I know the secret to getting rid of arthritis symptoms and arthritis pain forever and it's not taking drugs. Arthritis sufferers today are continually seeking relief from their arthritis pain.

There are more than one hundred different types of medical conditions that can affect your joints and mimic arthritis symptoms; it will be difficult to undergo treatment for your condition effectively unless you know exactly what your diagnosis is; make sure to get diagnosed so you know for sure that you have arthritis and what type you have. A good first step when looking for solutions to an arthritis pain problem is to fully understand how arthritis works.

In osteoarthritis, any one or more of the affected joints experience a progressive loss of cartilage, which is the slippery material that cushions the ends of bones. Synovial fluid lubricates and provides oxygen and nutrients to the cartilage, which has no blood supply.

The combination of the collagen meshwork and high water content tightly bound by proteoglycans creates a resilient, slippery pad in the joint, which resists the compression between bones during any muscle movement. Joints are designed for normal movement and movement without pain and are primarily supplied by the synovium and cartilage.

Injuries sometimes can be the start of the arthritic disease process; osteoarthritis can develop years later after a single traumatic injury to a joint or near a joint.

When chondrocytes (the cells that make up cartilage) age, they lose their ability to make repairs and produce more cartilage; this process may play an important part in the development and progression of osteoarthritis. The cause and the factors leading to the deterioration of cartilage in arthritis and specifically osteoarthritis are still not understood.

The best natural approach is to eat foods that are known to help relieve arthritis pain or prevent arthritis, like living foods. For one snack suggestion - choose raw nuts without salt instead of lifeless salted roasted nuts. If you really want to get rid of your arthritis pain forever it may take a radical change in your diet and an ongoing commitment to it.

Some people swear that glucosamine and/or chondroitin helps and others say they tried them and they didn't help at all. Gluten may be one of the culprits in arthritic diseases including fibromyalgia; avoid wheat, barley, rye, spelt, triticale, kamut and oats (although it's not a gluten grain it gets contaminated during the milling process at the wheat mills where it is usually milled). Dried Montmorency tart cherries seem to be helpful as a natural treatment for arthritis pain for many people.

Keep in mind that if you take a joint supplement it should help do three things - build cartilage, relieve everyday joint pain and enhance your flexibility and movement. The first step in managing your arthritis is to change your diet; I think all experts agree on this.

Make highly nutritious raw applesauce using a food processor and put in two or three cored pesticide-free apples, with the peel on, and mix for a minute or so; so much better for you than canned highly processed applesauce and add a little cinnamon or two tablespoons of freshly ground flaxseed for another immune system boost. With natural arthritis treatments there will be fewer, if any, side effects or adverse reactions.

And did I mention to make sure to keep moving? Exercise is good for any joint affected by osteoarthritis. Keep a basket of arthritic treatment aids for arthritic hands (Thera-putty, hand grips, Taiji Chinese chime balls, etc.) to be used at bedtime or while watching television. Important exercises for arthritis include: range-of-motion exercises, isometrics, and some weight-bearing exercises.

Whatever you do, keep moving; don't sit when you can stand, don't stand when you can walk or walk in place. Even the lightest exercise can go a long way to maintaining joint mobility and overall good health. Fight arthritis through plenty of movement and exercise!

For conventional treatment of arthritis - if you do choose to take drugs or medications, be very careful, read the labels thoroughly and talk to your pharmacist about side effects and adverse reactions; make sure you know the name of them and if they'll react with any other medication you're taking. At the very least, understand what the side effects and adverse reactions are for any arthritis medication you take; one rule of thumb is don't take any medication that is less than five years on the market. Conventional doctors may suggest their standard protocol for your joint pain; they tell you to take over-the-counter NSAIDS or prescribe COX-2 inhibitors of which all have some serious side effects; know what they are before you take any arthritis drugs.

One should not only look for relief of arthritis pain but work on preventing it. Again the biggest secret to arthritis pain relief is to change your diet now; eat foods that are alive. I got rid of my arthritis pain many years ago when I stopped eating dead food and changed my diet to living foods; you can eat an arthritis diet and benefit too.