. Minimization of this time factor will be directly proportional to the degree to which you can take advantage of both your supplement and dietary protocols. There is simply no other way that I know of and it is the course of action I used in the end to cure my own osteoarthritis in my hips.

There is no question as to the difficulty of incorporating major lifestyle changes so give yourself a break and focus on what’s important at this time. As your symptoms start to abate simply begin to add exercise appropriate to your situation. Don’t forget that the right protocols are going to do far more than relieve your discomfort. The sweeping changes they will bring to your metabolism as a whole will offer up energy that you forgot you had. Not only will your pain diminish but you’ll start to want to do things as your stores of available energy increase making the adoption of an exercise routine that much easier. It’s a process – simply let it unfold.

exercise and osteoarthritis

There are forms of exercise you may want to consider at this time however. Yoga and tai chi are two such examples, both of which have been proven effective for thousands of years. Either technique offers a low impact form of exercise available to all ages that have well documented effects on overall health. Another benefit is that both disciplines focus the student on the importance of breath control, which is a great way to help establish this ability if unfamiliar. The gentle stretching involved with either technique is also of use in re-establishing and maintaining lost mobility and muscle control. Overall these highly developed exercise traditions have a balancing influence on your general metabolism which can only serve to benefit your healing.

I guess my message is to go slow, don’t beat your self up, and use your head. An important part of developing and utilizing an awareness of your body is learning to respect its limitations. The decision to make the changes in your life necessary to fully accommodate the scope of proper healing is one that comes with immense implications. You need to be well aware that in this matter alone you have your work cut out for you. Your particular situation with osteoarthritis may mean that, for now, exercise may be further down your list of priorities; important yes, but of little consequence without first attending to the more critical underlying metabolic changes you need to bring about true healing.

About Magnetic Therapy

October 12th, 2011 No comments

Magnetic therapy has been used by a lot of people for over hundreds of years. This belief has been around for a long time, but it is not yet strongly proven to be effective yet. There are some studies that back up this therapy that usually uses bracelets, anklets, rings and other accessories with magnets but those are not yet enough to prove that this is really effective.

magnetic therapy

This kind of therapy is derived from the belief that our body is composed of charged ions and magnetic fields. These charged ions and magnetic fields occur in a balanced way in our body, but when something happens, like an injury or if you have some illness, this balance will be disturbed and because of this, you will feel pains. Magnetic therapy will then manipulate this to bring back the balance inside our body, decreasing the intensity of pain and healing the illness.

How does magnetic therapy brings back the balance? The balance that will be interrupted by some illnesses and injuries will be brought back by magnetic therapy by increasing the flow of blood on the affected area of the body; the blood will then produce more oxygen on that certain part and with that, the process of healing the injury or the illness naturally will speed up.

What are the good things that you can get with this therapy? Aside from bringing back the balance in your body, increasing the blood flow and speeding up the natural healing process of the body, there are other benefits that can receive from using magnetic therapy.

magnetic therapy for arthritis

These benefits include;

1. If you are a patient that have not responded well to drug medications and other treatments for the illness that you have, this can give you the effects that are supposed to be given by drug medications.

2. This can improve your immune system. If you have a strong immune system, you can be at low risk to a lot of diseases.

3. This can not likely interact with some other drugs that you are taking.

4. The effects that this can give you are immediate-acting. That means that you can be treated after a few minutes. However, it depends on the level of your disease.

5. Each part of your body can be treated because you can use a piece of jewelry on a certain part of your body that is having some problems.

6. This can heighten your sexual drive because it will activate your pineal gland.

7. A magnetic hematite bracelet can change the levels of the alkaline and acid in your body to make it equal. Although this therapy is not backed up by a lot of strong and relevant studies, many are still using magnetic therapy bracelets and other forms of it to get the good things that it passes to the one who uses it.

Common Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms

October 11th, 2011 No comments

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammation of the joints. This disease is categorized as an autoimmune disease because people suffering from this condition have antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues. As a result, the joints are mistakenly attacked by the body’s own immune system. The condition is likely to occur in people between the ages of 40 and 50. It is very common in the US and not less than 2 million Americans are diagnosed with this disease. In fact, it is the most common type of arthritis in the US. Women are more prone to rheumatoid arthritis than men at a ratio of 3:1.

Rheumatoid arthritis can attack various organs and tissues in the human body. However, it mainly attacks synovial joints in the hands, wrists, ankles, and knees. Common arthritis symptoms include fever, weight loss, malaise, as well as muscle ache and pain. People suffering from arthritis are also likely to experience the feeling of tiredness, lack of sleep, the inability to use the hand or walk properly, and difficulty in moving their joints especially in the morning.
Canadian pharmacy no rx
Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include the ones mentioned previously as well as other specific signs which differentiate this type of arthritis from other types such as osteoarthritis and gouty arthritis. Besides the above mentioned symptoms, people with this disease will suffer from joint pain, joint stiffness, joint swelling and joint tenderness. They will also feel warmness around the affected joints. The pains are likely to occur symmetrically. For example, if you feel pain in one knee, you will also feel pain in the other. The sufferers can also find lumps under their skin, usually on the hands or elbows, which are called the rheumatoid nodules. This type of arthritis can also cause joint space narrowing and bone erosion as well. Other rheumatoid arthritis symptoms also include anemia, increasing ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate), ulnar deviation, rheumatoid factor, swan neck, and hand deformity.

