ARTHRITIS, RHEUMATISM, STIFFNESS AND MUSCLE PAINS – SOME NON-CONVENTIONAL OPTIONS
This is an exceptionally cold and wet winter we are experiencing. Snow on the mountains and ice in the air! Lovely if you are young and can cuddle up in front of a fire or in bed; but unbearable for our older pets that experience the ravages of degenerative joint problems. Anyone who has lived with an older, stiff and disabled dog or cat has experienced the heartbreak of joint problems.
Arthritis, the most common joint problem, is usually a slow progressive disease, which starts with almost undetectable discomfort, and may progress to the point that the animal refuses to stand, walk outside, or even eat. There are several different forms of arthritis, with different causes, and it will attack dogs and cats regardless of breed or age.
Although causes may range from autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis, infectious disease, and metabolic disease to primary cartilage degeneration in young dogs, by far the most common type is degenerative osteoarthritis in older dogs and cats. As our animals age, the bony joints begin to form less fluid in them and they move less smoothly. Bony spurs called “osteophytes” or “exostoses” may develop in the body's attempt to stabilize these "creaky" joints and it causes them to literally seize up. Joint instability and bony proliferation cause pain and decreased range of motion in the joint further, and mobility in the animal is difficult and painful, so they prefer to rather lie down and not move. You may think he / she is tired or lazy, and people put it down to “OLD AGE” and that they are just “slowing down”! This does not have to be like that. You can prevent much of this process.
Your pet may not be able to tell you if he or she is in pain due to arthritis. You may only see slight trouble in getting up and down, climbing stairs or jumping up on furniture or into cars, soreness hours after exercise, or even a new grumpiness. This is one reason that yearly examinations are so important so your Vet can detect early problems. It is advised to have 6 monthly checks for older dogs and cats.
For degenerative osteoarthritis, there is no cure. The animal is usually sentenced to a lifetime on anti-inflammatory drugs, and often cortisone-like drugs. Many animals are unable to tolerate these drugs and can have severe side effects. Natural therapeutic treatments however are often extremely effective in diminishing the pain, slowing down the progression of disease, improving quality of life and delaying or reducing the need for these drugs. Started early enough in the animal’s life, they can reverse some of the damage done, and prevent the onset of degenerative joint disease, mainly through a process of disease modification and inflammatory modulation.
The first step is to switch all food to a very high quality natural, grain free diet which creates the least inflammatory factors in the blood and is what nature intended for our canines and felines to eat. My first choice would be a well-balanced, holistic complete raw diet, such as Simply Pets Raw. This is a species and biologically appropriate diet, fully tested, analysed and balanced for all life stages, so you can be sure nothings is missing or in excess. It contains lots of omega 3 fatty acids, natural anti-oxidants, trace elements and live enzymes, all which help painful joints. A majority of painful dogs are greatly improved by diet change alone, as the inflammation inducing metabolic components are markedly reduced or eliminated.
The next step is to start on additional supplements such as cartilage precursors, which provide the building blocks to repair diseased cartilage. These are your chondroitin sulphate, Glucosamine, Green Lipped Muscle, msm, hyaluronic acid supplements. They work best if all the trace elements used in the repair process reactions are present.
Antioxidants, and omega 3 fatty acid supplements such as krill, salmon and fish oils, or flax seed oil are very useful in fighting inflammation and thus help with pain and preventing further damage.
Then the alternative or complementary treatments such as Homoeopathy, Homotoxicology, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy and their various offshoots are what I use to achieve relief, which can often replace the need for any conventional medicine without the associated side-effects.
Liver detoxifying herbal treatments may be very helpful for inflammatory conditions, and the joints, especially alongside herbs known for joint pain relief, such as bone-knit or comfrey. Some animals benefit greatly from a whole body detox.
Many animals with arthritis (or other musculoskeletal diseases) compensate for chronic pain by "contorting" their spines, twisting limbs or only partially using parts of the body, in an effort to relieve the pain. These animals definitely benefit from occasional acupuncture top-up treatments, where muscle spasms have been created. For permanent relief Gold Bead Implants into the acupuncture points have been invaluable for many patients. See previous articles.
