Effective Natural Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease without a known cause, which affects usually more than one joint and may lead to severe deformity and disability. Rheumatoid arthritis is three times more common in females than males, and its prevalence is about 1-2% in United Sates of America. It usually occurs after the age of 40 and before the age of 60. But it may also affect any age.

Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are variable. Joints are symmetrically inflamed and painful. Swelling and stiffness of affected joints are present. Stiffness in the morning which lasts more than half an hour is usually present. General symptoms of fever, malaise, loss of weight and pain are also present. Rheumatoid arthritis may affect other body parts. It may affect the skin, lungs, lymph nodes, spleen, heart, blood and blood vessels. Rheumatoid arthritis is a serious disease. It leads to severe disability and tends to shorten life.

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment

The goals of the treatment are aimed to reduce pain and inflammation, and to prevent deformities. In the beginning of the treatment, explaining the disease is a very important and supportive part of the treatment plan. Rest is indicated in inflammatory periods to decrease inflammation. Exercises are performed to preserve motion of affected joints according to a special program for each patient. Heat therapy has a great role in decreasing pain and inflammation. Natural supplements with A-3 fatty acids may be helpful.

Cupping therapy
Cupping therapy is a type of alternative and complementary medicine. It is one of the corner stones of Chinese medicine. Cupping therapy reduces pain and increases blood circulation. It also eliminates body toxins and inflammatory substances. Cupping therapy is a very effective natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Cupping therapy reduces pain and inflammation of the affected joints. In the Egyptian Journal of Immunology (2005), researchers state that "Blood-letting cupping combined with conventional medicinal therapy has several advantages. It exerts marked improvement on the clinical condition of patients especially visual analogue scale of pain, it significantly reduces the laboratory markers of RA (rheumatoid arthritis) activity and it modulates the immune cellular conditions."(1). In another trial submitted in partial fulfillment for M.D degree in Mansoura University, researchers state that "Cupping therapy is a good treatment for pain in rheumatoid arthritis" and "Cupping therapy is useful in many diseases including arthritis"(2). Finally you need to find a qualified and licensed acupuncturist or cupping therapist to do cupping therapy.

References:

1-Sahbaa M.Ahmed, Soheir S.Maklad, Nour H.Madbouly, and Eman A.Abu-Shady. Immunomodulatory Effects of Blood Letting Cupping Therapy in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Egyptian journal of Immunology 12(2), 39-51. 2005.(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/...)

2-Ashraf Hussein Hassan, Farag Mohammed Farag, Mohammed Elmahdy H.Sarhan, Mohammed Yakout Abdel Aziz, and Mohammed Ahmed Abo Elela. Evaluation of cupping therapy in some chronic diseases (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Type 2 DM and chronic HCV infection). Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment for M.D Degree of Internal Medicine. Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University page 253. 2006.

3-Rheumatoid Arthritis and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/RA/#safe)

4-Rheumatoid Arthritis (MedlinePlus)(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/...)