Is It Worth Accepting an Ancient Chinese Remedy For Arthritis Pain?

Millions of Americans suffer from arthritis; the most common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Both of these forms, as well as more uncommon ones such as fibromyalgia, result in debilitating pain, stiffness, loss of mobility, and in the case of rheumatoid arthritis, redness, swelling in multiple joints, and tenderness of the affected joints. Arthritis can be a disabling disease, and the disability becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: moving causes pain, so the patient stops moving as much, and consequently it becomes harder and harder to move at all, resulting in a partial or total disability.

Arthritis
Arthritis is the disease defined by chronic joint inflammation, scarring, cartilage loss, drying up of the synovial fluids, swelling, stiffness, tenderness, and pain. Severe pain. There are currently one hundred known forms of the disease, with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis being the most common. Osteoarthritis is associated with aging; the wear and tear on joints as we move gradually wears away cartilage and dries up the synovial fluid. Osteoarthritis generally occurs after age 50, but it can have an early onset if a joint is injured or suffers an infection. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder; the immune system goes haywire, and the body attacks the joint tissue as a foreign invader. Rheumatoid arthritis attacks joints bilaterally; osteoarthritis generally affects one side of the body, but rheumatoid arthritis will affect the joints in pairs. Fibromyalgia is also a form of arthritis; it is characterized by chronic, intense pain over the entire body, with muscles in continuous spasm. Fibromyalgia is also an autoimmune disorder. The causes of arthritis are not known, and there is no known cure in the Western medical world.

Ancient Chinese Medicine, or Traditional Chinese Medicine
Arthritis is not a new condition; it has existed for as long as humans, so the ancient Chinese medical practitioners developed natural treatments to both prevent it from occurring and to relieve it if a patient did develop the condition. Ancient Chinese practitioners would often develop custom therapies for patients, as arthritis can be as individual as the person suffering from arthritis, but over time they developed thirty-one common treatments very effective against the disease. Ancient Chinese Medicine, or Traditional Chinese Medicine, is based on natural plants and herbs, and on therapies such as acupuncture. Acupuncture relies on the concept of blocking or unblocking Qi. The Chinese consider the body to have energy meridians, and disease results from blood or Qi being blocked along meridians. Using needles, the Chinese practitioner blocks the flow along one meridian or set of meridians, or unblocks another meridian or set of meridians, to balance the flow of blood and Qi. Whether or not you accept the philosophy behind acupuncture, it has been proven to be effective as a treatment option.

Well, this depends on the individual involved. If a person is totally allopathic-based, he or she would most likely consider an ancient Chinese remedy to be quackery, even though there are thousands of years of effectiveness behind the therapy. If the individual is open-minded, and suffers from arthritis pain, he or she may be open to the idea. An individual committed to an alternative form of medical therapy would embrace the idea, no questions asked. Anyone suffering from arthritis joint pain should seriously consider trying arthritis remedies from Traditional Chinese Medicine. Allopathic studies have proven the effectiveness of these remedies, most specifically the remedy based on 'thunder god vine.' This remedy was compared to methotrexate, to determine which was more effective on rheumatoid arthritis. Interestingly, a combination of the two was found to be the most effective, but thunder god vine by itself was proven more effective than methotrexate alone. This is a case where integrative medicine was proven more effective than allopathic alone or alternative alone, although the alternative was more effective by itself than the allopathic.

Is it worth trying? Anyone in arthritis pain is looking for something to relieve it, preferably without a lot of unpleasant side effects. It makes sense, therefore, for the patient to look at all options available to them in the quest for relief. TCM should not be tried by an individual; it requires the knowledge of a TCM provider, much as allopathic medicine requires the assistance of a doctor. There are many treatments in both disciplines you can try on your own, but you need to be aware of drug interactions and side effects, and you will need to gain this knowledge from a certified practitioner. So the answer is yes - it is worth trying. Anything relieving pain from a chronic disease is worth a look.

Could Losing Weight Causes Arthritis Pain?

