Arthritis and Alternative Medicine
Arthritis and Alternative Medicine
In the United States today, more than 15 percent of the entire population—or about 40 million people—suffer from arthritis. It is a disease that does not discriminate; men and women of all races are at risk of developing some form of arthritis, and close to 200,000 children suffer from its effects. This disease, of which there are more than 100 different forms, involves the inflammation of joints, surrounding tendons, ligaments, and cartilage, as well as destruction of bone. It can affect any part of the body, from the feet to the knees, back, shoulders, elbows, fingers and, in certain types of arthritis, heart, lung, or other organs as well.
The symptoms of arthritis range from mild aches and flulike discomfort to all-consuming, crippling, chronic pain. Currently, no cure exists for arthritis. Instead, it is a chronic condition that continues to perplex and frustrate both those who suffer with it and their healers. In this book, we will introduce you to several different theories about the disease and what they mean to the person who has it, as well as outline in detail some effective treatment strategies—all from a holistic, alternative medicine perspective.
Humankind has suffered from arthritis for as long as we've been recording medical history. X-ray studies of bones from our earliest ancestors, including mummified Egyptians, attest that arthritis has long been a significant health problem. The credit for first describing the condition goes to the Greek physician Hippocrates, who gave it the Greek word for "swollen joint." Rheumatism, a word that we still often use interchangeably with arthritis, derives from the Greek word rheumatismos, which means "flowing mucus," referring to the swelling that occurs when fluid fills a joint. Some historical sources estimate that as much as 70 percent of the population of ancient Rome had some form of arthritis, a fact that led researchers to postulate that the Romans used their infamously decadent "Roman baths" as therapy for this often painful and limiting disease.
Chances are that you or someone you love suffers with arthritis to one degree or another. Like so many of your contemporaries, you are looking for a safe way to alleviate its symptoms and stop (or at least slow down) its often cruel progression. Unfortunately, we've been brought up to assume that all things medical can be quickly resolved with drugs and/or surgery. We remain stubbornly (and, in the end, counterproductively) distanced from the intricate nature and quality of health. We need to better recognize the work that it takes, on both the patient's and the healer's parts, to return to that precious state.
The Challenge of Chronic Disease
Within the modern, Western medical tradition, physicians and researchers often divide health problems into those considered acute and those considered chronic. Acute health problems generally begin abruptly with a single, readily identifiable cause. Scientific literature has thoroughly documented the course of these illnesses, which tend to respond well to specific treatments, such as medication or surgery. When treatment succeeds in eliminating the symptoms and effects of the acute illness, doctors consider patients "cured"—brought back to a normal state of health.
Appendicitis is an example of an acute illness. So is an infection with the bacterium Streptococcus, such as tonsillitis. Each has distinct symptoms: nausea and abdominal pain in the case of appendicitis; sore throat with swollen tonsils and fever with tonsillitis. Appendicitis necessitates surgery followed by a period of recovery. Tonsillitis usually resolves quickly with a 10-day course of antibiotic medication, usually consisting of penicillin.
Chronic illnesses, on the other hand, tend to start slowly, proceed slowly, and last over several years, even over an entire lifespan. Doctors usually have trouble diagnosing a chronic illness since its symptoms and course tend to be subtle (at least at first) and unpredictable. Unlike acute disease, chronic disease often has several possible, sometimes coexisting causes, ranging from genetic factors to lifestyle and environmental influences to individual physiological qualities. Almost by definition, chronic illnesses have no "cure," no simple solution. Because each of them generally has more than one cause, no one drug or surgical procedure is able to remedy them.
As different as each type of chronic illness may be from another—asthma, for instance, has a set of symptoms and effects markedly different from arthritis—they have a number of disturbing similarities. Indeed, the lives of all those with chronic illnesses almost inevitably change, both physically and emotionally. Without proper care and patient involvement in an effective therapy program, those with a chronic illness like arthritis often must curtail physical activities such as grocery shopping, knitting, golfing, and gardening. As a result, muscles and tendons become weak from lack of use. Should such limitations persist, a sense of isolation and helplessness begins to sink in, leaving the person with a chronic illness vulnerable to clinical depression.
