Arthritis - Home remedies for Arthritis

It refers to inflammation of joints. It is one of a number of diseases commonly called rheumatism. Arthritis arises from many causes and it is treated in many different ways.

Arthritis has been classified as follows: -

    * Arthritis caused by infection.

    * Arthritis resulting from rheumatic fever.

    * Rheumatoid arthritis.

    * Degenerative arthritis.

    * Arthritis due to joint injuries.

    * Arthritis caused by gout.

    * Arthritis originating from the nervous system. Rheumatoid arthritis and arthritis caused by rheumatic fever are classified as collagen disease.

    * Rheumatoid arthritis and degenerative arthritis are the two most common types. Millions of men and women are afflicted with them. But good medical treatment begun early and continued faithfully can often do much to alleviate the pain, crippling and disability.

Rheumatoid arthritis

It is a disease not of the joints but of the whole body, i . e. the connective tissues. This tissue reacts sensitively to substances in the body. Stress and worry make it worse. During rainy season and winter months, pains in the joints become most severe.

Rheumatoid arthritis may appear suddenly or gradually. Fatigue, loss of weight, and poor weight can be early signs. Sometimes it may cause an acute fever and pain, swelling and disability in many joints. Any joint can be involved including those of the spine, but the hands and feet are most commonly affected. There may be vague or fleeting pains in early stages; it may rise in the morning and at the end of the day.

Women appear to be afflicated more than men. Children too can be afflicted. Rheumatoid arthritis usually strikes at early ages unlike other types of arthritis. It appears during winter months. Americans are chronic sufferers from this disease.

Fresh raw fruit and vegetable juices offer an excellent treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. It is believed that garlic, musumbi, orange, carrot and beet juice consumed in plenty may give early cure.

Signs and symptoms of Arthritis

    * Severe pain in the affected joints.

    * Muscles, ligaments and cartilage become inflamed.

    * Movement of the joint becomes extremely painful, especially in cold, windy and damp weather.

Home Remedies for Arthritis

    * Drinking water kept overnight in a copper container accumulates traces of copper, which is said to strengthen the muscular system. A copper ring or bracelet is worn for the same reason.

    * Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder with warm water helps cure arthritis.

    * Taking alfalfa tea twice a day makes a good cure.

    * Lime has also been found beneficial as a home remedy for arthritis. The citric acid found in lime is a solvent of uric acid which is the primary cause of some types of arthritis. The juice of one lime, diluted with water, may be taken once a day, preferably first thing in the morning.

    * Exercise the afflicted joints in tub full of hot water.

Are You Stricken With Chronic Inflammatory Arthritis?

Arthritis generally comes in two forms osteoarthritis and inflammatory-arthritis. For this article we will discuss inflammatory-arthritis and natural herbal alternatives for reducing swelling and pain. The popular option for controlling arthritis pain is taking prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; these drugs have been linked to cardiovascular, kidney and liver disease. If that doesn’t sound appealing, natural alternatives are available for inflammatory arthritis...



Arthritis generally comes in two forms osteoarthritis and inflammatory-arthritis. For this article we will discuss inflammatory-arthritis and natural herbal alternatives for reducing swelling and pain. The popular option for controlling arthritis pain is taking prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; these drugs have been linked to cardiovascular, kidney and liver disease. If that doesn’t sound appealing, natural alternatives are available for inflammatory arthritis. Herbs like boswellia, ginger, skullcap, turmeric, acacia, hops, holy basil, feverfew, and white willow bark. Fortunately supplement manufacturers have learned about the anti-inflammatory properties of these herbs and do make them in various combinations to help relieve swelling and pain.