While there has been much research done regarding weight gain and the different causes of it, arthritis and weight gain tend to have a not-so-friendly relationship. This phenomenon of weight gain and arthritis is much like the chicken and the egg theory. Which comes first? Well, while research is not readily available to suggest outright that arthritis causes weight gain, there are some theories that having arthritis can lead to weight gain due to other possible risk factors.

Listed here are some of the causes of weight gain associated with arthritis:

Medications - The most commonly prescribed medications by physicians for arthritis are corticosteroids which, like all medications, have side effects. Two of the side effects of corticosteroids are weight gain and swelling of the fingers, hands, feet and the lower legs. (http://www.drugs.com/sfx/prednisone-side-effects.html) So, if you see an increase of the digits on the scale while taking this type of medication that could be why.

Depression - As we know depression is a comorbidity associated with any disease process that causes pain and can lead to weight gain and rheumatoid arthritis problems as well.

Decrease in physical activity & exercise - Because of the pain that arthritis can bring, many people who suffer from arthritis tend to become less physically active which will inevitably increase weight and also add more stress to already-stressed joints.

So what is a person to do when they are faced with this challenge and is there any hope for warding off the pounds?

Listed below are some different ways to deal with weight gain associated with arthritis:

Get up and get moving! - While exercising & physical activity is the most obvious answer to weight gain, it is not always the most used by people with arthritis due to the pain that they feel is associated with doing so. Research has shown that exercising actually increases your overall cartilage and joint health which can decrease the levels of pain you may be experiencing.

(https://www.rheumatology.org/Practice/Clinical/Patients/Diseases_And_Conditions/Exercise_and_Arthritis/)

Be social - Since being alone will increase your chances of becoming depressed, being around people will significantly increase your chances of feeling good. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2860146/) Social events can include anything from taking a walk in the park with a friend to visiting your local library and joining a reading club. Having someone to talk to will move you in the right direction with alleviating some of the symptoms of depression and will further reduce your chances of unplanned weight gain.

Eat clean- Here's another of the obvious things you can do to decrease your chances of weight gain. Eating a healthier diet filled with fruits and vegetables will cause your body to respond positively to them and curb cravings that you may feel. (http://www.livestrong.com/healthy-eating/) Eating a diet rich in nutrients that your body needs will not only help you dieting losing weight but also will make you feel better overall.

Gaining weight does not have to be inevitable for you. If you feel that you have no other outlets or have no motivation to do any of the things listed here, be sure to find support groups who can you along your journey. Remember, you're not the only person that has dealt with these issues and there are plenty of ways around gaining unplanned weight. You're encouraged to consult your physician if you have any questions concerning your health as he/she can help to further lead you in the right direction

How to overcome the Back Pain

Back pain is common joint drawback happens in everybody in their life time. You can observe daily and arises from the muscles, bones, nerves and joints that area unit connected to the neural structure. Until and unless you had a serious drawback within the pain your doctor can’t offer main treatment rather provide some drugs prescription? In the major treatment s you can’t expect the life as earlier however you’ll be free from the joint discomfort.

Back pain causes incorrect lifting, lifting an object which is too heavy for you, lifting from stooped/bent over posture (lifting with backs and not with legs), doing more work without rest, sitting hours and hours continuously in front of the computer, muscle strain, aching muscles, etc. The main thing of back pain is due to inflammation levels within the body that lasts for few months. If you are facing the back pain for the particular reason and you need to get recover.

Back Pain – Prevention

Well… don’t do the above things listed. You will have heard before, keep a straight back, lift with your legs, and keep your back in its natural position. Ice pack as a treatment for back pain, the correct way to apply ice pack or ice cubes wrapped in a towel or plastic bag is to apply it on the back for 15 minutes and take it off for the next 25 minutes and then apply. Repeat this process until you are ease.

Don’t sit in front of the computer hours and hours continuously. The best way to avoid back pain if you use a computer a lot is to get up and move around frequently. Take stretching breaks every one hour to two hours, if you can.

Stimtein Reviewed – How Safe and Effective Is This Product?

