The immune system is your body’s primary defense against various infectious organisms and other invaders. However, when it gets confused, you will develop an autoimmune disorder and your immune system will start attacking even your body’s healthy tissue. One common example of an autoimmune disease is rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects and deteriorates the synovial joints of the body. This often results in a painful inflammatory process that may even lead to chronic systemic inflammation over time. Various medical facilities, such as the RedRiver Health and Wellness Center, offer rheumatoid arthritis care.
Causes and symptoms
The causes of RA remain to be known. But the common symptoms are pain, swelling, redness, and stiffness in the joints. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis often experience these symptoms on their shoulders, hands, elbows, knees, and hips.
Role of functional medicine
Traditional treatment of RA includes the prescription of various drugs such as steroids and narcotics. However, these drugs only provide short-term relief and may even cause unpleasant side effects in the long run.
Functional medicine, on the other hand, does not just treat the symptoms of the disease. Rather, it offers restorative treatments and aims to promote the self-healing ability of the body with physical activity and proper nutrition, as well as medication but only when needed. For example, patients who exhibit poor digestion and allergy symptoms will be treated by removing the food allergens and replacing them with those rich in fiber.
Functional medicine is an effective way of treating rheumatoid arthritis. However, that doesn’t mean that traditional medicine is no longer needed as you may still require medications during acute attacks or flare-ups. So, the best way to treat RA is through a combination of functional and traditional medicine.