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Arthritis literally means joint inflammation and is the leading cause of disability in the United States, affecting about one in every six Americans. Although arthritis is often referred to as one disease, it's not. There are more than 100 forms of arthritis. Osteoarthritis, sometimes called degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is the most common form of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is most common in women and adults over age 45. It may affect any joint in the body, including those found in the fingers, hips, knees, lower back, shoulders, and feet. The next most common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis affecting 1 in every 100 people; this autoimmune disease is three times more common in women than in men. Other forms of arthritis include chronic ankylosing spondylitis, which initially affects the spine and the joints between the spine and the pelvis, and reactive arthritis, which typically develops after an infection. Both gout and pseudogout are types of arthritis in which crystals are deposited in a joint, resulting in swelling and pain, and septic arthritis can develop when infection enters a joint.

How does arthritis develop?
Although the exact causes of arthritis is unclear, these factors may increase the risk: being 45 years old or older and female; certain hereditary conditions, defective cartilage and malformed joints; joint injuries caused by physical labor or sports; obesity; and having other diseases that change the normal structure and function of cartilage, such as hemochromatosis and Paget's disease.

What are the symptoms of arthritis?
Arthritis sufferers may experience the following signs and symptoms: pain and tenderness in joints that worsens with activity and is relieved by rest, discomfort in a joint before or during a change in weather, bony lumps on the middle or end joints of the fingers or the base of the thumb, loss of joint flexibility, swelling around the joint, restricted joint movement, crackling noise (called crepitus) when moving the affected joint and referred pain (in areas remote from the site of damage but on the same nerve pathway as the affected joint).

Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of arthritis but they do not address the root of the problem. By strengthening structural weaknesses in the body, as natural medicine therapies like Prolotherapy do, arthritis pain can be alleviated permanently.

Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat arthritis.

Read Prolo Your Arthritis Pain Away! and Learn:

Who would be a candidate for Prolotherapy?
Ross Hauser, MD is a full time Prolotherapy physician and Medical Director of Caring Medical in Chicago land. In this video, Dr. Hauser reviews some key indications where a person would know if he or she is a good Prolotherapy candidate, based on the thousands of patients he has treated over many years with Prolotherapy injections. Prolotherapy works to repair soft tissue, including ligaments and tendons. Good candidates for Prolotherapy include with degenerative arthritis, ligament injury, joint instability, meniscus tear, labral tear, tendon injury, cartilage injury, torn meniscus, torn labrum, or other stabilizing structure in the joint. In our practice, we also work to get the body healing optimally. This can includes getting patients off dangerous anti-inflammatory medications, as well as working with diet and supplements to promote healing. To learn more and become a patient, please visit: http://www.caringmedical.com/therapies/prolotherapy.asp

Prolotherapy can regenerate cartilage in bone-on-bone arthritis. http://www.prolonews.com/surgery_and_prolotherapy.htm
 
Great alternative to arthroscopy in arthritic knees is Prolotherapy. http://www.prolonews.com/knee_arthroscopy_oak_park.htm 

Cortisone injections can damage joints and lead to arthritis. Think twice! http://www.prolonews.com/prolotherapy_newsletter__ten_reasons_not_to_get_cortisone.htm
 
Alternative treatment to surgery for arthritis has a tremendous success rate. http://www.caringmedical.com/conditions/Arthritis.htm
 
Ankle sprains can develop into chronic ankle instability and osteoarthritis. Address the root cause of ankle instability with Prolotherapy. http://www.prolonews.com/ankle_instability.htm
 
Shoulder osteoarthritis treatment options include Prolotherapy. http://www.prolonews.com/shoulder_arthritis_prolotherapy.htm
 
Cartilage regrowth using Prolotherapy in patients with osteoarthritis. http://www.caringmedical.com/symptoms/condition.asp?condition_id=725
 
Degenerative joint disease treatment using Prolotherapy as an alternative to steroid injections. http://www.caringmedical.com/symptoms/condition.asp?condition_id=463
 
The Journal of Prolotherapy is a quarterly medical journal for doctor's and patients to learn more about Prolotherapy for arthritis and other painful conditions. http://www.journalofprolotherapy.com

Stem Cell Prolotherapy & Bone Marrow Prolotherapy. Like all injectable solutions used with Prolotherapy, we use them to aid in healing. Prolotherapy, whether traditional Hackett-Hemwall Prolotherapy (HHP), Stem Cell Prolotherapy (SCP), Platelet Rich Plasma Prolotherapy (PRPP), or Bone Marrow Prolotherapy (BMP), the goal is the same: to stimulate the repair of injured tissues. Bone Marrow Prolotherapy not only helps the fibroblastic proliferation where the following occurs: proliferation of cells, proteosynthesis, reparation, and the remodeling of tissues, but also chondrocyte proliferation. Typically the tissues that we are trying to stimulate to repair with BMP are articular cartilage, but it can be soft tissues structures such as ligament and tendons.

Marion A. Hauser, M.S., R.D. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER & REGISTERED DIETITIAN Ross A. Hauser, M.D. PHYSICAL MEDICINE & REHABILITATION SPECIALIST