Daily Care to Protect Joints and Ease Pains in Patients with RA

In daily life, actually a lot can be done to help protect the joints and ease pains for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The following are some of the suggestions which may help you.

Protect the damaged joints.
Proper ways of behaving in daily life can help to alleviate joint pains, slow down progression of the illness condition and prevent occurrence of permanent deformity:
*Avoid overuse of small joints.
In case of strong force, small joints such as knuckles are more likely to get deformed than major joints. Therefore, if you lift up heavy objects, you should avoid simply using the knuckles, but use more of your arms, wrists or palms.
*Avoid staying in the same posture for long.
Avoid long-time standing, take some time to sit down and have a rest. When you sit, change your sitting postures and position of the feet, or stretch the limbs often. Avoid bending your knuckles for long while doing certain activities such as writing, knitting, typing, repairing, etc, and take some time to have a rest and stretch the knuckles.
*Avoid keeping the joints in deformed position for long.
Maintain good postures while sitting, walking or sleeping.
*Avoid excessive energy consumption
Properly arrange the things in your house. Put the commonly used stuff to the place within reach of your hand. Put the heavy and uncommonly used stuff into cabinet. Try to avoid postures such as bending, climbing, crouching, etc. Use a tool when carrying goods so as to save energy.
Daily care methods for joint protection
*For the patients with RA, early active assistant daily care can help to maintain joint functions. In the later stages, joints may deform and joint functions will be severely affected. The following are some tips for joint protection:
*Handrail can be installed on the walls in washing room to help you stand up easier.
*Avoid washing your hair with strong force of knuckles.
*Avoid strong force of knuckles when using clothes pin, nail clippers and spray; avoid pulling the drawer with one or two knuckles; avoid fetching kettle with knuckles.
Exercise therapy
Under permitted condition, the patients can do certain exercise properly. Exercise can help to improve blood circulation, strengthen physical constitution, prevent Osteoporosis, and prevent joint rigidity and deformity. In stable stage, the patients can do certain functional exercise, and activities that cause little burden on the joints, such as curvature movements of hip, knee or ankle joints while lying on bed. The activity strength should be gradually increased. When the patients are in active or flare-up stage, however, you will need to reduce activity strength, have more rest and improve nutrition support. In daily life, you will remember to carefully control the illness condition. If the symptoms are aggravating, you will need to seek for treatment immediately.

What Kinds of Exercise can Patients with RA do

People with Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) often have the doubt: can I do exercise?
The answer is yes. Doing exercise can help strengthen joint stability, alleviate joint stiffness and pains and improve quality of sleep. The patients of Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) can choose suitable method of exercise as follows according to the preference.
1. Stretching exercise
You can exercise to stretch and work various joints of your body as follows. Stretch each joint for 10 to 30 times which can help to improve joint stiffness effectively. The joint stretching postures are seen below:

2. Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise, such as swimming, cycling, can strengthen heart and lung functions and improve joint flexibility. Swimming is the best choice which can work all muscle groups of the body and improve strength and coordination of muscles; all joints of the body are relaxed, so it is a suitable choice and can be done for the long term to improve muscular endurance and joint flexibility.
3. Avoid wrong activities

You will need to quit high heels to avoid putting extra pressure on the joints. People with involved knee joint injury should also avoid climbing mountains, long-time standing, heavy load-bearing, etc. In addition, if you are in active stage with severe pains, you will need to avoid too much activities. If you are in stable stage, you can choose the above exercise to help your joints.

