Arthritic Pains
The separation of low back pain from rheumatoid
joint pains elsewhere in the body is inaccurate.
The mechanism of pain production in these joint
conditions seems to be the same. They denote the same physiological phenomenon in the body.
Their "regional" separation is a matter of
convenience for the involvement of different sub-
specialties. For the one, one goes to a
rheumatologist and for the other to an orthopedic
surgeon or a chiropractor. The outcome is the
same in both, pain management rather than its
cure. Basically both conditions have the same
pathology, except they are in different locations.
About 50,000,000 Americans are said to suffer
from some type of arthritis pain. At any time,
about 30 million people suffer from back pain.
Each year a few million people are said to be
functionally disabled from back pain. In the U.S.,
$16 billion is annually spent on back pain
treatment. $80 billion is lost annually in
productivity and wages as a result of back pain.
These commonly quoted statistics, even if
partially accurate, indicate a devastating problem
for the American people. Statistically, the same
ratios of occurrence to gross population may be
representative of what goes on in other industrial
countries.
New Insight Into the Phenomenon of Pain
In the chronically painful joint conditions of the
lower spine or the joints of the hand and legs, the
actual chronic and recurring pain itself is a signal
of water deficiency in the area where the pain is
felt [1,4]. The pain occurs because there is not
enough water circulation to wash out the local
acidity and the toxic substances. These regional
joint pains are one of a series of newly
understood emergency and crisis thirst signals
of the human body. For more information read
the book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water
[1], (available through www.watercure.com).
It depends on where the localized drought has
settled in before the pain is felt. Low back pain
has two components. One, the muscle spasm
that causes the pain. Two, the disc degeneration
that puts more strain on the tendons and
ligaments in the spinal column. Either
component of the back-pain-causing conditions
is initiated by the onset of chronic dehydration.
Basically, all joint surfaces possess cartilage
padding. Their bone structures are separated by a
firm layer of cartilage which holds a vast quantity
of water in its composition. It is the water
content of the cartilage that provides it with the
ability to glide over the opposing surface and
facilitate the necessary lubrication for the joint
movements. Thus, prolonged dehydration that
leaves the cartilage short of water will produce a
greater friction and sheering stress at the
cartilage contact points in the joint. In the
process of shunting more circulation to the joint
through its outer capsule, for its lubrication and
repair process, pain is also produced. This joint
pain is an indicator of local dehydration and the
inability of the joints to cope with the extra
demands for its movement.
Intelligence Behind the Designing of the Body
When the cartilage is dehydrated its gliding
ability is decreased. The cartilage cells sense
their dehydration and begin to give out their
alarm of pain. Because they would soon die and
peel off from their contact surfaces when they
are used in their dehydrated state. The
environment of cartilage is alkaline. In
dehydration it becomes acid. This acidity will
sensitize the nerve endings that will register pain.
You all know that blood is made in the bone
marrow. The actively growing blood cells in the
bone marrow take priority over the cartilage at
the contact surfaces of the bone for the available
water that goes through the bone structure. The
blood and serum circulation to the cartilage
covering any bone is from its base and through
its connection to the bone. The serum that
reaches the cartilage will bring with it the
necessary raw materials that are needed for the
replacement of the layer that will wear-off as a
result of friction and shearing stress with its
opposite cartilage contact points. When pain
occurs in symmetrical joints, it is the indication
that the brain assesses the strain to be equal for
all joints and therefore assumes these joints are
not fully prepared to endure a particular level of
pressure until the one or all of them are fully
hydrated. This type of pain has to be treated
with a regular increase in water intake until the
cartilage is fully hydrated and washed of its
acidity and toxins. Often the pain travels from
joint to joint, if it does not appear at the
corresponding joints in the other limb at the
same time. "Chronic pains" have two
components: local and central nervous system
(brain) registered pain. The locally felt pain is
relieved by the intake of analgesics.
The brain level pain is not relieved by analgesics.
These pains are more easily relieved by the intake
of adequate water.
What Happens to a Dehydrated Joint?
