Arthritis comes from the Greek “Arthron” meaning joint and “itis” a word termination denoting inflammation; thus, arthritis means inflammation of a joint.

Inflammation can be a very mild or very severe process. In this true meaning, the condition of arthritis could be present if a joint is strained and inflammation follows. That certainly does not mean it is incurable; yet the common misunderstanding is that arthritis should be controlled with pain medication, such as aspirin.

Using medication to override the pain allows the condition to remain the same and possibly worsen. It is much better to determine exactly what caused the problem and correct that cause, if possible. Many people have an unrealistic attitude toward pain; they consider it an enemy when, in reality, pain is often a friend. Pain is the body’s alarm system, telling us when something is wrong. In most cases, functional pain can be eliminated as the body’s function is returned to normal by natural health care approaches. This is true of many types of arthritis.

Many types of arthritis respond favorably to treatment. All to often, however, a patient diagnosed with arthritis ceases all efforts to obtain correction and resorts to pain pill override. This is an unfortunate, erroneous thought.

There are three major types of arthritis: Osteoarthritis, Gouty arthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. We discussed Osteoarthritis last month and will discuss Gouty and Rheumatoid in this column.

Rheumatoid arthritis: begins to affect people earlier in life than osteoarthritis. Often the first appearance of rheumatoid arthritis is after a severe infection or some other form of stress. Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease that is progressive throughout the body and can migrate from joint to joint and may cause joint deformities.

Ineffective adrenal function appears to have some causative background in the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Improved adrenal cortex function aids the control of rheumatoid arthritis. The adrenal cortex manufactures anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory hormones which help control inflammatory processes. Ideally, it is better to obtain excellent adrenal gland function to provide the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory balance of hormones to help regulate inflammatory processes. When the adrenal glands are exhausted and incapable of handling all their functions, it is important to eliminate the stresses (physical, chemical, emotional and thermal) which affect adrenal gland function.

With rheumatoid arthritis, it is important to have adequate protein intake and digestion. The calcium level must be in proper ratio with other body minerals. These factors are important in regulating the inflammatory attack of rheumatoid arthritis.

Gouty arthritis: gout is present in males much more often than in females. Approximately 95% of gout sufferers are male. Some researchers blame gout on a high level of uric acid, which is a substance generally eliminated from the body by the kidneys.

Gout is considered a chronic lifetime disease once it is present. If not kept under control, it has severe, acute manifestations. An individual can have an attack of gout, which requires bed rest. It is extremely painful.

In applied kinesiology, gout is treated by closely evaluating the entire body and its systems for dysfunction. In some cases the kidneys are involved. When this occurs, uric acid is not adequately eliminated. Sometimes the bowel is sluggish and its action must be improved. Research findings have shown that good intestinal bacteria help control gout. Diet is also very important in gouty arthritis. The applied kinesiologist may find some deficiencies in this area, indicating a need for improved protein digestion, a decease of purines in the diet, or some other change that may include nutritional supplementation.

Dr. Susan Bobak is director of the Healing Arts Center of Covina and a Chiropractor since 1982. (626) 859-6480 ? 646 East Eremland • Covina • CA (Just south of Rowland, between Citrus & Barranca)