Arthritis and Natural Progesterone
Arthritis is a generic Greek word that usually means only that one’s joints, or the tissue around one’s joints, hurt or are inflamed. It does not refer to any specific cause or any specific mechanism of action. It’s more a Greek translation for a symptom than a diagnosis. It is characterized by pain, swelling, stiffness, deformity, an/or a diminished range of motion.
Osteoarthritis involves deterioration of the cartilage that covers the ends of the bones. A degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis sometimes is caused by injury or a defect in the protein that makes up cartilage. More commonly, it is related to the wear and tear of aging.
Rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis are types of inflammatory arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder - a "self-attacking-self" disease in which the body’s immune system improperly identifies the synovial membranes that secrete the lubricating fluid in the joints as foreign. Inflammation results, and the cartilage and tissues in and around the joints are damaged or destroyed.
If your joints ache, or the connective tissue around your joints aches, your doctor is inclined to call it arthritis and prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or any of a dozen similar medications. You must realise that your joint aching is not due to a NSAID deficiency, and your doctor’s prescription is merely treating symptoms, not causes.
Connective tissue aches and pains have a variety of causes. Some of them include:
- nutritional deficiencies
- repeated trauma of cartilage and the connective tissue that holds joints together
- repeated strain causing microscopic tears in connective tissue around joints and tendon sheaths (like carpal tunnel syndrome)
- inflammatory reactions to these connective tissue strains due to prostaglandin imbalance secondary to dietary choices (like too much milk and meat and not enough foods with omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids); and
- lack of physiological cortisone responses to check the inflammatory reactions
Painkillers and the so-called NSAIDs are effective in reducing symptoms quickly but often cause serious side effects such as ulcers and gastrointestinal bleeding, and they do not stop the progression of the disease. In the long run they have actually proven to worsen the condition by accelerating joint destruction.
Natural progesterone has anti-inflammatory properties that the synthetic analogs do not have. You can rub progesterone cream or oil directly on the joint or tissue that hurts.
Many women with arthritic or inflammatory problems find, after about 2 years on progesterone, they are reporting significant joint and muscular mobility. And their pain has dramatically reduced, allowing them to resume physical activities that were once restrictive or beyond them.
Many have reported remission of their arthritis with no further progression 3 years on.
