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Information About Arthritis

Arthritis is something that we have all heard of, but is something that most people associate with old age. Fortunately for most, it is a disease that primarily strikes our senior population. Unfortunately, as the average life expectancy increases, the amount of people getting some form of this disease increases.

For the lucky, this is a disease that they will never have to face. As baby boomers age, however, the active lives that they have led make them prime candidates for getting arthritis. Why do you ask? Well, arthritis is basically defined as damage to the joints of the body.

For those who have lead an active life, biking, running, skiing, hiking, golfing, and playing almost any sport, you have been stressing your joints for years. It is only a matter of time before your past catches up with you.

So What Can You Do?

Can anything be done to prevent this from occurring? There are things that you can do if you have not already started to feel joint pain. The best advice we could give is to minimize the stress on your joints.

Many physical activities such as biking, golfing, and hiking do not stress the joints as much as other activities. You need your exercise, but try to find routines that aren’t as stressful to your joints.

Once you start to experience pain, your options of eliminating the problem are reduced. You can stop all physical activity, but that is neither practical nor prudent. You can take medication, which will help, but medicating for a long period of time is not healthy and generally will reduce the effectiveness of that medication on your body.

Arthritis is essentially defined as damage to the joints of the body and is the number one disability in people over 55 years old. Most of the time, the body responds to the joint damage with inflammation (your bodies automatic response).

Along with the inflammation comes pain. These two items, inflammation and pain, are the reasons why arthritis is so debilitating. The inflammation limits agility and movement and the pain…well it is pain.

There are several different forms of this disease, each being caused by different things. The two most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Other, less common forms include juvenile idiopathic arthritis, gout, psoriatic arthritis, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, and septic arthritis.

Types of Arthritis

Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis affecting over 21 million Americans. This form of arthritis is mostly associated with age, but it not exclusively found in the senior population.

This form of arthritis is caused by wear and tear to the joints. The healthy joint is protected by cartilage and fluids. As we stress our joints, we break down this cartilage and fluid. As it breaks down, the bones have less protection and start to “rub” against each other. This rubbing will manifest itself in the form of inflammation and pain.

This breaking down of cartilage and fluids does not occur over night…it takes time. This is why this disease is most commonly associated with the senior population. They have had the most amount of stress on there joints. It is often found in younger people, but these people have applied the same amount of stress to their joints, but it just took them less time to do so.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease that generally causes inflammation and tissue damage in your joints. It is usually associated with a reduction in mobility to the effected joints and an increase in pain to the effected joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is the second most common form of arthritis and affects 1.3 million Americans.

Is There An Alternative?

There are a few other, more natural way of easing the symptoms of arthritis. One of these other ways is through herbal supplements. For thousands of years, cultures have been dealing with a variety of health issues thought the use of roots, plants, and herbs. It is only recently that pharmaceuticals have taken over as the number one technique for addressing diseases. And why not, they are a quick easy solution to a problem.

Interestingly enough, many of these pharmaceuticals are based on the herbal solutions that have been used for thousands of years. So wouldn’t it be easier to eliminate the perscription drub and go right to the source to help with the disease.

So which herbs should you be looking for? One of the herbs that has been found to help with the symptoms of arthritis is uncaria tomentosa (cat’s claw). Cat’s claw is found in the rain forests of the Amazon and is known as a superb immune system booster and a strong anti-oxidant.

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