Tips for Arthritis

May 20, 2015

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints in the body and can be caused by a wide variety of reasons. One of the most common joints involved are those which carry weight including your knees and hips. Someone can have knee or hip pain and not necessarily be overweight, but still suffer with inflammation. I notice those with joint pain often have liver congestion and/or compromise. With the innovation of digital radiographs, we are able to visualize the size and position of the liver. We are noticing more individuals who have livers which normally should extend to the lower part of the right rib cage grow, or enlarge well into their pelvis. When we see a large liver, we have come to learn that those individuals also have more joint pain.

Our team also conducts a toxicity questionnaire at our practice. The high “normal” for someone who statistically has a grading system based on body signals is 0, while joint sufferers who also have arthritis may have levels of 10 to 15. The high level of joint pain typically corresponds to enlarged livers. If someone is overweight with an enlarged liver, they may typically experience joint pain throughout their body, but the weight-bearing joints are the most painful and one of the reasons we are witnessing more hip and knee replacement surgeries.

I have also noticed dairy consumers tend to have “creaky” joints, which is why I believe stopping dairy is one of the first and best steps to stop joint pain. Sugar also creates joint pain and depletes your body of minerals. People who have migrating joint pain almost always have pain caused by a food. The joints as mentioned have an excellent blood supply. Protein particles, which are treated as foreign invaders, can park at the joints and create an inflammatory response.

Your liver is also compromised with those individuals who have psoriasis. There is a condition called psoriatic arthritis, which is common with those with that condition. The leading cause of liver compromise includes any toxic substance found in food and beverages, but, an often overlooked factor in liver congestion is medications (OTC or prescribed). Lastly, consider stopping all fruit and alcohol because both will place a demand on your liver’s function.