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Another in the famous series of webinars about the power of micro-current therapy (MCT). We explore the groundbreaking potential of the Avazzia microcurrent therapy device in our webinar, “Resolving Chronic Pain, Disease, and More Naturally.” Discover how this non-invasive technology stimulates the body’s natural healing processes, addresses inflammation, and offers a powerful alternative to traditional pain management.

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The general term “arthritis” is a label given to more than 100 conditions that worsen over time.  The two primary forms are rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).  You have joints from your head to your toes and arthritis can affect one area or several.

Approximately 54 million Americans suffer from arthritis.  In fact, it is leading cause of disability in the United States.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Facts

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that affects 1.3 million people in the United States.  Doctors do not know what causes it but triggers can be genetics, living conditions, lifestyle, a cold or flu, or an infection.  Your immune system mistakes healthy tissue for foreign “invaders,” turns on your body, and attacks it.

If you have it in one wrist, hand, knee, or foot, the body part on your other side is likely to be affected.  However, RA is systemic, which means it can affect organs and other tissues near the joints such as your cartilage, tendons, skin, eyes, heart, lungs, and muscles.

The joints of a person with RA are painful, swollen, stiff, and sometimes warm to the touch – especially first thing in the morning.  It can start in small joints like your fingers or toes but will gradually spread to larger areas such as the hips and shoulders.

This disease can affect anyone of any age and usually progresses rapidly.  Both genders are susceptible but there are more women diagnosed with RA than men.  The most common age for diagnosis is between 20 and 60 years of age but even small children are at risk.

Currently, more than 300,000 children have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

Symptoms unrelated to pain in the joints include feelings of fatigue that don’t abate no matter how much rest you get, anemia, unexplained weight loss, and you may consistently feel “under the weather.”

This disease raises your risk of heart attack, stroke, death due to infection, and clinical depression.  Within ten years of diagnosis, 60% of patients with RA are permanently disabled and unable to work.

Osteoarthritis Facts

It is caused by wear and tear or trauma to the musculoskeletal system such as crushed limbs, dislocations, and impact injuries.

OA is symbolized by deterioration of bone, increased fragility, and a higher risk of bone fractures or breaks.  In 1990, there were 1.7 million hip fractures.

It affects the most-used joints and it can take years to progress to a point where they are achy and stiff – especially in the morning.  When you move, bend, or twist, you may experience cracking or popping as well as a reduced range of motion over time.  Unlike RA, symptoms of osteoarthritis are localized to the affected area and there is very little or no swelling of the joints.

The most common joints affected are digits on the hands or feet or weight-bearing joints such as spine, hips, or knees.  Repetitive activity can also affect your wrists, elbows, shoulders, and neck.  Any place where two bones connect can sustain damage that leads to arthritis.

Most cases of this degenerative disease are diagnosed later in life unless you experience extreme stress to bones and joints in your youth.  Ultimately, 80% of those diagnosed with arthritis have limited mobility and more than 25% are unable to perform standard activities of daily life.

Get Arthritis Relief Naturally?

The standard drugs used to treat most forms of arthritis are unable to cure it.  To date, they only succeed in treating pain, lowering body-wide inflammation, and slowing the progression.

There are natural options that you should consider if you suffer from arthritis.

1. Eat foods that lower inflammation! Fatty fish such as salmon, turmeric, garlic and onions, green tea, olive or coconut oil, leafy greens, beets, tomatoes, berries, and nuts are all excellent foods for an anti-inflammatory diet.  Work to determine your personal inflammatory “triggers” and avoid them at all costs.
2. Losing weight will take much of the stress off weight-bearing joints.
3. Exercising regularly using low-impact methods will help to maintain flexibility and preserve muscle mass. Water aerobics and yoga are excellent forms of low-impact exercise.
4. Regular massage helps to decrease joint stiffness and relieve pain. Make sure you pick a therapist who specializes in patients with arthritis.
5. Alternating between hot and cold therapies in the morning or after physical activity loosens the joints and eases stiffness.

Acupuncture for Arthritis Relief

One of my favorite modalities for diseases that feature chronic pain is acupuncture.  A traditional Chinese medicine treatment, acupuncture is the placement of thin needles at meridians or energy sources (which are near nerve centers) within your body to correct imbalances.

Acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system to release endorphins, your body’s natural pain reliever.  The effect of these chemicals is similar to morphine.  An added benefit is that acupuncture boosts your body’s production of steroids, giving you a drug-free dose of natural chemicals with zero side effects.

The use of acupuncture to get real arthritis relief and ease other chronic pain conditions is gaining popularity and approval from the medical community at last.  It is a safe, sterile practice that is two thousand years old – with many success stories to back it up.

Natural relief of arthritis pain with acupuncture means that you will not build up a tolerance to the treatment as you do with pharmaceutical drugs.  It has been successfully proven to relieve the pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain due to accident or injury.

In one German study, more than 300,000 people with arthritis pain had a measurable decrease in their pain during three months of acupuncture sessions.  Relief lasted three months after sessions ended.

The Western world still utilizes acupuncture for arthritis relief as a stand-alone complimentary treatment with standard drugs but traditional acupuncture practitioners use it as part of regimen that includes diet, exercise, meditation, and dealing with the health of your whole body.

