What your joints need

Do you know how to help your unique chronic joint, muscle and bone pains? It’s close at hand, relatively cheap and pretty easy to come by. And even if you are away from home, it can be improvised.

Well, the answer is heat or cold treatments for pain relief. Sounds easy. But which one do YOU use? And when do you use it?

Here are some guidelines.

Rule #1: You and only you know how this kind of process benefits YOUR specific kind of arthritic pain. That’s why it suits you rather than someone else.

Whether you’ve decided that ice or heat is your ally for that chronic aching joint, there are some important facts you need to know.

Knowledge of these facts will help you from creating even more pain! (Wouldn’t that just be the icing on the cake? No pun intended!)

As a card-carrying member of the Arthritis Club, you’ve probably had at least one round of physical therapy to your credit. So you have a good idea of the “what” and “how to” of this temperature deal.

Rule #2: Sounds silly: Do not burn or freeze the affected painful area. Told you it’d sound silly. But don’t listen to that “helpful” elf-voice that ALWAYS tries to convince us that if “a little is good”, then “more” would be so MUCH better!!! (You really should do something about that elf! THAT would be much better for your health.)

Let’s break it down: Heat treatment might mean using a heating pad, a moist heat wrap/pad, or basic hot water bottle. A patch that warms over several hours to ease pain is another option.

General medical consensus is that warm, moist heat is the first choice. It’s soothing, manageable, and not too drastic for the inflammation. This heat can penetrate and not dry your skin.

Rule #3: If you use heat, you need to be careful how long and how much pressure goes into your treatment. Moderate heat is effective. The heat source should not be wrapped tightly around the knee, elbow, back, etc. in order to do its job.

Keep the heat on for about 20 minutes, and then remove it. Your doctor may have directed you to repeat the heat again after 20 minutes. Or he/she may have told you to use this heat regimen at 3 different times during the day.

Rule #4: Never apply heat over a topical, adhesive skin patch whose chemicals are already creating a heat source for your pain. Same goes for putting a tight ace bandage over one of those patches. You could cause a serious burn.

Rule #5: Never lie on top of a heating pad, moist or dry. This adds pressure to the area you are aiming to help.

Pain treatment with cold/ice can be accomplished with an ice bag or chemical ice packs. Even cracked ice cubes in a plastic bag or a bag of frozen vegetables will do the job.

Rule #6: Wrap the ice in a moist towel or cloth before placing it against your skin. Ice can also “burn” your skin if left on too long. Again, the 20 minute rule applies: Twenty minutes on, then take it off.

Each arthritis sufferer is unique. Usually heat is more desirable in the morning to relieve stiffness and pain to get joints moving. Night-time is the right time to enlist the ice-man to soothe the pain and soreness from your daily activities.

However, you could feel just the opposite! Maybe you use only ice, or only heat, when you want pain relief. Don’t you feel special?

If all of this seems “much ado about nothing”, think again. This small, simple technique lets you handle a part of your own recovery plan. And this is power. You are taking control to make yourself feel better, and this is one giant step in the positive direction.

Heat and ice are convenient, available, and inexpensive. Just make your choice, and have a new day!

After years of aggravating joint pain I finally found relief from my arthritis pain, naturally, and you can do it too. I got rid of my arthritis symptoms and arthritis pain forever by making one simple change in my lifestyle. I stopped eating all junk food.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic disease of the joint cartilage and bone. It’s often thought to result from continuous “wear and tear” on a joint. There are other causes of arthritis such as congenital arthritis with congenital defects, trauma and metabolic disorders. And osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. When people refer to arthritis they usually mean osteoarthritis not rheumatoid arthritis, which can be detected by blood tests. Osteoarthritis cannot be diagnosed using blood tests. Arthritis is usually found in the joints of the fingers, feet, knees, hips, and spine.

The ability to make repairs to the cartilage becomes very limited as cartilage cells age. Damaged joints cause pain and arthritis sufferers are constantly looking for ways to relieve this pain. Our joints are uniquely designed to provide flexibility, support, stability, and protection.

