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Arthritis - What to do

A friend of mine thought she broke her finger. It had swollen up and was painful to the touch. We talked to someone known as an expert regarding her pain and it turned out that the finger was not broken. It had calcium deposits on the joints, unfortunately the early signs of arthritis.

In fact, as the expert checked her fingers, it turned out that each finger had pain to varying degrees. The most painful being the finger she had noticed as swollen and thought was broken.

Some may disagree with the following, but our expert assures me that it is the case. Over time, we can get calcium buildup on the joints and it can cause swelling and painful joints. If left unchecked, this can then develop into arthritis.

Fortunately, there are two simple things we can do to help with this condition.

The first is to do a "finger joint massage."

Finger joint massage sounds simple, and it works. Have a spouse or friend grab each joint and rotate the finger slowly and gently in a circular pattern. Start with the finger joint closest to the knuckle, slightly pull outward from the hand and rotate the finger around for 120 seconds. Then do the next joint on the same finger also for 120 seconds. Do every finger in succession, even if only one finger is in pain. Do this entire procedure once per day.

You'll find that with finger joint massage, it can be very painful at first and 120 seconds will seem like a long time. After a few days doing this routine, from what I've seen, the pain will subside.

What happens when you do this routing is that the massage is breaking down those calcium buildups on the joints and will eventually help the body to cleanse itself in the finger joint area. Pretty soon those fingers can get back to moving around without all that extreme pain.

The second thing to do is get a good "joint" formula at the health food store, which is usually called "Joint Support."

There are many good joint formulas in the market, and it is important that they contain glucosamine, chondroitan and MSM. They usually work well, just be sure to start slowly by taking a pill or capsule once per day. If you experience a rash or other strange contraindications, it could be from the MSM, and if that happens, you'd have to get a formula with just the glucosamine and chondroitan. But consult your healthcare provider before you jump into these formulas.

This article is not meant to give medical advice, but practical experience from what I've seen. If you have a condition that will just not go away and/or becomes extremely painful, get proper attention and see your medical provider.

About the Author: Jessica Deets has been researching the internet for over 4 years and passionately writes articles of interest to help people. The website at www.BestArthritisinfo.com has more information about arthritis.

Adapted by Editorial Staff, January 2007
Last update, July 2008