Rhematoid Arthritis and its origins

The word arthritis has Greek origin and simply means ‘Inflammation of the joints’ and it is estimated that close to 1 percent of the world’s population suffers from a form of arthritis known as Rhematoid arthritis (Rheumatoid). Now considering the fact the population of the world is close to 6.5 billion, this number is pretty huge.

Arthritis is not a new disease. Evidence of primary ankle osteoarthritis has been discovered even in dinosaur’s skeletons! The first known traces of human arthritis date back as far as 4500 BC in skeletal remains of Indians found in Tennessee and parts of what is now Olathe, Kansas. Many Egyptian mummies also display signs of the disease.

Arthritis has no proven cure at present. But various methods (both drugs and alternative therapies) can treat the symptoms which the disease inflicts on its patients. But all the drugs available have some form of side effects associated with them. For this reason doctors generally use them only for a short duration of time.

Since ancient times man has looked to nature to provide relief from various ailments which inflict the human body. Natural remedies for ailments are not a concept of the 20th century.

It should however be noted that no single treatment will work wonders for everyone. An elimination approach needs to be adopted to select the remedies which will work the best for you.

So what is Rhematoid Arthritis? Arthritis refers to any of the more than 100 diseases of the joints. The victims suffer pain, stiffness and swelling in their joints. The degree to which it affects people also varies. For some it is occasional pain, others get crippled by it.

Sometimes the term Arthritis and Rheumatism are used interchangeably. However Rheumatism is a generic term used to refer to a variety of disorders relating to joint, muscles and connective tissue.

There are more than 100 joints connecting the body's 206 bones. Ligaments connect bones to other bones to form a joint. Fibromyalgia affects approximately five million Americans. The two chief forms of arthritis are Osteoarthritis, the most prevalent, and Rhematoid Arthritis, the second most common.