Positive Things to Uplift People with Rheumatoid Arthritis

For the people with Rheumatoid Arthritis, there are always some positive things that will not make the pain worse but can help improve spiritual condition, joint condition and quality of life.
In the active stage of RA, the patients should avoid doing too much joint activities because the strenuous exercise can injure joint synovium and worsen joint inflammation. When the flares of disease is well controlled, the patients can actively do joint functional exercise so as to maintain joint functions and prevent deformity or ankylosis of joint.
*Supply necessary elements to the diet. Some foods such as whole grains, fish, green vegetables and olive oil are helpful to resist joint damage and prevent aggravation of the illness condition. Some other foods are not suggested for the people with RA. For example, greasy foods can raise cholesterol and lipid levels, thus increasing risks of hear and brain vascular hardening.
*In addition, the patients should restrict the intake of sugar in daily diet, especially those on long-term use of glucocorticoids, since this can increase the risks of glycometabolism.
*Hot compress can be self-applied by the patients to treat their disease. It refers to place the electric heating pad under the lesioned area. The warm effects of hot compress can help to improve focal blood circulation, promote metabolism, drive cold and alleviate pains in the patients, thus achieving the purpose of treating disease.
Those are some easy steps for the patients with RA to control the disease and improve their health. However, those are health care methods and can not replace the treatment; if you suffer from severe symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis, you will need to see a doctor immediately.

Rituximab and Its Side Effects in Rheumatoid Arthritis

It is also used in combination with another drug called methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis that has not responded to one or more types of treatment, including anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers.

Clinically, common side effects associated with use of Rituximab in Rheumatoid Arthritis include infusion reaction, chills, infections, body aches, tiredness
low white blood cell count. Sometimes, it is associated with certain life-threatening side effects including the return of active hepatitis B virus infection with sudden and serious liver problems including liver failure, and death, other serious infections that can lead to death, heart problems, kidney problems, and stomach and serious bowel problems including blockage and tears in the bowel that can sometimes lead to death.

You will need to tell your doctor right away if you have any of the following symptoms or if anyone close to you notices these symptoms: confusion or problems thinking, loss of balance, change in the way you walk or talk, decreased strength or weakness on one side of your body, blurred vision or loss of vision.

Laboratory Tests for Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis

The following are common laboratory tests for the diagnosis of Osteoarthritis.
In blood sedimentation rate test, there is no abnormal changes. The synovial fluid is often clear and yellowish. White blood cell count is often restricted within 1.0×109 / L or less, monocytes are mainly seen. Mucin clots are solid.
There is no obvious abnormalities at the early stage. After a few years, the patients pose narrowed joint space, which indicates that the articular cartilage has started to get thinning. In the later stage, there is obvious narrowing in joint space. Subchondral fracture may have microscopic signs, then there is bone sclerosis. Finally, the joint edge becomes sharp, with osteophyte formation may have a weight at the subchondral bone cysts forming a typical bone and joint disease signs. CT and MRI examination can detect abnormal early changes of articular cartilage and subchondral bone.
Imaging examination is very important for the diagnosis of Osteoarthritis. MRI is important. Typical X-ray findings of joint space narrowing, subchondral bone sclerosis and cystic degeneration, marginal bone joints to form a whole, the articular surface atrophy, deformation and other relevant sections subluxation. MRI is helpful for early diagnosis of disease, showing structural changes of joints such as cartilage, meniscus and other joint structures.
Rheumatoid factors. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the synovial lymphocytes and plasma cells produce can large amounts of rheumatoid factors, with IgM, IgG and IgA rheumatoid factors as the most common. Negative rheumatoid factors which more content, so the determination of the current multi-IgM rheumatoid factor. Rheumatoid factor negative, does not mean that the disease does not exist. Because it can be masked by other serum proteins. Or because in serum is a high affinity binding of the antibody, and not easily detected.

In X-ray examination, ambiguous joint surface can be seen. In the early stage, the patients have osteoporosis near the joints and soft tissue swelling. There is bone erosion. In the final stage, articular cartilage can cause narrowed joint space and fibrosis.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Treatment for Dermatomyositis

