As a chiropractor, a week doesn’t go by without someone asking if chiropractic can heal arthritis. Maybe they’ve been to their GP and gotten an x-ray and the report says “degenerative changes” of the hip or knee joint. Or maybe they have a sore back and their doctor just declares that they are old, “It’s arthritis!” and that’s the end of the story! Arthritis is a challenge, but it is not something you simply have to accept and live your life around.
Types of Arthritis
There are two major types of arthritis: Inflammatory Arthritis and Degenerative Arthritis. Within those two categories are several more specific types each. The main inflammatory type is Rheumatoid Arthritis. This is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the lining of the joint. The joints become inflamed and misaligned and cartilage wears down. The joints may feel warm from the inflammation and usually the same joints on both sides of the body will be affected. You can have a blood test for Rheumatoid Factor to confirm a Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis.
The main Degenerative type of arthritis is Osteoarthritis. This comes from simple wear and tear. Chiropractors like to compare this to the alignment on your car. If a tire is misaligned, it will wear unevenly. Let it go long enough, it will effect the other tires. While Inflammatory and Degenerative Arthritis have different original causes, the ongoing process is very similar: inflammation, wear, misalignment, repeat.
Joint Dysfunction – the Common Element
This cycle is a form of joint dysfunction. That means a joint is either not moving well, is out of alignment or both. This causes inflammation and additional wear and tear on the joint. Over time the smooth cartilage on the joint surfaces gets roughed up. Does it ever sound like you have sand in the joints of your neck? That’s called crepitus and it means your cartilage is getting worn.
Eventually the cartilage can get so worn that the bones come in contact with each other. Bones respond to pressure by laying down more bone. This is called Wolff’s Law and it’s why weight bearing exercise is good for bone density. However, there is a dark side to Wolff’s Law. New bone can forms spurs. If this continues the bones can fuse. While this is happening there is constant irritation and inflammation around the joint. Any nearby nerves will be irritated causing pain, muscle tension, or numbness all along the course of the nerve. Fusion is really an adaptive process because once the joint fuses, it doesn’t hurt anymore. You may have heard of back surgery where they fuse two or more vertebrae together. The problem is, that joint can no longer move. This causes more demand on surrounding joints and the process continues.
How to Heal Arthritis
So what is the solution? If the problem starts with a joint not moving well or being out of alignment, the obvious solution would be to restore movement and alignment. That is the goal of all chiropractic adjusting! Chiropractic adjustment of a single joint increases the movement of that one joint, but a true chiropractic treatment goes far beyond that. Joints have the least amount of stress with movement when they start from a neutral position. What we call “good posture” is actually having all the joints in their neutral position. Because the overall postural balance of the body is addressed, chiropractic can take pressure off those area that have been subjected to long term wear and tear in daily life.
Can you Heal Completely from Arthritis?
Bone spurs do not go away. So that cannot be fixed without surgery which can lead to other issues. However, when function is restored to a joint, it should decrease the pain and slow degeneration. Movement stimulates whatever is left of the cartilage producing cells in the joint to produce more cartilage. Cartilage can not rebuild much, but even a little could make a big difference. As long as there is some left between the joint surfaces, there is a chance of making more. This is a war of attrition. The cells in the cartilage that make more cartilage have to outpace the destruction of cartilage. If you have reached the “bone on bone” level of degeneration, chiropractic may help through working with overall postural stress on the involve joint, but sadly, it may also be time to consider joint replacement.
The Upward Spiral
This is amazing part about the body. The body is responsive. That means, when given an opportunity to heal, the body will rise to that challenge even on a cellular level. So you can put motion back into a joint with chiropractic adjustments and use it. Start slowly with range of motion and rehab type exercises. Give those cells that make cartilage the nutrition they need to make more; glucosamine, chondroitin, gelatin, or collagen. You will get new cartilage growth! To the extent that you restore joint movement and cartilage you will also be decreasing pain and increasing function. This is not a cure for arthritis, but it’s an extension of joint longevity and an increase of quality of life.
So the bad new is that nobody can “cure” arthritis. The good news is that chiropractic care can slow the progression and even help reverse the process. Once you start feeling better you can move more. More movement provides multiple benefits. You will have more fluid movement within the joint bringing nutrients in and clearing waste. Movement stimulates the cartilage producing cells. Surrounding muscles get stronger and stabilize the joint and overall posture. Your energy level will go up. You will feel better! You will want to move more. This is the Upward Spiral!
