Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain

This excerpt explains the underlaying cause of Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain and explains how to alleviate the pain.

Source: "Your Body's Many Cries For Water" by Dr F. Batmanghelidj

In the United States, about 50 million people suffer from some form of arthritis, 30 million people suffer from low back pain, millions suffer from arthritic neck pains, and 200,000 children are affected by the juvenile form of arthritis. In Britain, an estimated 20 million people suffer with joint symptoms, of whom four million are disabled because of arthritis. In addition to this, in any year, a further 20 million will have to endure back pain, with effects which range from slight inconvenience to complete incapacity.

Once any of these conditions is established in an individual, it becomes a sentence for suffering during the rest of the individual's life unless the simplicity of problem's root-cause is fully understood. Initially, rheumatoid arthritic joints and their pain are to be viewed as indicators of water deficiency in the affected joint cartilage surfaces. Arthritis pain is another of the regional thirst signals of the body. In some arthritis pains, salt shortage may be a contributing factor.

The cartilage surfaces of bones in a joint contain much water. The lubricating property of this 'held water' is utilised in the cartilage, allowing the two opposing surfaces to glide freely over one another during joint movement.

Whereas bone cells are immersed in calcium deposits, cartilage cells are immersed in a matrix containing much water. As the cartilage surfaces glide over one another, some exposed cells die and peel away. New cells take their place from the growing ends that are attached to the bone surfaces on the two sides. In a well hydrated cartilage, the rate of friction damage is minimal. In a dehydrated cartilage, the rate of abrasive damage is increased. The ratio between the rate of regeneration of cartilage cells to their 'abrasive peel' is the index of joint efficiency.

Actively growing blood cells in the bone marrow take priority over the cartilage for the available water that goes through the bone structure. In the process of dilating the blood vessels to bring more circulation to the area, it is possible that the branch that goes through a tight hole in the bone cannot expand adequately enough to cope; the cells that depend on these vessels for an increased water and nutrient supply are under a physically imposed rationing control. Under such circumstances, and unless there is blood dilution to carry more water, the serum requirements of the cartilage will have to be satisfied from the blood vessels that feed the capsule of the joint. The nerve regulated shunting mechanisms (to all the joints) also produce signals of pain.

Initially, this pain indicates that the joint is not fully prepared to endure pressure until it is fully hydrated. This type of pain has to be treated with a regular increase in water intake to produce some dilution of blood that is circulating to the area, until the cartilage is fully hydrated and repaired from its base attachment to the bone -the normal bone route of serum diffusion to the cartilage. A look at Figures 6 and 7 will help make these points clear.



It is my assumption that the swelling and pain in the capsule of the joint is an indication there is dilation and oedema from the vessels that furnish circulation to the capsule of the joint. Joint surfaces have nerve endings that regulate all functions. When they place a demand for more blood circulation to the area to pick up water from the serum, the compensatory vascular expansion in the capsule is supposed to make up for the inefficiency of circulation from the bone route of supply.



Because dehydration in the joint surfaces will eventually cause severe damage - to the point of making the bone surfaces bare and exposed until osteoarthritis becomes established - the tissue damage will trigger a mechanism for remodelling of the joint. There are hormone-secreting cells in the capsule of the joint. When there is damage (also from dehydration), injured tissue has to be repaired. These local remodelling hormones lake over and restructure the joint surfaces. It seems that they cater to the lines of force and pressure that the joints have to endure.

Unfortunately, the repair process seems to produce a deviation of the joints. To avoid such disfigurement, one should take the initial pain very seriously and give strict attention to daily intake of water. This pain should be recognised as a sign of local dehydration. If it does not disappear after a few days of water intake and repeated gentle bending of the joints to bring more circulation to the area, one should then consult a professional practitioner of medicine.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by recognising the pain and the non-infectious inflammation of a rheumatoid joint as a thirst signal in your body. You are probably showing other signals for water shortage in your body, but this particular site is indicating predisposition to a more severe local damage.

If we understand the body to have difficulty in recognising its thirst state, it is possible that this lower state of alertness is also inheritable by a child. It is possible that dehydration in a rapidly growing child might also indicate its presence by the pain felt in the joints, as well as in heartburn. The mode of signal production that would denote thirst might naturally be the same in the young as in older people. It is therefore recommended that juvenile arthritis should also be treated with an increase in daily water intake.