Hand deformity is a common occurrence in people suffering from this condition. Hand deformities in people with this disease occur when ulnar deviation happens. Ulnar deviation is the condition when the fingers deviate towards the ulna (the inner bone of the forearm). The disease can also prevent the fingers from functioning properly due to ruptured tendons. As mentioned before, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, meaning that it can’t be cured. However, surgery may be helpful to correct deformities caused by this disease.

What Makes This Joint Pain Reliever Shockingly Different?

October 6th, 2011 No comments

In the past, just about the only ingredients you could find for joint pain relief were MSM, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Sulfate or a combination of those ingredients. Some joint supplements might also include extra natural ingredients, like Devils claw, White Willow Bark, Ginger, Vitamin C, Indian Frankincense, etc.

joint pain reliefBut when a certain “scientist” found out that these ingredients were not helping his friend who was suffering with rheumatoid arthritis, he decided to take it upon himself to find a cure. So he set up a laboratory in his house and got to experimenting.

He started with trying to test various substances on mice. The problem ran across first was that he could not give these mice arthritis – of any kind! Well, you can’t cure a disease that isn’t there. So he called his medical friends and told him he would pay anyone who could give him a mouse with arthritis so he could continue his research.

No one called! He was frustrated to say the least because he really wanted to find joint pain relief for his friend. But you know how sometimes when you’re not thinking about something the answer comes to you from your subconscious? That’s exactly what happened in this case. And that’s when the light bulb went off in Dr. Harry W. Diehl’s head and he began to do his research in a different way.

Instead of trying to give mice arthritis, he went on a huge research mission to determine why mice were immune to arthritis! He performed many studies and finally the answer came! The one thing that the mice had that protected them from arthritis was a molecule with cetyl myristoleate. There was just one more problem now. A lot of people need joint pain relief and Dr. Diehl didn’t think there was enough mice in the world to manufacture what he needed to succeed.

So he studied the properties of cetyl myristoleate and was able to re-created the molecules in his laboratory. That’s when CM8 was born; it’s now made synthetically by chemically combining cetyl alcohol, with myristollic acid. This mixture has proven to be just as effective as the original molecule found in the mice; maybe even better!

CM8 not only acts as a pain reliever to reduce joint pain, but it also reduces inflammation, helps rebuild joints and, most importantly, gives the immune system an important boost so it can perform at its highest healing capacity in the body. This was a very interesting and amazing project for our Flexcin reviews team.

Prescription Drugs for Your Treatment of Arthritis Soreness

October 3rd, 2011 No comments

In the event that you, or maybe somebody you cherish, need to handle the pain of arthritis, it can be a huge difference in your daily routine. But simply by doing research, maintaining an open mind, as well as engaging along with ones own medical professional, a person will be able to be taught for you to manage as well as contend with the difficulties which often arthritis could add to a person’s situation.

Arthritis can manifest itself in 2 sorts of pain and discomfort, from the time-span standpoint. If the discomfort is normally short lasting plus goes away completely, it’s called acute pain. But if the particular ache lasts for for a longer period of the time it is known as chronic. One method to see it is that acute soreness is considered the body’s way associated with cautioning us involving an harm. It is usually temporary and it’s problems are transient, although uncomfortable. Chronic pain alternatively is created with a completely different chemical path and may also cause both physical and mental alterations.

drugs and arthritisThere’s 2 important categorizations of arthritis whenever you look at it coming from a pain point of view. The 1st group involves arthritic ailments that can bring about an inflammatory reaction that has an affect on the joint capsules, and various other areas of the body. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a main example of this kind of arthritis disorder. Another excellent example is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The second classification is made of from conditions that affect the joint parts with a much lower measure of soreness. Osteoarthritis is known as a major affliction in this 2nd class.
Canadian cialis for sale
These differences involving these two groupings can have a significant impact when it’s time for you to make a technique for the control over joint disease pain. With the first group of situations, which is targeted on the inflammation response and it’s side effects upon the joint parts and entire body, the suffering that characterizes inflammation related arthritis is usually best handled using drugs which will limit the inflammatory reaction. However for osteoarthritis as well as the additional kinds of arthritis that do not bring about significant joint inflammation in the joint capsules, drug treatments that work specifically with the particular pain reaction might be a more efficient pain management method.

In your treating of arthritis, there are four significant classes of medications which might be used to control arthritis pain. The four classes of medicine employed for pain control tend to be: pure analgesics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (in addition referred to as NSAIDs), anticonvulsants, along with anti-depressants. As everyone knows, the less selection of medication that any of us need to take, the far better off we tend to be. As you may talk with your medical professional, they will want to try just one medicine at a time to be able to keep track of the actual efficacy for this treatment. In certain instances, a single medicine from one of the four medication classes may minimize acute discomfort. Often times though, if chronic discomfort is included, it could require a mixture of medication from one or more of the drug types.

The following are many common examples of the four classes of drugs used in the treatments for arthritis discomfort:

Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Drugs – Ketoprofen, Aspirin, Oxaprozin, Etodolac, Ibuprofen, Celecoxib

Pure Analgesics – Tramadol, Codeine, Hydrocodone, Fentanyl, Oxycodone, Acetaminophen

Anti-Depressants – Doxepin, Duloxetine, Milnacipran, Amitriptyline

Anticonvulsants – Pregabalin, Gabapentin

Through this basic understanding of the sorts of arthritis pains and the forms of medication which you have available for the treating aches and pains, you can work with a medical professional to formulate a personalized pain relief technique.