How does traditional Chinese medicine treat Dermatomyositis? In the treatment of Dermatomyositis, TCM has certain advantages. Western medicines, such as hormones, can bring many side effects to the patients, and the disease may recur frequently. In the long term, it can cause great suffering to the patients, and the disease is often combined with severe complications. Chinese medicine treats the root of Dermatomyositis, the treatment effects are stable and there are no side effects.
There are many methods in traditional Chinese medicine to treat Dermatomyositis. In addition to herbal medicine treatment, there are acupuncture therapy, dietary therapy, external application therapy, etc. Those are effective and easy to be handle for treating Dermatomyositis, and are also free of side effects. Application of those therapies are based on syndrome differentiation.
External therapy
Ingredients: 500 grams of salt, and120 grams of cumin seeds. Put the cumin seed into pot for sizzling, and wrap the pain area with a cloth. Take it two to three times a day, which is suitable for patients suffering from muscle and joint pain.
Acupuncture
Acupoints: mainly focus on Yangming acupoint. Upper limbs: shoulder grate, Quchui and Hegu. Lower limbs: Biguan, Zusanli
Modifications: for those with hyperactivity, add the chize and feishu; for those with dampness and heat, add yinlingquan and spleen acupoint; for those with liver deficiency, add the Yu acupoint and kidney acupoint.
Needle therapy: for those with hyperactivity, dampness and heat, a single needle moxibustion, with diarrhea method; for those with liver and kidney deficiency, nutrition therapy is combined moxibustion method (How to Apply Moxibustion).
Dietary therapy for the treatment of dermatomyositis
One offer of Placenta powder, and three parts of cooked pig (or cow) bone marrow. Smash the bone morrow and combine it with rice flour. Add proper amount of sugar to take. For those with relatively good appetite, you can also add proper amount of soybean into the fresh bone morrow. This dietary prescription is applicable for Dermatomyositis patients with petrified weakness and muscle atrophy.
The above introduces traditional Chinese medicine treatment for Dermatomyositis. I am Cindy, doctor assistant in Rheumatoid TCM Hospital. You may email me to cindyhe628@gmail.com for more information on TCM treatment for Dermatomyositis.
You may also read: Advantage of Traditional Chinese Medicine for Dermatomyositis

Laboratory Tests for Patients Suffering from Joint Pain

Joint pain refers to swelling, flushing, high temperature in the joints, which causes restrictions of activities. It is usually not a single disease, but a manifestation of various diseases. The following are some laboratory tests to diagnose the underlying cause of joint pain.
Common laboratory tests include blood routine, urine routine, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), rheumatic factor evaluation, 24-hour uric acid, LDH, CPK, immunoglobulin test, etc.
Evaluation of laboratory result in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis:
1. Increased white blood cell count suggests that certain infections exist or joints are involved by Rheumatoid Arthritis.
2. Urinalysis: urinary protein and increased red blood cell and white blood cells suggest the chances of getting SLE.
3. ESR evaluation: increased blood clotting suggests rheumatic fever, connective tissue disease or osteoarticular tuberculosis.
4. Anti-"O" test: positive result suggests rheumatic fever or nodular Lupus Erythematosus.
5. Rheumatoid factor test: positive result suggests that as rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma may exist.
6. 24h urinary uric acid and uric acid test: elevated result suggests Gout.
7. Lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) suggests Polymyositis.
8. Immunoglobulin test: elevation of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin G or immunoglobulin M may suggest connective tissue disease.

The above introduces laboratory tests and the meaning of test result. Since joint pain may imply severe underlying disease, it is important that the patients seek for early diagnosis and treatment. If you have some other accompanying symptoms together with the joint pain, it will help for easier diagnosis and evaluation of your illness condition. Any help needed, you may contact our online service.

