Arthritis

What is it?

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joint in the body.  There are two common forms of arthritis: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.  Osteoarthritis often occurs in joints that were injured either through activity or accident and have not healed properly.  Rheumatoid arthritis is inflammation caused not by an injury but rather is an autoimmune process - where the immune system attacks the joints in the body - often in the feet or hands.

Key Points:

• affects more than 1 in six Canadians over 15 years of age.
  
• affects women more often than men.
• osteoarthritis is caused by trauma.
• rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease.
  

How do we treat it?

Naturopathic treatment focuses first on whether we are dealing with trauma or an autoimmune disease.  Once this is determined, then treatment focuses on lessening the effects of the disease.  For osteoarthritis, treatment focuses on rebuilding the tissues in the area.  For rheumatoid, the focus is on modulating the immune system to help the progression of the disease while providing relief.