Question
My wife suffers from the affliction of rheumatoid arthritis, hence I research to find a product or information which may be of assistance in this case. Thank you for your information.
Dr. Leia’s Answer
Dear Manfred, Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful condition which seems to affect women more than men, and usually involves multiple joint pain and inflammation on both sides of the body.
The cause is unknown, except that it may be genetic and there have been implications that it may be associated with a viral, bacterial, or fungal infection, and cigarette smoking.
There are many alternative and complementary treatments for rheumatoid arthritis symptoms that have been used to decrease or alleviate the pain of this condition. One of the most effective is acupuncture. You might like to seek out an acupuncturist who has had experience in treating arthritis, joint pain, and inflammation. Along with regular acupuncture sessions, the acupuncturist might prescribe Chinese herbs to help with the condition.
Additionally, taking fish oil capsules daily along with one of these other anti-inflammatory substances: Pycnogenol, glucosamine / chondroitin complex, MSM, or Celadrin capsules might further help to bring down the inflammation and prevent acute attacks.
Celadrin Helpful for Pain: Celadrin appears to be a newer, more potent nutraceutical which may prove to provide stronger pain relief than glucosamine and chondroitin. There is also a Celadrin creme which may be applied directly to the affected joints and combined with the Celadrin capsules, which will provide synergistic pain relief.
Keeping weight down to normal will also help to alleviate the stress on the joints and also decrease the pain.
It is also imperative to exercise daily and to rotate the joints through the complete range of motion so to keep the joints mobile and free.
Massage with heat may be helpful, but when there is an acute flare-up, application of cold may be more helpful to alleviate the pain.
If you have a homeopathic practitioner in your area, he/she may be able to prescribe the correct homeopathic remedy for your wife after a thorough and careful interview, but not everyone may respond satisfactorily to homeopathy.
And still other people may find that magnet therapy or copper bracelets may further help with the pain.
I hope that this helps to point you in the right direction for a therapy which will be effective for you.