Arthritis: Part I

By Dr. Paulette Roscoe

Osteoarthritis is big problem. Hundreds of thousands of people suffer from it. Because it is such a prevalent problem as we grow older, I am going to devote two columns to it. Today I'll talk about the causes.

Osteoarthritis is a condition that is commonly believed to be incurable; the standard medical response is to prescribe medicines that reduce only the symptoms. However, in my clinical experience I have found that many of the symptoms of osteoarthritis can be reduced and alleviated through diet, exercise and stress reduction and that cartilage can be rebuilt through the use of certain supplements.

What is osteoarthritis? It's a degenerative joint disease that is caused by the inflammation of the joints and their surrounding tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Cartilage is found between the bones and serves an important role in joint function. Its gel-like nature acts as a shock absorber to protect the ends of the joints.

The onset of osteoarthritis can be quite subtle. Primary osteoarthritis is caused by the wear and tear process of aging. Decades of use and stress to the cartilage lead to degenerative changes. Arthritis usually starts as joint pain and stiffness after age 50. If the degeneration is strong enough it can lead to bone rubbing against bone. Degeneration can also occur when the number and activity of the important repair enzymes of the cartilage are greatly reduced.

Secondary arthritis is caused by some other predisposing factors such as trauma or structural abnormalities.

Any part of the body can be affected - the feet, knees, back, shoulders, fingers, etc. and particular symptoms often include stiffness, pain worsening on joint use, loss of joint function, tenderness, swelling, creaking, and cracking.

Because arthritis is so painful and crippling, it always amazes me that people don't fight it more aggressively. People think this degenerative disease is inevitable - and it's not! With naturopathic care, it can be prevented and even reversed.

Age, excess weight, wear and tear, a lifetime of inadequate diet, nutritional deficiencies, and lack of exercise are often cited as factors in osteoarthritis. Skeletal defects, genetic factors, and hormonal deficiencies can also be factors in this disease.

Conventional medical treatment of osteoarthritis consists of stopping the inflammation with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). These drugs can help to decrease the inflammation of the joints but there are common side effects such as g.i. upset, headaches, and dizziness. A less well known side effect is that these drugs can actually add to the further degeneration of the joint cartilage. Experimental studies have shown that aspirin and other NSAIDS inhibit cartilage synthesis and accelerate cartilage destruction. Clinical studies have shown that NSAIDS use is associated with acceleration of osteoarthritis and increased joint destruction.

Another interesting fact about osteoarthritis is that there is often a lack of correlation between the severity of the degenerative changes and the amount of pain. Some people with little deformity have much pain while some with a great amount of degeneration experience little pain.

So that's what osteoarthritis is all about. Stay tuned for my next column when I talk about solutions - how by altering the lifestyle and the processes that contribute to arthritis, you can stop the pain and the degeneration and even reverse the process in many cases.

Dr. Paulette Roscoe is a naturopathic physician who practices in Nanaimo. She welcomes your calls at 754-1733.