Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a debilitating, painful autoimmune disease that affects the joints, causing severe pain and discomfort. Patients with RA suffer not only from pain, but stiffness, fatigue, fever, and sleep disorders. According to healthandage.com, RA is a chronic disease that will affect a patient throughout their lifetime, requiring a variety of medicines, physical therapy, and in extreme cases, surgery. While there is no cure, there are several treatment options, including complementary/alternative medicine, commonly called CAM. According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, NCCAM, alternative medicines are not considered conventional treatments at this time - that is "medicine as practiced by holders of M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degrees." This means that alternative options are controversial.
Nonetheless, some patients have great successes with alternative treatments. It is important to stress that alternative treatments are not meant as a complete replacement for conventional medical treatments. The NCCAM also stresses that patients should first seek diagnosis by a doctor, and follow up treatment with a rheumatologist. Also worth noting is that few alternative treatments have been proven to be completely effective, though some have shown promise, and more study is required.
So what are alternative treatments? There are a surprising number of alternative options available that might mean the avoidance of invasive surgeries, and they are not all herbal supplements, as you might think. Herbs are sometimes used by rheumatoid arthritis suffers for treating the disease. Many herbs - ginger, turmeric, frankincense - may help relieve arthritis symptoms, says Arthritis Treatment and Relief.
However, none of these herbs has been proven to work, and again more research is needed. Another form of treatment applies physical therapy in the form of acupuncture, chiropractics, massage, and balneotherapy, or spa therapy. The theory here is not necessarily to treat the joints themselves, but to provide forms of relief to the symptoms of the arthritis. These must be done regularly to be effective.
Some forms of meditation have been helpful for pain management. Exercise for patients with RA has to be strictly limited to avoid inflammation. However, small amounts of exercise helps to relieve some of the painful symptoms associated with RA. Yoga and tai chi may be the answer. They help patients maintain muscle flexibility and increase mobility, stamina, and overall health. Perhaps the most important consideration to take when contemplating complementary or alternative medicines is trying them and deciding what works best for you.
Arthritis is a painful degenerative condition that effects many, many people worldwide. And the one thing virtually all these people have in common is that they want to be cured. Of course the other thing to take into consideration is to be cured safely, for although people trust the medical establishment, there are still concerns about the long term effects of some of the treatments prescribed. This is why there is more interest in alternative arthritis treatment.
There are two basic arthritis treatments they are "natural" and "man made" medications. Importantly, effective natural arthritis treatments should be based around natural substances, which clinical studies show help to not only relieve the symptoms of arthritis but also address and remove the root cause. As you may imagine, because of this, natural arthritis treatments are gaining more popularity and world-wide attention in treating arthritis and also providing gentle joint pain relief in a natural way. If you were to go down the man made route for treatment to improve functioning, slowing down or stopping joint damage, relieving inflammation, and reducing pain, then typically, the kind of arthritis treatments you can expect are comprised of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), Cox-2 inhibitors, corticosteroids. Or, you could go down the route of surgery. The most common types of surgeries arearthroscopic debridement and lavage. The dangers of using drugs as arthritis treatments are well known and documented so is it any wonder people are going natural.
Arthritis is painful, and because of this sufferers are desperate for pain relief, and increasingly more and more people have found their treatments don't work or have lost faith in modern medicine and, because of this, now find alternative treatments very interesting. There are many different types of remedies. Some natural Remedies including simple exercises, often provide arthritis pain relief, depending on the type of arthritis the patient is afflicted with. Also, there are types of natural arthritis treatments for rheumatoid arthritis that will help reduce the inflammation. For some sufferers this is more acceptable than even non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Don't forget that when you use a treatment like exercise to reduce joint pain, then you are also going to get an increase in range of motion and additional muscle strength, which is all good for your health in general. Other natural arthritis treatments can include plants, minerals and vitamins. Also you can include in your diet some natural anti-inflammatory herbs like ginger and celery seed, as these may also be useful in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis pain. Even bee venom has been used as natural arthritis treatments. Natural therapies sometimes take longer to show results, but, in the long run, they may be just as effective as conventional treatment -- without the side effects.
One other area to look carefully at is your daily diet. The relationship between diet and arthritis has been the subject of exploration, claims, and controversies since the 1930s. There is no debate, however, about the advantages of a healthy diet, after all you cannot build good health on a bad diet. Quite often the Mediterranean diet is looked at for inspiration. The reason being is that the Mediterranean diet is known to be rich in heart-healthy fibre and nutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Also the Mediterranean diet is known specifically for its use of olive oil. One 1999 study found some evidence that a high intake of olive oil and cooked vegetables reduced the risk of arthritis. Also Mediterranean people or known to enjoy a daily glass or two of wine, more specifically it is red wine that is encouraged. Also their diet is high in a good protein source which is primarily from fish, which might be specifically helpful for patients. So all this taken into account shows that there is an alternative to reduce your arthritis pain.
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