Stimtein is one of the best joint pain reliever for better healthy joints. It helps in providing the nutrition and proteins to the joints for bone activation. It is totally designed with the bone activating proteins. It contains the official website with very less information in it. Generally consumers look for the reviews or testimonials in the site which are not seen in it. But it has a testimonial of a video presentation. The details in the website are overstating with an unprofessional look. The product company was very confident in giving statements about the pain relieving formula and offering a money back guarantee program for 60-days.

Functioning of Stimtein:

There were various joint conditions which vary from every individual in the world. Stimtein generally functions on the conditions caused by the rheumatoid arthritis in support of the nutrition and flexible movement in the joints. It also functions on building the cartilage for healthy joints and providing the bone initiating tissue proteins to the bones.  It also reduces the inflammation levels in the body. 

Ingredients:

It was not shown the details of the ingredients either in the website or on the label. It is totally uses the “morphogenetic proteins” which are generally known as the bone activation proteins.The official website doesn’t provide any information but states that the bone activating proteins helps in rebuilding the strong cartilage to the joints, decreasing the inflammation, to create the bone tissue and reducing the tenderness. It states all these as the primary components of the product.

Positives:

         It contains the official website

         It has a money back guarantee program for 60 days

         Helps in initiating the new bone cartilage.

Negatives:

         Ingredients list is not provided

         Official website was not professional

         Website doesn’t contain the adequate information

         Samples are not available

         Product is very expensive

         There are no reviews on the web in positive to Stimtein

Dosage:

The dosage instructions are not mentioned in the website. But it can serve by taking 3 capsules in a day.

Conclusion:

With the research done on the web, the ingredients in the product Stimtein individually can’t provide the effective joint pain health. There is no single ingredient to state for a particular treatment in the joint problems. It is all because it doesn’t contain the individual products and proven components embedded in it.

Massage for Relief from Arthritis Pain

An effective program aiming at providing symptomatic stabilization of arthritic condition requires a good blend of pharmacotherapy and physiotherapy. For people looking to pacify the functionally limiting joints pain, massage therapy is known to offer substantial and sustainable relief. In addition to easing pain and reducing disability, massage therapy is thought to speed up relief from arthritis pain. Massage therapy has been in use for getting relief from arthritis pain since ages and evidences exist in primitive literature about its vast use in such conditions.

By gentle kneading, careful rubbing, and calculative maneuvering of muscles and tissues, massage therapists aim to promote the restoring of dynamic circulation of the body’s joints and tissues, thus causing healing and relaxation. Although no concrete scientific evidence has surfaced about how massage therapy might help alleviate low back pain, its thought that massage may put a stop to pain signals sent to the brain and stimulate the brain's release of pain-reducing chemicals. Almost all the users claim immediate relief from arthritis pain when resorted to massage therapy, though the effects may soon disappear in some cases. Although research on massage therapy's effectiveness in treatment of back pain is somewhat limited, a number of studies have showed positive findings.

As of now, there are not many studies available which look in to the potential efficacy and effectiveness of massage therapy in providing relief from arthritis pain. However, two studies included in the 2009 review did compare two different massage techniques: One study deduced that acupuncture massage provided superior results than Swedish massage, while the other showed that Thai massage produced near similar results to Swedish massage. In the current scope, these studies do not provide a definite mandate to follow. In a research review published in 2009, 13 clinical trials were done and it was and found that massage might benefit patients with low back pain, especially when the therapy is used in combination with other therapeutic modes in synergy. The most positive finding of these scientific studies was that review's authors found that the beneficial effects of massage in providing relief from arthritis pain lasted at least one year after treatment had ended.

These days, many speculations have arisen over the effectiveness of massage therapy in joint pain conditions. In clinical practice guidelines developed by the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians, massage therapy is listed as one of the alternative therapies to mull over when relief from arthritis is not derived from conventional treatment. You must talk to your doctor in details about how to integrate massage therapy into your treatment program. It is important to have a precise idea of its scope, limitations and potential benefits. Your doctor will help you determine whether you are a good candidate for massage therapy for getting relief from arthritis pain.