Reverse Rheumatoid Arthritis PART I
Updated: Oct 16
Lessons From Fifty Years of Helping Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Rheumatoid Disorders
Part I
Paul A. Goldberg, BA,BS,MPH,DC,DACBN,DCBCN
Consultant and Founder, The Goldberg Tener Clinic
It has been over fifty years since I became immersed in the teaching and clinical practice of helping patients afflicted with Rheumatoid Disorders. I spent many years teaching Clinical Rheumatology to students and health care practitioners who wanted to better understand the nature of these disorders and how to approach them from a non-pharmaceutical, causal based vantage point with the goal of improving their patients’ health, not simply suppressing their symptoms with toxic drugs and/or a myriad of supplements.
In this three-part series, I will share how I came to develop the highly individualized clinical approach that we employ at the Goldberg Tener Clinic that has evolved over five decades and why it has a high success rate in restoring patients with Rheumatoid Disorders back to good health (click here to view our success stories).
Personal Experience
My interest in Rheumatic Diseases stems from personal experience (see photo to the right when I was hospitalized). In my early twenties I became ill, suffering with severe fatigue and extreme joint pain and muscle stiffness. As a formerly very active and athletic person, at the time enrolled in a joint degree program in law and preventive medicine at Ohio State University, I was emotionally and physically crushed by both my infirmity and by the grim nature of the diagnoses I was given.
From 1975 to 1976 I was given an assortment of medical “diagnoses”, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease and Psoriatic Arthritis. The joint pains were accompanied by gastrointestinal issues resulting in an additional diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis throughout my entire colon. I consulted numerous allopathic practitioners including Rheumatologists only to find that none could offer more than symptomatic treatments all of which had significant side effects while allowing my health to continue to deteriorate. With such a scenario it was incumbent upon me to take the responsibility for finding a path to health restoration. So began a lengthy journey to find answers to my rapidly deteriorating health and apply them. There was not going to be any quick fix...no exotic powders from foreign lands, no magic pills, no overnight miracles. There was hard work ahead of me.
I researched Rheumatoid Disorders from different perspectives. I obtained an extensive formal education, did clinical research, underwent trial and error. I experienced frustration and disappointments along the way. There was no quick fix. In time, however, I began to experience what I had been told was impossible… my symptoms dissipated and my health returned. Notably, if I ignored the lessons I had learned the disease would start to resurface.
At the University of Texas Medical Center Graduate School of Public Health, I wrote my Master’s Thesis on Biological Approaches to Connective Tissue Disorders / Rheumatic Diseases. After working for the State of Illinois and the Federal Government as a Public Health Professional, I entered private practice and became a Clinical Science Professor instructing Clinical Nutrition and Functional Gastroenterology and Rheumatology.
I have had the opportunity to work with thousands of patients in a similar situation as I was in. My personal experience has proven valuable in helping me work with others with similar afflictions. Only a person who has experienced serious Rheumatoid Disease can truly understand the suffering that patients with Rheumatoid Disorders experience.
It is important to understand that every patient is unique and different from the next. Every patient requires not only consideration of their physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects but also an understanding of the numerous causal factors that can play a role in the genesis of Rheumatoid Disorders. There is therefore no one single program to use with all patients. The approach to each patient must be individualized to them. What is needed in every case, however, is patience, time and hard work both on the part of the patient and the doctor. I view each patient as a. project, not just one of an assembly line to run through the office to meet some institutional quota.
On any single day we never schedule more than four new patients for the entire day even with two doctors in attendance. This is of absolute necessity. Affording any less time and attention to a patient with a Rheumatoid Disorder would jeopardize meeting the challenge of understanding each person in terms of their full history in all its aspects from birth to the present time, conducting a thorough physical examination and determining appropriate laboratory testing and other evaluations. The new patient can expect to spend from two to three hours with both myself and my colleague and Clinic Director, Dr. David Tener.
I have not forgotten from my own experience that patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Rheumatoid Diseases suffer with daily pain ranging from being extremely uncomfortable to excruciating discomforts that can make life a continual sea of agony. I remind myself of this with every patient I see.
Most patients arriving at our office have been to Family Physicians, Rheumatologists, alternative, holistic and so called "Functional Medicine" Physicians (see article “The Facade of Functional and Alternative Medicine”) along with following advice from laypersons who claim to have universal programs to “treat” patients with Rheumatoid Diseases. Their results have, with few exceptions, been disappointing and those under conventional medical care often heartbreaking.