The first one on the list is boswellia, has a long history of use as a mild anti-inflammatory herb for joint pain and stiffness, and noted by herbalists of its effectiveness. The primary compound in boswellia known for its anti-inflammatory affect is boswellic acid, when purchasing boswellia always look for products standardized to boswellic acid. Ginger root has been known for its anti-inflammatory affects as well, ginger inhibits the production of the immune-system components called cytokines which cause inflammation in the body. Ginger is also known as a COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitor in suppressing prostaglandin synthesis which would reduce inflammation in the body. Ginger also stimulates circulation helping the body bring vital blood and nutrients to the inflamed areas of the body. Skullcap is used in traditional Chinese medicine as an anti-inflammatory herb. Turmeric also known as Curcumin has been used in Asia, India, china, central and south America as an anti-inflammatory herb for many years. The curcuminoids in turmeric has been clinically proven to reduce inflammation. Turmeric is also a potent antioxidant good for fighting free radical damage which tend to cause inflammation in the body.  Acacia and hops are both traditionally used for inflammation and pain. Feverfew since the first century has been used for the treatment of headaches, fever, menstrual discomfort, arthritis, and other aches and pains. According to a clinical trial study in England, feverfew when taken for three to four months can reduce the severity and frequency of migraines and other sorts of pain. Feverfew acts in a manner like the class of pain relievers known as COX-2 inhibitors, feverfew also reduces the absorption of thymidine by white blood cells, this will reduce the rate at which leukotrienes is produced which is a inflammatory chemical in the body. Finally, white willow bark has been used like aspirin as a pain killer with out the aspirin side effects. White willow has been used for fever, colds, minor infections, acute and chronic rheumatic disorders, mild headaches, and pain caused by inflammation. According to a clinical study done on white willow bark in England, researchers at the center for Complementary Health Studies at the University of Exeter gave eighty two participants with chronic arthritic pain either Reumalex, herbal supplement with white willow, or placebo. After two months the white willow herb proved to be superior to the placebo pill.

This is by far a complete list of herbs good for reducing inflammation in the body but it is a good start to help you on your way to recovering from inflammatory arthritis. As always, the statements in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat and cure or prevent disease please consult your health care physician before discontinuing medication or introducing herbs into your diet if you are currently on medication of any kind.

An Introduction To Rheumatoid Arthritis

 Rheumatoid arthritis is the second major type of arthritis - exceeded in number of cases only by osteoarthritis. It is a very serious ailment caused by inflammation of the joints. The pain associated with the disease is at times so severe that it almost completely disables sufferers. It affects women more often than men.


Rheumatoid arthritis is the second major type of arthritis - exceeded in number of cases only by osteoarthritis. It is a very serious ailment caused by inflammation of the joints. The pain associated with the disease is at times so severe that it almost completely disables sufferers. It affects women more often than men.

Rheumatoid arthritis advances in three stages starting with painful swelling and stiffness of the joints. In the second stage the pain aggravates and the bones and cartilage are severely affected thereby restricting the movement of the person altogether. By this time the diseases becomes chronic and just defies all treatment.

It is in your best interest to immediately consult a doctor as soon as you have pain in the joints. This means that don’t wait for any other symptom appear. Also, you should never try treating the disease by taking over the counter medicines. Chances are that you may aggravate the ailment.

It is important that you ask your doctor to diagnose whether you are actually afflicted with Rheumatoid arthritis and if so, start taking the treatment that he prescribes. If you go by your doctor’s advice you can save yourself a lot of damage by reducing the severity of the attack of the disease. Any delay in diagnosing and treating the disease may aggravate to an extent that you may have to undergo surgery. This will not only entail great pain, but also require huge costs of treatment.

Besides seeking a doctor’s advice early, you may take general precautions like protecting your affected areas from stress of exertion. You should also try to reduce your weight if you are obese. Also contact your physiotherapist. Seek his or her advice about certain kind of exercises that may be specific to your kind of rheumatoid arthritis and take these exercises regularly as per the expert’s advice.

A Brief Look at Arthritis

Arthritis also is the leading cause of disability. Nearly 7 million people in the U.S., including 20% of people with arthritis, are unable to perform major life activities such as working or housekeeping because of this disease. Arthritis sufferers endure more days in severe pain, experience more days with limited ability to perform daily activities, and have more difficulty performing personal-care routines than people without arthritis. As with other chronic pain conditions, arthritis has negative effects on mental health. Some forms of arthritis also make your RealAge older.

The Definition of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis, known as Still's disease when it affects children, is a condition that causes inflammation of joints and associated pain, swelling, and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis causes the body's own immune system to attack joint tissue, breaking down collagen, cartilage, and sometimes bone or other organs. This chronic disease varies between people and fluctuates over time, often marked by symptoms that improve only to re-emerge later. In some cases rheumatoid arthritis is mild and lasts only a few months (this kind of rheumatoid arthritis is called type 1), while in others the disease becomes progressively complicated by disability and other health problems, lasting many years (this is called type 2 rheumatoid arthritis).

