Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition that mainly affects the joints but can sometimes impact organs. The body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the joints, creating painful inflammation that can damage the cartilage (the connective tissue between bones) and the bones themselves.
Typically, RA has been treated through symptom suppression, or in other words, just managing the symptoms and hoping the pain goes away. However, with a functional medicine approach, RA can be treated by getting to the root of what’s causing the pain and nipping progression in the bud.
At PrimeHealth in Denver, Colorado, we focus on whole-body health, bringing a functional medicine perspective to your care.
Understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis Through a Functional Medicine Lens
Studies have already shown that functional medicine can have profound impacts on pain management, and can even improve the mental health and overall quality of life of patients who have otherwise not seen much improvement with conventional treatment.
Prevalence, Impact, and Limitations of Conventional Treatments
Rheumatoid arthritis affects about 1.3 million adults in the United States alone, and its widespread prevalence and painful symptoms can cause quite a burden on daily life.
This is why functional medicine can be a crucial next step in treatment when conventional approaches such as anti-inflammatory drugs like NSAIDs, DMARDs, or biologics don’t work. Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and biologics work by suppressing the immune system to prevent it from attacking healthy joints.
Typically, these medications can take weeks or even months to take effect, and like all medications, they can come with a host of side effects. Plus, they can only address symptoms, whereas functional medicine has the potential to address the root cause of the pain and may even lead to long-term remission.
Functional Medicine’s Root Cause Approach
Functional medicine focuses on finding triggers that are causing the condition, such as:
- Inflammation: Typically, this presents as swollen joints.
- Gut dysbiosis: This is a disruption in the bacteria in the gut that may cause immune system reactions.
- Immune dysregulation: An immune system mistakenly attacking healthy tissue can lead to a host of problems, including RA.
Reducing systemic inflammation throughout the body is key for long-lasting treatment and success, rather than simply suppressing symptoms.
Systemic Inflammation and Immune Dysregulation
Chronic inflammation can contribute to joint damage, as the inflamed tissue can break down over time and cause significant pain. With a functional medicine approach through PrimeHealth in Denver, Colorado, you can explore treatment options tailored to your body and needs with nutrition plans, lifestyle changes, and targeted therapies.
Root Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis
By identifying the root causes of RA, the condition can be treated at its source, possibly leading to long-term remission and symptom erasure instead of just managing symptoms as they appear.
Gut Health and Intestinal Permeability
While you may not think your gut impacts the health of your joints, conditions such as leaky gut syndrome and other forms of gut dysfunction can actually drive systemic inflammation throughout the body and can be a major contributor to autoimmunity.
When the gut biome is not properly regulated, harmful bacteria can spread through the body, causing inflammation and exacerbating RA symptoms and pain.
Genetic Predisposition and Environmental Triggers
Genetic factors may also be a major cause of RA symptoms. Epigenetics, the study of changes in genetics, can tell us more about how our bodies respond to certain environmental factors.
Functional medicine can explore how external toxins such as heavy metals or pollutants, diet, and lifestyle choices can all “flip the switch” in our genetics and trigger symptoms in those who are genetically prone to RA.
Food Sensitivities and Allergies
Certain foods, such as gluten and dairy, may provoke immune responses that can cause painful RA symptoms.
At PrimeHealth in Denver, we can work with you to identify personal triggers caused by the foods you eat, and we can work through nutrition plans and specialized elimination diets to reduce joint pain and swelling.
Environmental Toxins, Infections, and Stress
Pollutants, viral and bacterial infections, and chronic stress can all ignite or worsen RA. While harmful pollutants and toxins may feel like a fairly obvious trigger for painful reactions in the body, infections and stress may seem odd.
However, infections may cause disruptions in the immune system and gut biome, both of which can trigger RA. When the body overproduces stress hormones, it can lead to an immune response that can also worsen RA symptoms. As such, stress management becomes key to mitigating inflammation.
Functional Medicine Testing and Assessment
If you’re ready to explore a functional medicine approach as a solution to your RA, here are some of the things you can expect from PrimeHealth Denver.
Comprehensive Lab Testing
We facilitate advanced testing, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) testing, to identify inflammation markers and find examples of how the body responds to inflammation. We also identify what antibodies are being produced to determine how RA is being triggered.