Cartilage is a gelatinous living tissue, the cells of
which like to live in an alkaline environment. The
alkalinity of the medium is dependent on the flow
of water through its substance that would
wash the acid away. Salt helps to extract the
"acidity" from the inside of the cartilage cells and
pass it into the water that will carry the "acid"
away from the medium. This is a constant
process. For this process to be effective, two
elements are vital, water and salt. Adequate salt
supply is essential to prevention of "arthritis
pain," be that pain in the joints of the hands or
the joints of the spine. It is the salt level in the
serum that also builds up its fluid volume and
makes it abundant for its flow through the
cartilage.
The joint cartilage cells begin to die at a faster
pace because of the constant high acidity and
abrasive friction in the dehydrated joint. The
dying cells need to be replaced. When there is
damage to the cartilage because of its over use
and under repair, the sensors in the area will
begin to indicate a desperate need for urgent
reparations. Under such circumstances,
although ineffectively, attempt is made to
supply the water needed by the new cartilage
cells from the blood supply that feed the
capsule of the joint. This action only helps
supply some lubrication inside the joint but is
not all that effective in maintaining the rate of
cartilage growth from its base to replace the
dead tissue. In the lining of the joint capsule
there are certain cells that have the power to
secrete local hormones to stimulate repair
activity at the same time as they begin to
produce pain. Several things happen when
these hormones are secreted.
1. The dying tissue is broken up from inside the
cells and the broken fragments are extruded only
to be ingested by the "garbage collectors" and to
be recycled.
2. More blood circulation is brought to the area,
even if it has to come to the nearest sites in the
fibrous capsule covering the joint. It is the
swelling and stretch in the joint capsule that
causes stiffness and eventually added pain.
3. There is an associated protein breakdown and
more amino acids are mobilized for the "pool" that may be needed for the repair of the damage.
4. In the inflammatory environment inside the
joint, some white cells begin to manufacture
hydrogen peroxide and ozone for two obvious
purposes. One, to keep the joint space sterilized
and prevent bacteria from infecting the joint
cavity. Two, to supply with adequate oxygen to
the cells that are engaged in the repair process
and, because of their local isolation and the
stagnant nature of the inflammatory exudates*,
have less of an access to the blood oxygen.
*An exudate is any fluid that filters from the
circulatory system into lesions or areas of
inflammation. It can be a pus-like or clear
fluid. When an injury occurs, leaving skin
exposed, it leaks out of the blood vessels and
into nearby tissues. The fluid is composed of
serum, fibrin, and white blood cells.
5. There is a local "remodeling growth factor"
that promotes the growth of tissue along the
line of greater force.
6. Knowledge gained from its on-going
experience by the brain is put to use for the rest
of the body. The remodeling and "fortification"
of the other similarly structured joints will also
be carried out. This seems to be the reason
why rheumatoid joints of the hands will
often show a mirror image inflammation
and eventual deviation of the actual
joints on both sides.
Back Pain
In the spinal column, the weight of the body is
supported by the 23 discs between 24 vertebrae.
The discs are housed in between the plates of
cartilage that are stuck to the opposing flat
surfaces of the vertebrae. The end-plate
cartilage attached to its flat weight-bearing
surfaces is part of the structure of each vertebra.
During the movement of each of the spinal
vertebrae, the disc is meant to minimally glide
between the end-plate cartilage, located on its
upper and lower surfaces. Seventy-five percent
of the weight of the upper body mass is
supported by the hydraulic properties of the
discs that absorb and hold water in their central
cores. In dehydration (not drinking water on a
regular basis) and when the gross body mass
constantly squeezes out the water content of the
discs, not enough of the lost water can be
replaced. The dehydrated discs with their
shrunken cores will gradually become less
supportive of the weight of the body. The discs
lose their wedge quality and the spinal joints
become less firm. In their well hydrated and
taut state, the discs themselves do not
physically move, but get continuously
squeezed of water, and then absorb it all over
again and expand to function as the natural
shock absorb-ers that they are.
In their dehydrated state, the discs can be made
to shift physically backward and press on the local
nerves. When this happens in the lower spinal
region, the pain becomes projected into the one
or the other leg. This pain is called sciatic pain
and is far more serious than the local pain in the
back. It means the spinal joint structure has
become so disorganized that one of the discs
that have to shock absorb for the spine -- in 95%
of cases the lowest lumbar disc that has to
shock-absorb for the spinal column above it --
is now out of its normal position and is pressing
on the nerve. Dehydration and bad posture are
the basic factors involved in the production of
this condition.
