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Diagnosed with Arthritis?
Here are Alternative for Arthritis Options
If you've just been diagnosed or have been dealing with it for years, here you'll find alternative for arthritis options. Just the fact that you've found this page means you understand some of the risks of "conventional" treatment. While I'm not against traditional medical management of arthritis, I do believe that there are a lot of alternative options that are less risky and equally effective.
Chiropractic Care as an Alternative for Arthritis
Since I'm a chiropractor, you know I have to start here!Let's go back to the basics...
what is arthritis?
It's wear and tear on a joint. Degeneration leads to loss of the cushioning cartilage (or discs, if it's in the spine), the bones may rub on each other, and there's pain, swelling, and loss of movement in the joint because of it.
Chiropractors
are known for adjusting the spine and many of us also adjust shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, knees, hips, and ankles. If a joint isn't moving properly (think of your ankle - has it ever popped while walking, or felt stuck and you rotated it back and forth to try to get it moving?) then it's going to deteriorate faster than if it had proper motion. This is a case where chiropractic care can really prevent future problems. We work with the body's structure, keeping it aligned and balanced so that it functions properly, and keeping you from wearing out faster. Since proper motion within a joint is important to keep the fluids moving and nutrients getting in, I hope you see how truly beneficial chiropractic care can be. When you combine the chiropractic adjusting with the posture balancing that many chiropractors do, you really get your body moving the way it's designed to; that means proper motion within your joints and less chance of developing problems later on. From my own experience, I know that my neck is in pretty bad shape from that car accident when I was 18. I have a reverse curve and I'm starting to get the tiniest bit of degeneration in there. But you know what,
my disc spaces still look good,
which is remarkable. That accident was over 20 years ago, and I know that chiropractic care has prevented faster degeneration.
Acupuncture as an Alternative for Arthritis
Acupuncture is gaining a lot of popularity
in the U.S. as an alternative for arthritis. Chinese medical practitioners use a combination of acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, lifestyle or dietary recommendations and exercises to restore imbalances found in the body, and each treatment is custom designed to individual symptoms.The principle behind acupuncture is that the body's energy systems, called meridians, are blocked. The goal of acupuncture treatment is to unblock the qi (pronounced chee), or the energy, providing you with pain relief and allowing the body to work properly and heal. I've had several patients who have used acupuncture with fantastic results, and many insurance policies cover it.
Diet as an Alternative for Arthritis
Diet can play an important role in a couple of different ways. First, if you are
overweight and have arthritis,
losing as little as 10% of your body weight can take pressure off your joints. This will give you relief and slow down the progression of the disease, especially if you get down to and maintain a healthier weight. To see how low glycemic eating can help you shed unwanted pounds, fill out the form below, and you can try my low glycemic eating plan for a week, free.
The other way food can help is that some foods, like fatty fish and pineapple or papaya, are actually
anti-inflammatory.
In the case of fish oils, they are used by the body to decrease inflammation. In the case of pineapple, there are enzymes in it that work to decrease the swelling, and may even help with pain. I'm not going to go into details here right now as to how these foods help. I'm sure I'll write a separate page about that eventually, so check back.
Infrared Laser Therapy as an Alternative for Arthritis
I've had such great success with
Class IV Laser therapy
and severe arthritis cases that I really hope you look into this to find a practitioner in your area.Patients are getting relief from their pain and swelling in as little as 3 visits. Many people say their pain drops over 50%, even when their activity levels increase. Laser therapy works equally well on knees, hips, and spinal arthritis. Depending on the severity of the case, we're getting temporary relief of a few days all the way to near resolution of pain for several weeks.
Follow this link to find out how laser therapy works.
To read and see patient testimonials on their experiences with laser therapy,
just click this link.
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