There is value in looking beyond standard identification panels to identify deeper imbalances. When we can determine what causes your symptoms, we can begin to treat them holistically rather than just manage them over time.
Food Sensitivity and Microbiome Analysis
Uncovering hidden food triggers and symptoms of gut dysbiosis is key to discovering what may be causing inflammation that’s exacerbating your RA. Stool testing can reveal bacterial imbalances, which are linked to immune overactivity.
Environmental Toxins and Infectious Triggers
We can also conduct testing for heavy metals, mold, or chronic infections that may fuel inflammation and worsen symptoms. If any toxins are identified, we can help facilitate vital personalized detoxification protocols to flush the toxins out of your system and prevent recurrence.
Hormonal and Stress Markers
When too many stress hormones, such as cortisol, are produced, this can dysregulate the immune system and worsen RA symptoms. Additionally, hormone imbalances caused by a dysfunctional thyroid or an imbalance of sex hormones can also cause immune responses. Tests measuring hormone levels can help identify if that’s the source of your RA symptoms, and addressing these imbalances can reduce chronic inflammation and autoimmune flare-ups.
Nutrition and Dietary Interventions
Maintaining a healthy gut biome can make a big difference in treating RA, and learning about triggers that may be worsening your symptoms could be key to achieving remission.
Anti-Inflammatory Diets
Nutrient-dense whole foods are vital for reducing inflammation throughout the body and creating a healthy, thriving gut biome.
Additionally, several diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, Paleo, and the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), have been proven to help reduce inflammation. These diets are high in vital nutrients and vitamins, such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber.
Foods to Avoid
While building a healthy, long-term diet is great for reducing inflammation, it is important to identify foods to avoid that may be exacerbating symptoms.
Common foods that cause inflammation include:
- Processed sugars: Sodas, candy, and other high-sugar foods
- Trans fats: Industrially produced baked goods and fried foods are heavy in trans fats
- Gluten: Wheat-based products contain high levels of gluten
- Dairy: Cheese, milk, and other dairy-based products
Healing Foods and Gut Repair
If one of the causes of your RA was identified as dysbiosis in your gut, or another form of gut dysfunction, foods rich in antioxidants, omega-3s, and essential nutrients can help repair damage to the gut. Foods such as bone broth, fermented foods, and targeted pre- or probiotics can reinforce the walls of your intestine, creating better gut integrity and preventing leakage that can cause inflammation.
Elimination Diets and Reintroduction
While not everyone may experience inflammation from these foods, some may find that eliminating problematic foods can help their symptoms.
PrimeHealth in Denver can work with you to create an elimination diet that may significantly reduce joint pain and swelling. PrimeHealth will help you systematically identify and remove individual food sensitivities, and we can work with you to track symptoms and carefully reintroduce foods.
Lifestyle Modifications and Complementary Approaches
In many cases, simple lifestyle changes can make a tremendous difference in those struggling with RA symptoms.
Stress Management Techniques
Chronic stress can heighten inflammation and immune regulation due to the imbalance of stress hormones being produced in the body.
Tools like journaling, therapy, or even simple mindfulness apps can help reduce the stress load and improve inflammation and swelling symptoms.
Exercise and Movement Therapy
While joint pain may make exercise painful for some, there are plenty of low-impact, low-intensity exercises that may be beneficial in reducing symptoms, such as:
- Yoga: Flexibility and consistent movement can reduce stiffness in the body
- Swimming: This simple, low-impact exercise is a great way to keep the body moving and reduce pain
- Gentle strength training: Building up the body’s strength can help improve overall health while reducing inflammation.
Sleep Hygiene
If you’re struggling with RA symptoms, consider your sleep hygiene. Poor sleep can lead to elevated inflammatory markers throughout the body.
Consistent bedtime, a dark, cool sleeping environment, and limiting your screen time, especially before bed, can all help improve your sleep and reduce symptoms.
Mind-Body Techniques
Since stress plays a major role in inflammation and immune system dysregulation, several mind-body connective techniques can help reduce symptoms and mitigate stress.
Meditation, guided imagery, and breathing exercises can improve mental well-being and may reduce autoimmune flare-ups.