At extreme and prolonged dehydration, the disc
substance and their padding quality is drastically
reduced until the vertebrae begin to touch one
another at their facet joints.
Facet joints are four small vertically positioned
joints, two on either side of the back of each vertebra.
These joints anchor each vertebra to its
counterpart above and below. The facet joints
are only there to steady the movement of the
vertebra when they twist and turn. They are
not supposed to become weight-bearing in the
same way as the flat parts of the vertebra.
When as a result of the loss of supportive
padding of the discs, the facet joints become
weight-bearing, true and devastating back
pains begin. The fluid circulation system to
the disc space and the disc core depends on
the creation of "intermittent vacuum" in the
disc space. The process involves a series of
movements that include slow and rhythmic
bending of the spine with its convexity
forward (bending the body backward as
opposed to bending the body forward). The
spinal column is made of 24 vertebrae and
23 discs. The design of the spinal column is
such that it packs these components in a state
of vacuum. Vacuum provides the adhesive
force that holds these parts together and fills
all of the empty spaces in each joint with
water. The vacuum sucks water in and the
pressure of weight squeezes it out -- the
mechanism of circulation in the vertebral
joints. This natural process is enhanced
during the walking movement. Of course,
the body must be well hydrated for the water
to leave the circulation and go into the disc
spaces when the force of vacuum in the joint
spaces is increased. By the way, I have
developed a new self-help posturing
technique for "vacuum reduction" of sciatic pain
(even herniated disc causing paralysis of the leg)
in less than one hour. You need to read my back
pain book, or see the video I have prepared on
back pain to learn the technique and permanently
save yourself from back pain and its
complications. (See How to Deal With
Back Pain & Rheumatoid Joint
Pain, F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. [2,3],
(available here ⇨www.watercure.com).
Osteoarthritis
When the cartilage in the joint dies, the bone to
bone contact begins, be it in the back, the legs,
or the hands. Whereas the cartilage cells had a
water-given resilience and survived the trauma
of movement against one another, the hardened
bone surfaces produce a friction force against one
another. This friction force will produce an
inflammatory process that destroys the bone
surfaces. Thus osteoarthritis of the joint will
establish -- a second stage process to dehydration
that first destroyed the cartilage surfaces.
The Simplest Prevention and Cure of Them All
The body needs at least two quarts of water
daily. Water itself as opposed to caffeine-
containing fluids and alcoholic beverages that
further dehydrate the body. Water should be
taken at regular intervals. Its intake should
become a habit. One cannot rely on the thirst
perception to recognize the urgency to drink
water. As we grow older, we lose our thirst
perception. We begin not to recognize that we
are thirsty. My rule of thumb: for every ten
8-ounce glasses of water one should add about
1/2-1/4 teaspoon of salt to the daily diet; if the
food is already salty, the lesser amount. If
the food is bland, the full measure. Frequent
cramps in the leg muscles should be taken to
mean salt shortage in the body.
With the new information about the emergency
calls of the body for water -- and the role of water and salt in the integrity of joint functions -- I can predict a virtual disappearance of back pain and rheumatoid joint pains as we enter the 21st Century. We now have the insight and knowledge as to why these pains did occur, and can prevent their occurrence. These pains should be in the future only in the dictionaries and medical textbooks and not be seen in our joints and devastate our bodies. To achieve such an ideal situation, we need to learn as much as we can about the many roles of water in our body. We need to learn about chronic dehydration and what it does to the body. The information is now available and can be accessed by further reading.
References
1. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., Your Body's Many Cries
for Water, Global Health Solutions, Inc., PO Box
3189, Falls Church, VA 22043.
2. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., How to Deal With Back
Pain &Rheumatoid Joint Pain, Global Health
Solutions, Inc., PO Box 3189, Falls Church, VA 22043.
3. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., How to Deal With Back
Pain &Rheumatoid Joint Pain, Video;
25 minutes, V.H.S., Global Health Solutions, Inc., Op.Cit.
4. F. Batmanhelidj, M.D., Pain: A Need for
Paradigm Change; Anticancer Research,
Vol. 7, No. 5B, PP. 971-990, Sept.-Oct. 1987.
