JOINT INFLAMMATION is a very painful, with multiple sets of conditions (100), progressively leading to joint damage, deformity and loss of mobility. Swelling of extremity joints is the hallmark of the syndrome. Chronic pain, disability and death are unfortunate results.
Joint inflammation has an estimated prevalence of 1 to 2%. Prevalence increases with age, approaching 5% in women over age 55. The average annual incidence in the United States is about 70 per 100,000 annually. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs two to three times more in women than in men. Although rheumatoid arthritis may present at any age, patients most commonly are first affected in the third to sixth decades.
Joint inflammation, collectively affect nearly 46 million adults and 300,000 children in the U.S. It is not selective. The condition can happen to anyone. All arthritic conditions impact the musculoskeletal system and specifically the joints – where two or more bones meet.
Joint inflammation problems include:
- pain
- stiffness
- damage to joint cartilage (the tough, smooth tissue that covers the ends of the bones, enabling them to glide against one another) and surrounding structures.
HOW DO WE GET JOINT INFLAMMATION?
The blood has become obstructed by external cold or hot-damp or drying imbalancing influences. The condition includes:
- cold or hot and painful joints
- difficulty in flexing and extending the joints
- aversion to cold or hot with attraction to the opposite condition
- In some cases the limbs and joints will be aching, numb, painful
- overall physical body feels heavy.
- tongue is pale or the opposite
There are graduating arthritic conditions where the site of pain and deformity are more intense, with heat or cold predominating, however, the primary appraoch is to get the obstruction to move. This is done by changing the internal environment by opposing the wind-cold/hot-damp/dry and altering any external conditions contributing to the obstructions. Additional attention needs to be given to the general emotional state that may indirectly support the blockage.
HOW DO WE GET BETTER?
JOINT INFLAMMATION: FOOD THERAPY & HERBAL HERBS
“We are what we eat.” Most of us would agree that most conditions of imbalance are determined by what we put in our mouth. We unkowingly create imbalances by not being aware of how critical this area is, especially in the latter years. If we are choose foods and supplements which worsen our condition then it would serve us well to become very aware of our body type and foods which enhance balance. Below, you can begin to choose foods that deliver balance for this obstructive condition:
Foods That Benefit & Foods To Avoid
Foods to Counter Joint Pain: Asparagus, Cabbage (poultice & ingestion), Celery, Cod, Cherry, Chives, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Ginger, Goats milk, Grape, Kelp, Oranges, Papaya, Pineapple (Bromelain), Pumpkin Seeds, Royal Jelly, Scallions, Sesame oll, Spelt, Spirulina, Soy products, Strawberry, Sprouts (mung, red clover, radish, mustard, lentil, adzuki, garbanzo, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds), Tumeric, Water melon, Barley products, Wheat grass products, Alfalfa products (tablets, tea), Chlorophyll foods, Almonds (5-6 dy.),
Foods to Avoid: Excess meat (some fish is best), Excess protein, Intoxicants (alcohol, coffee, tobacco, marijuana, etc.), refined sugar and other sweets, Oxalic acid foods (rhubarb, cranberry, plum, chard, beet greens, spinach), Solanine foods (Nightshade family veggies: tomato, eggplant, bell pepper, potato, if sensitive), Dairy (cow’s milk & bi-products), Nuts, Nut butters, oil-rich seeds,
“When the heart is calm, pain seems negligible.” — Inner Classic
HERB FORMULAS FOR PAIN Formulas are created and rendered, taking into consideration, a person’s constitution, environment, life energy (qi), lifestyle and emotional status to name a few concerns. Traditional Chinese Herbs and medicine focuses on bringing all these areas into balance. The chief focus is to provide a formula that specifically targets the painful site, resolves the underlying imbalance in the body without inciting more physical maladies.
Additionally, the quality of the herbs are not the same. If lesser quality is contained in a formula then the results will not hold up as indicated in research findings. While it may sound impressive to make marketing statements that a formula containing an herb is beneficial it is not enough. The grade of herb is critical. Ginseng alone has more than 6 grades and each level provides a different result. Quality, alone, can determine whether the formula works or not. A seasoned herbologist does not skimp in this area, while many commercial manufacturing operations prefer profit when dealing with innocent distributers, who sell to wholesalers, retailers and then to you the consumer. This practice in America gives herbology and products a bad name. This bait and switch practice eventually erodes trust by consumers where when a real herbologist comes forward then it is difficult to move ailing customers to take the leap of beneficial faith.
JOINT IMBALANCE doesn’t happen overnight and once understood, can resolve quicker than you realize. According to Traditional Chinese herbs and medicine, the primary problem underlying arthritis is obstruction with painful results. With varying degrees, there is an exhaustion of both the Liver and Kidneys and insufficiency of the physical energy (qi).
Mark Hammer, C.M.H., Master Herbalist, Longevity Mountain