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Alternative Medicine for Arthritis
What works?
Although when we talk about arthritis we normally picture an old women bent and crippled with swollen joints, the truth is, arthritis is not an ailment of the old folks. It can affect any of us, young or old.
At Oohoi, we personally feel that arthritis patients are very unfortunate to be subjected to dangerous symptom suppressing drugs because of the disease. The sad thing is these medicines do not cure arthritis, but they mainly suppress the symptom.
Can alternative medicine for arthritis help cure it? We review medical literature to see if there’s any alternative medicine for arthritis patients.
Change your Diets
A vast majority of patients suffering from arthritis are also in poor health. They normally experience fatigue, anxiety, stomach problems, constipation, diarrhea and so on. To cure arthritis, a patient must look at the overall picture and tackle the problem at its core. Eat right! Eat more natural food and eliminate or significantly reduce processed food. The idea that arthritis and your stomach have close link is nothing new. Hippocrates (the father of modern medicine) and Galen believed that the gastrointestinal tract has influence on the development of rheumatic diseases.
At the same time, arthritis patients should eliminate or reduce significantly certain foods. Among these foods are grains, milk, nuts, beef, and egg. Exclusion of dairy products in the diet alone has been shown by many scientific studies to be able to reduce the pain.
Herbal Remedy
For Rheumatoid Arthritis: Gammalinolenic acid (exist in evening primrose and borage seed oils)
Is it effective for arthritis?
In Annals of Internal Medicine, Nov 93, gammalinolenic acid was reported to reduced the number of tender joints by 36% and has been concluded as beneficial in reducing arthritis pain.
Benefits of Celery
Is it effective for arthritis?
There have been claims that it is effective for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. We could not find any clinical studies on these though. It was claimed that patients experienced significant reduction from pain. Apart from having to go to the toilet more often (diuretic effect), no other side effect were reported. You must take it continuously however, since the claim reported that the pain comes back when celery extract is not used.
Our verdict? Worth a try. At least you know what you are taking! It’s safer than the pills prescribed by your doctors. We acknowledge that the Japanese have used celery to treat arthritis.
Other useful herbs
Devil's claw, avocado/soybean unsaponifiables, Phytodolor and capsaicin; and chondroitin, glucosamine, and SAMe.
If you don’t mind reading medical journals, this is one that talks about effect of herbs on arthritis (it’s a pdf file)
Magnetic Therapy
What is it?
Magnetic therapy is the use of magnet’s magnetic flux / magnetic field for healing.
Is it an effective alternative medicine for arthritis?
There have been several clinical studies on the use of magnets for certain type of arthritis. However, the results have been conflicting. There have been interesting results from the use of magnetic therapy for rheumatoid arthritis of the knee. We decline to give any verdict on the effectiveness of this therapy for arthritis but we acknowledge that some people have experienced significant pain reduction after using this therapy.
Benefit of Fasting
What is it?
Fasting is a way of depriving oneself from food. It is interesting to note that while fasting has only been seen as religious ritual, scientific studies have also provided assurance that depriving yourself from food will actually help the body. Naturopaths recommend fasting for a day in a month, even for healthy people. There have been claims that fasting is effective to treat certain condition and one of it is arthritis.
Is it an effective alternative medicine for arthritis ?
Numerous studies have been shown that fasting and vegetarian diet to be effective treatment for arthritis. A study published by University if Oslo, Norway reported that patients who fast and eat vegetarian diet for a year after the fast showed “a significant improvement in number of tender joints, Ritchie's articular index, number of swollen joints, pain score, duration of morning stiffness, grip strength, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and white blood cell count”. The study also concluded that this kind of dietary regimen to be useful to rheumatoid arthritis.
There are many types of fasting. Please get more information about it if you decide to try. Also look for a special fasting called Schroth cure.
Bee venom
What is it?
A traditional Oriental therapy where bee venom is injected into a patient’s body to reduce pains or cures certain type of disease
Is it an effective alternative medicine for arthritis?
Studies done in Seoul, Korea have shown that been venom injected at various acupuncture points help reduce arthritis pain dramatically. However, we need more conclusive evidence to suggest its effectiveness. The therapy is also not widely available for patients.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture involves the stimulation of specific points on the skin, usually by the insertion of needles. Traditional acupuncturists understand health in terms of a vital force or energy called ‘Qi’ (pronounced ‘chee’). They believe that when this particular force is blocked, diseases occur. Although modern medicine rejects the idea of Qi, they have found that acupuncture points do influence the state of other parts of the body
Is it an effective alternative medicine for arthritis?
Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective mainly in treating osteoarthritis of the knee.
In one study done at University of Maryland School of Medicine, arthritis patients treated by acupuncture experienced significant difference and no side effects were reported. The study concluded that acupuncture is an effective and safe therapy for patients with osteoarthritis of the knee
Our Final Words
Despite these encouraging findings keep your doctor informed if you decided to try any one of them. Take a great caution when taking herbal supplements. These herbs may interact with other drugs
If you are thinking of using any of these alternative medicines and would like to get a cheaper treatment, MedExpress Benefits discount card may help.
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