You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that when you have rising damp in your home, you must find the cause of the problem to effect a cure. Okay, papering or painting over the dampness will make it disappear for a short while. However, unless the foundations of your home are checked and the problem fixed the dampness will always return – often worse than ever! And so it is with arthritis. Sure…the vast array of pain-killing drugs we have at our disposal will take away or diminish the pain. Sadly, however, they will not stop the ongoing destruction that is taking place as we live in the pain-free false paradise. .
Ask any allopathic (conventional) doctor or specialist and he will probably tell you that the cause of arthritis is unknown. Furthermore, he may also tell you that it is incurable. Certainly, when joint tissue is very badly worn and damaged, it is difficult to hold out much hope – if any!
Although millions of dollars have been spent on scientific research into the cause and treatment of arthritis, it seems that we are no nearer to finding the answer. However, the good news is that in the field of complimentary medicine there is a great deal of hope. This is not only based on the distinct possibility of a future breakthrough but the vast amount of evidence accumulated over many years. From this evidence, it can be seen that natural, complimentary methods can often produce quite remarkable results
One day, as I was about to explain arthritis to a patient, he exclaimed “I don’t really care what arthritis is…all I do know is that it’s darned painful!”.
Even though I knew all too well what he meant, I felt that he should know just what it was he was suffering from and what was the likely cause, based on our present knowledge.
First of all, let us take a look at the early symptoms of arthritis. This is important because if we knew that the following symptoms could point to the onset of the disease a great deal of pain, misery and suffering could well be avoided by way of early treatment.
Although there are a variety of ways in which arthritis manifests itself. I have listed some of the more common, early-onset symptoms:
A general feeling of weakness. This is often associated with the lack of co-ordination between joints and muscles when lifting an object or
2. pulling at something.
A feeling of not being able to put your feet properly on the ground at times.
Not having the physical power to perform tasks we used to think nothing about doing
Being just as tired in the morning as we felt when going to bed (this can also be caused by other unrelated factors).
Pains in knees, various joints and lower back.
Stiffness when rising from a kneeling or sitting position.
A sensation of tingling in fingertips and hands.
Stiffening and pains in joint(s).
Tenderness and swelling in one or more joints.
Restricted joint movement.
Unexplained weight loss (Can also be due to other problems).
Our present-day knowledge of how the mind can affect the body (psychosomatic) points to the possibility that STRESS could be one of the causes of arthritis.
Although stress may be the in-word these days, it has been a part of life since the beginning of man. There can be little doubt that early man suffered a form of stress when searching for food to stay alive. Indeed, his plight was really no different from that which we experience today in our constant struggle to keep our heads above water
There are many factors which affect us in the stressful, modern-day world in which we live. The fact of the matter is that much of our stress is avoidable. To take away a great deal of the stress that afflicts us requires two main ingredients – SELF-DISCIPLINE and POSITIVE THINKING. Always remember, it is of the utmost importance we learn to tackle stress head on and beat it to avoid damaging our health in the short or long term, or to retard the progress of arthritis
It could be said that there are two kinds of stress – healthy stress and unhealthy stress. Indeed, life would be somewhat dull without a certain amount of stress, it keeps us on our metal and up to scratch. It is when our stress becomes too much to handle and prolonged that we find
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ourselves in deep water. Now, our healthy and almost enjoyable stress has changed from friend to foe, endangering not only our mental but physical well-being.
Basically speaking, it is not the stress that causes the problem, it is how we handle it. Some folks handle it better than others. Those who seem to sail through a stressful period never seem to notice they are under stress. Indeed, I have known people who actually enjoy it. Strange as it may seem, it could be said that they become stressed when they haven’t got it!
Positive thinking is one of the best ways of avoiding too much stress. Never imagine a problem unless it is ‘factually’ in front of you. Then, and only then, do you think it over, reach a firm conclusion and take ‘positive’ action. Having done so, there is nothing more you can do and you move on. The best way to deal with stress is a positive approach to life. You can only deal with a factual problem, you cannot deal with a problem that isn’t there or one that is a figment of your imagination. Just think about it for a moment, is it not a sheer waste of mental energy crossing a bridge that you may never come to?
In my practice, almost on a daily basis, I see patients who suffer from the physical effects of self-inflicted stress. Stomach ulcers, high blood pressure, skin complaints, asthma, cancer and ARTHRITIS, to name but a few.
Now that you have some idea about how chronic stress can affect us physically, let us delve deeper into what happens inside our body when we suffer from such stress – the physical process that makes us ill.
Any amount of stress affects the pituitary gland which is situated at the base of the brain. When stress (danger signals) arrive at the gland it releases a hormone which quickly travels around the blood until it reaches the adrenals, two small glands situated on our kidneys, in the middle or small of our back. As soon as the adrenals receive this hormone, they release their own hormones, the main one being cortisol, also known as cortisone.
The nervous system also issues a multitude of messages and the hormone, adrenaline, is quickly released into the bloodstream. Now, the whole body knows it is under threat, it is in a state of ‘red’ alert.
This dramatic bodily state releases sugar reserves which pour into the bloodstream, supplying bodily fuel for immediate use. Fats and protein are also broken down to supply more energy for our muscles and nerves. Blood pressure rises to enable oxygen, calcium and sugar to
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travel more quickly to the limbs and tissue. This is the process of self-preservation. It also enables us to lift amazing weights and perform courageous deeds in an emergency. Strangely, when our body is in such a state, previous signs of stiffness, pain and inflammation completely disappear!
Now, the threat is over, our body steadily comes back to normal. Blood pressure reaches normality, cells are repaired and the depleted calcium in our bones is replaced. Any aches and pains we suffered from before the bodily emergency have returned. Sadly, this stress - induced emergency has not been won without cost. Our bodily reserves will be depleted and extra nutrients will be required to make up for the loss. The problem is that most people who suffer from chronic stress are not aware that extra vitamins, minerals, fats, protein and carbohydrates are required to top up those that have been lost. If this depletion of nutrients continues, chronic illness is just around the corner!
If the bones are continually leached and deprived of calcium by way of chronic stress and/or poor diet, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that they will bend or break in time. To maintain a balance of calcium, the body continuously moves it between blood and bone. For example, a parathyroid hormone takes calcium from our bones when the level of blood calcium drops. Conversely, Calcitonin (a thyroid gland hormone) puts calcium back into our bones. This ongoing process requires our body to have a regular supply of vitamins so that we can absorb calcium from our food and also help our bones to mineralise.
To take this a step further, we must realise that the amount of calcium in the body is very delicately balanced. A common sign of low blood calcium is muscle spasm, although there may be other reasons for this condition. Prolonged stress causes a considerable heightening of blood calcium which, left unchecked, may cause calcium to be deposited in muscles, joints, tissue and arteries. It is because of these basic physiological factors that STRESS must be considered as one of the main triggers (causes) of arthritis
That arthritis and other chronic complaints can be hereditary is almost beyond doubt. However, although a great deal of research has and is being carried out, the particular gene(s) that are missing or present to make some families prone to such ailments has not been discovered, to date.
A further question that has to be asked is whether a certain genetic structure causes a person to succumb to the physical effects of stress more readily than the person who does not possess a genetic flaw? From this question there are more questions, all of them making it more and more difficult to resolve the initial problem.
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James Keith is a psychologist and nutritional therapist who for the past 40 years has specialized in the natural treatment of arthritis, rheumatism and other chronic joint and skin problems. Weight maintenance and loss by natural methods are also covered by James' unique treatment methods.
