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Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, affects a large amount of the population and is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of the joints.
The cervical spine is usually affected in more than half of patients living with rheumatoid arthritis and can begin in smaller joints such as the joints of your hands and feet. Over time, the disease can spread to other parts of your body as it progresses.
For a treatment that helps you obtain rheumatoid arthritis relief, we need to take the time to understand the signs, symptoms, cause of rheumatoid arthritis and why this natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis relief is more beneficial compared to medication and surgery.
Rheumatoid Arthritis Signs and Symptoms
Rheumatoid arthritis can keep you from enjoying or actively being involved in daily activities. Signs and symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis include:
- Stiffness in more than one joint
- Fever
- Fatigue or tiredness
- Weakness
- Weight loss
- Pain or aching in one than one joint
- Same symptoms on both sides of the body (both knees, both hands, etc.)
- Tenderness and swelling in more than one joint
What is Causing Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis occurs when the synovium, lining of the membranes that surround your joints, is attacked by antibodies your immune system mistakenly sends. The inflammation from this causes your synovium to thicken, which can result in the destruction of the joint’s cartilage and bone.
How Does Medication for Rheumatoid Arthritis Work?
Medication for rheumatoid arthritis relief works by relieving pain and reducing inflammation. Depending on the severity of your symptoms and how long you have had rheumatoid arthritis, different medications are available.
The downside to medications is their inability to provide complete relief and the harmful effects they may have on the body during use.
- NSAIDs - NSAIDs are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to relieve pain and lessen inflammation. These include over-the-counter ibuprofen, such as Advil and Motrin IB, and naproxen sodium like Aleve. Depending on your rheumatoid arthritis, stronger NSAIDs can be prescribed. The side effects of using NSAIDs as rheumatoid arthritis relief include heart problems, kidney damage, and stomach irritation.
- DMARDs - Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are used to slow down the progression of your rheumatoid arthritis with the hope of saving your joints and other tissues from experiencing permanent damage. Side effects associated with the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs include bone marrow suppression, severe lung infections, and liver damage.
- Biologic Agents - Biologic agents, or biologic response modifiers, for rheumatoid arthritis relief, are a newer class of disease-modifying antirheumatic arthritis drugs that are able to target the parts of your immune system responsible for triggering the inflammation associated with joint and tissue damage. Despite of this, these drugs increase your risk of infections. Tofacitinib, for instance, is a type of biologic agent used that can increase your risk of developing blood clots in the lungs.
- Steroids - Steroid medications reduce inflammation and slow to the process of joint damage. Using steroids as rheumatoid arthritis relief, however, can come at a price just like the above medication option. Side effects of using steroids include thinning of the bones, diabetes, and weight gain.
How Does Surgery for Rheumatoid Arthritis Work?
If medications were unable to provide rheumatoid arthritis relief or were not successful in preventing or slowing down joint damage, surgery is very common to be the next option. Depending on your rheumatoid arthritis, surgery for rheumatoid arthritis relief may include one or more of these procedures:
- Tendon Repair - The tendons around your joints may begin to loosen or rupture due to the inflammation and joint damage from rheumatoid arthritis. This surgery tries to help repair tendons around your joints that are affected.
- Synovectomy - In synovectomy, the inflamed lining of your joint, the synovium, is removed. This surgery can be used on the elbows, wrists, fingers, hips, and knees.
- Total Joint Replacement - In this surgery, the surgeon removes damaged parts of the joint and replaces them with a prosthesis made of metal and plastic material.
- Joint Fusion - When joint replacement is not an option, joint fusion for rheumatoid arthritis relief looks to help stabilize or realign your joint and help pain relief.
All types of surgery for rheumatoid arthritis relief comes with risk including bleeding, infection, and pain. As surgery is made to alter the body in unnatural ways, some issues may occur down the road and not straight away.
Is There a Natural Treatment That Helps Rheumatoid Arthritis?
The immune system mistakenly attacking your body can be a scary thought; however, there is a natural rheumatoid arthritis treatment that works by correcting the way your immune system works!
Upper cervical treatments focus on your upper cervical spine, the neck area located right beneath the base of your skull. In this delicate area is where your brainstem resides and stays protected.
Still, due to the natural process of aging, injury, poor posture habits, and awkward sleeping positions, the upper cervical area can call out of alignment; meaning one or more vertebra can shift out of place and cause pressure to be placed on your brainstem.
Why is this a problem? Well, the brainstem allows the flow of proper brain to body communication. If the brainstem is compressed, this flow of communication can become distorted and result in, you guessed it, the body to misinterpret signals and begin to harm itself.
This is exactly what happens in rheumatoid arthritis: the immune system begins to harm your body due to making mistakes in how it is taking in and interpreting the communication.
How Does This Natural Treatment Work?
Going to an upper cervical professional will help you determine if there is an upper cervical misalignment. If there is an upper cervical misalignment, they will be able to tell from scans the severity and how it is pressing onto your brain stem.
From these findings, the upper cervical professional will begin to make small, gentle adjustments to your upper cervical spine to help realign your vertebra back into place. When this happens, all pressure is taken off the brainstem and proper brain to body communication is restored.
It is at this instant that the body begins its repairing and healing process and can stop the immune system from mistakenly attacking your body.
Patients who have tried medication and surgery for their rheumatoid arthritis relief still saw amazing results from upper cervical treatments because of the treatment’s ability to help strengthen your brainstem’s health and restore proper immune system functions.
If you or someone you know is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, there is still hope. Contact an upper cervical professional to see if you have a misalignment causing a distortion in your brainstem’s flow of communication and inappropriate immune system function.
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