Arthritis Pain Relief

Intro to Arthritis Pain Relief

More than 50 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis, and almost everyone over the age of 50 will develop some signs of it. This is repeated in other countries all over the world, so we cannot even make an educated guess at the total number of sufferers. As one of those, I decided to use some of my spare time in looking at causes, and especially at suggested cures for arthritis pain relief that might be available. There are countless books on the subject of arthritis, and it was only after buying and reading quite a few that I realised that there were various types of the disease. I've read a lot of material from various people-doctors, specialists, sufferers etc., and I thought that I'd jot down some things that might be of use in trying to minimise pain, and to give some relief to sufferers.

Just a bit of background about myself. I used to be a self employed bricklayer-plenty of work available, and a fairly comfortable lifestyle because of the earnings I was able to make. Up until 1991, I considered myself fairly fit, with hardly a day missed because of ill health. I got up one fine summer's morning that year, had my usual cup of tea (never any breakfast-very BAD idea!) and set off for work. The labourer with me mixed the first batch of cement, and set it on the mortar boards for me. I went to lift my first block of the day (they were 18in x 9in x 4in concrete blocks, and fairly heavy, to the uninitiated), and found that my fingers wouldn't open out properly in order to grip it. My labourer thought that I was having him on, but he soon realised that I was being serious, and that something was amiss.

I wasn't really a great one for having chats with doctors, but I had to go and find out what was wrong. After weeks of tests, x-rays etc, I was told that I had rheumatoid arthritis, and was warned that it would probably get worse. That has certainly happened over the years, as my knees began to be affected, plus my left shoulder, which I'd damaged in an accident a few years earlier.