The hip bone is connected to the…knee bone…the knee bone is connected to the…ankle bone. These “connections” that we grew up singing about are called joints. When we’re young, they generally don’t cause us much trouble. But with age comes a fun plethora of sensations including joint pain.
The overarching catch-all term for joint pain is “arthritis”. A very familiar but blurry term. The actual definition of ar-thri-tis is “a disease that causes one or more joints of the body to become painful and swollen.” But what is causing the joint(s) to become painful and swollen? That’s where arthritis gets interesting…
This month, we are going to break arthritis down into four main categories:
Osteoarthritis - caused by a wearing down of cartilage between your bones
Autoimmune Arthritis - caused by inflammation from your own body attacking itself
Infectious Arthritis - caused by a bacterial, viral, protozoan, or STD infection
Crystal-Induced Arthritis - Caused by a buildup of minerals in your joints
For all you joint-achers out there, follow along to figure out what may be causing your achey breaky pains (and how to alleviate them!).
At IVY Integrative, you can work with one practitioner or build your own team of holistic practitioners! Reach your optimum health in-person or online. Check out our Get Started page to learn how to work with us!
Until next time,
Dr. Chelsea Leander ND, RH (AHG)
References:
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2003/0915/p1151.html
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/arthritis#:~:text=arthritis-,noun,swollen%20(%3D%20larger%20than%20normal)