The separation of low back pain from rheumatoid
joint pains elsewhere in the body is inaccurate.
The mechanism of pain production in these joint
conditions seems to be the same. They denote the same physiological phenomenon in the body.
Their "regional" separation is a matter of
convenience for the involvement of different sub-
specialties. For the one, one goes to a
rheumatologist and for the other to an orthopedic
surgeon or a chiropractor. The outcome is the
same in both, pain management rather than its
cure. Basically both conditions have the same
pathology, except they are in different locations.
About 50,000,000 Americans are said to suffer
from some type of arthritis pain. At any time,
about 30 million people suffer from back pain.
Each year a few million people are said to be
functionally disabled from back pain. In the U.S.,
$16 billion is annually spent on back pain
treatment. $80 billion is lost annually in
productivity and wages as a result of back pain.
These commonly quoted statistics, even if
partially accurate, indicate a devastating problem
for the American people. Statistically, the same
ratios of occurrence to gross population may be
representative of what goes on in other industrial
countries.
New Insight Into the Phenomenon of Pain
In the chronically painful joint conditions of the
lower spine or the joints of the hand and legs, the
actual chronic and recurring pain itself is a signal
of water deficiency in the area where the pain is
felt [1,4]. The pain occurs because there is not
enough water circulation to wash out the local
acidity and the toxic substances. These regional
joint pains are one of a series of newly
understood emergency and crisis thirst signals
of the human body. For more information read
the book, Your Body's Many Cries for Water
[1], (available through www.watercure.com).
It depends on where the localized drought has
settled in before the pain is felt. Low back pain
has two components. One, the muscle spasm
that causes the pain. Two, the disc degeneration
that puts more strain on the tendons and
ligaments in the spinal column. Either
component of the back-pain-causing conditions
is initiated by the onset of chronic dehydration.
Basically, all joint surfaces possess cartilage
padding. Their bone structures are separated by a
firm layer of cartilage which holds a vast quantity
of water in its composition. It is the water
content of the cartilage that provides it with the
ability to glide over the opposing surface and
facilitate the necessary lubrication for the joint
movements. Thus, prolonged dehydration that
leaves the cartilage short of water will produce a
greater friction and sheering stress at the
cartilage contact points in the joint. In the
process of shunting more circulation to the joint
through its outer capsule, for its lubrication and
repair process, pain is also produced. This joint
pain is an indicator of local dehydration and the
inability of the joints to cope with the extra
demands for its movement.
Intelligence Behind the Designing of the Body
When the cartilage is dehydrated its gliding
ability is decreased. The cartilage cells sense
their dehydration and begin to give out their
alarm of pain. Because they would soon die and
peel off from their contact surfaces when they
are used in their dehydrated state. The
environment of cartilage is alkaline. In
dehydration it becomes acid. This acidity will
sensitize the nerve endings that will register pain.
You all know that blood is made in the bone
marrow. The actively growing blood cells in the
bone marrow take priority over the cartilage at
the contact surfaces of the bone for the available
water that goes through the bone structure. The
blood and serum circulation to the cartilage
covering any bone is from its base and through
its connection to the bone. The serum that
reaches the cartilage will bring with it the
necessary raw materials that are needed for the
replacement of the layer that will wear-off as a
result of friction and shearing stress with its
opposite cartilage contact points. When pain
occurs in symmetrical joints, it is the indication
that the brain assesses the strain to be equal for
all joints and therefore assumes these joints are
not fully prepared to endure a particular level of
pressure until the one or all of them are fully
hydrated. This type of pain has to be treated
with a regular increase in water intake until the
cartilage is fully hydrated and washed of its
acidity and toxins. Often the pain travels from
joint to joint, if it does not appear at the
corresponding joints in the other limb at the
same time. "Chronic pains" have two
components: local and central nervous system
(brain) registered pain. The locally felt pain is
relieved by the intake of analgesics.
The brain level pain is not relieved by analgesics.
These pains are more easily relieved by the intake
of adequate water.