How Long does a Gout Flare up usually Last

Gout is a refractory disease. Many patients may experience alternate periods of remission and flare up. In different cases, the patients have varying length of time before the disease is under control. To effective control the disease during a flare up, the best way is to treat the disease properly and take special care in your daily life. How long does a gout flare up usually last?
This depends. The effective way of self-management is to take care in your daily life and eliminate high purine foods from your diet.
In the passage, Home Remedy and Self-treatment for Gout, you will find some good foods suggested to alleviate pains from Gout and control your uric acid level.
You may also refer to Diet Guide for Patients of Gout-Purine Content Chart to learn about comprehensive dietary guidance for patients with Gout.
What is best treatment for Gout during a flare up?
In common medication treatment, two types of drugs, that is, drugs to lower uric acid in the blood, and drugs to reduce inflammatory responses, are applied for treating Gout. The second type of drugs commonly include non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, colchicine, etc. Both of two types of drugs help to improve symptoms. However, the drugs actually don’t correct disorder of purine metabolism and block progression, so the patients may have long periods before Gout is remitted.
Plasma exchange is a latest technique for treating Gout. The technique can artificially eliminate high uric acid from bloodstream. In medical research, the patients have their overall symptoms much more rapidly and obviously eliminated compared to conventional treatment. Currently, there are potent biologics that help to control inflammation and bring active condition of Gout under effective control, so the treatment can prevent deterioration of Gout and flares will be well treated.
Gout may seem a severe progressive disease. However, there are treatments to effectively control the disease and restore health. Presently, advanced techniques is combined with traditional Chinese medicine to treat Gout flares.  service.The combination is thought to treat Gout more therapeutically.
If you find your Gout flares uncontrollable, which is a bad sign, you will need to talk with your doctor immediately, or you may also contact our online service.

Differences between Osteoarthritis and RA and the Treatment

Both Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis are systemic diseases, with various joints in the body involved. However, they are two different diseases that must be distinguished. In the following passage, we will introduce differences between Osteoporosis and RA and the treatment for Osteoarthritis.
Differences between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis are as follows:
1. Rheumatoid Arthritis most commonly occurs in middle-aged women, while osteoarthritis is often seen in those over 50 yeard old.
2. Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis synovitis basic lesions , and osteoarthritis articular cartilage degeneration and primary hyperplasia .
3.Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis mainly involves in proximal interphalangeal joint and Osteoarthritis mainly involves the distal joints.
4. Rheumatoid Arthritis shows progressive, symmetric and progressive joint damage, which can not be remitted spontaneously without treatment, while inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis can be remitted after rests.
5. Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis have nodules, while sufferers with Osteoarthritis seldom have nodules.
6. Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis experience morning stiffness for over one hour, while Osteoarthritis experience morning stiffness for no more than half an hour.
7. Positive rate of rheumatoid factor in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis reaches above 75 percent, while Osteoarthritis sufferers have negative rheumatoid factors.
Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Treatment for Osteoarthritis
Currently, there has not yet effective drugs that can repair articular cartilage or function on articular cartilage cells in western medicine. In traditional theory of TCM, Osteoarthritis is caused by wind, cold or dampness invasion, which causes blockage of meridians. Therefore, TCM treatment is generally aimed at expelling wind and cold, relieving muscle spasms, activating blood and eliminating stasis. Traditional Chinese medicine treatment is aimed at relaxing muscle stiffness, dredging channels, eliminating swelling and stopping pains. Therefore, the treatment can play certain role in restoring normal metabolism of articular cartilage cells.

TCM treatment is one of the treatment options for patients with Osteoarthritis. In some cases, the patient experience Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis at the same time and are confused whether RA is the inducing cause of Osteoarthritis. In this case, you may read this article:  Causes of Osteoporosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)to know the relationship between theW two diseases and proper way of treating them.

Proper Gestures for Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS)

For the patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS), maintaining proper gestures in daily life is very important for preventing joint deformity and protecting the physiological curve of spine. In this passage, let’s learn about the proper gestures for the patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis in their daily life.
Gestures during activities: patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS) should avoid long-time bending to reduce burdens on spine and prevent the occurrence of spine deformity. Strenuous load-bearing activities should be avoided so as not to worsen the illness condition. When you pick up stuff from the floor, you should firstly squat themselves and avoid direct bending.
Standing:
Keep the head up straight, relax the shoulders, slightly adduct the abdomen, keep the same width between the feet and shoulders, maintain the natural position of ankle, knee, hip and other joints.
Sleeping:
Sleep on hard wood bed. Soft bed can easily cause spine curve or deformity. Sleeping on hard wood ned can help to maintain the physiological curve in the patients and prevent spine deformity. Therefore, the patients should insist on lying on hard bed, and choose hallow pillow. To prevent spine deformity, the patients should better choose sleeping on their back.
In daily life, the patients should try to maintain proper sitting gesture. That is, keep your back straight with the feet put flatwise. It is better to avoid keeping the same gesture for long time. In addition, you should regularly exercise your back and make back muscle relaxed so as to avoid muscle nervousness or cramps.

