The Final Paper must be 8 pages (not including title and reference pages) and should demonstrate an understanding of the reading assignments, class discussions, your own research, and the application of new knowledge.  It must include citations and references for six to eight sources; one may be the text.

Micozzi, M. S. (2010). Fundamentals of complementary and alternative medicine. (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

At least four must be from the ProQuest, EBSCOhost, or PubMed Central databases in the  University Library, and the remaining sources must be from other scholarly or professional Internet resources.

For the Final Paper,

Complementary and alternative medicines >> (Natural Products)

Provide a brief discussion of the protocols, and provide details of historical events that shaped the practice.

Chronic Pain

Describe the disease or condition from the CAM perspective

Include potential cultural challenges faced by the afflicted patient population as well as the practitioner.

Describe how the CAM (Natural Products) practitioner diagnoses and treats the condition.

Identify potential questions or skepticisms other health care providers and potential clientele may have regarding the CAM selected, and address the questions, supporting your responses with a minimum of two sources of research for the health condition and system chosen.

Identify and substantively describe a minimum of two other CAM practice interventions that could be suggested to assist in minimizing the impact of the illness/condition. Justify implementation of the two interventions you are recommending.

Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.

Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.

Must end with a restatement of the thesis and a conclusion paragraph.

Must utilize six to eight sources; one may be the text, at least four must be from the ProQuest, EBSCOhost, or PubMed Central databases, and the remaining sources must be from other scholarly or professional Internet resources.

Must document all sources in APA style.

Must include a separate reference page that is formatted according to APA style.

Arthritis is a very common condition in the United States specifically osteoarthritis which

affects more than 27 million individuals. This condition is caused by cartilage breakdown in the

joints connecting bones. It’s therefore referred to as degenerative joint disease. Some of the

common traits associated with this disease are limited motion, pain in the joints and joint

damage. It’s very common to individuals in their late ages and most likely to women and obese

individuals affecting their hands as knee joints. There are several CAM practices that have

shown positive outcomes in managing this condition. The use of glucosamine sulfate and

acupuncture of knee osteoarthritis have proven to be a reliable treatment intervention. Several

studies have been conducted in the United States by various institutions to test the efficacy and

safety of glucosamine sulfate use in treating osteoarthritis (Lee, Woo, Choi, Ji, & Song, 2010).

Alternative medicine is any medical practice, including health care products and therapies

used and presumed to have therapeutic effects of medicine, but not scientifically proven. It

means the use of non-mainstream method or traditional practices in place of conventional

medicine. Complementary medicine involves the use of alternative medicine together with

conventional medicines. Such practices can be the use of aromatherapy after surgery to lessen

patient’s discomfort. The term given to these practices which are not standardized in terms of

care is Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). In this case glucosamine sulfate will be

used and it’s a natural chemical that is found in body fluids around joints. Some dietary

supplements have been produced which have glucosamine in them with common use in treating

osteoarthritis.

The final project paper will have several parts which I will roughly explain below to support

the use of the identified CAM practice in the management of arthritis. They are:

Pathophysiology of arthritis This part of the research paper will cover the process of arthritis development. Osteoarthritis

is a very common type of arthritis which will be deeply discussed in this paper. The process of

cartilage breakage which is the major cause of this disease is very crucial here. The risk factors

associated to cause this disease are age, female gender and obesity. These link between these

factors and arthritis development is key in this research paper and has to be established properly.

Rheumatoid arthritis, another type of arthritis develops with almost similar process and can be

managed by using the CAM practice established. This condition causes pain, stiffness and

swelling in the joints. Another characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis is loss of function in the

joints (Taibi & Bourguignon, 2003).

Complications associated with arthritis

Arthritis is a very serious disease and affects the productivity of old age individuals. The

characteristics associated to this disease are not limited to joint pain and damage and reduced

motion (2010). These complications are damaging to a person’s life since he/she will not be able

to work as effectively as they could before. These complications and how they come to be are to

be deeply explained in the final research paper.

Interventions available and their efficacy

There are several medical therapies that are scientifically recommended to treat osteoarthritis.

The most common are Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and is helpful in

reducing pain at the joint along with other symptoms of this condition. These drugs are ibuprofen

and piroxicam and have shown pretty good results in reducing pain as they take shorter time to

relieve it (Taibi & Bourguignon, 2003). These drugs do not however, solve the underlying cause

of osteoarthritis which is degeneration of the cartilage. These interventions and others need to be

explained extensively.

CAM practice to use (glucosamine sulfate)

The use of glucosamine sulfate as a CAM practice to treat osteoarthritis is very common in

the United States. Of all chronic diseases, arthritis individuals accounts for a massive 59.6% use

of CAM in the country. Glucosamine sulfate is a natural chemical that is found in body fluids

around joints. Supplements containing this compound can be made in the laboratories and be

sold for medical purpose. The mechanism of work of this compound, safety issues associated

with its use and its efficiency in treating arthritis will be well covered in the final paper. Also,

interaction of this substance to other drugs and supplements has to be explained.

Conclusion

On comparing the efficacy of the common therapies to that of Glucosamine sulfate use, it’s

clinically recommended for individuals to integrate this CAM practice in their treatment plan as

it has shown beneficial effects in trial studies. Safety issue concerns need to be well addressed

and further research conducted on the use of this compound to ensure that the health of

individuals using this compound is not jeopardized at any point.

References

Clinical efficacy and safety of glucosamine, chondroitin sulphate, their combination, celecoxib

or placebo taken to treat osteoarthritis of the knee: 2-year results from GAIT. (2010).

International Journal of Advances in Rheumatology, 8(4), 145. Retrieved from

EBSCOhost Database.

Lee, Y. H., Woo, J. H., Choi, S. J., Ji, J. D., and Song, G. G. (2010). Effect of glucosamine or

chondroitin sulfate on the osteoarthritis progression: a meta-analysis. Rheumatol Int;

30:357-363. Retrieved from ProQuest Database.

Taibi, D. M., & Bourguignon, C. (2003). The role of complementary and alternative therapies in

managing rheumatoid arthritis. Family & Community Health: The Journal of Health

Promotion & Maintenance, 26(1), 41-52. Retrieved from EBSCOhost Database