The term "arthritis" means inflammation of a joint, and there are as ways that people can experience arthritis as there are types of arthritis. There are literally dozens of kinds of arthritis: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, systemic lupus, bursitis–to name just a few. The good news is that arthritis will rarely kill you, although the pain can well and truly drive you up around the bend. The bad news is that the stiffness that you experience can make you feel like real old age has set in far too early. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis. It is a degenerative disease affecting the whole joint, and any joint can be affected but OA most commonly affects the knees, hips, hands, neck and low back. Diet changes, vitamins, minerals, and herbal medicines can all help significantly. OA can be isolated to one joint, generally a weight bearing joint such as the hip or knee, but it often affects multiple joints. OA can lead to significant problems with mobility with middle aged and elderly people and is probably the most common cause of disability in elderly people in the developed world. OA affects so many people, and I have often been asked to write about it by patients, and offer some of the best natural medicine solutions I know. Let's explore this condition and see what we can offer, there are many options and I'll try to give you plenty.
Sir William Osler, known as the "Father of Modern Medicine," once said, "When an arthritis patient walks in the front door, I feel like leaving by the back door." After seeing many arthritic patients over the years, I can sympathise with Dr. Osler and understand that many other conventional medical doctors since him have difficulties facing arthritic patients, because there is little that conventional medicine offers them apart from drugs and surgery. I trust that the following points do not come across as being too cynical, it is just my experience in dealing with patients with arthritis who rely primarily on conventional medicine for arthritis treatments:
- The lucky patients get temporary relief along with the anti-inflammatory drug side effects.
- The unlucky patients only get the drug side effects and little to no relief from drugs.
- The unfortunate patients end up with surgery which may or may not be effective or even necessary, they may have steroid injections unfortunately. All too many unfortunate patients end up with wrecked digestive systems from a continual reliance on NSAIDS (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, more about them later)
Who Gets Osteoarthritis?
Anybody who is alive and active will probably develop a wear and tear syndrome affecting the mechanical parts of their body like their joints sooner or later.
Do you own a motor vehicle? Then it is realistic to understand that if you owned your vehicle for 50 or 60 years or so (the time when osteoarthritis generally will present itself) that if will show signs of significant wear and tear in those shock absorbers (your knees), the frame (your spine) or perhaps your hips or shoulders (axels, wheel bearings, etc). The fact is, the older we get, the more likely it will be that something just plain wears out. But this is certainly not true for all motor vehicles! Perhaps your vehicle was the type that was just driven to church on a Sunday? Or maybe your car was washed and polished every week, had an oil change and service twice yearly and was carefully driven and parked? Then maybe you belong to that group that never has a problem all through their life with the human frame. There are many reasons why people don't develop osteoarthritis, and my guess would be that there are just as many reasons why they do.
For many years I have seen certain patients hobble around with sore knees and hips. They could be the kind of people who were very active in their younger years or they could be people who just plain wore out their joints from excessive exercise, or had an accident, a fall, etc. Either way, there is often a history of unusual activity surrounding the affected joint/s in those with osteoarthritis. You may also find that those with OA are the perfectionist people, or like to take control and do things their way. They may do too much and feel happier for having done things "their way", and this kind of behaviour will ensure that they simply do too much and wear their bodies out prematurely.
Occupational Arthritis
Typically, if a guy tells me that he was a truck driver for years (getting in and out of the cab) or a bricklayer (very hard on the joints) or even a mechanic (bending down on knees and looking/working under vehicles) these are all cases for osteoarthritis later in life. A football player, a person who works as a gardener, or even a dressmaker or hairdresser can develop arthritis, but in the latter case it will be arthritis of the wrists and finger joints. You will typically find the weekend warriors (sporting enthusiasts) will often develop arthritis after pounding the pavement relentlessly for years.
Just like stress and anxiety are often a cause of muscular pain and tension, excessive use of a limb can result in wear and tear causing osteoarthritis. You get the picture – those who simply do too much or expect too much from their bodies are more likely to end up with arthritis than those who take it easy and slow down when they feel their body needs a rest. That is not to say that all cases of arthritis are caused this way, there are many potential causes of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is also known as a "degenerative" arthritis or the "wear and tear" arthritis. If you've been told by your doctor that you have this type of arthritis, there's a good chance you can substantially reduce or even eliminate your symptoms, while tapering down or even eliminating drugs you may be taking.
Common Osteoarthritis Risk Factors
A number of predisposing factors can hasten this degenerative process, even in young people. They include:
- Increasing age
- Sports (for knee arthritis)
- Family history (several gene variations have been identified as putting someone at increased risk for OA.
- Previous joint or cartilage injury including accidents, infection, fractures and ligament tear causing joint instability,
- Certain types of inflammatory arthritis (like rheumatoid arthritis or gout)
- Repetitive occupational or exercise-related joint movements.
- Diabetes melitus. (Type 2 diabetes)
- Joint mal-alignment problems such as Perthes' disease of the hip.
- Obesity (more weight stress on weight- bearing joints, especially the knees and lower back).
- Occupational arthritis (knee arthritis in athletes e.g rugby, elbow arthritis in those working with pneumatic drills, etc).
- Ethnic origin (more common in white Europeans).