It usually comes on quietly.
“I thought it was tendonitis from working long hours on the computer,” one person describes the beginnings of rheumatoid arthritis.
Another tells of not being able to get out of bed in the morning because her ankles were swollen and stiff.
“For three months I took ibuprophen for the pain. Then my wrists swelled and a month later the pain was in my neck.”
These are a description of the onset of rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is classed as an auto-immune disease.
The human body is fantastically complex; trillions of cells in relationship to each other. They feed each other, nurse each other back to health, banish renegade cells with their own agenda (cancer) and continually replicate.
This co-existence requires the ability for cells to recognize that they belong to the same community called the human body. Something happens in auto-immune diseases that causes this harmonious relationship to go astray and the immune cells assaults the cells of the cartilage, bones and ligaments in joints. The assault results in inflammation or, in other words, painful, swollen and stiff joints.
It is generally accepted that rheumatoid arthritis is a genetic disease. However, a useful question to ask, why do some people with a history of rheumatoid arthritis in the family never develop it while others do?
Much of the research in genetic diseases, including other auto-immune conditions and some cancers, suggest the internal environment of the body is profoundly influenced the external environment.
The internal environment of the body is the deciding factor which genes are turned on or off, including genes which trigger chronic disease.
Each person I have spoken to with rheumatoid arthritis associates the onset of the disease with unusually stressful events in their lives. Stress profoundly affects the internal environment of the body, interfering with sleep, digestion, and hormonal balance. This is where herbal medicine shines. It eases the effect of stress on the whole body while targeting the specific area under duress.
To relieve rheumatoid arthritis, herbalist turn to anti-inflammatory herbs like turmeric (Curcuma longa), licorice (Glycyrrhiza spp.) and devil’s claw (Harpophytum procumbens).
In some ways, to call these herbs anti-inflammatory is to misrepresent them. They do not act like over the counter pain medicine or like prescription anti-inflammatories, which offer temporary pain relief as long as the drug is used.
Anti-inflammatory herbs work with the body to resolve inflammation. They may take longer to work but their effects are longer lasting.
So what do these herbs have to do with stress aggravating rheumatoid arthritis? Turmeric and licorice moderate the effect stress has on the immune system.
Adrenal glands react to stress. These herbs enhance the adrenals efficiency in making the anti-inflammatory cortisol secreted by the adrenals. They interfere with inflammation messengers the body produces when fighting illness, such as arachidonic acid.
By the way, arachidonic acid is higher in those who eat a lot of red meat. Holistic practitioners recommend decreasing or eliminating red meat from the diet while suffering from chronic inflammation for this reason.
Licorice and turmeric are also high in anti-oxidants, which negate the effect of free radicals produced by a stressed out body. Both are considered herbs that protect the liver and support it in eliminating the debris created by chronic inflammation.
Devil’s claw is a plant from the Kalahari dessert in South Africa used by the Hottentot people to relieve migraine headaches. In 1953, it was imported to Europe and embraced by western herbalists as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory for arthritic conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.
There have been several clinical trials using devil’s claw in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Each trial has demonstrated the herb’s effective pain relieving actions.
How the plant reduces inflammation is not known. In holistic medicine, sometime the search for the specific mechanism in a plant’s medicinal activity is like not seeing the forest for the trees.
The plant works. It also improves digestion and scavenges free radicals.
One final important herb added to an rheumatoid arthritis formula is the bark of the poplar tree (Poplaris spp.). In the spring, scraping of the bark of young branches exposes a lovely green powder.
This powder is high in salicylic acid, the pain relieving compound found in over-the-counter medicine. Although symptomatic in its effect, poplar bark eases pain while the other herbs do their job.
Herbs for Life is written by Abrah Arneson, a local clinical herbalist. It is intended for information purposes only. Readers with a specific medical problem should consult a doctor. For more information, visit www.abraherbalist.ca. Arneson can be reached at abrah@shaw.ca.