What is Arthritis?
Saying that someone has arthritis is like seeing a green food and calling it a vegetable; there are many degrees and varieties. The term arthritis is derived from "arth", meaning "joint" and "itis", meaning "inflammation of". Technically, if you stub you finger and it swells, you have a type of arthritis.
The most common type of long term arthritis is osteoarthritis. The theory behind arthritis is that none of the joints in your body have a blood supply. They require motion and proper alignment in order to absorb nutrition, lubricate themselves, and eliminate waste products. When the joint isn't working right (misalignment or trauma), this process doesn't happen, leading to joint "starvation" (lack of nutrition) and grinding or stickiness (lack of lubrication). After this continues for a period of time, your body will recognize this malfunction and start to change the shape of the bone and grow bony spikes (osteophytes) that eventually will create a bony cage around the joint and fuse it. As chiropractors, the earlier we can intervene/correct misalignment and restore better motion to the joint, the better the results tend to be. By putting motion back into the joint, the healing process can begin by enabling your body to get nutrients and lubrication to the joint and to clean waste out. Restoring this life cycle of the joint can slow down, stop, and sometimes even reverse the damage caused by osteoarthritis.
There are many other types of arthritis, such as rheumatoid and gout, to name two, that can be genetic and/or trauma induced. Each of these can respond well to chiropractic adjustment and dietary changes.
It is our experience at We Care Chiropractic these patients respond very well to Spinal Decompression. Come in for a consultation and find out if Decompression is the answer to your pain.