Dr. Mercola, an osteopath who frequently speaks out in favor of holistic health treatments discusses the different types of arthritis and what to do about them in the video below. You can learn more about Dr. Mercola at Mercola.com
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Summary of the Video
Arthritis is generally divided into two different classes: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is more prevalent as you get older. It is due to wear and tear of the cartilage of the joints in the spine, hands, wrists, elbows, shoulder, ribs, pelvis, hips, knees, ankle and feet. In the hands it usually affects the joints on the end of the fingers.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease. This conditions affects all ages and is not more common at older ages. In rheumatoid arthritis the affected joints are often symmetrical, meaning that you’ll hurt in the same area on both sides of the body. In the hands rheumatoid arthritis tends to affect the joints in the middle of the fingers.
Treatments for arthritis
Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis involve inflammation and pain of the joints. Consequently, anti-inflammatory medications are used for both types of arthritis. However, regular use of pain drugs (NSAID’s and acetaminophen) is associated with both liver and kidney damage.
With rheumatoid arthritis patients are often put on high doses of prednisone, immune suppressants and anti-cancer agents. These drugs can cause a lot of collateral damage to the body.
Recommended natural treatment to relieve pain and inflammation of arthritic joints includes taking pharmaceutical grade fish oil, eating for your nutritional type, glucosamine sulfate, boswellia, curcumin, and acupuncture.
Dr. Mercola treated rheumatoid arthritis successfully using anti-biotics against mycoplasma infection.
Because rheumatoid arthritis is an auto-immune disease he also recommends testing for Vitamin D levels and keeping them optimal with nutritonal supplements.
Dr. Mercola said that an emotional trauma before the age of 5-6 is common among people with rheumatoid arthritis. He recommends using psycho-emotional techniques to release the emotional trauma that remains in the subconscious.
Immune System Testing Identifies the Triggers of the Underlying Auto-Immune Reactions Causing Rheumatoid Arthritis
At Mittag Holistic Chiropractic we have successfully treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis with a variety of holistic treatments. One of the most impressive is a blood tests that identifies substances that your immune system is reacting to. By identifying and eliminating exposure to these immune system provoking substances, you are able to reduce the hyperactivity of the immune system and thereby decrease it’s attack on your joints.
You can learn more about this type of blood testing at Elisa Act by LRA. This test is available through Mittag Holistic Chiropractic.