Years of research have demonstrated the strong relationship between physical and emotional health, which runs in both directions: Just as the worsening of physical symptoms can diminish your emotional well-being, improving your emotional state can minimize physical symptoms. The experience of having a painful or physically limiting health condition is no exception to this phenomenon. People with chronic, painful conditions report declines in social, recreational, and household activities, and they are at a greater risk for depression. Sometimes the emotional toll of a painful or disabling condition is a greater threat to a person’s well-being than the condition itself.

Read more: Caring For Yourself Emotionally When You Have a Chronic Condition

8 STEPS TO REVERSING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

What is Autoimmune Disease?

Autoimmune disease is a case of mistaken identity. In response to some kind of trigger, the immune system starts overreacting and misfiring, producing antibodies that attack the body’s own tissues instead of foreign invaders. Organs and tissue (such as the thyroid gland) can be damaged as a result. People often suffer autoimmune “flare-ups” when an inflammatory trigger causes severe symptoms to surface for a period of time. I see this most often in my Celiac clients who accidentally eat gluten, causing them severe digestive pain for days.

Read more: 8 STEPS TO REVERSING AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

NEW DELHI: In a significant scientific validation for traditional therapies, India's premier medical institution, AIIMS, has found certain Ayurvedic formulations effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes irreversible joint damage.

Read more: AIIMS endorses Ayurveda for rheumatoid arthritis

"Killer heels could lead to osteoarthritis in knees," The Daily Telegraph reports. An analysis of the walking patterns (gait) of 14 women found evidence that walking in high heels puts the knees under additional strain. Over time, this may potentially lead to osteoarthritis: so-called wear and tear arthritis, where damage to a joint causes stiffness and pain.
The main finding was that wearing high heels (3.8cm and 8.3cm were tested) changed the walking gait, especially around the knee joint area.

Read more: Study: High heels could lead to osteoarthritis

What are treatment options for RA?

There are many medications for rheumatoid arthritis, but painful flare-ups are still a fact of life. The good news is there are many things you can do to reduce, and even prevent, pain. “It is something that affects you throughout life, so you want to find ways to perform activities while protecting your joints and respecting your body,” says Rhonda Reininger, director of rehabilitation compliance at NYU Langone Medical Center's Rusk Rehabilitation.
Here, doctors recommend 10 techniques to help ease the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.

Read more: 10 Ways to Ease Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain

If you’ve got rheumatoid arthritis, the single best way to fight the disease is with medication. Still, as effective as RA drugs are, they can’t do everything. Several nondrug treatments out there can help you where medication can’t. And exercise is at the top of the list, according to Sharon L. Kolasinski, MD, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. Even though the prospect of exercising may seem painful, the right kind of activity can help prevent RA-related pain and disability. Here's a roundup of a few other therapies that may be worth a try.

Read more: 10 Alternative Therapies for Rheumatoid Arthritis