Genetic factors are thought to be involved in about fifty percent of osteoarthritis cases in the hands and hips and a somewhat lower percentage of cases for the knee. An inflammatory response causes cytokines to gather in injured areas and cause inflammation and damage to body tissue and cells. It’s known to play a role in a systemic form of arthritis – rheumatoid arthritis and other muscle and joint issues associated with autoimmune diseases. Genetic researchers report a higher incidence of osteoarthritis between parents and children and between siblings rather than between husbands and wives.

For part of a dietary approach try avoiding seven of the eight most allergic foods – wheat, which is the most allergenic of all, corn, eggs, milk, peanuts, fish and shellfish. If you really want to get rid of your arthritis pain forever it may take a big change in your diet and an ongoing commitment to it. So the first step in managing your arthritis is to change your diet. I think all health professionals would agree with this.

Try massaging your fingers or other affected joints with virgin coconut oil once or twice a day to help loosen them up and maintain flexibility. Nutrition experts say it takes a combination of supplements, not just one supplement to help relieve arthritis pain, build cartilage, etc. but studies done on antioxidant vitamins question their value as supplements. It’s clearly better to consume these antioxidants in living plant foods because they may also need to work together with other nutrients present in the foods to work properly – called synergistic action.

One good natural treatment method involves avoiding all inflammatory foods. And dried Montmorency tart cherries and cherries and their juice seem to be helpful as a natural treatment for arthritis pain for many people.

Gluten may be just one of the culprits in arthritic diseases including fibromyalgia. So avoid wheat, barley, rye, spelt, triticale, kamut and oats (although it’s not a gluten grain it gets contaminated with wheat during the milling process at the where it is usually milled). Many arthritis sufferers who’ve changed their diets significantly have noticed major or total improvement in their overall health.

Exercise all your non-affected and affected joints every day, to keep them flexible. Even if you don’t think you can exercise, you can do some movements no matter how small so just keep moving as much as possible. Don’t lie down when you can sit and don’t sit when you can stand. Keep your feet moving. Use the Chinese Taiji health balls, the kind with the chimes, to strengthen the finger joints. To use them hold the two balls in on hand, move them in a clockwise circle with your fingers to rotate them, then try moving them counterclockwise and do this off and on throughout the day and at bedtime. If you do have pain and swelling in your fingers, you can try squeezing some Thera-putty, which is made for this purpose. It’s available at your local health equipment supplier.

Try wearing pair of stretch gloves at night to help reduce the pain and swelling in your fingers if you have arthritic hands. A doctor I know said he has found sleeping in a sleeping bag on his bed has really helped him. If weight is an issue, try to using exercises that will help you with arthritis and in losing weight such as walking, even if just around the block a few times. And did I mention to make sure to keep moving?

Please be aware that the use of pain relievers like NSAIDs or COX-2 inhibitors do not halt the progress of osteoarthritis and may even hasten its onset. Only you know which arthritis treatment options are best for you. As for conventional treatment of arthritis – if you do choose to take drugs or arthritis medicines, be very careful, read the labels thoroughly and talk to your pharmacist about side effects and adverse reactions. Make sure you know the name of your medications and if they’ll react with any other medications you’re taking. Always know the name and dosage measurement of your drugs in case of an emergency situation.

So begin your treatment program with a diet change, exercise and weight loss plan to see the best results and pain relief fast. Your treatment plan should include an anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis diet, lots of movement, exercise, and a positive mental outlook. Arthritis pain relief of your arthritis symptoms is the ultimate goal. Understanding arthritis and conventional and natural arthritis treatments and applying what will work for you is a good way to get there.

Is your doctor missing what is right in front of his or her eyes? In this week’s UltraWellness blog, Mark Hyman, MD explains how conventional medicine often misses the clues to autoimmune disease and gives you a detailed plan for treating conditions such as asthma, allergies, arthritis and more. For more, see www.ultrawellness.com

Natural arthritis pain relief is suitable to cure arthritis  in order to reduce inflammation in the joints that  gives rise to pain, swelling, redness and increase in the temperature of the local area.There are different natural arthritis pain relief products to cure arthritis  that concern specific types of arthritis. We will only deal here with natural arthritis pain relief products for Osteoarthritis (OA), by far,  the most spread arthritic disorder involving human being. By default, arthritis is referred to Osteoarthritis. Knee or hip arthritis has affected more than 100,000 persons in the United States leading to disablement that they are unable to move across the rooms. Even they are not capable to go to toilet. The basic reason behind OA is the destruction of the articular cartilage of the joint spaces (the cartilaginous material that covers two ends of the bones forming a joint).

