Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more of your joints.
The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
What’s the Difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Osteoarthritis usually occurs in older individuals, but can also be caused by repetitive stress or acute trauma.
Degenerative joint disease usually affects the distal joints, or the joints at the end of your fingers and toes, not the middle ones. Additionally, it’s not symmetrical, so typically you may have it on just one joint, or on one hand or foot and not the other.
Rheumatoid arthritis on the other hand, can affect you at any age, including children.
Fortunately, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is relatively rare. RA is an autoimmune disease that causes your body to break itself down. Therefore, it tends to be bilateral and symmetrical, meaning it’s the same on both sides of your body.
If you only have a specific joint affected on one side of your body it is far less likely to be RA.
It also affects your middle joints, and is associated with joint deformities, especially your hands and fingers. It can be very crippling, and people do die from rheumatoid arthritis, so it’s not something to be treated lightly.
Understanding the differences between the two types of arthritis will help you distinguish which one you have.
Some of the treatment methods available are similar for both, as both involve joint pain, swelling and inflammation. Hence the typical anti-inflammatory approaches such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and analgesics, like Tylenol, can be used for either.
However, while these can relieve pain – and there’s a lot to be said for pain relief – it’s very important to understand that the regular, chronic use of these types of medications are associated with significant, and very serious, side effects such as kidney and/or liver damage.
In the U.S. overuse of analgesics such as these are very common sources of kidney failure.
NSAIDs also kill some 30,000 people every year due to bleeding ulcers, and the oral drugs have been linked to a host of problems, including heart failure -- Vioxx and Celebrex being prime examples of these very real dangers.
This is not to say that they are not useful agents in some cases, however you need to use them very cautiously.
This is also why it’s so vital that you seek out the underlying cause of your problem and treat it “at the root,” so you do not need to pursue these types of medications.
With respect to treatments, there are some commonalities even when using natural approaches.
Omega-3 fats – One of the primary treatment methods you’ll want to include for either of these conditions is a high quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil.
Omega-3s are an essential component that your body needs to reduce inflammation.
Safe symptomatic approaches for pain -- There are some symptomatic approaches you can use for both conditions.
One of them would be glucosamine, which is especially beneficial for osteoarthritis. However, understand that although useful, this is also little more than a band-aid and will not treat the underlying cause. But it’s certainly safer than using NSAIDs and other dangerous medications.
Another treatment that's found to be particularly useful is the Indian herb boswellia.
It is used very effectively to treat joint inflammation, but again, it’s not treating the cause, only the symptom. Turmeric is another powerful pain killer and is used in cooking and also comes in a capsule form
Acupuncture is also a safe and typically effective treatment method for pain.
CBD oil has shown a lot of promise for helping with arthritis.
The methods I mention above can all be used to reduce pain and inflammation, but rheumatoid arthritis with its crippling and deformities is far more severe, and is generally treated with very aggressive medications.
In fact, the drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most dangerous drugs used in medicine. High doses of prednisone are common, as well as immunosuppressants and anti-cancer agents to treat the severe pain and swelling.
One new addition to the protocol is low dose Naltrexone which is encouraged with anyone with RA to try.
It is inexpensive and non toxic, and a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Please understand though that this is for RA, not for osteoarthritis.
Additionally, nearly all autoimmune diseases have two primary considerations that need to be addressed.
1. Vitamin D deficiency - Almost universally, autoimmune diseases have an underlying vitamin D deficiency. The further you go from the equator, the higher the incidence of RA becomes in the population.
2. Emotional trauma - The second factor, which is also almost universally present in most all autoimmune diseases, is some kind of predisposing traumatic emotional insult that typically occurs before the age of five or six.
When you combine these, especially in the hands of a skilled clinician -- with some of the safer modalities to treat and alleviate the pains and symptoms you can make great progress even with this debilitating condition.
Surprising Natural Pain Killers
Are you in pain? You don’t have to reach for over the counter pain killers, or even the heavy pharmaceutical hitters prescribed by your doctor. There are literally hundreds of natural pain killers waiting for you in the abundance of nature.
Top 10 Inflammatory Foods To Avoid
Here, we look at the top ten foods which set the stage for inflammatory diseases. Stay clear of these inflammation causing foods to instantly upgrade your health.
It also affects your middle joints, and is associated with joint deformities, especially your hands and fingers. It can be very crippling, and people do die from rheumatoid arthritis, so it’s not something to be treated lightly.