The above is about the proper gestures for patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS). Hope it is of help for you. If you have further questions regarding to the management of AS, you may leave me a message.

How to Treat Severe Pulmonary Infection with Dermatomyositis

In a recent consultation, a parent with child suffering from severe pulmonary infection with Dermatomyositis asked for the better solution of treatment. If you have similar doubts about treating pulmonary infections caused by Dermatomyositis, the dialogue below may provide you some useful information.

Q: My child was diagnosed as Dermatomyositis in April this year. Now she is suffering from severe pulmonary infection. The test suggests severe diffuse lesions in her lungs, and now she has suffered from high fever for ten days. The pulmonary ventilation function is declining gradually. At first, blood oxygen saturation is 97 ~ 99 by using a breathing mask.. Now with noninvasive ventilator, the blood oxygen saturation is only 80 or even lower. Is there any better treatment now? Please help!

A: As you have described, you child is suffering from severe pulmonary infection. Firstly, I will explain reasons why patients with Dermatomyositis are more likely to develop combined infections.
Dermatomyositis is characterized by inflammatory damage to muscles and skin, and other parts such as lungs, joints, the esophagus, the lungs, and, less commonly, the heart. Patients with Dermatomyositis have autoimmune malfunctions.
In the common treatment of the disease, immunosuppressive drugs and glucocorticoids are often applied. However, using those medications may decrease the patients’ immunity. Combing the reduced immunity with the internal immune disorders, the patients with Dermatomyositis are more prone for infections than patients with other disease.
What’s more, Dermatomyositis can cause muscle damage and lead to various muscle problems such as difficulty swallowing, progressive muscle weakness, involved pharynx, throat and esophagus muscle damage, etc. Combination of those conditions make the patients more prone for combined infections.
As for treating combined infections in Dermatomyositis, the treatment should be based on treating the accompanying complications of Dermatomyositis, adjusting the use of immunosuppressive drugs and actively treating the infection. Treating complications such as muscle weakness, pulmonary interstitial lesion, esophageal reflux and coughing inability will help the recovery from infections. Lowering dose of immunosuppressive drugs properly could help to reduce its side effects. According to what you have mentioned, you child is suffering from severe pulmonary infection, so the infection as well as the symptoms such as breathing difficulty should also be treated actively.

What I have explained above is the general treatment solution for combined severe pulmonary infection in Dermatomyositis. If you want to know moe details based on the child’s condition, you may send the lab results to my email cindyhe628@gmail.com or contact with the online service directly.