What Happens to a Dehydrated Joint?Cartilage is a gelatinous living tissue, the cells of
which like to live in an alkaline environment. The
alkalinity of the medium is dependent on the flow
of water through its substance that would
wash the acid away. Salt helps to extract the
"acidity" from the inside of the cartilage cells and
pass it into the water that will carry the "acid"
away from the medium. This is a constant
process. For this process to be effective, two
elements are vital, water and salt. Adequate salt
supply is essential to prevention of "arthritis
pain," be that pain in the joints of the hands or
the joints of the spine. It is the salt level in the
serum that also builds up its fluid volume and
makes it abundant for its flow through the
cartilage.
The joint cartilage cells begin to die at a faster
pace because of the constant high acidity and
abrasive friction in the dehydrated joint. The
dying cells need to be replaced. When there is
damage to the cartilage because of its over use
and under repair, the sensors in the area will
begin to indicate a desperate need for urgent
reparations. Under such circumstances,
although ineffectively, attempt is made to
supply the water needed by the new cartilage
cells from the blood supply that feed the
capsule of the joint. This action only helps
supply some lubrication inside the joint but is
not all that effective in maintaining the rate of
cartilage growth from its base to replace the
dead tissue. In the lining of the joint capsule
there are certain cells that have the power to
secrete local hormones to stimulate repair
activity at the same time as they begin to
produce pain. Several things happen when
these hormones are secreted.
1. The dying tissue is broken up from inside the
cells and the broken fragments are extruded only
to be ingested by the "garbage collectors" and to
be recycled.
2. More blood circulation is brought to the area,
even if it has to come to the nearest sites in the
fibrous capsule covering the joint. It is the
swelling and stretch in the joint capsule that
causes stiffness and eventually added pain.
3. There is an associated protein breakdown and
more amino acids are mobilized for the "pool" that may be needed for the repair of the damage.
4. In the inflammatory environment inside the
joint, some white cells begin to manufacture
hydrogen peroxide and ozone for two obvious
purposes. One, to keep the joint space sterilized
and prevent bacteria from infecting the joint
cavity. Two, to supply with adequate oxygen to
the cells that are engaged in the repair process
and, because of their local isolation and the
stagnant nature of the inflammatory exudates*,
have less of an access to the blood oxygen.
*An exudate is any fluid that filters from the
circulatory system into lesions or areas of
inflammation. It can be a pus-like or clear
fluid. When an injury occurs, leaving skin
exposed, it leaks out of the blood vessels and
into nearby tissues. The fluid is composed of
serum, fibrin, and white blood cells.
5. There is a local "remodeling growth factor"
that promotes the growth of tissue along the
line of greater force.
6. Knowledge gained from its on-going
experience by the brain is put to use for the rest
of the body. The remodeling and "fortification"
of the other similarly structured joints will also
be carried out. This seems to be the reason
why rheumatoid joints of the hands will
often show a mirror image inflammation
and eventual deviation of the actual
joints on both sides.
Back Pain
In the spinal column, the weight of the body is
supported by the 23 discs between 24 vertebrae.
The discs are housed in between the plates of
cartilage that are stuck to the opposing flat
surfaces of the vertebrae. The end-plate
cartilage attached to its flat weight-bearing
surfaces is part of the structure of each vertebra.
During the movement of each of the spinal
vertebrae, the disc is meant to minimally glide
between the end-plate cartilage, located on its
upper and lower surfaces. Seventy-five percent
of the weight of the upper body mass is
supported by the hydraulic properties of the
discs that absorb and hold water in their central
cores. In dehydration (not drinking water on a
regular basis) and when the gross body mass
constantly squeezes out the water content of the
discs, not enough of the lost water can be
replaced. The dehydrated discs with their
shrunken cores will gradually become less
supportive of the weight of the body. The discs
lose their wedge quality and the spinal joints
become less firm. In their well hydrated and
taut state, the discs themselves do not
physically move, but get continuously
squeezed of water, and then absorb it all over
again and expand to function as the natural
shock absorb-ers that they are.
In their dehydrated state, the discs can be made
to shift physically backward and press on the local
nerves. When this happens in the lower spinal
region, the pain becomes projected into the one
or the other leg. This pain is called sciatic pain
and is far more serious than the local pain in the
back. It means the spinal joint structure has
become so disorganized that one of the discs
that have to shock absorb for the spine -- in 95%
of cases the lowest lumbar disc that has to
shock-absorb for the spinal column above it --
is now out of its normal position and is pressing
on the nerve. Dehydration and bad posture are
the basic factors involved in the production of
this condition.
