Herbal Remedies for Arthritis

Arthritis is caused by inflamation of the joints. To understand how arthritis produces pain you need to take a look inside a joint. No, not the joint down the street, but the joint where two or more bones meet. Bones don't actually touch, they are separated by a small space referred to as the synovial space. This space is filled with fluid which is contained in a capsule by a synovial membrane. The ends of each bone are covered with smooth catrilage which allows movement with less friction.

In rheumatoid arthritis the synovial membrane is inflamed which creates additional tissue that causes distortion of the joints. It's a form of an autoimmune disorder, which means that the inflamation in the joints is caused by the body's own immune system which isn't functioning properly.

In osteoarthritis the joints sometimes swells and becomes deformed. It has less inflamation than rheumatoid arthritis. One of it's distinguishing characteristics is that the affected joint is cool and hard to touch rather than warm and spongy like rheumatoid. Destruction of the cartilage that surrounds the ends of the bones is common in osteoarthritis. Small bone spurs then grow from the surface of the bone into the joint. It tends to run in families. Keeping your weight at an optimal level has been shown to decrease your risk of developing it in the knees.

Ankylosing spondylitis is another type of arthritis. It typically affects the spinal column, causing pain and stiffness in the back.

Arthritis can also be associated with inflammatory bowel disease, which can usually be controlled by focusing on controling the intestinal inflamation.

Some supplements to help relieve arthritis are B vitamins, 6.4 lilligrams of folic acid per day and 20 micrograms of vitamin B per day. Niacin may also provide some relief.

Vitamins C and D have been shown to help with osteoarthritis. Vitamin C is essential to the body for making callagen, an important component of joints. 200 milligrams of C per day is probably enough. Try 500 IU of vitamin D.

Vitamin E, take 400 to 600 IU daily.

Boron, the Rheumatoid Disease Foundation recommends 3 milligrams of boron per day. They don't know why it works, but when people ingest 1 milligram or les per day the rate of arthritis is higher.

Calcium is an important component of bone. It's been shown to decrease the amount of bone loss that occurs from long term steroid us. Typical dose is 1,000 milligrams per day.

Glucosamine sulfate makes up the main component of cartilage in joints. It has it's skeptics but there's also been a lot of attention from people who claims it works wonders. Short term studies have shorwn that it can decrease arthritis patient's symptoms. It's not a pain reliever and it takes four to eight weeks before you feel results. Take 500 to 1,500 milligrams daily. Caution, it can cause mild digestive problems and should not be used by people with heart disease of diabetes.

Herbal Remedies

Cayenne and other peppers (capsicum spp.)

Peppers contain a strong analgesic and anti-inflammatory agent known as capsaicin. It blocks a chemical in the body that acts as a pain signal. You can find it in commercial creams. Typical dosage for a cream containing 0.25 percent to 0.75 percent capsaicin applied daily. You may have a slight burning of the skin with capsaicin use, if so, try a cream with a lower percentage.

Tomorrow I'll list some more and try to make a sticky on how to prepare your own herbal remedies in the different forms. Unfortunately, right now, because of my tennis elbow I can't be doing much typing, so this will be done in short posts.

I have psoriatic arthritis which is very similar to rheumatoid arthrits, osteo arthrits and ankylosing spondilitis as well.

Thanks for the info Sonshine. The vitamins/ minerals I can manage to add to my diet pretty easily. The glucosamine only helped for about 6 weeks, unfortunately. I'll have to check into the capsicum creams, I think I have some tiger balm around here from my knee injury.

When my back is really bad and I can't stand up straight I usually have to put on a Lidoderm patch just to be able to stand up.

There's a lot more info in my books on arthritis, but unfortunately, I'm babying my right arm for now, so I can only type a little at a time. I'll type more tomorrow. If you grow cayenne peppers you may be able to make a poultace with them. I'll try to find out and post my finding tomorrow. I'll also post about evening primrose and it's affects on arthritis tomorrow. After I go through all the info I have on arthritis I'll start posting on allergies. Are they hayfever type allergies? One things I know helps with allergies is buying and using local honey.

Thanks Sonshine. I hope your arm starts feeling better. Don't over do it, I can wait for the information until your arm is better.

