In addition to other factors, weight is a cause of arthritis. The ankles, knees and lower back especially must carry the full measure of your weight. Take a look at the size of your knees for example and picture them carrying 150, 200 or 300 lbs. or whatever you weigh. Yuh, it’s a lot to carry! The more the weight the heavier the load, and the quicker that cartilage will wear down (the cushioning substance that adjoins bones).

Do you take antibiotics regularly? Antibiotics don’t know the difference and eliminate the good flora as well as the bad bacteria, so don’t overdue your antibiotic intake.

As we age, our hormones change and women, especially, can find themselves out of balance as they go through peri-menopause. When a body is out of balance, many different kinds of illnesses can erupt, one of them can include arthritic symptoms.

There are natural means for cutting into the pain caused by arthritis. Hydrotherapy is one that you can easily do at home, according to Dr. Marcus Laux, ND. Take a warm shower for 1 minute, then change the temperature to cool for 30 seconds. Turn the temperature again to warmer than before, again for 1 minute. Then, again, turn the temperature down to cooler than the time before for 30 seconds. Repeat both steps above. Make the shower gradually warmer to as hot as you can handle each time you raise the temperature and then cooler to cold each time you change the temperature. End with the cold shower and be amazed how much better you feel. Dr. Laux states to make sure to end the process with the cold shower because it “contracts the blood vessels which forces both blood and lymph fluid to move along. It’s like having your blood vessels, lymph nodes, and pores working out with aerobics!”