Arthritis on the rise among women

On World Arthritis Day today, doctors warn how damage to the joints and loss of ability to use the hands, wrists, ankles and knees, is affecting women under 30

Do you have difficulty climbing stairs? A sudden stiffness or pain after sitting for a long
duration? Don't ignore it. You could be having arthritis. And it's not something that affects only older people, as is the notion. Arthritis, especially osteoarthritis, is on an alarming rise with a study saying we have over 180 million patients in India, some below the age of 25! In addition, this disease is on the rise among women. An orthopaedic specialist and joint replacement surgeon, says, "With changing lifestyle, lack of exercise and proper diet and hectic working pattern, the severity of arthritis in women is particular on the rise. Not just osteoarthritis, other forms such as rheumatoid arthritis tend to occur commonly in women too."

What it is about
Arthritis occurs commonly in small joints of the hand, the vertebral column and the knees. Broadly, it can be divided into osteoarthritis — arthritis due to wear and tear of muscles with age — and inflammatory arthritis. "Typically, it begins as a dull aching pain localised to the knee that worsens when a person climbs the stairs, standing up from a sitting position or during sitting postures. As the disease worsens, the pain makes even walking on level ground difficult, and people may notice a bend or bow in their knees at this stage,"
explains Dr. It is said that gum disease can also trigger arthritis.

An orthopaedic specialist  has observed a 20:1 ratio in female versus male patients. "Women in the age bracket of 20-40 are seen to suffer from rheumatoid arthritis that affects multiple joints, while older women suffer from knee osteoarthritis due to the wear and tear of the knee joint," he says.

Adds the Dr.,  "The increasing incidence of obesity has probably also contributed to the increasing incidence of osteoarthritis. Genes play a huge role in early onset of arthritis. This may be the reason for a higher incidence of arthritis in women at a younger age."

Affects youngsters too 
Arthritis is increasingly being seen in youngsters and children, notes orthopedic surgeon Dr. He says, "Arthritis in children 16 or below is termed as juvenile arthritis. The exact cause is not known and in spite of increase in incidence to about 20,000 cases a year in children, the diagnosis is usually delayed."

Investigations 
Investigations start with a clinical examination for swelling, tenderness, deformity like bowed legs or knocked knees, the range of movement in legs and whether it is painful or pain-free, any sounds or whether tight or loose. Post this, the patient is sent for an X-ray or an MRI. If suspecting rheumatoid, he or she is then sent for a blood test, explains Dr.

Needed: Lifestyle change
Experts maintain that osteoarthritis can be tackled effectively with a judicious, all-round approach such as no smoking, better food habits, higher antioxidant content through green leafy vegetables, high protein diet and adequate Vitamin D and calcium foods. A  joint replacement and orthopaedic reconstructive surgeon, lists solutions based on lifestyle changes...

- Leg strengthening exercises
- Cartilage restoring medication, corrective surgery including tibial osteotomy, arthroscopies and knee replacements for crippled patients
- Cementing cavities, root canal treatment, capping of teeth and artificial teeth implants
- Avoiding movements seen in positions such as sitting cross-legged or using the Indian commode.
- Keeping body weight in check

Symptoms observed are
- Painful joint(s), stiffness of the joints
- Difficulty in getting up after sitting in one place for a long time, difficulty/pain while climbing stairs
- Swelling of the joint(s), slight noises observed in the joint and
- Difficulty in balancing
- If you have swelling or stiffness in the morning, see a rheumatologist immediately

ps- this is only for information, always consult you physician before having any particular food/ medication/exercise/other remedies.

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STRESS RELIEF. Is salt bad for hypertensive?

What is bad for hypertension is iodized salt, which is a fake salt. It is made up of only 3 synthetic chemicals, sodium, chloride, iodine. It does not melt in water (glistens like diamonds), does NOT melt in the
body, does not melt in the kidneys, gives kidney stones, and raises blood pressure. However, it is the salt favored by the synthetic. The drug-based doctors who say it is very clean and sanitary, pointing to
how white it is and how it glistens like diamonds. The fake salt is man-made in a factory.The true salt, which comes from the sea and dried under the sun and commonly called rock salt , has 72 natural minerals including natural sodium, chloride, iodine. It melts in water, melts in your body, melts in the kidneys, do not give kidney
stones, and best of all brings down blood pressure and stops/prevents muscle cramps, numbness, tingling.


If you get muscle cramps in the lower legs at night, just take ½ teaspoon of rock salt and a glass of water, and the cramps with its horrific pain will be gone in 5 minutes. The highest BP that came my way was in a woman who had a BP of 240/140 and came to my house at
10:30pm on what she said was a matter of "life and death" because the high BP was already giving her a crushing headache, especially the back of her head. She could not walk up the 6 shallow steps to my porch. Two men had to help her, one on each side, in addition to the
cane that she needed to prop herself up.

I muscle tested her and found that underlying her BP of 240/140 and the crushing pain in the head, her body's water content was only 6% (normal is 75%), salt content was zero, potassium was 96% deficient, and cardiac output (blood flow from the heart) was only 40% (normal is
100%). So the blood supply to the head was 60% deficient.


I gave her one 6" long green chili (hot pepper), 1 raw ripe saba banana, 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt and 3 8-oz glasses of tap water. The chili was to normalize cardiac output and shoot blood
to the head, the saba banana was for the potassium deficiency and to have food in the
stomach because pepper will give a stomach ache if the stomach is empty, and the rock salt and the water were the first aid for her severe dehydration which was causing her arteries to be dry and stiff and her blood to be thick and sticky, because they were dehydrated.

After 5 minutes, she said, "The pain in my head is gone." We took her BP, it was 115/75, and cardiac output was up to 100%.

She walked out of the house to her car without the men helping her and without the cane.

She has been taking 2.5 teaspoons of rock salt, 15 glasses of water, 6 Saba bananas and 3 of the long pepper daily since then (beginning September 2009), and her BP and cardiac output have been normal since then.


Two months later, in November, at a PCAM round table forum on hypertension in Club Filipino, she gave her testimony, followed by her brother who said that she grew 2", because the salt and the water had refilled her compressed disc spaces in her vertebral column. The disc 
spaces had become compressed because they had become dehydrated since the fluid filling up these discs are 95% water.

Why salt?
Because without salt the body cannot retain water no matter how much water is drunk. You will still be dehydrated because you will just keep urinating and sweating the water out.

This is not an isolated case. When BP is rising high but there is little or no headache but there is stiffness of shoulder and neck muscles, all you need to normalize the BP and remove the stiffness and the pain in 5 minutes is 1/2 teaspoon of rock salt and 3 glasses of water. If there is crushing pain in the head, it means blood supply to the head is lacking, and you will need the chili to normalize it and shoot blood to the head and remove the extreme pain.

PLEASE SHARE, IT MAY HELP SOMEONE


Please consult your Physcian before trying...