Arthritis is manageable by a variety of natural and conventional treatments, and can mostly be prevented or markedly diminished using the correct diet and lifestyle. It is especially important to slow progression of the disease by starting a good diet and supplementation early.
“Rather pay for wellness now than illness later”.
Quote from HealthMatters.
Arthritis, the most common joint problem, is usually a slow progressive disease, which starts with almost undetectable discomfort, and may progress to the point that the animal refuses to stand, walk outside, or even eat. There are several different forms of arthritis, with different causes, and it will attack dogs and cats regardless of breed or age.
Although causes may range from autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis, infectious disease, and metabolic disease to primary cartilage degeneration in young dogs, by far the most common type is degenerative osteoarthritis in older dogs and cats. As our animals age, the bony joints begin to form less fluid in them and they move less smoothly. Bony spurs called “osteophytes” or “exostoses” may develop in the body's attempt to stabilize these "creaky" joints and it causes them to literally seize up. Joint instability and bony proliferation cause pain and decreased range of motion in the joint further, and mobility in the animal is difficult and painful, so they prefer to rather lie down and not move. You may think he / she is tired or lazy, and people put it down to “OLD AGE” and that they are just “slowing down”! This does not have to be like that. You can prevent much of this process.
Your pet may not be able to tell you if he or she is in pain due to arthritis. You may only see slight trouble in getting up and down, climbing stairs or jumping up on furniture or into cars, soreness hours after exercise, or even a new grumpiness. This is one reason that yearly examinations are so important so your Vet can detect early problems. It is advised to have 6 monthly checks for older dogs and cats.
For degenerative osteoarthritis, there is no cure. The animal is usually sentenced to a lifetime on anti-inflammatory drugs, and often cortisone-like drugs. Many animals are unable to tolerate these drugs and can have severe side effects. Natural therapeutic treatments however are often extremely effective in diminishing the pain, slowing down the progression of disease, improving quality of life and delaying or reducing the need for these drugs. Started early enough in the animal’s life, they can reverse some of the damage done, and prevent the onset of degenerative joint disease, mainly through a process of disease modification and inflammatory modulation.
The first step is to switch all food to a very high quality natural, grain free diet which creates the least inflammatory factors in the blood and is what nature intended for our canines and felines to eat. My first choice would be a well-balanced, holistic complete raw diet, such as Simply Pets Raw. This is a species and biologically appropriate diet, fully tested, analysed and balanced for all life stages, so you can be sure nothings is missing or in excess. It contains lots of omega 3 fatty acids, natural anti-oxidants, trace elements and live enzymes, all which help painful joints. A majority of painful dogs are greatly improved by diet change alone, as the inflammation inducing metabolic components are markedly reduced or eliminated.
The next step is to start on additional supplements such as cartilage precursors, which provide the building blocks to repair diseased cartilage. These are your chondroitin sulphate, Glucosamine, Green Lipped Muscle, msm, hyaluronic acid supplements. They work best if all the trace elements used in the repair process reactions are present.
Antioxidants, and omega 3 fatty acid supplements such as krill, salmon and fish oils, or flax seed oil are very useful in fighting inflammation and thus help with pain and preventing further damage.
Then the alternative or complementary treatments such as Homoeopathy, Homotoxicology, Acupuncture, Magnetic therapy and their various offshoots are what I use to achieve relief, which can often replace the need for any conventional medicine without the associated side-effects.
Liver detoxifying herbal treatments may be very helpful for inflammatory conditions, and the joints, especially alongside herbs known for joint pain relief, such as bone-knit or comfrey. Some animals benefit greatly from a whole body detox.
Many animals with arthritis (or other musculoskeletal diseases) compensate for chronic pain by "contorting" their spines, twisting limbs or only partially using parts of the body, in an effort to relieve the pain. These animals definitely benefit from occasional acupuncture top-up treatments, where muscle spasms have been created. For permanent relief Gold Bead Implants into the acupuncture points have been invaluable for many patients. See previous articles.
Arthritis is manageable by a variety of natural and conventional treatments, and can mostly be prevented or markedly diminished using the correct diet and lifestyle. It is especially important to slow progression of the disease by starting a good diet and supplementation early.
“Rather pay for wellness now than illness later”.
Quote from HealthMatters.
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