Arthritis | Ask an Expert

HI there

It may be time to think about how you move. We all have habits that we take totally for granted,eg your unique walk or postural changes from old injuries, but which cause overloading of certain joints and muscles in our bodies. In which case a given therapy may only give temporary relief, until you return to your habit. Feldenkrais Awareness through Movement lessons directly address the movement patterns underlying the pain - you will naturally learn your way out of the patterns rather than being corrected out of them.

If you have a history of injury, (not necessarily to the actual ankle either, the body's blance can be upset from anywhere) then I would also look to release the old trauma with some ConTact C.A.R.E, which in my experience is an approach that finds buried treasure that the usual front line of therapies often miss.

Obviously there are other facets of any issue, your work, your thoughts and emotions, diet, toxicity, which will be contributing, and a multi faceted approach may be required.

good luck!
Craig

Hi. Lots of information has been given to you and all very sound advise. As it has been said eveyone is an individual and although there are many generic things that can really help from fish oils to herbal formulas, to get the best results for you we would need to get more information about the arthritis and your past and current health history. I work by looking at the physical and mental causes of the issue - in this case the arthritis. Please feel free to contact me on sheenahe@sheenahendonhealth,co.nz or call 021 316677. Check out www.sheenahendonhealth.co.nz to find out more about me. Best wishes Sheena

Hi - sorry to hear that you are still suffering. Seems like much of the advice you are getting is nutritional or general health enhancement in nature. That is great advice, however, if the arthritis is osteoarthritis then the original problem is due to chronic trauma to the joint. I can assess your foot biomechanics with a GaitScan pressure plate system and look to see if there is any abnormal motion in your foot and ankle system. If so, I can provide custom functional foot orthotics that are individually prescribed to you based on this scan and your clinical presentation. Let me know if I can help.
Regards - Dr. Cherye Roche - Doctor of Chiropractic - call 09 522 0222 for an appointment.

With homeopathy we look at the whole person to understand why the arthritis has developed and find a homeopathic medicine that supports your body to stimulate healing. It is easy to take and many people find homeopathy also helps their quality of life, sleep, energy and well-being. Give it a go!

Hi, a distressing problem that impacts hugely on your life. I agree with other practitioners that nutrition helps by eating more foods that help reduce inflammation in your whole system. Homeopathic remedies have also proved very helpful in increasing a sense of wellness whilst addressing the pain. By looking at your general health looking at the stresses in your body, whether its nutrition but also general stresses (which are inflammatory to your body) and at the same time using homeopathy to help your body do what it needs to do to heal itself, a reduction in inflammation and pain should follow.

I would be very pleased to talk over the phone if you would like to ask any questions and have further information: (021 - 263 - 2859; www.stillwatercentre.co.nz). I hope you find the help you need. regards Sue

Hi, as you already know arthritis is an inflammatory disease,so first of all you need to heal inflammation. You need to focus on your diet and avoid foods causing inflammation. To give more precise recommendation, I need to know a little bit more about you, especially regarding your diet and other habits, please contact me and schedule a free Breakthrough session.

Arthritis is an inflammatory condition caused either by physical joint trauma or an immune system dysfunction. We will assume it is of physical origin due to your current treatment regimen. The ankle joint is a complex joint reliant on ligament and muscle support to maintain integrity. Arthritis of this nature occurs when there is an inability to maintain joint integrity through ligament damage and or muscle imbalance. You need to add on top of this the overall inflammatory state of the body. I suggest you address this from a structural and a nutritional standpoint. seek a practitioner that will work on the structures of the ankle and modify your diet to incorporate a greater degree of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids from deep cold water fish and from seeds respectively and reduce the more pro inflammatory meats and dairy products. Try to reduce or eliminate sugar and processed products containing sugar which is pro inflammatory . Check out Phil Maffetones website he has a good article on inflammation.

The pain from arthritis is due to inflammation that occurs around the joint, damage to the joint can come from disease through poor diet, or wear and tear of the joint from muscle strain placing unremitting pressure on the joints. We focus of the last cause and look for Repetitive Strain Injuries RSI to the surrounding tissue. We would be delighted to run you through a treatment program, and the best part is if there is no change we will refund your fees in full.
Kindest regards Chris Toal www.wellnessatwork.co.nz

There are a number of approaches to your problem, which may involve diet changes, detoxification, body therapies, supplements and herbs. Ayurvedic medicine takes all these into account, and there are a number of well-tested and safe ayurvedic formulations that are helping many people. However, you really need a consultation to get the full benefit of any programme, rather than piecemeal advice. You can start by doing a veggie soup diet for 4-5 days as a detox, and using anti-inflammatory spices like ginger and turmeric.

I have seen amazing result with Comfrey root paste. It can be a little difficult to find in health stores, but if you can track down a local herbalist they can usually make it up for you. Otherwise you can actually grow it easily yourself. It can double the proliferation of bone and connective tissue cells, greatly speeding healing and reducing pain. I would also suggest adding epsom salt to your bath twice a week in large amounts, 4-6 cups, and soaking for at least 30 minutes. You need to do this regularly for at least 6 months to achieve significant healing. I have seen people throw away their crutches from using these simple but time tested methods.

It sounds like an straight forward question - but it isn't really. There are many things to answer first.. like how long have you had pain before it was 'diagnosed'. My first question might sound a bit strange but, would you consider yourself a bit fearful about the future? Don't like not knowing what is coming..? Arthritis is generally either a massive mineral deficiency (as seen in documents about what the Inca people suffered mostly in the final years of it's greatest time) or it's an emotionally caused blockage in your meridians. Have you tried Acupuncture from a traditional Chinese Acupuncturist?

I use and recommend SCENAR therapy for many of my clients. SCENAR has been successful in treating arthritis. As it is a chronic condition it may take sometime to relieve your symptoms fully. It may also be prudent to look at why you have arthritis, this would require a full assessment of your health and wellbeing from a naturopathic nutrition view.