Targeted Supplementation and Natural Remedies
If the hope of avoiding medicinal intervention is what led you to try a functional medicine approach, there are several natural practices and supplements that may aid in your healing.
Evidence-Based Anti-Inflammatory Supplements
Omega-3 fatty acids, curcumin, and boswellia can all help reduce inflammation and pain symptoms that are associated with RA. In fact, research shows they play a vital role in relieving joint pain.
As such, foods high in these nutrients, such as the Mediterranean diet, or over the counter supplements, can make a noticeable change in symptoms.
Gut Repair and Microbiome Balance
By rebalancing the natural gut biome in the body through supplements like L-glutamine, probiotics, and digestive enzymes, the body can rebuild intestinal integrity and facilitate better gut health.
A healthier gut with no leakage can calm autoimmune responses and reduce symptom flares.
Immune-Modulating Herbs and Nutrients
While herbal medicine may not be your first guess, many prescribed herbs, nutrients, and supplements can also be found naturally in the food you already eat.
Vitamin D, zinc, and adaptogens can all help regulate immune function. Testing can help identify individualized dosage, and lab monitoring can manage the intake to ensure it does not cause additional harm.
Safe Specialization Protocols
PrimeHealth in Denver, Colorado, operates with patient safety always at the forefront. As such, we are careful not to prescribe any treatment that may interact negatively with other RA medications you may be taking, and our professional guidance can help develop a tailored treatment regimen designed specifically for you.
Coordinating Care with Rheumatologists and Other Specialists
At PrimeHealth, we don’t work as an island. We also coordinate with all your existing providers and fill gaps in your current care to create a holistic treatment plan designed just for you.
Bridging Conventional and Functional Approaches
PrimeHealth medical providers collaborate with rheumatologists, pain specialists, and physical therapists to bring you the perfect treatment plan. All of PrimeHealth’s practitioners are integrative medicine practitioners, which means they can prescribe conventional medication alongside a functional medicine approach.
Whatever your final care plan looks like, everyone on your team has the shared goal of reducing inflammation, controlling symptoms, and optimizing overall health. So we’ll find the solution that works for you, pulling from our training in functional medicine and conventional medicine.
Open Communication and Shared Decision-Making
When starting your functional medicine journey, it is vital to be transparent with all your providers about what medications you’re currently taking and participate in transparent conversations about any supplements, lifestyle changes, and potential new medications. To avoid conflicting treatments that may worsen symptoms, keep all your providers informed throughout the process.
Balancing Medications and Natural Interventions
While certain severe cases of RA may require immunosuppressant drugs or biologics, many patients can find natural intervention strategies that work for them as part of the functional medicine approach, enhancing medication efficiency and minimizing side effects.
Long-Term Monitoring
With each new step you take in your functional medicine journey, the team at PrimeHealth in Denver, Colorado, is with you every step of the way.
Ongoing Assessment and Progress Tracking
PrimeHealth will help facilitate periodic lab work, symptom journals, and re-evaluations to track ongoing progress and make changes to your regimen as necessary. Continually refining treatment plans as the patients’ needs evolve means you can have more pain-free days than ones with heavy inflammation.
Patient Education and Empowerment
PrimeHealth has a commitment to guiding patients toward positive lifestyle and nutrition changes for long-lasting improvements, regardless of what you’re being treated for.
As you undergo treatment, self-advocacy, support groups, and other community resources can empower you to learn more about what works for those who struggle with similar symptoms, and understanding your RA can help you learn better symptom management strategies.
Sustaining Remission and Optimal Health
While RA may never completely go away, PrimeHealth’s goal is to prevent flares by addressing root causes and inflammation triggers early. By doing so, we treat RA symptoms at their source.
A comprehensive, integrative, customized approach to each patient can significantly improve the quality of life for RA patients.
Why PrimeHealth is the Best Choice for Rheumatoid Arthritis in Denver
Our collaborative and team-driven practice includes physician associates and patient success managers, all focused on your long-term healing. Our science-backed care protocols combine cutting-edge treatment with individualized care, ensuring no overlooked contributors.
PrimeHealth specializes in autoimmune and inflammation disorders with proven results, empowering you to make sustainable changes and move beyond symptom management to lifelong health. If you’re ready to try a functional medicine approach to your care, book a free consultation today.
