Unraveling Arthritis
Arthritis is the most common joint disorder in the United States. About 10–13% of adults older than 60 years of age are affected by symptomatic arthritis in the knee. Medical cost and expenditure for arthritis in 2013 reached $303.5 billion or 1% of the US Gross Domestic Product that year. It is the nation’s number 1 cause of disability, accounting for difficulty climbing stairs, walking, and increasing the risk of injury from falling. Studies show that the prevalence of this condition will continue to rise due to the increase in age in the population as well as the obesity epidemic. However, arthritis is affecting more young adults and children today than ever before. Almost 300,000 children have some type of arthritic condition. This is a BIG problem. Could technology be paving the way for the rise in this epidemic?
There are many pieces to the arthritis puzzle with age, gender, weight, repetitive use of joints, muscle weakness, and bone density all playing a contributory role in the development of this condition. Let’s look at how inflammation as well as posture make for some big contenders in the progression of arthritis.
Arthritis comes from the Latin root word “arthron” which means a joint, and the suffix -itis which means inflammation. Technically speaking, arthritis means inflammation of the joint, however degenerative arthritis doesn’t always involve inflammation. Although arthritis is common, it is not well understood. There are a variety of arthritic conditions that involve disease of a joint.
- Inflammatory
- Infectious
- Metabolic
- Degenerative
While we won’t go into detail about all of them, many share a common theme when it comes to the type of environment provided for the body.
The inflammatory category deals with a hyperactive and malfunctioning immune system. The body’s immune system begins attacking its own joints, causing erosion and sometimes even damaging organs in what is known as an autoimmune response. Rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis are common examples of this and have the potential to wreak havoc on the body. Research indicates that both genetics and environmental factors can trigger this response. Could the quality of food we put into our body act as a trigger?
Research today shows that an inflammatory diet impacts the central nervous system directly through what is known as the gut-brain axis and increase the risk of disease. There is an intimate relationship between the nervous system and the gut that is connected via the vagus nerve. What happens in vagus stays…wait…no, not that Vegas. This nerve arises from the brain stem and is connected to virtually all the visceral organs of the body. It is one of the main branches of the parasympathetic nervous system that regulates functions like digestion, absorption, metabolism, as well as heart rate and breathing. Science has also identified a strong connection between this nerve and the immune system.
As we mentioned before, understanding the regulatory and coordinating role of the nervous system over all the other systems of the body can lead us to better strategies when approaching arthritis. Diets that promote inflammation are high in refined sugars, starches, trans-fats, and low in omega-3 fatty acids, anti-oxidants, and fiber. When we put the wrong foods into our gut, it triggers a neural reflex mechanism — the inflammatory reflex — by way of the vagus. This stimulates an innate immune response that is similar to what is seen in the autoimmune response. Inflammation is a normal aspect of human physiology, and in temporary situations is necessary and should resolve on its own. However, chronic inflammatory reactions create dysregulation in the system, decreasing the body’s ability to adapt, creating an environment in the body predisposed for disease. In other words, our diet can be a culprit in the initiation, exacerbation, and progression of inflammatory arthritis and this happens due to the neurological connection between the brain and gut. I like the saying “garbage in, garbage out.” If we supply the gut with the right environment when it comes to nutrients, the nervous system has a greater chance to regulate our immune response instead of allowing it to attack ourselves and cause joint inflammation.
What about posture? Does posture matter? Is posture just something mom use to nag about during holiday pictures?
An average person spends up to 4 hours a day with their head tilted forward reading and texting on their hand held devices. Teenagers are accumulating up to 1400 hours of excess, abnormal stress on their cervical spine per year.
These repetitive abnormal positions cause what is known as plastic deformation. In other words, much like plastic can be deformed to make material products, ligaments under the chronic stress of poor posture will deform, and pull the spine out of its normal alignment. This abnormal alignment leads to abnormal stress on the disc, ligaments, and joints of the spine, and in most instances is the cause of degenerative arthritis (degenerative disc disease).
Do you remember the Hunchback of Notre Dame? None of us want our kids to grow up to be like Quasimodo. This is why posture matters. If we can be more conscious of our diet and our posture, we may be able to prevent the development of arthritis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920533/
