It’s easy to assume that once you’re diagnosed with arthritis, the rest of your life will be filled with medication. Anti-inflammatories for swelling, pain medication for ache, stronger interventions when all else fails. When people get diagnosed with arthritis, that’s what their physicians tell them. And to be honest, they’re not necessarily wrong as medications are effective. However, at the same time, no one is ever — exclusively — solving the problem. Medications manage symptomology while joints degenerate from within.

For some, that’s perfectly okay — the pharmaceutical route is more than enough — at least for now. But down the line — months, years later — complicated side effects arise. Complications from ulcers from NSAIDs. Complications from liver issues from acetaminophen. And complications that over time are found to do more damage to the rest of your body than intended to help joints feel better.

Managing Pain vs. Preserving Joint Function

Most interventions suggested for arthritis’ relief focus on pain — which is understandable since no one with arthritis can stand to move; they seek to intervene as best as possible. However, pain is only half the issue; when joints can no longer maintain their natural ranges of motion, compensatory movements become a thing of the norm which complicates the issue further; this degenerates life years for connected joints.

When one knee has arthritis and the person stops putting weight on it while walking, for instance, they inadvertently start compensating on their other knee; it doesn’t hurt at that moment, but it’s taking on extra stress from non-ideological application. Over time, however, that knee ages faster.

Thus enters manual therapy for arthritis pain relief — hands-on spinal and joint manipulation. It promotes ideal joint-functioning situations to limit stress applied to arthritic joints. Of course, it doesn’t reduce inflammation — that’s still there; inflammation will be there — but it prevents some of what makes it worse.

It’s like a creaky door — you can spray WD40 (medications) on the hinge (the joint), but if the door frame is cockeyed (the physical frame), it will still wear down the hinge on its own. But if adjusted, the amount of force applied through the door joint is different now. And so it goes with knees, hips, and spinal joints with arthritis.

The Value of Movement

Movement doesn’t make sense for arthritic joints — maybe they should be resting; they’ll feel better if they don’t do anything at all. This is partially true — static positions aren’t painful — but ultimately wrong because complete rest means stiffer joints over time. When joints get locked up in a vacuum with no movement — arthritic joints get tighter and tighter — but even gentle movement keeps the synovial fluid in there promoting cartilage health. Movement acts like a lubricant to promote sustained use before accrued wear-and-tear develops too early.

But there are right movements and wrong amounts and types. Jumping is bad; trampolining is not ideal. But swimming, short walks, stretching — sustained movement — maintains joint capabilities better over time. Thus come more exercise classes and physical therapy; they teach you what movements to continue doing and which ones to avoid completely.

Manual intervention can also rehabilitate lost range of motion; when you used to have it and learn that you don’t have it anymore but realize you can regain it — you’re better off because those joints grow back function after their ranges return.

What Works Better Than Medication

Anti-inflammatories help reduce inflammation on chemical pathways that the body employs; it’s effective in small dosages but also limited because you’re never going to turn something from the inside-out that’s causing inflammation in the first place. But diet does wonders. Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids (fish and walnuts especially) promote reduced inflammatory markers; processed foods and sugar act in a similar manner but more negatively promote them.

On top of that, everyone wants to avoid talking about weight control but when you dig down deeper, people like their foods too much and avoid making the comorbidity connection beyond some hard science, but every additional pound adds increased stress on weight-bearing joints; ten pounds makes a difference in the knee of anyone who has arthritis; it has nothing to do with aesthetics but functional mechanics.

Sleep equity promotes/reduces levels of inflammation; poorer sleep promotes inflammatory cytokines in your bloodstream creating worse situations as compared to better sleep which promotes better regulations.

A Pharmaceutical Approach Works In Tandem With Other Endeavors

The best way people learn to manage their arthritis is through medication and natural efforts combined; neither come without expense but separate valued resources emerge to promote learned insight regardless of how it’s taught later on in life.

Medication may help flare-ups that are incredibly painful; manual manipulations foster better movement abilities; exercise classes promote joint mobility; diet changes reduce systemic inflammation.

It’s frustrating because it’s not as easy as picking up medication from CVS or renewing prescriptions that help create a quality-of-life increase over time, it’s compounded adjustments that require extra work but foster joint success where many settle for symptom alleviation at best.

The Difficulties of Reliance Though

The worst part about having these options work in tandem — instead of working independently over time — is that you use less medication as opposed to more over time; you get less of benefit over time — not more — because the combined efforts all succeed in symptom reduction and joint function success over time better than any of these options ever anticipated.

When a minor change can be made without using medication over time instead of compounded efforts which do nothing but alleviate symptoms temporarily fill various people with hope who never thought any of those options would work together so successfully.

Sustainable Solutions Over Time

The hardest part about making things natural is that it’s difficult over a sustained period of time; a pill is easy and thoughtless every so often every single day instead of a weekly adjustment, daily reminders for movements and weekly or daily efforts toward cooking anti-inflammatory meals. Some start off strong then dissipate only to return to pharmaceutical-help down the line when it’s easier than mindless effort.

It’s about establishing patterns so it doesn’t feel like health intervention. If you hate swimming but force yourself to go every week solely for your arthritis, you’ll stop doing it. You need to establish holistic movement — something enjoyable for you to do — and dietary shifts that still promote enjoyable eating.

Partner with your practitioners where beneficial health solutions aren’t typically so picture-perfect envisioned in theory but somewhat imperfectly realized in reality.

Remember: if a person suffers from it, they don’t care how it gets cured — realistically it’s not going to be cured for most people but maintained for the best quality-of-life possible while still fostering independence through healthy living endeavors — one pill certainly isn’t going to do it without other natural opportunities when deemed unnecessary — but sometimes worthwhile hybrid options help facilitate better activity levels and engagement potential over greater sustained periods than expected!

Jane