Natural Remedy to Alleviate Pains in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis can cause severe pains in various joints such as hand, wrist, elbow, heel, etc, which cause great sufferings to the patients. The patients hope to find natural remedies for alleviating their pains. In this passage, several natural remedies are introduced for natural relief of pains in Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Natural remedy-Physical exercise to alleviate pains in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Focal massage: after joint pains are alleviated, the patient can do massage around the joints. Exercises targeted at different joints should be performed properly. In addition, the patient can immerse lesioned joints into warm water for twenty minutes.
The patient should reduce the time of lying on bed and avoid fierce exercise. In winter morning, the patient should take care to keep warm and do some warming-up exercise. Movements include: put your hands straight forward with the palms down, stretch backward to do paddling movements, or raise your hands high to the face with the palms on the face. Take a deep inspiration, put your hands up and stretch outwards, and then put down your hands slowly.
Take care to keep warm in winter, and you may joint a hot water bath to reduce the pains.
Natural remedy-Dietary therapy to alleviate pains in Rheumatoid Arthritis
In daily diet, the patient should choose digestible foods with light flavor, and avoid spicy, greasy or icy foods. Take more foods that can improve your appetite, such as dates, coix seeds, etc, especially coix seeds have the function of driving away wind and wet. In addition, the patients should maximally reduce the intake of fat, and the main energy sources should be protein or sugar. if the patient needs to take aspirin, it should be noted that this drug should be taken after meals so as to avoid its damage to the stomach.
Properly supply foods with rich minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin D, vitamin D, calcium, iron, copper, zinc, selenium, etc, so as to strengthen immunity and prevent oxidation or anemia. If the patient find his appetite increased, have sodium retention or osteoporosis due to use of steroids, they will need to control their intake of foods so as to avoid rapid increase of body weight. Eat less processing foods with rich sodium and take more foods with rich calcium, which is helpful for the illness condition.
Besides the above, other natural therapies also include herbal treatment, physical therapy, massage, etc. However, those treatments should be provided under the guidance of expert doctors. Natural remedies are favored by the patients because they are safe and free of side effects. Learning as much as possible in daily life could help the patients to learn better methods to manage Rheumatoid Arthritis and overall symptoms. If you have any other relevant question regarding to natural treatment, you may contact the free online-service.
Learn more: Natural treatment instead of Surgery for RA

Good and Bad Foods for Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)

In the control of Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA), a beneficial diet should contain good foods that supply essential elements needed to alleviate symptoms, while bad foods that can worsen the illness condition and symptoms should be eliminated from the daily diet.
Good foods for Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)
Interlukin-1 is a strong inflammation inducing substance. Eating foods with rich unsaturated fatty acids can help to reduce the synthesis of inflammatory factors and interlukin-1, thus inhibiting inflammatory reaction and alleviating joint symptoms. Fishes, as good sources of unsaturated fatty acids, could alleviate symptoms, shorten time period of morning stiffness, strengthen gripping ability, alleviate fatigue, etc.
Eating certain microelements is beneficial for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Currently, it is believed that senelium has anti-inflammatory and immune regulation functions.
See more details: Four Kinds of Anti-inflammatory Foods to Help Fight RA.
Bad foods for Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)
Cereals(such as wheat, grains, oats, ryes), milk and milk products, tea, coffee, red meat, oranges, citrus, etc, can cause bad reactions in patients with RA and aggravate symptoms of RA symptoms. Reasons including allergic reaction, increased intestinal permeability, bacteria imbalances, etc.
In addition, the patients should eat less foods with sugar and fat. Fatty foods can increase blood cholesterol levels, harden blood vessels in the heart and brain, and bring certain damages to spleen and stomach function. RA patients should also eat less high sodium foods to avoid sodium and fluid retention.
In patients with long-term diarrhea and use of antibiotics, intestinal permeability can be increased due to release of bacteria. Certain harmful microorganism can come into the body and induce diseases relying on certain foods. Therefore, proper nutrition supplement is important for the patients with RA.
As for the matter whether patients with RA can drink alcohol, it should be determined based on the specific illness condition. Since alcohol can get rid of cold and wet, patients with manifestations of wet and cold can drink certain alcohol. In patients with reflections of heat and wet, drinking alcohol can aggravate internal heat gathering and damage the liver, therefore, it is not suggested to drink alcohol, or certain drugs with cold properties can be used by the patients, however, this should be guided under a doctor with rich experience in drug use.

The above is an introduction on good and bad foods for patients with RA. If you find any further annoying question, you may email me directly to cindyhe628@gmail.com, and I would be ready to help.