Rheumatoid arthritis most often affects the wrist and finger joints closest to the hand, but can also affect joints in the feet and throughout the body. Anyone can be affected by rheumatoid arthritis, but women are more likely to develop symptoms, which most often begin between the ages of 20 and 30. The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not yet understood, but many effective strategies have been developed to manage its symptoms.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms and Signs
The main symptom of rheumatoid arthritis is joint stiffness in the morning, often in the hands or feet. Stiffness that persists for an hour or more, or swelling and pain that lasts for more than six weeks, may be indicative of rheumatoid arthritis. Joint discomfort is typically symmetrical, i.e. both hands will hurt or feel stiff, not just one. Early rheumatoid arthritis symptoms also may include fever, excessive tiredness, or pea-sized lumps called "nodules" that can be felt under the skin.

Other possible rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include anemia, appetite loss, and the accumulation of fluid in the ankles or behind the knee. In children, symptoms may include shaking chills and a pink rash may follow the characteristic painful and swollen joints.

Why Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Painful
How joint pain and the destruction of cartilage are related is not fully understood. Cartilage itself does not cause pain because there are no nerve structures in cartilage to transmit pain signals. Most likely, the pain of rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the irritation of other tissues in and around the affected joints. This irritation may be caused by chemical-messenger substances, such as prostaglandin E2, that are associated with the disease process. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduce pain because they inhibit the production of prostaglandins.

Other Conditions That Can Cause Pain
Pain and stiffness similar to rheumatoid arthritis symptoms can be caused by many other conditions. Even if injury or infection can be ruled out, anything from bunions to fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome can cause pain.

Only a medical professional can identify many sources of joint pain, because similar symptoms can result from other autoimmune diseases, from serious conditions such as cancer, or from many other kinds of arthritis.

The Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis
The causes of rheumatoid arthritis are not fully understood, but important contributing factors have been identified. The self-destructive immune response of rheumatoid arthritis may be caused by a combination of genetic susceptibility and an environmental trigger. Changing hormones also may play an important part in the disease, possibly in response to an infection from the environment.

More than one gene has been linked to risk for rheumatoid arthritis. Specific genes may increase a person's chance of developing the disease, and also could partially determine how serious his or her condition is. However, since not all people with a genetic predisposition to rheumatoid arthritis actually have the disease, other factors must be important.

A specific environmental trigger has not yet been found, but some research suggests that infection by a virus or bacterium leads to rheumatoid arthritis in genetically susceptible people. This does not mean that rheumatoid arthritis is contagious. People with rheumatoid arthritis appear to have more antibodies in the synovial fluid in their joints, suggesting that there may be an infection.

Low levels of hormones from the adrenal gland are common in people with rheumatoid arthritis, but how hormones interact with environmental and genetic factors is unknown. Hormone changes may contribute to the progression of the rheumatoid arthritis.

A Brief Introduction To Rheumatoid Arthritis

This is according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

You might not know it, but you could be suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. Although rheumatoid arthritis is commonly associated with the older generation (people over the age of 65), the disease is found in younger generations - even including children. How could you tell if you have it? Well if you're experiencing morning stiffness for no apparent reason (like if you had done a lot of strenuous exercise the night before, for example), you might be suffering from one of it's symptoms. As mild as you might think morning stiffness is, you really ought to give it some serious thought and consult with your doctor because if that morning stiffness is related to rheumatoid arthritis, you can work to prevent it from disabling or crippling you later on down the road to a point where you can barely function. But rheumatoid arthritis isn't just a physical condition. It has the propensity to tax your mental and emotional state of well-being tpp.

This is because arthritis can change the way you work, the way you interact with your family, and the way you entertain yourself with recreational activities. You might even know someone with rheumatoid arthritis and have observed how this disease changed not only his or her mobility, but also his or her outlook on life. Those of us without rheumatoid arthritis tend to take our ability to move anyway we want for granted, but when that ability slowly disappears right before our eyes, it's no surprise that we get depressed about it.

But it doesn't necessary have to be that way. With proper medications, education, support, and prescribed exercises, you could work to prevent the most severe forms of the disease - or at least prolong the worst case symptoms.

Arthritis works in two ways. First, it inflames the muscles, ligaments, and cartilage that sit in-between joints. And it's this inflammation that causes the pain, swelling, and heat. Those are symptoms that are typical indications of an injury and they're vital to understanding more about this disease. Second, arthritis works by releasing enzymes that basically consume or otherwise destroy the muscles, ligaments, and cartilage that have become inflamed to a point where they're not very useful and don't allow for easy movement. In the worse cases, cartilage disappears completely and as you can guess, this is extremely crippling and uncomfortable.

