Holistic Approaches towards Osteoarthritis

Many people start out treating arthritis symptoms with daily aspirin to alleviate the pain. However, this creates opportunities for ulcers and a breakdown in the stomach lining. Believe it or not, thousands of deaths each year are directly linked to long term use of NSAIDS (such as ibuprofen or aspirin).

There is no 100% cure for osteoarthritis, but you can manage the pain and live a healthy, normal life by treating the symptoms from a holistic approach. Many people hear the word holistic and assume it means spiritual or non-medicinal. This is actually not the case.

Holistic focuses on the whole health of the body and it actually means natural health. There are many products on the market that offer a holistic approach to managing your joint health. Glucosamine is one.

Others include MSM, niacinamide, and chondroitin. MSM is one form of holistic treatment that can be found naturally – in foods high in sulphur such as cabbage, fish, soybeans, dried beans, garlic, eggs, and meat. It can also be sold as topical creams, lotions, and gels.

Some means of holistic treatment include relaxation methods. With osteoarthritis, the joint needs unrestricted movement. To achieve this, the patient can lie still while a mechanical instrument or human repeatedly moves their joint in a range of motions.

When a joint is unable to move in a certain way, due to cartilage lodged in its way, degenerative effects begin the process of causing more pain to the patient diagnosed with osteoarthritis. Joint manipulation is often the only way to prevent further damage.

It may sound odd, but an active immune system can also cause symptoms to flare. When the immune system is activated, it generates an inflammatory chemical to fight off the foreign object your body detects. This is commonly known as rheumatoid arthritis but it may contribute in part to osteoarthritis.

This inflammatory production wreaks havoc on already painful joints where you want the swelling to go down, not increase. There are certain lifestyle changes you can make to reduce an increase in the immune system’s activity.

Because over half of the body’s immune system is located in the gastrointestinal tract, your eating habits may be to blame for many of your flare-ups. Poor eating habits such as eating while stressed or eating too quickly can exacerbate the problem.

To properly care for your body once diagnosed with osteoarthritis, you’ll want to educate yourself on all of the various approaches to pain management. You can start by getting plenty of rest, eating a healthy diet, and exercising to your best ability.

Since cartilage is almost all water, you’ll want to increase your daily intake of water and stay away from foods and lifestyle habits that may contribute to the degenerative effects of osteoarthritis. Glucosamine and Chondroitin help to attract and hold that water there, which greatly improves the health of your joints.