You Don’t Have to Live with Chronic Pain

You might not know how many natural options there are to treat your pain.  I urge you to pick up my book “Natural Pain Relief” right now and discover all the ways you can ease your pain, naturally improve your condition, and take back control of your life!

• Traditional healthcare is commonly referred to as “Western medicine” due to its use in the United States and Western Europe.  The treatments used are based on the use of drugs and surgery to treat symptoms (signs of illness).  

The practitioners of traditional medicine are deeply involved (right or wrong) with the pharmaceutical industry and clearly believe there is a perfect drug for every symptom.  

• Alternative medicine is also referred to as complimentary alternative medicine (CAM).  Practitioners emphasize treatment of the whole person (rather than the symptoms) through the use of education, prevention of disease, and holistic modalities.  

Some of the most well-known alternative treatments include nutritional guidance, acupuncture, aromatherapy, chiropractic care, herbal medicine, massage, meditation, therapeutic touch, and yoga.  There are many others.

Traditional Healthcare: Benefits and Drawbacks

Scientific evidence-based medicine uses the application of the scientific process to distinguish outcomes due to chance from outcomes that are reproducible and reliable.  Western medicine has been heavily researched over the past century and is ultimately considered steadfast for this reason.  

Those who are trained in medicine (myself included once upon a time) follow a strict set of protocols that are not intended to be “interpreted.”  Medical students are discouraged from thinking outside the box or questioning the medical knowledge being taught to them – no matter how nonsensical it may be.  

Traditional medicine treats a specific body part or symptom of a disease, which earns it criticism for neglecting the big picture of total body care.  Doctors prescribe medicine to control symptoms while they search for the root cause but one prescription leads to another.

For a patient with chronic illness, the root cause may be masked by pharmaceuticals so they never get better – they simply feel better.  

This is a false positive since the human body adapts to drugs and therapies quickly.  The moment the patient’s body adapts, they no longer feel better and the cycle is doomed to be repeated as their physician works his or her way through a catalog of pharmaceutical options.

The development of better diagnostic tools, safer surgical procedures, and post-operative care have minimized many of the most terrifying aspects of traditional healthcare.  

However, modern day reliance on laboratory tests and machines has caused many patients to sicken or even die as blatant issues were overlooked that didn’t present in lab work.

Alternative Therapies: Benefits and Drawbacks

Alternative medicine has been (rightly) criticized for lacking scientific-based evidence.  Modern practitioners of alternative medicine are finally transitioning to a more evidence-based approach but the damage to the credibility of the field will take years to recover.  

The major benefit of alternative therapies is the whole body approach.  Symptoms have a cause, a root source that needs to be discovered and resolved if possible.  That is the only thing that truly “cures” a patient of anything – finding out why they’re sick in the first place and stopping that malfunction.  

There is also heavy emphasis on preventing disease in the first place.  Within the framework of alternative/complementary medicine, patients are encouraged – even expected – to participate and take responsibility for their health.  Results are often dependent upon a patient’s willingness to change lifestyle habits that negatively affect their health.

Common sense protocols – diet, exercise, sleep, not smoking, not abusing drugs or alcohol, and so forth – are critical to physiological well-being as well as mental and emotional wellness.  

Blending Two Systems for Better Health

The benefits of alternative therapies are on the opposite end of the spectrum of traditional medicine modalities.  They too often run counter to one another while both receive criticism for what they’re lacking.  

Modern healthcare is slowly evolving and many of these changes are for the good.  

A new form of patient care known as integrative medicine blends the best of alternative and traditional treatments.  This system focuses on the ability of the body to heal itself but also places value on the patient/physician relationship.  

Integrative medicine uses a combination of conventional and complimentary techniques in order to facilitate healing in the best possible way.  Integrative practices are taught at most medical schools and several peer-reviewed studies have been done on the topic as well.

Integrative medicine combines the best of both health worlds for safe, efficient, and effective healthcare.  This is putting the patient first and accepting that drugs are not a “cure-all.”

Regardless of treatment, overall health is not a one-step process.  Your health – no matter which system you lean toward – depends heavily on your lifestyle choices.  Good habits and changes to your everyday behaviors can prevent disease, reduce the severity of a condition you already have, and can even place some chronic illnesses in remission.  

A healthy lifestyle drastically reduces your risk of disease.  It is your greatest defense against disease. The future of modern medicine relies on educating patients – and teaching children – that healthy choices each and every day lead to a longer and stronger life.  

The benefits of alternative therapies treating the whole body combined with the scientific evidence and technology of traditional medicine – truly the best both have to offer.  

Integrative medicine is facilitating traditional medicine’s shift to the prevention of disease rather than the treatment of disease.  Focusing on natural healthy living while using the best aspects of traditional and alternative therapy benefits creates a sustainable healthcare plan.

REFERENCES

http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/western-medicine  

http://health.cvs.com/GetContent.aspx?token=f75979d3-9c7c-4b16-af56-3e122a3f19e3&chunkiid=13500

http://www.foodmatters.tv/articles-1/conventional-vs-alternative-medicine-explained