There are over 100 forms of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. These diseases may cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints and other supporting structures of the body such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Some forms can also affect other parts of the body, including various internal organs.
Many people use the word "arthritis" to refer to all rheumatic diseases. However, the word literally means joint inflammation; that is, swelling, redness, heat, and pain caused by tissue injury or disease in the joint. The many different kinds of arthritis make up just a portion of all rheumatic diseases.
Rheumatoid arthritis, the second most common form of arthritis, affects other parts of the body besides the joints. It begins at a younger age than osteoarthritis, causes swelling and redness in joints, and may make people feel sick, tired, and (uncommonly) feverish. Rheumatoid arthritis affects people differently. For some people, it lasts only a few months or a year or two and goes away without causing any noticeable damage. Other people have mild or moderate forms of the disease, with periods of worsening symptoms, called flares, and periods in which they feel better, called remissions. Still others have a severe form of the disease that is active most of the time, lasts for many years or a lifetime, and leads to serious joint damage and disability.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, especially among older people. Sometimes it is called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis. Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects the cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In osteoarthritis, the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs(small growths called osteophytes) may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more pain and damage. People with osteoarthritis usually have joint pain and limited movement. Unlike some other forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects only joints and not internal organs.
Magnetic treatments for arthritis
All types of arthritis respond to magnetic treatments because the arthritic disease process involves inflammation. Magnets reverse the inflammatory process, which in turn alleviates the main symptoms of arthritis which are:
1.Swelling2.Pain
3.Stiffness and immobility
Magnetic therapy is not a cure for arthritis as there is currently no known cure, but it is an extremely effective drug free treatment for the chronic symptoms for all types of arthritic conditions.
However having said how well arthritis responds to magnetic therapy, it can be a little bit tricky to treat a person who has arthritis in multiple locations in the body. The reason for this is that as discussed in chapter 2 for the magnetic field to be effective it must be placed as close to the area of injury as possible. When a person has, for example, arthritis in the knees, hips, back and hands, it is not possible to reach all the area with one magnetic device. The person would need to place magnets on each area of pain to fully relieve the arthritic symptoms.
Possible treatments for this person would be:
1. To wear high strength magnetic straps around the knees, back/hips ( usually one strap will reach both areas) and wrists. Straps are both functional and comfortable, plus many contain lycra to give the joint additional support. 2. To wear super strength shoe insoles, that have a magnetic field that is strong enough to reach the knees, a high/super a strength bracelet for each hand and use a magnetic pad behind the back whilst sitting or lying. If the person does not feel comfortable in straps these are suitable alternatives. 3. To sleep on a magnetic mattress. The mattress will reach all areas of the body at once and the strength of the magnetic field is so immense that the magnetism will last for up to 16 hours after getting out of bed. This is the easiest way to treat large areas of pain and does not necessitate the need to wear additional magnets during the day.
Luckily there is a vast array of magnetic devices available today and most areas of the body can be reached with an appropriate magnetic device. There is often more than one solution available fort he treatment of multiple areas of pain and a trained therapist will be able to advise while treatment regime will fit best with your particular lifestyle.
In order for magnets to be effective they must be worn night and day until the symptoms have gone, if you are given a magnetic device that do not feel comfortable wearing or using it is unlikely that you will continue to use the treatment for the required length of time. With out 24 hours, 7 days a weeks exposure to the magnets it is unlikely that all of your symptoms will be relieved and you will feel disheartened and may even believe that magnets do not in fact work.
Debbie Shimadry is qualified magnetic therapist and pain nurse specialist. She appears on several BBC radio stations as an expert guest on magnetic therapy and is also the managing director of leading magnetic therapy company worldofmagnets.co.uk. To find out more on how magnetic therapy can help you, visit magnetictherapyfacts.org