01
Establish which arthritis it is
Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are managed differently. Where imaging or bloodwork is needed to sort that out, you get referred.
Health conditions · Arthritis
Arthritis isn'tone disease.
It is inflammation of one or more joints, and it is one of the most misunderstood conditions in the country — partly because the word covers over a hundred different diseases of wildly different severity.
Joints throughout the body. Arthritis is a joint condition — and the spine is a stack of joints.
What arthritis actually is
Patient education — general information about the condition, not medical advice about your body. Only an examination can tell you what is going on with yours.
Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints, and it causes pain, discomfort and stiffness. The common symptoms are swelling, joint pain, stiffness and decreased range of motion — typically worsening with age. It is the leading cause of disability in America and it affects more than 50 million people.
The two main types that come up in chiropractic care are osteoarthritis — a degenerative disorder affecting the flexible cartilage in a joint, the wearing-down kind — and rheumatoid arthritis, which is a chronic inflammatory disorder in the joints and is autoimmune in nature. These are genuinely different diseases with different mechanisms, and lumping them together is part of why the word causes so much confusion.
That distinction changes who should be treating you. Rheumatoid arthritis is managed by a rheumatologist, and disease-modifying medication is the standard of care. Chiropractic care does not replace that and should never be presented as though it might.
How it shows up.
Does this sound like you?
Tick what you actually feel.
Not a diagnosis, and not a test — nothing here can tell you what you have. It is a list you can take with you, because everybody forgets half of it the moment a doctor walks into the room.
0 things to mention. However many you ticked, the exam is what tells you anything.
What tends to be behind it
01
Osteoarthritis
Degeneration of the cartilage in a joint. Age, load and old injuries all contribute.
02
Rheumatoid arthritis
A chronic inflammatory disorder in the joints. It is autoimmune, and it needs medical management.
03
Old injuries
A joint that was injured years ago can develop degenerative arthritis earlier than it otherwise would have.
04
Load and mechanics
Joints that move poorly wear unevenly. That is the piece chiropractic care is aimed at.
How care approaches it
What Dr. Meansactually does about it.
Written as aims, not outcomes — because that is all anyone can honestly promise you before they have examined you.
02
Manage — do not promise
Care may be aimed at managing pain, improving joint mobility and improving range of motion. It does not reverse the disease, and any clinic implying otherwise is selling something.
03
A non-addictive option
Chiropractic adjustment is non-invasive and non-addictive. For patients who want to reduce their reliance on opioid or over-the-counter pain medication, that is a real consideration — one to have with the doctor who prescribed it.
04
Keep moving
Improved flexibility and staying active are among the things care is aimed at supporting, because a joint that stops moving gets worse.
Chiropractic care is not a cure for any condition on this page, and no honest clinic will promise you one. What Dr. Means can do is examine you, tell you plainly whether this is something chiropractic care is suited to help with, and refer you elsewhere if it isn't.
If you come in
Here is what actually happens.
Step 01
Free consultation
Call or book online and we'll sit down with you at no cost or obligation. Tell us what's going on and we'll start building the picture.
Read this part
When this is not a chiropractic problem.
Some of what looks like arthritis is something else, and some of it is urgent. A clinic that only ever tells you it can help is not being straight with you. If any of the following is true, do not book a chiropractic appointment — get medical care.
- A single joint that is hot, red, swollen and exquisitely painful, with fever — that could be a septic joint, and it is a medical emergency.
- Rheumatoid arthritis that is flaring — see your rheumatologist, not your chiropractor.
- New joint symptoms with a rash, fever, or unexplained weight loss.
- Any joint that suddenly stops working.
This page is general health information, not medical advice, and it is not a substitute for examination by a qualified provider. In an emergency call 911. See our healthcare disclaimer.
Is it safe to adjust an arthritic joint?
It depends on the joint, the type of arthritis and how advanced it is. Which is exactly what an examination is for — and in some presentations the honest answer is no.
Can chiropractic care cure arthritis?
No. Arthritis is not curable by anyone. Care may be aimed at pain, mobility and function.
Will care reduce my need for pain medication?
Some patients look for a non-addictive alternative, and that is a legitimate reason to explore conservative care. Any change to prescribed medication is a decision for the prescribing doctor.
Is arthritis just part of getting old?
Degenerative change is extremely common with age. Being in pain is not something you have to simply accept as inevitable, and it is worth having it looked at.
Not sure if this is what you have?
That is what the consultation is for — and it costs you nothing to find out. If it turns out Dr. Means is not the right person for it, he will tell you that too.