During my professional nursing career I was never able to find relief for my arthritis pain until I turned to the field of natural or alternative medicine. And arthritis sufferers today are continually seeking relief from their arthritis pain.

Arthritis concentrates in one or more joints where the deterioration occurs. Sometimes arthritis symptoms can occur in the wrist, elbows, shoulders, and jaw but you generally won't find it there. In osteoarthritis, any one or more of the affected joints experience a progressive loss of cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery material that cushions the ends of bones.

Collagen is the essential protein found in cartilage. It forms a mesh to give support and flexibility to all the joints. Joints are designed for normal movement without pain. They are primarily supplied by the synovium and cartilage.

When chondrocytes (the cells that make up cartilage) age, they lose the ability to make repairs and produce more cartilage. This process may play an important part in the development and progression of osteoarthritis. Researchers report a higher incidence of osteoarthritis between parents and their children and between siblings rather than between husbands and wives. Some possible causes of arthritis include lesser known: bleeding disorders, like hemophilia, that cause bleeding to occur in the joints, disorders such as avascular necrosis, that block the blood supply closest to the joint and conditions like hemochromatosis, that cause iron build-up in the joints.

With natural arthritis treatments there will be fewer, if any, side effects or adverse reactions as with drugs or medications. Gluten may be one of the culprits in arthritic diseases which include fibromyalgia. So avoid wheat, barley, rye, spelt, triticale, kamut and oats (although oats is not a gluten grain it gets contaminated during the milling process at the wheat mills where it is usually milled). An acidic diet, that is a diet comprised of foods that are not alive, is considered to be inflammatory to the joints.

Taking a few dried Montmorency tart cherries seem to be helpful as a natural treatment for arthritis pain for many people. Some of the foods and beverages to avoid that are inflammatory are: caffeine, salt, sugar, meat, dairy products, additives like MSG and aspartame, preservatives, soft drinks, white flour, white rice, alcoholic beverages, fast food, processed vegetable oils, and refined, packaged and processed food. Studies that have been done on antioxidant vitamins question the value of them as supplements. It's clearly better to consume these antioxidants in living foods because they may also need to work together with other nutrients present in the foods in order to work properly - synergistic action.

For a good natural approach and natural treatment for arthritis make an appointment with a naturopathic doctor, called a naturopath; ask around for referrals in your area. One natural treatment method restricts all inflammatory foods.

If your arthritis is affecting your weight-bearing joints, keeping your weight within a normal range is important to get rid of arthritis symptoms. The best natural approach is to eat foods that are known to help relieve arthritis pain or prevent arthritis, like living plant foods.

And did I mention how important it is to keep moving? Stretching and warming up the joints should always be the first step in your exercise routine to make your joints more flexible, but be careful in the early morning; you may need an hour or more of moving around first. You can start by moving your limbs around in bed a few minutes before you get out of bed. If you have swollen joints in your fingers, a good exercise to try is to put your finger tips together and press hard and release. Repeat several times. Exercise in a heated, unchlorinated pool if possible. It will help reduce the pressure on your joints and the heat will help loosen the joints.

Besides a predominately plant food diet, fight arthritis through plenty of movement and exercise. If you have pain and swelling in your fingers, try squeezing Thera-putty, which is putty designed for this purpose, or try exercising them with two of the Chinese chime balls. Exercise all your affected joints every day, to keep them as flexible as possible and help avoid them going stiff permanently.

For conventional treatment of arthritis - if you do choose to take drugs or medications, be very careful, read the labels carefully and talk to your pharmacist about side effects and adverse reactions. Make sure you know the name of your drugs and if they'll react with any other medication you're taking. Also if you're going to take arthritis prescription medications make sure to ask your pharmacist for the drug inserts so you can read up on the drugs and understand any side effects or adverse reactions, before you start taking them. Only you know which arthritis treatment option is best for you.

Once you understand the facts about arthritis and the possible causes and treatment approaches you can take, you'll be on your way to recovery and pain will disappear for good. Arthritis pain relief of your arthritis symptoms is the ultimate goal and understanding arthritis and arthritis treatments is a good way for you to get there. Knowing more about arthritis and osteoarthritis and how it works will ultimately help contribute to the relief of your arthritis pain.