arthritis

When you visit the doctor for your arthritis pain, you may be prescribed medications to help with the symptoms and any other discomforts. The downside to most drugs for arthritis is that they can be harsh on your system, causing other physical discomforts in spite of your arthritis pain.

For those who wish to avoid upset stomachs, dry mouth, and other unpleasant side effects, there are natural medicines to try that can help with your arthritis while being gentle on your system.

Alternative medicines are often those that try to treat the whole body rather than just the condition, and they can be used in conjunction with other modern medications. Learn more about these natural medicine options so you and your doctor can create a new treatment plan that will help you feel better and manage your symptoms successfully.

What Is Arthritis?

If you’re unsure whether or not you have arthritis, it is important to understand exactly what this condition entails. Arthritis is defined as an inflammatory disease that targets the joints, or where two bones meet.

While this definition of arthritis is accurate, the type of arthritis you have may vary. There are more than100 different forms of arthritis that can plague the body.

Many people think of arthritis as only affecting the joints in the hands and making writing driving, and many other activities difficult. In actuality, however, arthritis is also common in the knees, shoulders, elbows, ankles, and other major joint areas.

Natural Medicines and Remedies

In addition to natural medicines, there are many natural remedies and practices you can do to help alleviate the pain associated with arthritis. These include the following:

Lose Weight: For many Americans, their arthritis pain can become exacerbated when they’re carrying a lot of weight. Women often carry their weight around their midsection and thighs while men tend to carry theirs in their torso and midsection. Due to the distribution of weight, they may be adding strain to certain joints and causing pain and prolonged arthritis symptoms. By exercising for at least 20 minutes a few times a week, you can combat the pain naturally and help yourself get into shape.

Hot and Cold Therapy: The pain of arthritis can be alleviated with temperature. Similar to relaxing sore muscles with a warm bath, taking a warm or cold shower can help ease the pain in your joints using nothing but temperature. Warm showers and baths can ease stiffness in the morning while cold treatments are exceptional for relieving stubborn joint pain.

Acupuncture: This ancient Chinese treatment includes gently pressing thin needles into certain points on the body. Usually situated around pressure points, acupuncture is designed to help re-direct energy in your body to restore balance.

Meditation: This medicine takes the idea of “mind over matter” and puts it to work. By meditating you are practicing mindfulness, which helps you to redirect your focus from the pain to something more relaxing. While this is helpful for some patients, it might not be for everyone. This medicine is best practiced alongside other modern medications.

Massage Therapy: Massaging arthritic joints regularly can help to reduce the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis. Massage therapy can also help you to improve your flexibility and range of motion. Investing in a massage therapist can work wonders on your body and alleviate your pain so you can get through your day and your week without being weighed down by your symptoms.

Herbal Treatments: Stiffness, pain, soreness and other symptoms of arthritis can be combated with certain herbal supplements. Some people may be deficient of some herbs, vitamins, and minerals, so adding these back into your diet can help stop the pain and discomfort of arthritis. Visit your doctor to get more information of what herbs you may need to naturally aid your symptoms.

There are many nutritional supplements that have proven to help ease the pain of Arthritis, and one of the newest ones making the scene is the Goji Berry (also called wolfberries). Goji Berries are typically grown in the Tibetan Himalayas, but it can be found in Health Food Stores online and offline. The berries are produced chemical and contaminant-free and cannot be touched by hands during processing or they will lose some of their nutritional benefits. They must be harvested by just shaking them off the branches.

Goji Berries contain 21 trace minerals, 19 amino acids, Vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, and E. They contain more anti-oxidant power than any other known food source. They have 500 times more Vitamin C than oranges. The Berries are sweet in taste and neutral in nature. They can be eaten raw, or consumed as juice, tea or wine. You can find them in various forms in health food stores, such as teas, pure goji berry juice, goji berry extract in capsules, goji berry crunch bars and granola cereals with goji berries in them.

These Berries have played an important role in traditional Chinese medicine for many years. They are believed to enhance the immune system, ease arthritis pain, improve eyesight, protect the liver, and improve circulation, cancer-fighting benefits just to name a few of the beneficial effects. Their anti-inflammatory benefits are helpful in many ways including arthritic pain since their is inflammation associated with the disease.

One thing to keep in mind when using any kind of herbal remedy or even other treatments, you may not see results right a way or you may get some results but not see the full benefits of the supplement for a few weeks or months. Results can vary because each individual is different, but the same can be true for synthetic drugs as well. However using natural herbal treatments rarely produce the harmful side effects that prescription drugs do.

While you may decide to use Goji Berries for Arthritis, you may notice other benefits as well, such as an overall feeling of well-being, anti-cancer and anti-aging benefits, more energy, increased sex drive, weight loss, look younger, better eyesight, lower blood pressure, lower sugar levels, lower cholesterol, better kidney and liver function and even slows hairs loss. It has been talked about on such shows as Oprah and many celebrities swear by it. Everyone is wondering if this is the fountain of youth we all seek!