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Important Details You Need to Know About Arthritis
Dr. Mercola
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Dr. Mercola's Comments: |
Arthritis is a very common health problem that sends over 20 million people to their physician’s office each year. It’s important to realize that “arthritis” is divided into two primary types: osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD); the wear-and-tear form of arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. These two types are completely different, even though they have some similarities. They both affect the joints and can be connected with joint stiffness, pain, inflammation and swelling. However, their underlying causes are distinctly different. What’s the Difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis? Osteoarthritis usually occurs in older individuals, but can also be caused by repetitive stress or acute trauma. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, can affect you at any age, including children. Fortunately, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is relatively rare. Understanding the differences between the two types of arthritis will help you distinguish which one you have.
Treatments that Work for Both Types of Arthritis Some of the treatment methods available are similar for both, as both involve joint pain, swelling and inflammation. Hence the typical anti-inflammatory approaches such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and analgesics, like Tylenol, can be used for either. However, while these can relieve pain – and there’s a lot to be said for pain relief – it’s very important to understand that the regular, chronic use of these types of medications are associated with significant, and very serious, side effects such as kidney and/or liver damage. In the U.S. overuse of analgesics such as these are very common sources of kidney failure. NSAIDs also kill some 30,000 people every year due to bleeding ulcers, and the oral drugs have been linked to a host of problems, including heart failure -- Vioxx and Celebrex being prime examples of these very real dangers. This is not to say that they are not useful agents in some cases, however you need to use them very cautiously. This is also why it’s so vital that you seek out the underlying cause of your problem and treat it “at the root,” so you do not need to pursue these types of medications. With respect to treatments, there are some commonalities even when using natural approaches.
Special Considerations for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis The methods I mention above can all be used to reduce pain and inflammation, but rheumatoid arthritis with its crippling and deformities is far more severe, and is generally treated with very aggressive medications. In fact, the drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most dangerous drugs used in medicine. High doses of prednisone are common, as well as immunosuppressants and anti-cancer agents to treat the severe pain and swelling. In my clinic, we use a modified protocol that was initially developed by Dr. Thomas Brown, which is based on treating mycoplasma infection with antibiotics. I had a fair amount of success with his protocol when I was using it. However, over the years I found that including the use of dietary modification has dramatically improved the response rate. We also include NST (Neurostructural Integration Technique) in our protocol, which has been found to be very effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma. One new addition to the protocol is low dose Naltrexone which I would encourage anyone with RA to try. It is inexpensive and non toxic, and I have a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Please understand though that this is for RA, not for osteoarthritis. Additionally, nearly all autoimmune diseases have two primary considerations that need to be addressed. When you combine these -- especially in the hands of a skilled clinician -- with some of the safer modalities to treat and alleviate the pains and symptoms you can make great progress even with this debilitating condition. |
Related Articles:
Your Comprehensive Guide to Treating and Overcoming Rheumatoid Arthritis
New Improvement to Rheumatoid Arthritis Protocol
How to Beat Arthritis Naturally With Acupuncture, Turmeric
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