How to Alleviate Hand Hurts in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Q: I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and like reading a lot. Recently, I feel severe hurting when holding the book. Is there any treatment or device that can alleviate the problem?
A: Rheumatoid Arthritis is a systemic autoimmune disease. The disease can cause damage in various joints of human body. Currently, there are several methods suggested to you to alleviate your hand pains and hurts:
Western medicine treatment
Western medicines will help to relieve the symptoms and resist inflammation. However, some side effects may occur and the disease tend to relapse again and again and is hard to be cured. Long-term use may cause certain side effects, so the general condition should be monitored carefully.
Traditional Chinese medicine treatment:
Rheumatoid Arthritis should be treated timely at the early stage. TCM treatment can play a role in activating blood, dredging channels, resisting inflammation and stopping pains, thus effectively treating symptoms and driving away internal pathogenic factors that cause pains.
In western medicine, the medicines applied mainly include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory painkillers, immunosuppressants, and hormone drugs. Long-term use of anti-inflammatory to relieve pain medications will cause gastrointestinal bleeding, peptic ulcers, and prolonged use of immunosuppressants will damage the liver, kidney and other organs, suppress hematopoietic function of bone marrow , cause anemia and hair loss. So, for the treatment of rheumatic diseases, Hou’s therapy is suggested to treat patients with their individualized illness condition. Meridian guidance, acupoints therapy, moxibustion, fire needle therapy, Jiugong Huiyang therapy and drug iontophoresis are combined scientifically to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis. The treatments will strengthen liver and kidney, improve physical constitute and immunity, enhance disease resisting and drug absorption abilities. After this, systemic drug application, functional exercise and dietary instructions are combined to achieve the purpose of treating Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a long-term refractory disease and will reduce physical constitute over time. The treatment effects won’t be obvious if the patients have poor physical constitute. Hou’s therapy considers the combination of physical therapy at the same time of drug treatment, and functional exercise and dietary therapy are also combined to get the maximal treatment effects.

Flaxseed Helps Fight Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)

Flaxseed is a natural anti-inflammatory herb to help patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA). However, there are also side effects researched on use of flaxseed. So, you will need to have a thorough understanding firstly.
Flaxseed is one of the best vegan sources of Omega-3 (ALA), which is so important to a strong immune system and for fighting inflammation. Flaxseed contains an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. Omega-3 fatty acids are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and may help relieve the swelling, and have been shown to reduce inflammation and help prevent certain chronic diseases, such as heart disease and arthritis.
Flaxseed oil contains a number of vitamins such as B1, B2, C, E and carotene, a form of vitamin A. Flaxseed oil is used for for rheumatoid arthritis or for lowering elevated blood fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides.Some of the other benefits of flaxseed include lowering high blood pressure, lowering cholesterol levels, and improving the immune system.
To obtain the beneficial fatty acids from the flax seeds, they need to be ground first. You can buy either ground flax meal or whole flax seeds from a health food store and grind them yourself in a coffee grinder before use.
Warning
Flaxseed may interfere with other medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Before use of flaxseed oil, it is best to talk with a health care professional to avoid any side effect related to a medical condition.

Another thing to note is that flaxseed may also cause some side effects. If you take more than 30 grams of flaxseed oil (about two tablespoonfuls a day), you might experience diarrhea or loose stools. Allergic reactions have occurred while taking flaxseed oil. So you should be guided by an expert dietitian or doctor before taking flaxseed.

Fruits and Vegetables Helpful for Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)

Fruits that are high in vitamin C can relieve some of the symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C: Citrus fruits, broccoli, kiwi, kale, pineapple and mangoes are just some of the foods that are high in vitamin C.
Foods such as asparagus, garlic and onion, cabbage and broccoli are beneficial for people with rheumatoid arthritis because they contain an important amount of sulfur.
Vegetables helpful in the relief of rheumatoid arthritis include parsley, broccoli, and spinach, which all contain beta-carotene, as do carrots. The secret to the ginger root’s anti-inflammatory properties come from gingerol, a very potent anti-inflammatory compound which has shown to reduce pain and improve mobility in people with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis when they regularly consume ginger. Omega 3 fish oil is merely an effective Arthritis Treatment if it can be high level of anti-inflammatory activity.
Other important nutrients for people with Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) include vitamins B5 and B6, copper and zinc. Since RA can break down cartilage, good nutrition is essential to help preserve and repair it. Good sources include:
·Vitamin B5: potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, beans, liver oil, liver, turkey, tuna, nutritional yeast, brewer’s yeast
·Vitamin B6: potatoes, bananas, chickpeas, chicken, pork, beef, trout, sunflower seeds, spinach, tomatoes
Ground flaxseed, flaxseed oil, walnuts and walnut oil provide similar omega-3 fat benefits and make for simple additions to salads, cereal, yogurt, and baked goods for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA).

