Top 3 Natural Ways to help Arthritis

What you need to know

At Starting Point Acupuncture it is our goal to provide you with pain relieving treatments so that you can get back to living life to the fullest. Whether it’s gardening or getting back to the golf course, we’re here to help! Give our office a call at (425) 686-4498 to schedule your consultation.

Top 3 Natural Ways to help Arthritis

Natural ways to help arthritis

Do you suffer from achy joints or arthritis?

Have you been told by your doctor that “imaging is normal” you “just have arthritis” and prescribed physical therapy but given nothing to help actually decrease or stop the inflammation?

Are you not able to garden, go for walks, or do fun activities because of your joint pain?

We understand and can help!

One in four adults in the United States are affected by arthritis. That’s 54 million people whose ability to work, move, and live a free and happy life may be limited by pain due to arthritis.

What is arthritis, anyways?

Arthritis can be one of the most life-altering and unpleasant common pain conditions. Caused by a swelling of the joints, it can range from bothersome to extremely painful and can be a hindrance to everyday activities. Arthritis is also associated with other chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Thankfully there are a multitude of ways to manage arthritis.

Here are my top 3 natural ways to help with arthritis

Gentle Exercise for joint health

Movement is good for your joints! Movement can help reduce arthritic swelling and pain, a mood-booster, and can help to increase blood flow to the joints to aid in easing inflammation. What should you be doing? Exercise should be low-impact to reduce the risk of injury. Some of the best low-impact exercise activities to help manage arthritis are walking, tai chi and qigong, gentle yoga, swimming and other water exercise, and biking.

Read Dr. Heintze’s previous post on how Tai Chi has been shown to help reduce osteoarthritis pain.

Eat Right for Joint Health

While there’s no diet that will completely solve or cure chronic joint pain, there are so many ways to design food habits around inflammatory nutrition to help lessen painful symptoms.

Begin by limiting processed foods and saturated fats, as well as common foods that can stoke inflammation, like gluten, processed carbohydrates (like white bread), sugar, anything with high tannin like red wine and red fruits, and fried food.

Add fish, olive oil, nuts and beans, and fresh herbs like turmeric and ginger to your diet.

Following “The Mediterranean Diet” (a diet heavy in fish, olive oil, vegetables and fruits, and light on sugar, red meat, and processed food) to any degree not only helps reduce inflammation and ease joint pain, but it’s an overall health booster! The Mediterranean Diet and any plant-based diet has been proven to lower blood pressure, assist weight loss Lower blood pressure, and protect against serious conditions like cancer and heart disease.

Acupuncture for joint health

Acupuncture has been shown to help with arthritis. Acupuncture works by increasing blood flow to the area which helps to reduce inflammation, speed healing, and can work to reduce pain. Following the prescribed treatment plan and frequency will help to aid in long-term healing of the joint and help to increase range of motion.

So, you can get back to what you love to do, pain-free!