5 Natural Ways to Treat Arthritis

In the US there are roughly 27 million people living with rheumatic arthritis.

This rheumatic disease targets people’s joints, causing chronic pain in their ankles, knees, wrists, and hands.

Arthritis, in layman’s terms, is an auto-immune disease that causes inflammation in your joints. This in turn causes your bones and joints to be exposed to the painful friction made during body movements.

This friction is the source of constant discomfort and pain. And not moving at all is not an option because it only causes muscle atrophy. More importantly, arthritis and its chronic pain can severely hinder you, reducing your overall quality of life.

Because this condition is so common amongst our senior population, pharmaceutical companies have been quick to market pain medication or experimental treatments. Unfortunately these treatments can bring about a myriad of side effects.

The great news is that there are holistic alternatives and they can be extremely efficient. Best of all, they don’t bring the unintended side effects that the pharmaceutical treatments pack.

5 Naturally Simple Ways to Treat Arthritis

1.Vitamin C

When it comes to using vitamin C to treat arthritis, make sure you’re diagnosed with the right type of arthritis. If you have rheumatic arthritis, increasing your consumption of citrus fruit can help reduce symptoms flare-ups.

Vitamin C is wonderful to fight arthritis because its antioxidant properties make it a potent anti-inflammatory, it helps promote bone and cartilage growth, and its antibacterial properties help reduce infection that can trigger flares.

If you’re diagnosed with osteoarthritis, please avoid overindulging in citrus fruit. Long-term use of vitamin C can worsen osteoarthritis, especially in the knees.

2.Fish Oil

In addition to keeping your brain happy and healthy, fish oil can help you fight arthritis naturally. Its high dosage of Omega-3 fatty acids is great reducing overall body inflammation, especially in your joints.

If you’re vegetarian, don’t fret. You can use olive oil as an adequate substitute to keep your arthritis under control.

3.Hot and Cold Presses

This is a combination of preventive and reactionary treatments. If you’re experiencing a flare-up, use a cold press to help reduce inflammation on the affected joint. Apply for about 15 minutes. This treatment has the potential to provide relief for the entire day.

On the preventive side you have heat compresses. By applying them to your most troublesome joints you can help promote healthy blood flow and relax your aching muscles.

4.Cruciferous Vegetables

Cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower are vital parts to building a healthy diet. They’re known to help boost your immune system by bringing isothiocyanates (ISTs) to the table.

Since rheumatic arthritis is essentially an autoimmune disease at heart, if you incorporate cruciferous vegetables into your meals you can help prevent the regularity of joint inflammation.

5.Vitamin D

By eating fish, bread, organic milk, and by enjoying sunlight as much as possible (in spite of these dark winter days) you can help fight rheumatic arthritis flare-ups.

Why? Because vitamin D helps your bones absorb calcium faster and it helps you prevent further cartilage loss.

There you go, now you can help reduce the impact rheumatic arthritis can have on your quality of life.