ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Auto-immune disorders of the musculoskeletal system

Autoimmune disorders are climbing at a rate that is extraordinary. When I was first in practice, the only autoimmune disorder I knew about was Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), although it wasn’t referred to as an autoimmune disorder. It was the first recognized autoimmune disorder, recorded in the early 1900s. So it’s been around for a century! Now there are somewhere around 200 autoimmune disorders, depending on how it is classified, most of them starting around the 1980s and 1990s.

I don’t believe any system in the body is exempt from the possibility of manifesting some kind of autoimmune disorder — organs, skin, muscles, bone, etc. Today I want to talk about autoimmune disorders that effect the musculoskeletal system.

An autoimmune disorder is when the body appears to go haywire and attacks an organ or tissue, creating a cascade of uncomfortable symptoms. However, there are some theories that have evolved that demonstrate it isn’t the immune system going haywire, but it is its way of trying to gain control over a sick or injured organ that is not healing.

In the world of epigenetics, the philosophy is that even though someone has a propensity for a certain disease (for instance, your mom and grandmother both had RA and now you will), doesn’t mean it has to manifest itself in you. That we have more control over our genetic expression than previously assumed, but it is predicated upon what you do to change it. If you have the same dietary habits and lifestyle habits, you just may acquire that disease. However, if you change all that, you may actually change your propensity for the disease.

Likewise, you have the ability to mitigate the possibility of a disease evolving into an autoimmune disorder. If you have an inflammatory condition in your joints, for instance, you can get on top of it and heal the condition before it turns into autoimmune rheumatoid arthritis.

Other autoimmune disorders of the muscles and joints include polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune myositis and multiple sclerosis. Fibromyalgia appears to be on the edge of being classified as autoimmune as well.

As with any disease, we have to search for the WHY’s. Why did an autoimmune condition start in YOUR body? What set the stage for this to happen? What are the underlying mechanisms that are involved? Digging deep into the totality of patient complaints frequently gives a glimpse of what went wrong, allowing us to dig deeper. Since conventional medicine doesn’t have the time to talk about everything wrong with a patient’s health, it’s difficult to uncover the culprit and test to confirm it. Then, and only then, can you define a course of action to not just control it, but alleviate the problem altogether.

I’ve seen people with severely gnarled fingers, look normal again, and others with severe polymyalgia completely rid of it, no longer needing medications. The same may be possible for you.

Learn more by attending tonight’s health class, "Battling Auto-Immune Diseases Naturally," 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13 at Vital Health in Coeur d'Alene. Fee: $10. Attend in-person or online via Zoom. To register, call 208-765-1994 or go to vitalhealthcda.com/health-classes/

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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with over four decades of experience. Carling is a “Health Detective.” She looks beyond your symptom picture and investigates WHY you are experiencing your symptoms in the first place.

Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles.

Carling can be reached at 208-765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.