Natural Arthritis Relief 

Arthritis relief is available.  There are many ways that people have received help from arthritic pain.  The best remedies are natural ones, and that is what we’ll be discussing in this blog.

Many people suffer from arthritis in one form or another.  Some experience back or neck pain, others knee or hip pain, and many have pain in their hands and arms.  It’s a crippling disease, causing pain in the bones and joints upon movement, and yet if one doesn’t move, stiffness sets in so one can’t move.

One poor soul I saw in the grocery store was bent over at about 90° and had to lean her head back to see where she was going.  Several friends have had to have knee operations.  And I am suffering from pain in my thumbs which is frustrating, especially when you try to open a jar or button a shirt—anything requiring thumb force.

A Canadian friend of mine told of getting relief from arthritis pain by taking 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar a day in a glass of water mixed with a teaspoon of honey.  I tried it for a while, but didn’t see much change in my thumbs, which probably was due to not taking it enough times a day.  I only took it once a day, and she took it two times.  Also, I only took a tablespoon of the vinegar instead of two.

A Little Humor on the Subject of Arthritis Relief

But then I have a problem with not going strictly by a recipe, and find myself substituting this ingredient for that, and then wonder why it didn’t turn out.  Our daughter has a cartoon about that on her refrigerator:

Scene:  Lady reading recipe—Beat until soft 1/3 cup butter

Lady thinks to herself—(I am out of butter…I‘ll use lard)

Recipe—2 cups all purpose flour

Thinks—(No flour…I’ll use corn starch)

Recipe—Resift with ¼ teaspoon of double acting baking powder

Thinks—(I’ll have to use foot powder)

Recipe—Blend in two egg yolks

Thinks—(while looking in refrigerator, No eggs, mustard’s yellow)

Recipe—Add one can flaked coconut

Thinks—(I’ve got a can of tuna) 

Later, her husband with a horrible look on his face asks, “How can these turn out so bad!”  The lady replies, “Don’t ask me, I followed the recipe.”

Seriously, when I hear the word “arthritis” I think of people in pain and stiffness, not able to function as we would call “normal”.

In my mind’s eye, I see a friend’s wife racewalking down the street, fighting arthritis with motion and super circulation.

I see a precious retired nurse in her eighties playing Hull Gull, a marble guessing game with me when I was 10.  Her fingers were knobby and misshapen with arthritis so much that she had difficulty in hiding the marbles in her hands for me to guess. 

Another friend, a retired nurse, has fingers and toes that can’t move very well because of arthritis.  She had an operation on her hands, which makes some fingers misshapen and stiff, unable to grasp a paring knife very well.  Her toes and hips cause pain if she stands or walks very long at a time.

Our late daughter, a payroll clerk, could tell when the weather was changing by the ache in her hands from arthritis.

My husband, Art, used to work in the woods as a faller, and sometimes would have his hands, his right elbow and arm swell up with pain and heat to the place where he couldn’t cut trees.  He went to the health food store in town.  The lady giggled and said, “You’ve got rheumatoid arthritis.  Here, take this,” and she handed him a bottle of 1000 mg of Vitamin C, Devil’s Claw Root, and a pain reliever. 

The instructions were to take one Devil’s Claw Root capsule a day along with as much Vitamin C crystals as tolerable just short of diarrhea.  Then he was to use the alkaselzer for pain.  He went back to the logging camp, and from Saturday to Monday the inflammation and swelling went down, but some pain remained.  By Tuesday even the pain was gone.

Later Art had a banged up knee—swollen, sore, and hard to walk on.  He went to see a doctor for help and was given pills that didn’t help and that cost a lot.  So, he went back to the Vitamin C, Devil’s Claw Root, and alkaselzer routine and got relief.

Food Intake and Arthritis

Just recently, in the last year, I became afflicted with arthritis in my thumbs.  The base of my thumbs look a little enlarged and are store when used a certain way.  Funny thing, though, some days are worse than others, and it has become apparent this soreness is connected with food intake and stress management as well as usage.

When more acid forming foods are eaten, the thumbs rebel, especially if sugar is eaten.  This reminds me of a dear older lady who controlled her arthritis by keeping away from sugar strictly.

Another even older lady knew what to do when she ended in bed with painful arthritis.  She started on a raw food cleanse.  Sure enough, her body rallied to the change, and she was able to get up and around in a short time 

Actually, these ladies were going on a diet predominant in alkaline forming foods.  For example, sugar causes cells to become acidic big time, and raw foods are high in alkaline forming properties.

One naturopath I know recommends at least 75-80% ratio in alkaline forming foods and acid forming ones.  I’m working on that one, eating more greens and raw foods.  The same naturopath suggested that raw versus cooked could be 50-50%, while keeping the alkaline/acid balance at the 75-80% ratio. One way to do this is to drink Barley Life juice.

Natural Healing Takes Time

Something else comes to mind about using natural healing remedies for arthritis relief, besides not taking enough, and that is not using the remedy long enough.  Natural healing takes longer to show results.  Guess I’d better use my own advice!

Arthritis Relief (Click to Return to Top of Page)