It is important to note that controlling MS is not quite the same as reversing it or curing it. “Controlling MS” implies the prevention of further changes, effectively putting a halt to the progression of the disease. This may or may not be accompanied by the reversal of the prior damage wrought by the disease.
Because “controlling MS” does not necessarily entail finding a cure for the disease, it is within the reach of MS patients who choose to focus their efforts on conventional medical therapies and those who are invested in legitimate forms of alternative medicine. Conventional medicine does not claim to cure MS, but some forms of alternative medicine do. This makes for wide variation in the degree of MS control offered by the different strategies. The results they achieve are ultimately dependent on the mechanisms by which they work.
Nutritional therapy, one form of alternative medicine, is supposed to work by replenishing the body with the nutrients it is deficient in. The premise is that the symptoms of MS derive, not from one nutritional deficiency, but from a number of them, often interrelated. The combined effect of the deficiencies is to damage the myelin sheaths of the nerves and to contribute to the development of conditions like iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, osteoporosis and urinary tract infections, all of which are often associated with multiple sclerosis.
By adopting nutritional strategies, one can eliminate most, if not all, of the MS symptoms. Eliminating all the symptoms of MS is counted as a cure by many; hence, it is considered an effective way of controlling MS. Of course, the nutritional approach is not a one-time fix. Patients run the risk of succumbing to nutritional deficiencies once more if, after using nutritional therapy to cure their MS, they revert to their old dietary habits.
Controlling MS Using Conventional Medical Tactics
The conventional treatment of hives involves the use of three primary types of MS medication. Corticosteroids, which are included among the first group of medications, provide relief from the inflammation which results after nerve-demyelination.
A host of medications that suppress the immune system constitute the second type of medication. They include beta interferons and other drugs. By interfering with the immune system, these medications help to decrease the frequency with which the body attacks its own nerve cells and to minimize the severity of such attacks. In doing so, they play a role in controlling MS, but they do not reverse the existent damage.
The third group of medications, taken to treat muscular spasticity does not prevent the progression of the disease, but it does allow one to continue using one’s limbs despite the damage already suffered.