The above introduces fruits and vegetables helpful for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Hope it is of help for you. If you have any concerned questions on control of Rheumatoid Arthritis, you may email me to cindyhe628@gmail.com, or leave a message.

Burdock can Help Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA)

Burdock 

Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) is caused by disorders of the immune system. The disease causes inflammatory damage to the joints, and over time, the joints can become deformed. Burdock is a helpful herb for the patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis to remit their illness condition.
Health benefits of burdock
Burdock contains many useful chemicals including biotin, copper, manganese, iron, Vitamins B and E, zinc, sulfur and inulin. Burdock contains fatty oils which (along with its sterols and tannins) contribute to burdock’s reputation as an anti-inflammatory food. The herb burdock is believed to have a cleansing action when taken internally and has been used historically to treat skin conditions. Burdock root is an effective painkiller that can help alleviate symptoms of inflammation that affect auto-immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, bursitis, lupus, and Diabetes.
A root decoction of burdock has been reported useful in the treatment of gout, rheumatism, and dropsy. Recent scientific experiments have shown that burdock root extracts is a diuretic and inhibited tumors in animals. Burdock also reduces congestion of the liver and gallbladder, improves digestion and appetite, helps alleviate chronic constipation, and also benefits inflammatory conditions of the urinary tract such as cystitis. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties. The active antibacterial compound is identified as lactone.

A blood purifier and diuretic, Burdock Root has a long and distinguished history of use in traditional Western medicine as a remedy for skin diseases and rheumatic ailments.Yet another research study suggests that Burdock Root has free radical scavenging properties.

X-Ray of Rheumatoid Arthritis(RA) in the Hands

The left is the x-ray of a normal hand. The right is picture shows a hand with advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis. "Bone erosion" means cartilage and bone are worn away. "Bone displacement" means that a bone has moved out of its normal position. This X-ray shows how bone erosion and bone displacement can change the shape of the hand.

Pain Management in Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS)

Ankylosing Spondylitis is a refractory disease. The aim of treatment is to relieve pains, shorten the treatment term, prevent joint deformity and decrease risks of disability.

Taking foods with rich protein and vitamin is helpful for treating the disease. The patients should have rests properly, avoid wind & cold and long-term work of bending the waist. Maintaining good physichological gesture is beneficial. It is suggested that people should do more functional exercise and do regular spine and joint exercise.

Medication treatment is the key in pain management. If your doctor diagnoses the disease, she will likely prescribe you a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) painkiller. Commonly prescribed NSAIDs include indomethacin (Indocin) and naproxen (Aleve and Naprosin). Possible side effects from NSAID use include gastrointestinal bleeding and less common liver and kidney problems.

Traditional Chinese medicine treatment has good effects in treating Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS). TCM has good methods in coping with the pains. Some methods like acupuncture, massage and drug-iontophoresis, are used on external acupints to help repair the damaged and deformed joints, relieve pains and improve joint functions. Doctors of Chinese medicine also emphasize that physical therapy is important to assist and enhance the treatment. They use some gentle helpful series of exercise methods to help the patients adjust to the external environment, to move and do daily activities without causing pains, and to recover little by little with the treatments. TCM is not a single treatment, but a treatment system that emphasizes treating patients based on syndrome differentiation, use different combination of treatment approaches to treat diseases. What’s valued is not like the advanced devices in western medicine treatment, but the idea and way of treatment explored through clinical trials of thousands of years. If the patients look for TCM treatment hospital for Ankylosing Spondylitis, they should look for a well-known specialized hospital with rich experience and good fame. You should not miss Houliping TCM Hospital in Beijing, CHINA.

To learn more about TCM treatment for pain management in Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS), you may email me to cindyhe628@gmail.com.