As you can see, Dr Laurence Malone, whose letter is published on page 48, is an experienced medical doctor and an educator. His observations on the effect of water on rheumatoid joint pains in himself show that our other colleagues in the medical profession should begin to notice the medicinal values of water in disease prevention.

Low back pain

It should be appreciated that the spinal joints - intervertebral joints and their disc structures - are dependent on different hydraulic properties of water stored in the disc core, as well as in the end plate cartilage covering the flat surfaces of the spinal vertebrae. In spinal vertebral joints, water is not only a lubricant for the contact surfaces, it is held in the disc core within the intervertebral space and supports the compression weight of the upper part of the body. Fully 75 per cent of the weight of the upper part of the body is supported by the water volume that is stored in the disc core; 25 per cent is supported by the fibrous materials around the disc (see Figure 8). In all joints, water acts as a lubricating agent and it bears the force produced by weight or the tension produced by muscle action on the joint.

Global Health Solutions, Inc
P.O. Box 3189
Falls Church, Va.22043

Attn: The Honorable F. Batmanghelid, M.D.

Gentlemen:

At 82 years of age I am still in fair shape and only regret I did not have the superb advice of Dr. Batmanghelid and that of his books "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" and "Low Back Pain".

Dr. Batman's reasoning is incisive, his medical knowledge indeed sparkles with wit and brilliant logic. His books are now a treasured possession in my library. I have used his advice for the painful arthritis I have in my hands and back and within two weeks, I have experienced considerable reduction of pain. I sleep better, I have more strength, with greater coordination and relaxation. I see life from a different point of view, where everything seems easier for me to do.

Dr. Batman's books are full of common sense and truthful medical advice. His suggested treatment of disease goes to the roots, the cause of it and anyone who is fortunate enough to read them won't be disappointed with their purchase.

Respectfully,

Laurence A. Malone MD Ph.D


"A Tutorial Learning Center For College Sciences"
(Licensed By The 6tate of Ohio)

8225 East Washington Street Chagrin Falls.Ohio 44O23


In most of these joints, the establishment of an intermittent vacuum promotes a silent water circulation into the joint, only for it to be squeezed out by pressure borne as a result of joint activity. To prevent back pain, one needs to drink sufficient water and do a series of special exercises to create an intermittent vacuum to draw water into the disc space. These exercises will also reduce the spasm in the back muscles that, in the vast majority of people, is the main cause of lower back pain. One also needs to adopt correct postures.

The subject of back pain and its relationship to water is so important that I have dealt with it in a special book, How to Deal With Back Pain and Rheumatoid Joint Pain, and a complementary video, How To Deal With Back Pain. If you get back pain and in particular sciatic pain, you will benefit by reading the book and seeing the video. In a majority of cases sciatic pain can be totally relieved within half an hour when the special movements that produce an intermittent vacuum in the disc spaces - as shown in the book and video - are performed.

Neck pain

Bad posture, keeping the head bent for long periods when writing, working at a low bench, 'freeze position' while at the computer for many hours, a bad pillow or too many pillows can be contributory factors in the production of neck pain, or even the displacement of the intervertebral discs in the neck. Neck movement is essential for the establishment of adequate fluid circulation within the disc spaces in the neck. The weight of the head forces water out of the discs over a period of time. To bring back the same water, the force of vacuum has to be created within the same disc space. This can only be done if the head and neck are moved adequately backward.

A simple process in less severe cases of neck pain from disc displacement would be slowly and repeatedly bending the head and neck backward, as much as they will bend, keeping the neck extended for 30 seconds at a time. This extension enhances the force of vacuum and
brings water into the disc spaces. At the same time, because of their front attachment to the spinal ligament, all of the discs will be retracted back into their normal spaces between the vertebrae and away from the nerve roots in the neck.



Another simple procedure to correct this problem is lying on one's back on the very edge of the bed with the head hanging back and down. This posture permits the weight of the head to stretch the non-weight-bearing neck and bend it backward. A few moments of total relaxation in this position will ease the tension in the neck. This, is a good posture to generate a type of vacuum in the disc spaces in the neck. After gently bending the head backward so that you can see the floor, raise the head until you see the wall beyond your feet. This procedure may be effective in creating an intermittent vacuum in the vertebral spaces between any two vertebrae. The vacuum draws into the disc spaces and spreads it to all parts in the neck joint and lubricates their movements. This water is needed for the disc core to re-expand to its natural size, jacking up and separating one vertebra from the other. You could now bend the head from one side to the other. Try to look at the wall and floor of the room, first one side and then the other side. People who begin to suffer from neck 'arthritis', or disc displacement in the neck, may wish to test this
simple procedure to improve the mobility of their neck joints.

