What causes arthritis and how can it be prevented and/or treated?
Arthritis warns us that our body is overwhelmingly burdened. Environment and genetics both play a role in how our body reacts to this inflammatory burden. For many of us, a state of chronic inflammation may be silent until a trigger event ignites pain and awareness of the disease. Some of the common causes of chronic inflammation are hormonal imbalance, excessive stress load, food allergies, leaky gut, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and nutritional deficiencies of nutrients such as omega-3, fatty acid, vitamin D, and calcium.
There are two main forms of arthritis—Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Osteoarthritis is commonly referred to as wear and tear arthritis. It occurs in the large joints of the body such as the knees, hips, spine, and hands. Some of the common symptoms are joint stiffness (especially in the morning), limitation and instability of movement, deformity of joints, mobility restriction, and eventual disability. Osteoarthritis usually only affects a few joints and does not spread to other parts of the body.
Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, involves more than 5 joints at the same time, and it always involves symmetrical joints. It is a chronic inflammatory process that is triggered by one’s own immune system. High levels of inflammatory proteins that are released by the immune system cause joint space swelling, inflammation, and eventual destruction of the bone. Eventually, this inflammatory process can affect other organs such as the lungs, heart, blood vessels, and kidneys. Inevitable risk factors for rheumatoid arthritis are genetic markers that one can inherit from a parent. However, other risk factors are drinking decaffeinated and caffeinated coffee, smoking, stress, and infections. Symptoms include swelling around the affected joints and tissue, deformity of the joint, stiffness and disability.
Because all forms of arthritis are known to be inflammatory, modern medical treatments are geared to decrease the inflammation in the joint or to decrease the immune system’s reaction towards the inflammation. Both treatments may bring about mild or complete symptom relief, but the underlying cause continues to burn in the background.
Since our body is connected to multiple organs and body parts, the health of our bones is connected to the rest of our body as well. After all, bones produce blood and immune cells that pulse and travel throughout the entire body. Thus, those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk to develop other diseases that affect the rest of the body as well.
Likewise, in order to have healthy bones, it is necessary to aim for a healthy body. By adopting a low inflammatory life style, we not only reduce our own chances of future arthritic pains but also improve the genetic information we will pass down to future generations.
We live in a toxic world, but all hope is not lost. We can find better options to make our diet and home healthier and less toxic. By God’s grace we can also use natural remedies and a dynamic faith in His power to maintain our health and reverse disease. These options are what we will be talking about in the next few installments.