Many times I am asked by patients, “What can a chiropractor do for arthritis”?

Well, that's a very big question. I would say that a substantial number of my patients have arthritis but that's not necessarily what I'm treating them for. First let's explore what arthritis is.

Arthritis means inflammation of the joints. There are many types of rheumatic diseases (more than 100), and arthritis is included in this category.

The two types of arthritis we most often hear about are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, now referred to as degenerative joint disease or D.J.D.

Probably the biggest difference between the two is that to some degree we are all going to get degenerative joint disease. This is more of a wear and tear arthritis. Throughout ones lifetime, there are a number of injuries and events that cause the cartilage in the joints to become stressed and break down, causing joint inflammation and pain.

Rheumatoid arthritis on the other hand is a connective tissue disease of unknown cause. Rheumatoid arthritis will usually go through episodes of pain and inflammation that may last for a few days or, for extended periods of time.

The spine is a very common place for people to have degenerative joint disease (osteoarthritis). Rheumatoid arthritis, if the spine is involved, will usually do so later in the course of the disease.

There are many other clinical differences between the two types and it is important to know if you have arthritis, which one you have. I have found that in my practice I treat many more people with degenerative joint disease than with rheumatoid. Primarily because D.J.D. is more common and other than supportive measures, I personally don't feel that I can help rheumatoid patients very much with spinal manipulation.

Remember earlier that I mentioned that even though some of my patients have arthritis that that's not necessarily what I'm treating them for? Well, first and foremost there is no cure for arthritis. With D.J.D. however, the joints can become “locked up” or subluxated more easily due to the cartilaginous break down. This can cause mechanical pain in the involved joint by irritating nerves in the joints called nociceptors.

If the joint needs to be mobilized to reduce this pressure, there are chiropractic techniques that may help.

So when a person with arthritis sees a chiropractor, you can now understand that the chiropractor is not trying to cure the arthritis, but rather another problem - the subluxation or “joint locking” - that can be caused by the arthritis.

Dr. Scott Kilmer is a licensed chiropractor located in Auburn