Dr. Misty White was honored to speak to the Arthritis Support Group of Lake Oswego in April 2013. Here is a summary of the information presented at that meeting:
A Naturopathic Approach to Arthritis
1. Nourish your joints
Bone broth = bovine cartilage. This provides the raw materials necessary to rebuild and repair joints. To make a flavorful bone broth, you must first get rid of the proteins that will cause “off” flavors. Boil bones 10 minutes, dump out the water, scrub the pot to clean out the film, Return bones to new pot of water, boil several hours on low/medium. The final product should be solid when put in the refrigerator.
Consume Fish that are high in Omega 3s: salmon, herring, sardines.
Borage Oil, Avocado Oil
Include anti-inflammatory foods and spices: ginger, turmeric, cayenne
2. Reduce inflammation
Get your vitamin D levels tested.
Identify food triggers for inflammation. Sugar is inflammatory for everyone. Plants in the Nightshade family may contribute to pain. Nightshades include: potato, tomato, eggplant, tobacco, peppers.
What’s pain-provoking for you may not be the same for everyone. The practitioners at OPM can help you identify your unique food intolerances in one of two ways: We can guide you through a structured Elimination and Reintroduction plan or run blood testing using a reliable laboratory.
Address chronic infections. This sends your inflammatory cascade into overdrive. Common places you can be harboring infections include: Gums and teeth or anywhere in your Digestive system.
3. Address underlying autoimmunity
Digestive health is crucial. Specific foods and infections can erode the lining of the digestive system. Your body then re-absorbs waste and bacterial matter which ramp up the immune response, triggering and perpetuating auto-immunity.
Anti-inflammatory medications can erode the lining of the digestive system – ask your doctor if a cream is available.
Put the right bacteria in your digestive system using high quality probiotics. These friendly bacteria will calm the immune system, lower inflammation and help repair the lining of the digestive tract.
Keep your vitamin D levels optimized.
4. Try some natural remedies on the outside
Touch and Movement are so helpful for reducing fluid accumulation and lowering pain. Great strategies include Massage, Qi Gong, Walking, swimming, elliptical.
Castor oil applied to the swollen, sore, and stiff joints can help move accumulated fluid and improve circulation.
Capsaicin is another common cream that you can find over the counter. It contains the warming agent extracted from hot peppers. It helps to “trick” the local nerves, sending less pain signals. Try for at least 3 days with multiple applications.
Camphor is another wonderful aromatic agent that helps reduce pain and improve circulation. It is one of the active ingredients in Tiger Balm.
Balneotherapy or Hydrotherapy are cornerstone techniques of Naturopathic medicine. By using therapeutic baths or alternating hot and cold water, we are able to improve circulation and move edema and eliminate puffiness that causes pain and stiffness. There’s great research on Dead Sea salt baths. Another technique is Alternating hot and cold compresses. Start with 30 seconds hot, followed by 2 minutes cold. Complete three cycles, ending with cold.
5. Ask your doctor if you should try some natural remedies on the inside
a. Fish Oil. Wide range of safe and effective doses.
b. Glucosamine Sulfate for OA. 1500 mg daily
c. SAMe for OA. (Also used to treat depression. May interact medications)
ii. Cost and quality can be issues: use butanedisulfonate form
d. Extracts of Boswellia (Indian Frankincense) effects are seen after a week
e. Turmeric extracts that are highly absorbable
f. Ginger extracts (can take a few weeks)
