The food we eat affects our body. We must maintain a good diet and perform regular exercise to retain good health. Proper nutrition also is a key factor to preventing diseases. Arthritis is one of the illnesses that older people tend to have. This can be due to a lot of factors but having a normal body weight reduces the stress on our joints, thus, also reducing the risk for arthritis.

When you have arthritis, it is best to consider the food you take in. Eat foods that are high in fiber and low in chemicals. Avoid foods high in saturated, hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats. These types of fats promote inflammation in the joints. (more…)

Arthritis is a medical term that implies inflammation of joint(s). Causes of this illness are diverse and involve many pathological mechanisms. The causes of arthritis are either infective or non-infective. However, whatever the cause is, it leads to pain, tenderness and limitation of movements of the affected joint(s) in most cases.

Infective causes of arthritis are numerous and include viral, bacterial, fungal and parasitic causes. Hepatitis A virus, Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C, Alphaviruses, Rubella virus, Retroviruses, Epstein-Barr virus, Varicella-zoster virus and Mumps virus are recognizable causes of arthritis. Bacterial arthritis is sometimes termed septic arthritis and is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococci. Septic arthritis is usually caused by spread of infection from nearby bones (osteomyelitis). Bacterial arthritis is rather common in the pediatric age group. Fungal causes of arthritis usually affect immune-compromised individuals like HIV infected patients. Lyme disease is one of the recognizable infective causes of arthritis in America. (more…)

Gout is one of the most painful types of arthritis. I know this for a fact. When you’re in the midst of an attack, you feel a stabbing, throbbing pain in your afflicted joint and it’s almost impossible to put any pressure on it. A gout attack can be triggered by years of elevated uric acid (UA) condition. Now there are basically three components you may want to look at for curing gout or treating a gout attack: minimizing UA production, maximizing UA excretion and minimizing the pain during an attack. For this article, we will explore the second one and how Potassium (or potassium rich foods) is involved.

The normal range for UA is 3.4 – 7 (based on my last medical results) although I read that you can have gout with as low as 6. In my case, my UA was at 8.26. Being above the range means that not enough UA is being eliminated through the urine than what is being produced. We call this condition hyperuricemia. As a result of this, excess uric acids are crystallized and deposited in various joint spaces, causing the inflammation or gout attack. (more…)

Gout, an inflammatory joint ailment causing severe pain and swelling, usually occurs after many years of buildup of uric acid crystals in and around the joints. It can become tiring and frustrating taking all those medications that are prescribed by doctor. Fortunately, there are many gout home remedies that can be effective to alleviate the pain and symptoms. These remedies have no side effects, and are safe to use long term. To cope with the pain of an acute gout attack, pay attention to:

Decrease the pain of an acute attack

1. Minimize use of the painful joint and try to rest until the attack relieves.
2. Keep the affected joint in an elevated position.
3. Keep pressure off the affected joint, for instance don’t constrict the site with tight clothing or try to wrap it.
4. Apply an icepack to a painful joint to relieve the pain of a gout attack. (more…)

Here, you’ll discover how to lower uric acid levels in the body. But the first thing that you need to understand is that there isn’t a recognized cure for gout, which is caused by too high uric acid levels. But gout is certainly manageable, if you can lower your uric acid levels in your body, and, maintain them at healthier levels.

Long Term Damage Caused by Recurring Gout

Now, here’s a worrying aspect of gout; once you have suffered just one gout attack, you are very likely indeed to suffer more.

And its important to prevent recurring gout because frequently recurring gout attacks can lead to some serious complications, such as permanent joint damage, kidney stones and even damaged kidneys. (more…)

The main function of the kidney is to clean the blood so that it can be circulated and used for various reasons within the body. The blood contains so many substances, one of them being uric acid. The excess of uric acid in the blood system can cause harsh pains on joints. This rigorous pain on the joints is described as gouty arthritis. It causes joint inflammation, pain and swelling.

The failure of the kidney to function is a suggestion that there is more uric acid from the body waste in the blood system. This arthritis can originate from a natural mistake in metabolism or reduced renal excretion while at the same time it can be because of wrong use of drugs that increases purine in the body. Crash diets, operations, liquor and overweight are also major causes of gout.

When one experiences strong joint pains and swelling, and insurgence of the urate levels in blood, then one has to consider the fact of having gout problems. Bruised joints, tender and hot skins, white pus and skin sores, and immobility on the joints are some of the symptoms of this condition. (more…)

Chiropractic Care as an Alternative for Arthritis Since I’m a chiropractor, you know I have to start here!

Let’s go back to the basics… what is arthritis? It’s wear and tear on a joint. Degeneration leads to loss of the cushioning cartilage (or discs, if it’s in the spine), the bones may rub on each other, and there’s pain, swelling, and loss of movement in the joint because of it.

Chiropractors are known for adjusting the spine and many of us also adjust shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, knees, hips, and ankles. If a joint isn’t moving properly (think of your ankle – has it ever popped while walking, or felt stuck and you rotated it back and forth to try to get it moving?) then it’s going to deteriorate faster than if it had proper motion. (more…)

This is a medical condition that is characterized by the inflammation of the joints and is caused by the high levels of the uric acid in the blood that is deposited in the joints.

Symptoms are seen at the joints and especially the big foot toe. At first, they are hard and not painful. Gout is caused by the underlying hyperruricemia. It is also caused by lack of some diets in ones food. It is also a genetical disease that can affect people of all ages. Apart from kidney stones that may result from this disease, around the joints are hard lumps of kidney stones that are formed round the joints. They become red and very painful. This is also as a result of uric acid and fluids within the joints that are deposited there. The build up of this uric acid in the body causes chronic gouty arthritis, kidney stones and other skin diseases. This disease is also caused by other diseases like obesity, renal failure, hypertension, diabetes, cytotoxic intake, polycythaemia among others. Generally, one’s lifestyle and proper medication can play a bigger role in prevention of this disease. (more…)