Inflammation is caused by damage to the tissues and cells of the affected body part. Some conventional treatments have sought to relieve the effects of the arthritis without actually doing anything to help the pet's joints heal. But long-term therapy with conventional medications can actually harm the joint cartilage. Most of these drugs prevent healing by further destroying the joint components, so even though the pets will feel better for a while, we're actually making their condition worse. Also, prolonged used of corticosteroids causes weight gain in many pets.
Extra weight adds more insult to injury by placing further stress on already damaged joints.
The inflammatory process is quite complicated. Cell membranes contain chemicals called phospholipids. When the cell membrane is injured, as in the arthritic pet, an enzyme acts on certain phospholipids to produce chemicals that prompt inflammation, suppress the immune system, and cause platelets to clot. Various drugs work at different stages of the inflammatory process to help decrease the production of the damaging compounds. Many of my holistic clients think that corticosteroids are horrible drugs that are to be avoided at all costs.