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Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis caused by the malfunction of the immune system. It destroys the tissues around the sufferers’ joints. This results in inflammation in one or several joints, especially small joints such as fingers and toes. However, there are cases where it spreads to the knees and joints such as the spine. In addition, if the patient leaves the inflamed joint for a long time without treatment, it may cause a deformation, and disability can follow. Clinical data also found that some patients had inflammation in other areas that affect the function of various systems in the body, such as the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels.
During the progression of rheumatoid arthritis, symptoms are normally slow and gradual. Some patients develop symptoms that last from weeks to months. But commonly, sufferers experience symptoms such as pain in the small joints, especially upon waking up in the morning due to lack of motion during sleep. Some people experience pain moving from one spot to another. For example, pain in the right hand may move to the left hand. Other common areas that may experience pain along with swelling, redness, and stiffness are as follows:
Who is at risk for rheumatoid arthritis?
In general, in the early stages of the disease, patients are often unaware that the symptoms are present. Is it rheumatoid arthritis because the initial symptoms that show are similar to other ailments, so the patient may require a lot of observation?
Confirmation of the disease may require laboratory testing such as blood tests, synovial fluid examination, synovial examination, and X-ray examination of the joints, which are the main examinations used in conventional medicine. The integrative medical approach in turn examines the intestinal microflora with diagnostic testing such as the IgG food intolerance test to determine which foods eaten regularly are the key factors that stimulate inflammation.
This is in order to avoid food that directly causes inflammation. Integrative medicine does not focus on medication alone, but instead takes on a holistic care approach. This is done by adjusting the diet and looking into other approaches to enhance treatment outcomes, which in turn can reduce inflammation, increase the strength of the intestinal system, the balance of intestinal microflora, and reduce the amount of medication.
Most types of conventional treatments are long term. This may cause side effects on the liver, kidneys and the overall health of the patients. Therefore, the integrative medical approach which combines a multipronged treatment platform and low dependence on medicaments can be very useful in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
All rheumatoid arthritis patients need treatment. If not treated, it can result in deformities to the affected joints and can in turn affect the sufferer’s quality of life.
In general, the treatment of rheumatoid will focus mainly on the control of the disease with steroidal drugs and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the immunosuppressant group. Different drug groups can change the course of the disease, and biopharmaceuticals have been found to be effective against the abnormal development of immunity. Data has shown that many rheumatoid patients did not have access to biologic medicaments. Although highly effective, they can be costly. As a result, most of the patients are still being prescribed medicaments from older drug groups.
Some of these medications may inevitably cause long-term side effects such as vision issues, liver conditions, kidney problems, or abnormal heart rate. In addition, at times, patients may also suffer from anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness, which can greatly affect their quality of life.
While biologic medicaments are highly effective, side effects are rare, but in some cases, side effects such as serious infections can be fatal. This group of medication is therefore classified as the 3rd or 4th option and only when the first line of medication is not effective or when patients cannot tolerate the side effects of the initial group of medication. However, as mentioned earlier, long-term treatment can be costly and not everyone can afford it. Therefore, avoidance of long-term medications is the key solution.
In integrative medicine, rheumatoid arthritis is viewed as an autoimmune disorder which can be caused by toxic residues, genetics, and inflammation in the body, which are often associated with the gastrointestinal tract. This can occur, especially in patients who have been on long term antibiotics, which may cause an imbalance in the intestinal microflora that later causes the inflammation. Pathogenic microorganisms cause intestinal wall cells to stick together, not tightly, causing a condition known as Leaky Gut. This can result in food that is not digested thoroughly into large molecules and absorbed into the intestinal lymphatic system, causing an abnormality in the immune system.
The triggered immunity and food molecules floating in the bloodstream can cause local reactions in the joint system, which in turn may cause rheumatoid autoimmune disorders. Most of the time, a sufferer does not have any symptoms. For example, some microorganisms grow gradually in the bladder or in the digestive tract, which results in the arthritis reaction.
The microflora of the intestines in the bladder can be examined to isolate the infection and find a cure. Sensitivity to types of food can be tested to note which ones stimulate the immune system, causing inflammation on the joint surface. In some cases, patients may have heavy metals that trigger inflammation in joints similar to rheumatoid arthritis.
The integrative medical approach focuses on in-depth examination to get to the root cause of the disease. This allows the patient to be treated according to the cause rather than just the symptoms he or she experienced for better treatment results.
We at Absolute Health hope that the information provided above can act as a form of guidance. We strongly believe that there are many ways to promote a good quality of life for people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis without the prolonged use of medication alone.
