Arthritis and Joint Stiffness What a Chiropractor Can Do.

Arthritis and Joint Stiffness —What a Chiropractor Can Do.

How would you like to read some great tips about joint stiffness and arthritis?  Most likely if you’re interested in the topic, then you’re probably suffering from it, have had a short bout with it in the past… or a friend has.  Most everyone knows somebody who knows someone who does.  That’s because an estimated 50 million adults in the United States reported being told by a doctor that they have some form of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia.  

Maybe it’s a severely inflamed knee, frequent loose stools, swollen arthritic ankles or fingers, frequent canker sores and fever blisters, increasing shoulder pain or stiffness, or maybe just a few of these with minor GI upset or more severe digestive problems.  Maybe you’ve already tried the drug route, and prescribed a cocktail of Valtrex, Prednisone, Voltaren, Cipro, and the Z-Pak, while still taking Relafen and Flagyl for your symptoms on a daily basis.  Sounds like trouble to me.   

Use this article to discover some of my best tips and tricks available from over 30- years of practice for dealing with joint pain and stiffness from the very simple to the more complex.  Because the lifetime risk of symptomatic joint pain finds the following:

• Nearly 1 in 2 people may develop symptomatic knee arthritis by age 85.
• Two in three people who are obese may develop symptomatic knee arthritis in their lifetime.
• One in four people may develop painful hip arthritis in their lifetime.
• By 2030, an estimated 67 million Americans ages 18 years or older are projected to have a doctor-diagnosed arthritis of some kind.

Given these facts, you’ll want to learn as much as you can about this now, because your health affects everything you do and everyone you know. The more you’re able to identify the signs and symptoms, to know whether something is wrong or not, the better off you’ll eventually be… and sooner.  That’s because it could end up being more serious if ignored or neglected, and the simple treatment options available are too late to do you any lasting good.   

Options from very conservative choices like simple rest to complementary and alternative treatments like chiropractic and naturopathy or the more conventional ones like physical therapy, prescriptive drugs, and surgery are available.  The more you know about the symptoms and treatments for joint pain in just one joint or many areas, the more of an active role you can play in your treatment plan with whom ever you choose.   

Having this information can also help you to feel less alone.  Believe me, by reading about what others with a similar condition are doing will help you in many ways.  The key is having a positive outlook, encouragement, a good strategy, and a knowledgeable professional you like and can trust.  Millions are going through the exact same thing as you.  The difference is, some are helping themselves along the way, and others are hijacked by their own confusion, misinformation, and crazy home remedies.    

You’d be surprised to find out that only 16.4% of under or normal weight adults report doctor-diagnosed arthritis whereas 21.4% of overweight, and 31.1% of obese Americans report doctor-diagnosed arthritis.  In addition, according to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine 66% of adults with doctor-diagnosed arthritis are overweight or obese when compared with 53% of adults without doctor-diagnosed arthritis, (Am J Prev Med 2006;30(5):385–393). 

More surprising, according to the Framingham Osteoarthritis Study, 

weight loss of as little as 11 pounds reduces the risk of developing knee osteoarthritis among women by 50%.

First of all, activities that are easy on the body, such as walking, Nordic pole walking,  swimming or other low impact activities can have enormous benefits for anyone suffering with arthritis joint pain and discomfort. In 2005 an estimated 27 million adults had degenerative osteoarthritis while in 2007, an estimated 1.5 million adults had rheumatoid arthritis.  Whether your problem is degenerative OA, or rheumatoid arthritis you’ll want to consult your doctor before you begin any strenuous weight bearing or cardiovascular exercise program. 

It's always important that you’re otherwise healthy and resilient enough to tolerate the physical stress and demands of vigorous activity or low impact exercise that often accompanies occasional joint stiffness and pain from over doing it now and then. It’s worth mentioning the daily problems that come from an inflammatory- autoimmune form of rheumatoid arthritis, (and there are several kinds) don’t necessarily affect the joints, and requires a different approach.   

