Natural Remedies For Arthritis

“Arthritis” is actually the general term for joint inflammation. However, when most of us use it, we often are referring to osteoarthritis, a chronic and sometimes debilitating inflammation of the hip, knee, spine, hand, and feet bones. This degenerative joint disease currently affects more than 16 million Americans and I can only imagine how these rainy spring days treat each one of them. I often think of my grandma on these dreary types of days and can almost hear her voice lamenting her arthritis flare-ups. Back then, her doctor often recommended daily doses of Tylenol, which in the long run did quite a bit more damage to her overall health. This is why it’s so important to always look for safer, more holistic routes when it comes to the care and keeping of your body. The following may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but they're definitely safer than any painkiller you will find in a pill bottle.

Stinging Nettle: I remember the first time I walked through a stinging nettle patch. It felt almost electric, without being painful. The plant itself is covered in tiny little hairlike projections that provide microinjections of several chemicals that cause a mild stinging sensation. These chemicals have been found to trigger a cascade of chemical reactions in your body that act as anti-inflammatory agents. This cascade of reactions essentially provides an antihistaminic reaction to your body’s acute inflammation. Using the tiny, almost needle-like, nettle hairs to combat inflammation is a practice known as urtication, and it dates back more than 2,000 years! So, this is obviously a tried-and-true method of pain maintenance.