That's why we call rheumatoid arthritis a disease. Typically, inflamed muscles, ligaments, and cartilage are the result of an injury, like falling on the knees for example. But with arthritis, no injury has to occur. In fact, arthritis is a type of autoimmune disease and the cartilage inside joints is one of the things that it destroys. And any joint can be affected - one, two, maybe even more but most of the time, the disease targets fingers, hips, feet, and knees.

A Better Understanding Of Arthritis

The term "Arthritis" refers to more than 100 different types of diseases which all cause pain, stiffness, and inflammation in the joints of affected people. All arthritis conditions involve some form of joint pain or the other. However, the seriousness of the joint pain, the duration of the joint pain and degree of the joint pain vary from one type of arthritis to another.

The two most prevalent types of arthritis include Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, in which joint cartilage is destroyed. In other cases of Osteoarthritis, the patient experiences bony outgrowth, also known as bone spurs and also lose of cartilage particles.

Osteoarthritis affects mostly aged people, from 55 years and older. That is why most people say it is an 'aged disease' of the joints. Osteoarthritis is mostly common in the hands, feet, spine, hips and knees of victims.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the patient experiences white blood cells in the synovial membrane dividing, growing and multiplying. These produce inflammation of the joint capsule and synovial membrane, loss of space in the synovial cavity, pain and stiffness in the joint. If there is no arthritis relief and treatment, this may lead to cartilage destruction.

Apart from these types of arthritis, another type of arthritis that commonly affects people is "Inflammatory Arthritis". This type of arthritis causes very severe inflammation in the joints and the tendons of the victims.

This is mostly characterized by the swelling and inflammation of the synovial membrane - thereby causing severe pain and stiffness in the joints of the victims. Inflammatory arthritis makes the joint look red and warm when touched. Arthritis relief for victims is necessary to reduce the pain.

Arthritis relief is therefore very important, especially in a country like the United States where Arthritis is the number one cause of physical disability. There are an estimated total number of 43 million Americans - 16 percent of the population, suffering from one form of arthritis or the other.

It is not only adults who need arthritis relief, but also children. In the United States, about 300,000 children suffer from one type of arthritis related disease or another. Children, being very susceptible to pain, need arthritis relief and treatment more than ever before. Unlike adults who can endure joint pains to a great degree, children cannot and therefore need arthritis relief as soon as the problem starts.

Superfoods for Conquering the Pain of Arthritis

With some thought and planning, it’s easy to make these nutrient-dense foods part of your daily diet.  With choices from virtually every food group, you’ll soon be well on your way to arming yourself to battle the pain of arthritis and begin to manage it from the inside out.

Salmon is among the richest sources of healthy fats, making it an ideal source of omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, salmon contains calcium, vitamin D, and folate. Besides helping with arthritis, eating salmon may protect the cardiovascular system by preventing blood clots, repairing artery damage, raising levels of good cholesterol, and lowering blood pressure.

Commonly referred to as one of nature’s ‘perfect foods,’ bananas are perhaps best known for packing potassium, but they're also good sources of arthritis-fighting vitamin B₆, folate, and vitamin C. They’re easy for your body to digest, and since they’re a great source of soluble fiber, they are an important player in your weight loss efforts, because you fell full after eating one without consuming a large number of calories. 

If you are in need of vitamin C but aren’t a big fan of citrus fruits, reach for a green pepper. A single green pepper contains 176 percent of your daily needs for vitamin C -- and colorful red and yellow varieties have more than double that amount. That makes them richer in C than citrus fruits, but sweet peppers are also excellent sources of vitamin B₆ and folate.

Vitamin D is a tough one to come by in foods, but shrimp fills that bill, since they have about 30 percent of the daily recommended amount in about three ounces – much more than a cup of milk.  Shrimp also contains omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin C, along with other nutrients essential for general health, including iron and vitamin B₁₂.

Hard or soft, fresh or ripened, cheese in all its variety is an excellent source of calcium for bones, and protein for muscles and other joint-supporting tissues. Cheese can be easily sliced to put on a cracker or a sandwich, grated into your favorite recipe, or eaten alongside an apple or pear for a fresh, quick snack.

Green tea contains hundreds of powerful antioxidant chemicals called polyphenols and has been cited for helping prevent problems ranging from cancer to heart disease. But studies also suggest green tea may help prevent or ease symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.