You’ll also want to know just like with many other chronic illnesses, arthritis symptoms can get much worse if you get the flu, or get a flu shot, and in some cases could even land you in the hospital.  It’s your choice to vaccinate or not to vaccinate against the flu.  It all depends upon your constitution, and personal beliefs but only after you’ve made an informed decision.  Nonetheless, what you can do to prevent the flu is a completely different topic.  

Sometimes it’s hard to tell if the problem is “bad” or “really bad,” in which case it usually requires additional laboratory tests because signs and symptoms alone don’t always tell the whole story.

Deficiencies and other imbalances can show up in blood, urine, and hair analysis suggesting the body’s difficulty to heal and repair on its own, which imposes a completely different set of burdens on the body.  In some cases when the body activates its immune system in order to clear out an infection or ward one off, its unable to turn it back off again… and can lead to chronic tissue inflammation, long term pain and stiffness and further destruction of the joints. So, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?  Proper laboratory testing in appropriately selected cases will usually find out.  

 
What do you do? If you’re a parent with joint pain buy your children's clothing with zippers, or Velcro, and other looser fitting clothes, especially if you’re dealing with rheumatoid arthritis. Trying to handle a button or a snap early in the morning can be a nightmare when you have rheumatoid arthritis especially when it’s cold and wet outside.  Don't suffer just to get your child the cutest outfit in the store.

What do you do? Be sure to take frequent breaks from your work or hobbies but not for too long. When your body feels tired, it’s always trying to tell you something… so listen. Relaxing both your body and your mind can give you the much-needed rest to allow you to be at your best.  Doing nothing but watching movies, or reading is probably just as bad as doing too much and then regretting your best efforts.  So try not to relax too much, instead alternate between 2-3 different activities every 30- 45 minutes, because doing the same thing repeatedly can aggravate your symptoms.

I advise many of our practice members to take a warm Epsom Salt bath twice a week for 30- min preferably a half-hour before bed.  I have patients who are framers and carpenters, and they work hard all-day-long.  At one time they were barely able to make it through to Wednesday each week while suffering through the remainder of the week with agonizing joint pain.  They’d come in once a week for treatment just to be able to continue working… and the weekend couldn’t come soon enough —just so they could rest.  Now, when they take an Epsom Salt bath on Tuesday and Thursday evenings before bed, they can work all-week-long without any stiffness or joint soreness at all, and can’t wait for their weekend to begin, and have fun.  

(If you’d like to know how much Epsom Salt to use, simply enter your name and email address in the form to the right to get the correct amount to use.)

Epsom Salt is another name for magnesium sulfate. It has many uses especially for relaxing muscles.  While calcium is responsible in part for contracting muscles, magnesium is responsible for relaxing them.  In some cases, people who spend a lot of time in a whirlpool each week, and its commercially softened water, we’ll see elevated sodium levels on their laboratory tests.  This could be a reason in part for their high blood pressure because the sodium chloride used to soften the water is absorbed by the skin. 

Always better to be safe than sorry.  When in doubt, special laboratory tests can be ordered to get a better idea of what your affliction is. Instead of treating just the inflammation, or pain and restriction, we consider the whole body, filling in the nutritional gaps with essential elements and minerals while working to eliminate toxins from the body. When diagnosed with a long-term and possibly debilitating condition like joint pain and stiffness, it can be more than arthritis alone. 

For example, the accumulation of lead in the body along with other harmful levels of toxic metals carry a long list of side effects, and slows or inhibits the healing process.  It’s important to note that pharmaceutical drugs are not the only option. By pinpointing exactly what essential elements are missing, and locating stores of accumulated toxins, many times we’re able to correct the problem conservatively with a broad based and open minded chiropractic approach. 

So there you have it.  You now have some great advice regarding joint stiffness, arthritis and joint pain.  Use the helpful information in this article today and start living better, despite the painful nature of this condition. Your overall well-being and vitality is dependent on living as abundantly as you can, and as pain free as possible. 

"Don't pray for dreams equal to your powers.  Pray for powers equal to your dreams."   -Phillip Brooks. 

Bless and Be Blessed ALWAYS...