Understanding the differences between the two types of arthritis will help you distinguish which one you have.
List of Common Systems
- Persistent joint pain
- Pain or tenderness in joints, aggravated by simple movement or physical activity, such as picking up an object off the floor, activities that require hand movement such as sewing or typing, walking, bending, etc.
- Inflammation indicated by joint swelling, stiffness, redness, and/or warmth
- Joint deformity (for example, toes or fingers may become stiff and distorted)
- Loss of range of motion or flexibility in a joint
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme fatigue, lack of energy
- Non-specific fever
- Crepitus, a symptom defined by a popping or crackling sound when moving the joints. If you have arthritis, gas (air) penetrates the joints and causes a popping sound. Crepitus may indicate wear and tear of the joints.
Treatments that Work for Both Types of Arthritis
Some of the treatment methods available are similar for both, as both involve joint pain, swelling and inflammation. Hence the typical anti-inflammatory approaches such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and analgesics, like Tylenol, can be used for either.
However, while these can relieve pain – and there’s a lot to be said for pain relief – it’s very important to understand that the regular, chronic use of these types of medications are associated with significant, and very serious, side effects such as kidney and/or liver damage.
In the U.S. overuse of analgesics such as these are very common sources of kidney failure.
NSAIDs also kill some 30,000 people every year due to bleeding ulcers, and the oral drugs have been linked to a host of problems, including heart failure -- Vioxx and Celebrex being prime examples of these very real dangers.
This is not to say that they are not useful agents in some cases, however you need to use them very cautiously.
This is also why it’s so vital that you seek out the underlying cause of your problem and treat it “at the root,” so you do not need to pursue these types of medications.
With respect to treatments, there are some commonalities even when using natural approaches.
Omega-3 fats – One of the primary treatment methods you’ll want to include for either of these conditions is a high quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil.
Omega-3s are an essential component that your body needs to reduce inflammation.
Safe symptomatic approaches for pain -- There are some symptomatic approaches you can use for both conditions.
One of them would be glucosamine, which is especially beneficial for osteoarthritis. However, understand that although useful, this is also little more than a band-aid and will not treat the underlying cause. But it’s certainly safer than using NSAIDs and other dangerous medications.
Another treatment that's found to be particularly useful is the Indian herb boswellia.
It is used very effectively to treat joint inflammation, but again, it’s not treating the cause, only the symptom. Turmeric is another powerful pain killer and is used in cooking and also comes in a capsule form
Acupuncture is also a safe and typically effective treatment method for pain.
CBD oil has shown a lot of promise for helping with arthritis.
RELATED: Health Benefits of Cannabidiol (CBD)
Research suggests that Cannabidiol may be helpful in reducing the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis of all types including Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Gout and other types of inflammatory joint diseases.
RELATED: 5 Must Know Facts About Cannabidiol (CBD)
To learn more about CBD and medical Cannabis click here.
RELATED: 5 Must Know Facts About Cannabidiol (CBD)
To learn more about CBD and medical Cannabis click here.
Special Considerations for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
The methods I mention above can all be used to reduce pain and inflammation, but rheumatoid arthritis with its crippling and deformities is far more severe, and is generally treated with very aggressive medications.
In fact, the drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most dangerous drugs used in medicine. High doses of prednisone are common, as well as immunosuppressants and anti-cancer agents to treat the severe pain and swelling.
One new addition to the protocol is low dose Naltrexone which is encouraged with anyone with RA to try.
It is inexpensive and non toxic, and a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Please understand though that this is for RA, not for osteoarthritis.
Additionally, nearly all autoimmune diseases have two primary considerations that need to be addressed.
1. Vitamin D deficiency - Almost universally, autoimmune diseases have an underlying vitamin D deficiency. The further you go from the equator, the higher the incidence of RA becomes in the population.
The remedy, of course, is to make sure your vitamin D levels are optimized. It’s virtual malpractice and negligence if you have an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and your vitamin D levels are not getting checked regularly by your physician.
2. Emotional trauma - The second factor, which is also almost universally present in most all autoimmune diseases, is some kind of predisposing traumatic emotional insult that typically occurs before the age of five or six.
RELATED:
Are you in pain? You don’t have to reach for over the counter pain killers, or even the heavy pharmaceutical hitters prescribed by your doctor. There are literally hundreds of natural pain killers waiting for you in the abundance of nature.
Here, we look at the top ten foods which set the stage for inflammatory diseases. Stay clear of these inflammation causing foods to instantly upgrade your health.