Anginal pain

For more information read the section on cholesterol. In brief and to address the dehydration-produced pains of the body together, anginal pain means water shortage in the body. The common factor in all the conditions labelled as different diseases of the heart and the lungs is an established dehydration.

Take a look at Mr Samuel Liguori's and Loretta Johnson's letters,
published by their kind permission (among the testimonials in the
section on cholesterol). Mr Liguori's anginal pain disappeared when he started to increase his water intake. He also had suffered from hiatus hernia and that too started to clear up. Given time, it will clear up completely. You will see from Loretta Johnson's letter that, even at the young-at-heart age of 90, anginal pain can be treated with water, to the extent that she does not need any medication for her heart pains.

Headaches

In my personal experience, migraine headaches seem to be brought about by dehydration; excess bed covers that will not permit the body to regulate its temperature during sleep; alcoholic beverages (hangover) initiating a process of cellular dehydration, particularly in the brain; dietary or allergic triggers for histamine release; excess environmental heat without water intake. Basically, migraine seems to be an indicator of critical body temperature regulation at times of 'heat stress'. Dehydration plays a major role in the precipitation of migraine headaches.

The most prudent way of dealing with migraine is its prevention by the regular intake of water. Once migraine breaks the pain barriers, a cascade of chemical reactions will stop the body from further activity. At this time, one has to take pain-relieving medications with copious water. Sufficient cold or iced water may by itself be able to cool the body (also the brain) from inside, and promote closing of the vascular system everywhere. Excess dilation of the peripheral vessels might well be the basic cause of migraine headache.

Mrs Mavis Butler, a touring Australian Adventist missionary in Silang in the Philippines, has an interesting history. She has for many years suffered from migraine headaches. She would at times be so incapacitated as to become bed-ridden. She came across this book when she was in Silang and started to increase her water intake. She wrote to tell me that she has so improved that she now wants to shout it from the house tops.

Mrs Butler's long letter is reprinted on the following pages. Hers is another of those human stories that make one wonder how it is possible that we were so ignorant of the importance of water to health that people could suffer from its lack in the body, to the point of wishing to die.

P 0 Box 1619, Innisfail 4860
North Queensland, Australia
January 23, 7995

Dear Dr. Batmanghelidj:

For many years I suffered with headaches. I consulted doctors, neurologists, chiropractors and spent hundreds of dollars for head-scans and X-rays, all to no avail. At times only my faith in God kept me from wanting to die, as I lie prone on my bed for days on end in pain.
No medication would ever stop the pain, it would just seem to run its course and then stop. I could never make any connection between my diet and the headaches, and the only pattern they seemed to follow was to always start a couple of hours after a meal.
Then one day a friend told me that he thought my headaches were caused because I never drank enough water. While I knew I didn't actually drink much water, I thought my herbal tea with fruit juices together with lots of fruits amply supplied my liquid requirements. Just three weeks later I was leafing through a health magazine when an advertisement for your book, 'Your Body's Many Cries for Water', just seemed to leap out at my eyes. I bought the magazine and sent for the book.
When it came, I eagerly read and re-read it to learn this new concept about water, and as I saw the errors in my drinking habits I quickly set about to righting them. Can anyone, without experiencing it for themselves, really understand what it is like to have usually pain-filled days changed to wonderful painless days when you can do the things you want to do, instead of being 'down with a headache?'. Oh, such a blessing for which I thank God continually.
It has taken months to properly hydrate my body, but now a headache is a now-and-again event instead of the norm. I thank a loving and caring God for leading me step by step to this wonderful truth. He no doubt tried to lead me a lot earlier, but I was too blind to see. I thank you, doctor, for your great work and perseverance in bringing this truth to the people.

I lecture to adults at night classes on 'Better Food and Eating Habits' and I quickly gave one of my sessions entirely to the body's need for water. I have been able to help many people to better health and much less pain in their lives, with this knowledge, A friend told me he was going into hospital in a few days time for stomach and ulcer treatment. I begged him to cancel this and try the water treatment you recommended.
He somewhat reluctantly did and was amazed and thankful to find his pains stop and in time, to know that the ulcer had healed, all without medication.
Please let me offer my grateful thanks again and pray that the Lord will bless and guide you and your staff as you work for the better health of humanity.

Sincerely,

(Mrs) Mavis Butler