Rheumatoid arthritis occurs after bodily response to certain types of infection. It is a host-infection type reaction. RA (Rheumatoid arthritis ) factor gets increased in the body. The joints are mostly affected giving rise to pain and deformity. There is deposition of Uric acid crystals in the joint spaces in Gout. All the types of arthritis cause pain in the joint. There are natural arthritis pain relief products some to cure arthritis pain.

We will only here deal with natural arthritis pain relief for Osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis causes destruction of the articular cartilages. And if a person  is overweight, there will be more loss of cartilaginous tissues. So the first natural arthritis pain relief for this type of  arthritis is the reduction in the load of the joint. Weight reduction is very much helpful to achieve this.The second way for natural arthritis pain relief  would be physical activity. Presently, only 24% of the arthritis patients are involved in some kind of physical activity. For weight management, exercise is vital for the body to maintain a healthy metabolism and convert stored fats to energy. 

Sedentary lifestyle and natural arthritis pain relief are not compatible to cure arthritis because sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of other diseases like diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease.  Never forget that hot water bath is also a good method for alleviating pain.

As part of an effective natural arthritis pain relief program, patients  are  encouraged  to take proper actions to unload the arthritic joins.

Never forget that drug therapy for arthritis is only palliative. Drugs are not a cure for arthritis. Natural arthritis pain relief products and herbs are far more curative than drugs. To get relief from arthritis, try first a good weight loss program .  Also, get some good arthritis natural remedies and take charge of your health. JointEase Plus or Rhumatol is  what you need to live a better life. For more information, just click on the banners below and place your order.

“JointEase Plus has saved my life!  I can …begin to enjoy life again.  To me it is unbelievable and I simply cannot thank you and your team enough!!!!!”—Jennifer Bailey

With arthritis of the knee, it has been noticed that the more the patient of such a condition walks, the more the knee will hurt. Many people would thus be gravitated toward having arthritis knee surgery to get relief though there is some shocking and surprising news concerning such a course of action. According to a study conducted on surgery on elderly patients, it has been determined that there are potentially harmful effects to such a course of action, and that in fact, it will not significantly help improve the patient’s condition.

Severely Impacts The Health Care Community

Such a surprising outcome of studies conducted on arthritis knee surgery may severely impact the health care community, and change the way in which will be performed in future on the, it is believed, more than 300,000 Americans that need to get treated for knee arthritis. Such surgery is no doubt performed to provide relief from the pain of osteoarthritis, and for the continual worsening of the joints due to wear and tear that is supposed to affect as many as twelve percent of the senior citizen population.

An arthritis knee surgery involves clearing out the debris and also repairing the affected cartilage that may have been damaged, and it would mean making tiny incisions so that the healing process takes place quickly. The study that was conducted had two kinds of patients in their study that included those that actually had knee surgery and those that had sham surgery. It was found that the latter kind of patients had no difficulty in climbing stairs and could walk faster than those who had had an actual arthritis knee surgery.

This is indeed quite alarming and along with the cost of having arthritis knee surgery that can total as much as five thousand dollars per individual and approximately one and a half billion for the industry, can lead one to think that wouldn’t the patient be better off spending the money on something more useful and effective.

Such findings have even led many insurance companies into refusing to pay for arthritis knee surgery. In fact, there are a number of alternatives to consider such as using hot packs, taking pain relievers as well as cortisone shots, and surgery should only be considered as a last resort. Whatever may be the merits of such a study, it certainly does put some doubts in the minds of a number of doctors, which may lead them to using such an alternative only under certain circumstances like when the patient has an acute sports injury to ligaments.