Strengthen your bones and joints naturally! David Hoffman offers expert advice on how herbal treatments can help those suffering from arthritis, rheumatism, osteoporosis, and other musculoskeletal ailments. Detailed profiles of popular medicinal herbs and their healing properties, clear preparation instructions, and dosage guidelines, will help you create custom-tailored remedies suitable to your individual needs. Learn how to incorporate herbs such as meadowsweet, mustard, bay tree, and more into your daily regimen to help prevent and treat aching bones and stiff joints. David Hoffmann has been a clinical phytotherapist for almost 20 years. He is a founding member and past president of the American Herbalists Guild. He is on the advisory board of the American Botanical Council, the peer-review boards of Herbalgram and the Protocol Journal of Botanical Medicine, and the steering committee of the American Herbal Pharmacopoea. He is the author of 17 books, including Healthy Bones & Joints, and teaches phytotherapy throughout the world. He is visiting faculty at Bastyr University, The California Institute of Integral Studies, the National College of Phytotherapy, and the Rocky Mountain School of Botanical Studies. He lives in California. 1. The Body's Foundation
The skeleton, connective tissue, muscles, and joints hold us together, enable us to stand and move, and give us our form. The musculoskeletal system is used - and misused - a lot, and it is the victim of much wear and tear. While genetically based weaknesses can play a role in musculoskeletal problems, the health of these bones and tissues depends not only on their use but also on the body's inner environment, its metabolism, diet, and lifestyle.
To a certain extent, the body's structural system can be adjusted and problems can be corrected. For example, when pain or other problems are due to skeletal misalignments, much can be done with the help of osteopathy or chiropractic. It's not uncommon for misalignments to be so extreme that they affect neurologic functions, the organs, or the harmony of the body as a whole. Alternative treatments, such as rolfing, the Alexander technique, and Feldenkrais, may be beneficial, but these therapies will not fix any underlying problems.
In many cases, the health of the bones and joints depends on the health of the body as a whole. Only as long as the inner environment and metabolism are in harmony can the body's structural system work as efficiently as it should. If, for example, the body's biochemical and metabolic processes are out of tune, the body will be under a great deal of strain as it attempts to remove wastes and toxins. If this condition lasts for some years (which it often does, and it generally goes unnoticed), toxins can build up in the connective tissue of the joints, sowing the seeds for the development of rheumatism and arthritis. This is especially true of people who have a genetic predisposition to these conditions. But herbal medicine has much to offer in the treatment of these and other chronic and degenerative ailments.
What Are Rheumatic Diseases?
More than 100 conditions are classified as rheumatic diseases. They have in common symptoms such as pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints and the supporting structures, such as the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Some of these diseases can also affect other parts of the body.
The term arthritis is often used to describe all rheumatic diseases, but this is incorrect. Arthritis actually means joint inflammation - that is, swelling, redness, heat, and pain, which may be caused by tissue injury or diseases of the joints. But the many kinds of arthritis comprise only a small portion of rheumatic diseases. Some rheumatic diseases instead affect the body's connective tissues. Others, known as autoimmune diseases, occur when some type of imbalance in the immune system causes it to harm the body's own healthy tissues.
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