I have seasonal allergies, but I am allergic to many other things such as drugs, artificial sweeteners, MSG, iodine, latex and some food colorings. When my allergies get bad, my asthma flares up if I can't get them under control quickly.

Surprisingly, cayenne peppers are also good for allergies. Not sure about other types of allergies, but it's good for seasonal allergies.

I'm going to make a sticky on how to make the different preparations of the herbs. Tomorrow I'll try to post more on how to prepare the cayenne for arthritis. In the meantime, here's some of the other herbs to use for arthritis. I'll be breaking each one down, one at a time. It may take awhile.

Evening Primrose
Flaxseed
Stinging Nettle
Ginger
Devil's Claw
Green Tea
Feverfew
Tumeric
Yucca
Willow
Boswellia
Pineapple

As I said, I'll break them down one at a time. In the meantime, be sure to check out the sticky on preparations.

Thanks Sonshine

To use cayenne for arthritis there are a few ways to prepare it.

Make a paste by stirring a tsp of cayenne into a tablespoon of olive oil. Rub it on the sore joints. This also works for sore muscles.

To make a cayenne oil you need to soak 1/2 cup of cayenne powder in 1 cup of oil for 10 days up to 2 weeks. Strain the oil and bottle the mixture. Rub the oil into sore muscles of joints.

To make a salve, just heat the cayenne oil and add beeswax to get the consistency you would like, then place it in jars.

Do you know if the paste/oil/salve will burn my psoriasis skin lesions? My skin gets REALLY bad, I'm usually covered 80-90% head to toe with huge patches of raw/tender skin.

One of the components of cayenne is that of a pain reliever. I'l sure it'll burn initially though. Tomorrow I'll try to post some of the other remedies for arthritis.I'm bacisally looking through 3 books to try to find hat I need to post.

PATRICE IN IL wrote:Do you know if the paste/oil/salve will burn my psoriasis skin lesions? My skin gets REALLY bad, I'm usually covered 80-90% head to toe with huge patches of raw/tender skin.

I don't know what affect it will have on psoriasis. I would suggest trying it on a small patch to start with and go from there. Or, try some of the other treatments.

The next herbal recommendation is Evening Primrose. The seed contains the essential fatty acid gamma-linoleme acid. (GLA) which has an effect on inflamation. The oil may significantl help arthritis pain. One study showed that patients taking 12 capsules a day of evening primrose oil or 540 milligrams of GLA were able to reduce the amount of nonsteroid anti-inflamatory drugs. Although evening primrose can be expensive to buy, there are other herbs that contain GLA. Dose should be either 12 capsules a day or 1/2 tsp of oil per day.

I'll have to check into the cost of the evening primrose, our budget is tight so I may not be able to afford it if it is too expensive.

Why not grow your own? I'm going to try to find a place to buy some because it has many uses.

Flaxseed:
The linoleic acid in flaxseed oil may also be beneficial for arthritis because it alters how the body breaks down prostaglandins, chemicals involved in inflamation. Take 2 Tablespoons of oil per day in food. (use on top of cereal or as a salad dressing)

Stinging Nettle:
This plant is used by some in a process called urtication. What this involves is swatting the aching joint with the whole plant so the nettles scratch the skin. This injects an anti-inflamatory chemical from the plant, although I'm not sure I'd want to try it. A better way of using it would be to steam or dry the leaves, which removes the sting. They're high in boron, a mineral recommended for arthritis. Take up to six 435 milligram capsules per day or 1 cup of tea per day, divided into two or three doses. (steep 1 tsp of dried herb in 1 cup of hot water for 10 minutes)

Sorry I took a bit of a break from posting these. Here's the next one:

Ginger. Components of ginger, such as gingerol, can inhibit the production of prostaglandins, possibly more effectively than the arthritis drug indomethicin. Take up to eight 500- to 600- milligrams capsules per day, or 1/2 to 1 tsp fresh ground root per day, or 10 to 20 drops of tincture in water 3 times per day. Just a word of warning, doses of ginger higher than these should not be used by people with diabetes, heart problems or bleeding problems.

Thanks Sonshine.

Would you like for me to continue or is there another herb or condition you would like to know more about? I'm really enjoying about herbal remedies.