Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a condition that can cause considerable discomfort—something you are probably well aware of if you have been diagnosed with this autoimmune disease. When your immune system starts attacking your joints instead of foreign invaders inflammation results, and inflammation in your joints is certain to be painful.

The worse the RA, the more severe your symptoms. If things get bad enough you can lose mobility altogether, which is why it is so important to get treatment. Fortunately, chiropractic is excellent for reducing inflammation and improving mobility. With regular chiropractic treatment, you can do a lot to ease your pain and get back to moving the way you want and need to do.

---

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic is an effective RA treatment for a number of reasons. Chiropractic treatment is:

Based on Individual Needs

The image many people have of a chiropractic adjustment is one of popping backs and hard, jerking motions. While adjustments can certainly include these things, they do not have to. According to the Arthritis Foundation, chiropractors have more than 150 techniques they can use to adjust your body.

They strive to give treatments specific to the needs of each patient, which means adjusting the body as gently as necessary to produce the desired result. If your joints are swollen and painful the chiropractor will carefully work to realign the joint—which reduces inflammation and improves movement—while minimizing any pain or discomfort you feel from the adjustment.

Designed to Reduce Inflammation

With RA typically the worst symptoms are the result of inflammation. Chiropractic treatment may not be able to change the way your immune system is malfunctioning, but it can do a lot to help the painful areas become less inflamed.

The treatment you get from your chiropractor will ensure that your joints are moving as properly as possible given your condition. By putting the body back in alignment, chiropractic improves the way the nervous system operates and lessens inflammation.

Ideal for Improving Mobility

One of the most difficult things for many with RA is the loss of mobility that comes when their joints swell. When the pain becomes more substantial it is normal for RA sufferers to avoid movement because it hurts.

But it is important to remember that movement, even when it hurts, is necessary to maintain joint mobility. The longer you avoid moving a joint the more likely it is that you will lose function.

A useful aspect of chiropractic is that you can get help with moving, so you are not all alone with the daunting prospect of moving your joints so they start working better. Your chiropractor is your partner in movement, helping to guide your body so that it moves as well as possible. Results are different for everyone based on their unique situations, but you can be sure that chiropractic will serve as a powerful tool to keep your body working as well as possible.

---

---

Non-invasive and Drug-Free

In chiropractic, the focus is to help the body heal itself, which means avoiding surgery and prescription medications as much as possible. Surgery and medication often have unwanted side-effects—sometimes worse than the problem they were intended to solve. With chiropractic negative side-effects are unlikely. You can get a lot of relief from gentle, effective treatments that will not make you feel worse than when you started.

Your Source for Chiropractic Care

Our chiropractic team has experience helping patients with RA, and we are interested in doing the same for you. We understand how hard it can be to have RA. Let us help you get the relief you deserve.

Please contact our office to schedule an appointment. We look forward to speaking with you!

---

Avoid Opioid Addiction

Opioids (such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, codeine, and morphine) mask symptoms and do nothing to address the cause of pain.

There is an opioid crisis raging.  A sensible and safe alternative to opioids: Custom-made orthotics help relieve low back pain as well as hip and neck pain by removing imbalances in the musculoskeletal system, which originate in the feet.

Before considering taking an opioid for pain control, give Chiropractic care and foot orthotics a try. The combination of Chiropractic and orthotics is proven in clinical studies.

In 2015, about 2 million Americans had substance abuse disorders related to opioid medications.

In 2012, 80 out of 100 Americans were prescribed opioids. That’s about 259 million prescriptions – more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills.

---

More Comfort & Less Pain

Custom orthotics help more than your feet! Stabilizing orthotics bring health and healing to the whole body by balancing the musculoskeletal system.

---

Injury Medical Chiropractic

Here are some videos that discuss how chiropractic care can help with arthritis, fibromyalgia, seniors and whole body wellness.

---

NCBI Resources

Here are some articles to check out for extended information on arthropathies.