At extreme and prolonged dehydration, the disc
substance and their padding quality is drastically
reduced until the vertebrae begin to touch one
another at their facet joints.
Facet joints are four small vertically positioned
joints, two on either side of the back of each vertebra.
These joints anchor each vertebra to its
counterpart above and below. The facet joints
are only there to steady the movement of the
vertebra when they twist and turn. They are
not supposed to become weight-bearing in the
same way as the flat parts of the vertebra.
When as a result of the loss of supportive
padding of the discs, the facet joints become
weight-bearing, true and devastating back
pains begin. The fluid circulation system to
the disc space and the disc core depends on
the creation of "intermittent vacuum" in the
disc space. The process involves a series of
movements that include slow and rhythmic
bending of the spine with its convexity
forward (bending the body backward as
opposed to bending the body forward). The
spinal column is made of 24 vertebrae and
23 discs. The design of the spinal column is
such that it packs these components in a state
of vacuum. Vacuum provides the adhesive
force that holds these parts together and fills
all of the empty spaces in each joint with
water. The vacuum sucks water in and the
pressure of weight squeezes it out -- the
mechanism of circulation in the vertebral
joints. This natural process is enhanced
during the walking movement. Of course,
the body must be well hydrated for the water
to leave the circulation and go into the disc
spaces when the force of vacuum in the joint
spaces is increased. By the way, I have
developed a new self-help posturing
technique for "vacuum reduction" of sciatic pain
(even herniated disc causing paralysis of the leg)
in less than one hour. You need to read my back
pain book, or see the video I have prepared on
back pain to learn the technique and permanently
save yourself from back pain and its
complications. (See How to Deal With
Back Pain & Rheumatoid Joint
Pain, F. Batmanghelidj, M.D. [2,3],
(available here ⇨www.watercure.com).
Osteoarthritis
When the cartilage in the joint dies, the bone to
bone contact begins, be it in the back, the legs,
or the hands. Whereas the cartilage cells had a
water-given resilience and survived the trauma
of movement against one another, the hardened
bone surfaces produce a friction force against one
another. This friction force will produce an
inflammatory process that destroys the bone
surfaces. Thus osteoarthritis of the joint will
establish -- a second stage process to dehydration
that first destroyed the cartilage surfaces.
The Simplest Prevention and Cure of Them All
The body needs at least two quarts of water
daily. Water itself as opposed to caffeine-
containing fluids and alcoholic beverages that
further dehydrate the body. Water should be
taken at regular intervals. Its intake should
become a habit. One cannot rely on the thirst
perception to recognize the urgency to drink
water. As we grow older, we lose our thirst
perception. We begin not to recognize that we
are thirsty. My rule of thumb: for every ten
8-ounce glasses of water one should add about
1/2-1/4 teaspoon of salt to the daily diet; if the
food is already salty, the lesser amount. If
the food is bland, the full measure. Frequent
cramps in the leg muscles should be taken to
mean salt shortage in the body.
With the new information about the emergency
calls of the body for water -- and the role of water and salt in the integrity of joint functions -- I can predict a virtual disappearance of back pain and rheumatoid joint pains as we enter the 21st Century. We now have the insight and knowledge as to why these pains did occur, and can prevent their occurrence. These pains should be in the future only in the dictionaries and medical textbooks and not be seen in our joints and devastate our bodies. To achieve such an ideal situation, we need to learn as much as we can about the many roles of water in our body. We need to learn about chronic dehydration and what it does to the body. The information is now available and can be accessed by further reading.
References
1. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., Your Body's Many Cries
for Water, Global Health Solutions, Inc., PO Box
3189, Falls Church, VA 22043.
2. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., How to Deal With Back
Pain &Rheumatoid Joint Pain, Global Health
Solutions, Inc., PO Box 3189, Falls Church, VA 22043.
3. F. Batmanghelidj, M.D., How to Deal With Back
Pain &Rheumatoid Joint Pain, Video;
25 minutes, V.H.S., Global Health Solutions, Inc., Op.Cit.
4. F. Batmanhelidj, M.D., Pain: A Need for
Paradigm Change; Anticancer Research,
Vol. 7, No. 5B, PP. 971-990, Sept.-Oct. 1987.
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