Chiropractic Care & Exercise for RA

I have found a lot of information out there about Chiropractic care and Rheumatoid Arthritis. As usual you will find some swear by it's help, others say it's no help. *shrug* I suppose it's best to say "your mileage may vary". I however and hopeful that this more natural approach to tackling my disease will work. I am already frustrated by the Dr. mentality of "throw some pills at it and see if it helps". I would much rather focus on range of motion, moderate exercise and nutritional changes & supplements.

What am I hoping regular chiropractic care will bring me? My goals are -
Improve my range of motion of my joints.
Have more flexibility & stamina to exercise without pain.
Greatly improve my muscle tone and my strength.

I am exploring nutritional supplements and diet changes as well.

At this point I have absolutely no exercise program. I am just too sore and in pain from everyday household activities to even consider extra exercise. But, I realize this is super important to get myself out of this flare. I'm already finding that "resting" my joints that hurt does not help, they just feel stiff and sore. No improvement comes from simply trying to not use them. Instead, I am finding that using them the best I can is helping keep them limber. For example, one might think knitting is a really bad idea for someone with pain & stiffness in their hands. I am finding the opposite. Short intervals of knitting (an hour or two max) seems to help me feel like my hands are less stiff. I experience no extra pain when I spend a short amount of time knitting.
The same I am finding true for sewing. The biggest complaints I have for pain related to sewing is the neck pain i have from the focused attention it requires. The ergonomics of my sewing area need to be addressed to help with the stiffness & pain i have in my back, shoulders and neck. It's for sure a work in progress.

My chiropractor is working hard with me on getting those shoulders & neck loosened up. I am even considering a special medical device to help my cervical spine, but more about that later.

For now I encourage you to do your own research. Find what's going to work for you. I will share more along the way.

Happy Sunday! Sarah