Systemic Disease

Arthritis is a disease of the whole body (a systemic disease) that is most dramatically seen in the joints. The word "arthritis" may include more than 100 conditions, many that were formerly known as "rheumatism." Very few people with arthritis are crippled. In fact, arthritics may have the condition for many years, even decades, and never know it! You may have some arthritis right now.

Osteoarthritis (OA)

Osteoarthritis or OA, also called degenerative joint disease, is the most common arthritis of all; almost everyone over the age of 50 has a touch of it. As one text says: "It is almost as inevitable...as graying of the hair." In many people it causes pain, and in some it causes partial or even total incapacitation.

OA is considered the result of too much spinal stress that creates wear and tear on the joints. It's often a sign that the spinal column is unbalanced. Bone growths called "lipping" and "spurring," which are the signs of OA, may be a body defense-the body is trying to strengthen an area by building up more bone. Sometimes the bony growth may compress nerves, cause pain and affect the health of internal organs.

Chiropractors have for years claimed that chiropractic care can reverse some of the effects of osteoarthritis-something previously considered impossible:

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)

This is the crippler that can destroy joints and affect the heart, blood vessels, eyes, skin, muscles and other organs. It's accompanied by fatigue, weight loss and acute pain. It often appears suddenly in someone in their 30s or 40s-it may disappear just as suddenly! No one seems to know what causes it or why some recover and others do not. The best medical care can provide is physical therapy such as hot water baths and drugs for the pain and inflammation.

Growing evidence has led many researchers to believe that RA is an immune system (autoimmune) disease; the body is attacking itself because the immune system is malfunctioning.

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

This is similar to adult RA except it occurs in children. In over half the cases the disease simply disappears. In less than one-sixth of the cases, there is severe disability. Again, no one knows its cause, cure, treatment, how it comes about or why it disappears in so many cases. Its cause is being linked by some to childhood vaccinations.

There now exists a growing theoretical concern which links vaccinations to the huge increase in recent decades of auto- immune diseases, e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, lymphoma and leukemia.

Some Other Types Of Arthritis

Marie-Strumpell disease or ankylosing spondylitis is a form of rheumatoid arthritis that can fuse the spine! A chiropractor analyzed the skeleton of a victim of this disease and showed severe misalignments that were preserved in death in the fused joints!'

Gout is an arthritis characterized by chemical crystals deposited in the large toe but it can spread to other joints. We should not get too hung upon the names of different forms of arthritis, as one researcher cautions us: "Too many doctors... spend wasted time naming the patient's rheumatic diseases More time should be spent on conducting chiropractic analysis to identify subluxations...and carefully research a patient's history to uncover personal habits that may have contributed to the development of the condition."

The Medical Approach To Arthritis

The medical profession offers no cure for arthritis; the underlying cause is unknown. Therefore treatment of symptoms-a lifetime of taking drugs, heat, hot packs or exercises in warm water and similar treatments---are suggested. If a joint becomes severely deteriorated, then surgery may be considered.

Aspirin, while it may reduce pain, stiffness and inflammation, often requires eight to 24 tablets a day and can cause stomach irritation, bleeding and ulcers. Drugs such as Tylenol, Indocin, Advil and Naprosyn can cause kidney damage and hemorrhage of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum and small intestine. Approximately 10,000 arthritic sufferers die every year from the gastrointestinal complications of various arthritis drugs.

Steroids, with prolonged use, may cause thinning and weakening of the bones. Gold salts may cause skin rashes and mouth ulcers.

Robert Mendelsohn, M.D. cautioned people to be wary of new arthritis drugs, "The longer a drug is on the market, the more will be known about its side effects..."

This occurred when Oraflex went on the market. It was removed from the market in the same year by its manufacturer, Eli Lily, after 73 deaths from the drug were reported.

The Chiropractic Approach

Chiropractic is not a treatment for arthritis, but if you have arthritis you must have your spine checked for vertebral subluxations by a chiropractor. Vertebral subluxations weaken your nervous system, stress the immune system, put the body in a weakened state and can set the stage for sicknesses and diseases of all kinds-arthritis included. Chiropractors are specially trained to locate and free the body from vertebral subluxations.

For over a century, chiropractors have observed positive changes and improvement in arthritis in many of their arthritic patients.

Conclusion

Chiropractic teaches us to respect and work with the natural wisdom of the body and to improve our health by removing interferences to normal body function. Along with removing vertebral subluxations, you may need to change your eating habits, lose weight, quit smoking, exercise and deal with emotional stress differently. Search out the most natural, conservative methods before submitting to more dangerous (drug and medical) care. The body has a wisdom that far exceeds our own. It can cure diseases that have no known cure. It has done so in arthritis cases where the disease simply disappears.