As you'll see in Chapter 2, modern mainstream medicine offers few successful options for the treatment of arthritis. It remains stymied by the complexity of the disease and, perhaps most important, by its apparently systemic and fundamental nature. Holistic medicine, on the other hand, is remarkably suited to exploring just these issues. Its view of health is based on establishing and maintaining internal balance, of helping the body to maintain its own proper structure and function by providing it with all the nutrients, physical exercise, and emotional support it requires. Here are just a few of the issues you may want to consider while thinking about holistic medicine:
Holistic Medicine
Involves few side effects compared with pharmacology or surgery. Alternative medicine works by helping the body to heal itself. Drugs, on the other hand, including those used to alleviate the pain and inflammation of arthritis, work either by taking over the body's functions or by masking the pain that might otherwise help the body protect itself against further harm. The body never fully heals, then, but is compelled to operate despite the problems. Moreover, drugs often have side effects—such as drowsiness and confusion (common to many painkillers) or gastric problems (stemming from aspirin use)—that alternative therapies generally avoid.
Focuses on the individual, not the condition. Practitioners of natural medicine recognize that every person with arthritis develops the disease under a different set of circumstances; and because there are so many different causes of arthritis, no one type of therapy will cure it. Treating arthritis with alternative medicine involves not a simple prescription or operation, but a comprehensive plan that recognizes your unique emotional, spiritual, and physical makeup.
Involves the whole body. According to most alternative disciplines, the joints, tendons, and cartilage involved in the arthritis process do not exist in isolation from the rest of the body. Nor do they remain unaffected by emotions, thoughts, or external stressors. While the average rheumatologist concentrates on the particular joints affected by arthritis, the Chinese practitioner, chiropracter, or herbalist looks at the whole person from head to toe, physically and emotionally.
Validates the emotional component of health. Although it seems clear that external stresses and/or emotional upheavals have a direct impact on the body's ability to function, Western medicine has resisted using this knowledge to prevent or treat disease. Natural medicine acknowledges the integral role our emotions play in maintaining health, and its traditions have used this knowledge in creating a comprehensive treatment plan for virtually every disease and condition. As you'll discover by reading this book, arthritis is no exception. The more relaxed you are, the more manageable your symptoms will be.
Prevents as well as treats. Maintaining the body's natural, balanced state is the goal of natural medicine. If you visit a homeopath for treatment of your arthritis, for instance, you may find that you no longer suffer as many colds or flus or that the treatment alleviates another recurrent health problem as well. This is because the remedies applied work on many different levels and systems throughout the body.
Helps you find the natural rhythm of health. Your body is a remarkable vessel of biochemical actions and reactions that allow you to breathe, to digest your food, to dream, and to hope. Natural approaches to health and healing allow your body to work as nature intended, without the need for artificial and potentially side effect - ridden interventions.
For the reasons outlined above, you may decide to join the millions of Americans who have turned to alternative therapies to treat their arthritis or other conditions. This book is intended to help you sort through the many alternative approaches available and decide which ones may work best for your particular situation. You or someone you love is looking for help. The pain, swelling, and stiffness of arthritis have made life more difficult and unmanageable, and you may fear what the future holds if you do not find an effective therapy. In this book, you'll learn the basics of several alternative options, one or more of which may hold an answer for you.
Nine Natural Approaches to Treating Arthritis
Before we outline the various approaches covered in this book, we must stress—and we'll reiterate this point later—how important it is for you to visit a mainstream physician for an evaluation of your condition. By taking advantage of mainstream diagnostic procedures, you'll be able to rule out serious medical problems such as tumors, infections, and structural problems that may be at the root of your condition—and may require a more immediate mainstream treatment to resolve.
On the other hand, if you're like most people with arthritis, you've already discovered the limitations of modern medicine when it comes to treating your condition. The good news is that you may well hold the solution within yourself: Your own body can heal itself if given the right ingredients and the right environment.
Outlined below are nine different alternative methods. The first three—diet, exercise, and meditation—you can do on your own. Except for obtaining permission from a physician or practitioner to start a new exercise program, these are changes you can make by yourself. The other six techniques involve philosophies and techniques that, generally speaking, stem from very different systems of thought. We'll introduce you to their basic theories and therapies in hopes that, should one or more of them interest you, you'll take the time to explore them more thoroughly by reading other books and visiting qualified practitioners.
THE FOOD LINK
Chapter Four discusses the connection between what you eat and how you feel, specifically the impact of food allergies on destructive joint inflammation. We outline the principles of finding and treating food reactions and include specific food recommendations known to help prevent arthritis flare-ups or alleviate the pain once it has begun. Furthermore, we provide a list of the nutritional supplements known to affect the arthritis process, including vitamin B6, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium, among others.
EXERCISE AND REST
Your body needs to move in order for you to stay well. Your brain, your heart, your internal organs, your muscles—they all need the increased blood flow and stimulation that exercise provides. For your joints, this statement of fact holds special meaning. By moving your joints daily, you help keep them fully mobile. You also strengthen surrounding muscles, which means providing joints with extra support. Weight-bearing exercise helps keep your bones strong and helps reduce your chance of osteoporosis, a disease of thinning bones often associated with arthritis. Moving your joints also helps to transport nutrients and waste products to and from your cartilage—the body tissue that protects the ends of your bones. In Chapter 5, we'll show you some of the best exercises for you, depending on what part of your body arthritis affects. We'll also outline a general fitness program designed to condition your whole body safely and effectively, which will both help keep you healthy and improve your general outlook.
MEDITATION AND RELAXATION
Chapter 6 describes the relationship between stress and chronic pain of any kind, including that related to arthritis. There we will guide you through several methods of meditation and relaxation designed to help you recognize and then release your own particular brand of negative stress. These methods include progressive relaxation, visualization, and biofeedback, among others.
ACUPUNCTURE AND CHINESE MEDICINE
Stemming from a centuries-old tradition, Chinese medicine and acupuncture view health not only as the absence of disease, but also as the existence of a balanced and harmonious internal environment. Humanity is seen as part of a larger creation—the universe itself—and is thus subject to the same laws that govern the stars, the soil, and the sea. Chapter 7 explains this unique philosophy and its relevance to arthritis, as well as outlines the techniques of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, and the exercise system known as qi-gong as they relate to the treatment of arthritis.
AYURVEDA: MEDICINE FROM INDIA
Based on a system developed in India around the fifth century B.C., Ayurveda, like Chinese medicine, considers health within a universal context. Within the human body, universal forces exist as an energy or life force called prana. Prana provides every human being with the vitality and endurance to live in harmony with the universe, as well as offers the body the power to heal itself. In Chapter 8, you'll see how an Ayurvedic practitioner might consider your condition and discover how your arthritis might be treated according to Ayurvedic principles. Such treatment may include yoga, herbal remedies, and meditation exercises. In addition, certain dietary recommendations may be made.
CHIROPRACTIC AND OSTEOPATHY
Chapter 9 introduces you to two related branches of alternative medicine: chiropractic and osteopathy. According to the theory behind chiropractic therapy, the spine is the well from which the body's innate intelligence springs. If the vertebrae are not properly aligned, this intelligence cannot flow to other parts of the body to assure their proper functioning. Realigning the spine can thus alleviate arthritic pain, and may even work to resolve the underlying causes of the disorder.
Osteopathy is another system that involves adjusting the body in order to improve its overall function and health. Osteopaths receive standard physician training (their degree, doctor of osteopathy, is equivalent to a medical doctor), but their education also includes courses on how to adjust the spine and other skeletal structures in order to relieve pain and improve motion and circulation.
HEALING TOUCH: BODYWORK AND MASSAGE
In Chapter 10, you'll read about several different movement awareness and massage therapies, such as the Alexander technique and Rolfing, all of which attempt both to alleviate current pain and realign the body to help reduce the pain of future arthritis flare-ups. Some of these techniques require the involvement of a trained professional; others you can learn to do on your own with some guidance. In either case, you're bound to find massage to be a powerful healing tool.
THE POWER OF HERBS
Herbal medicine and its cousin aromatherapy use plants, herbs, and other natural substances—including venom extracted from honeybees—to stimulate the body to return to the state of internal balance we call health. Though herbs are medicines, they tend to be much safer than chemical drugs for a variety of reasons: they are less potent, more recognizable to the body as natural substances, and usually used in combinations and potencies that minimize side effects. Derived from plants, each oil has its own distinct odor that stimulates an array of emotional and psychological responses. Chapter 11 discusses how you can use herbs and oils to treat your case of arthritis.
LIKE CURES LIKE: HOMEOPATHY
Chapter 12 explores homeopathy and its relationship to arthritis. A system of medicine that attempts to harness the body's own healing power to fight disease and maintain health, homeopathy was developed by a nineteenth-century German scientist named Samuel Hahnemann. It is based on the principle that "like cures like," that medications should be given not to counteract the symptoms of illness, as they are in mainstream medicine, but rather to stimulate the body to cure itself. Because arthritis involves the swelling and tenderness of inflammation, homeopathic remedies for arthritis tend to concentrate on helping the body to reverse this process.
Following these chapters on the basics of alternative medicine, Chapter 13 raises and answers some of the most common questions about arthritis and the various therapies offered here to treat it. Then, in Natural Resources, page 168, we provide you with a host of resources, including organizations, associations, and books, that will guide you should you choose to further explore any or all of the methods outlined here.
In the meantime, however, we feel it's important for you to gain an understanding of what arthritis is on a strictly anatomical and physiological level. Chapter 2 will explain exactly what happens to the joints and tissues of the body when the disease of arthritis takes hold.