The widespread use of drugs, supplements and cookie cutter programs rarely provide anything more than short-term symptomatic relief, often at great cost to the patient’s long-term health. After a period of being under medical or alternative medical care, patients frequently fall into despair, losing hope of functioning normally and enjoying life again. Depression is a common outcome and with the level of suffering experienced and the poor prognosis often given to them, it is understandable.
The interview below is a recent case with one of our patients who recovered her health after years of medical treatments including NSAID’s, Prednisone, Hydroxychloroquine, Methotrexate, Arava, Humira, Cimzia and Rituxan (see article “The Dangers of Biological Drugs”) which failed to bring about improvement in her condition and resulted in a further decline in her health. She later saw an “Integrative” Medicine Physician who gave her numerous supplements to take in addition to her drugs which proved to be yet another disappointment.
Rheumatoid Disorders afflict the entire body. They are systemic conditions. Rheumatoid Disease Sufferers are among the most neglected and abused segment of both the medical and alternative medical population. Rheumatoid Disease Patients find physicians poorly prepared by their schooling to offer anything more than symptomatic relief of symptoms through dangerous drugs or bottles of supplements while the underlying disease process and the factors behind their diseases continue unimpeded.
Notably, not many medical students want to go into Rheumatology as they know their patients, under medical care, fail to return to good health ... they are simply "managed". Many medical physicians can relate to the words of Sir William Osler, who commented in his Principles and Practice of Medicine many years ago that;
“When an arthritis (Rheumatoid) patient walked in the front door, I wanted to walk out the back one.” [1]
Today most Family Medical Physicians and Internists prefer not to be involved with patients labeled with a Rheumatoid Disorder and shuffle them off to Medical Rheumatologists for highly toxic symptom suppressing drugs.
See Article: Problems with Prednisone
See Article: The Dangers of Biological Drugs
A Short Look Backwards at “Modern” Rheumatology
In the last half century, despite a concerted effort by the pharmaceutical companies to develop and market an ongoing parade of new and increasingly toxic drugs, little has changed in terms of the general medical approach to these issues.
“Modern” Rheumatology can be traced back only about seventy five years to the late 1940’s/early 1950s and the employment of steroids (cortisone, prednisone and methylprednisolone) all of which arrived with much fanfare including a lead article in Life Magazine in 1948.[2] The initial excitement was soon met with abject disappointment as the many disabling side effects of steroids, still commonly employed by Rheumatologists today, came to light (see article Problems with Prednisone). Over the years, increasingly toxic drugs have been developed and employed all aimed at the suppression of symptoms, generally through immune system suppression, all carrying enormous risks and side effects. None of the drugs, including those touted in media advertisements today, address causes nor build health.
In 1978, I completed my master’s Thesis (University of Texas Medical Center, Graduate School of Public Health) on Rheumatoid Disorders, addressing the approaches employed by health care professions. I observed the following:
None of the healing arts had developed any effective means of bringing about long-term improvements in the health of patients with Rheumatoid Disorders.
Each patient with Rheumatoid Disease, whether labeled with Rheumatoid Arthritis or other variety, has different etiological (causal) factors at play and must be approached as an individual rather than as a uniform disease entity.
Rheumatoid Diseases stem from multiple factors and therefore a thorough investigation must be utilized with each patient, not merely to designate a name for symptoms but to uncover the causes behind their symptoms. This is then followed by creating the right conditions to reverse their disease and to literally Re-Create their bodies. ™[3]
The Need for A Deeper Understanding
The basic sciences, hygiene, gastroenterology, toxicology, microbiology, biochemistry, immunology, endocrinology, epidemiology, psychology and clinical nutrition are all worthy of study. None of these sciences or disciplines alone, however, are sufficient in understanding Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Rheumatoid Diseases and certainly not in understanding the individual patient, including those given the same medical diagnosis.
When I completed my work at the University of Texas Medical Center, the health professions were floundering about looking for answers as they are today. There are many theories, but documented medical successes with Rheumatoid Diseases were exceedingly rare then as they are now other than for short periods of temporarily relief through drug suppression.
One Medical Physician, a Board-Certified Rheumatologist who took several classes from me, upon hearing that the majority of our patients recover their health, adamantly proclaimed to me that it “was impossible” for that is what he had been taught in medical school and in training to be a Rheumatologist and what he had experienced using a medical treatment approach.
Indeed, it is highly unlikely for patients with Rheumatoid Disorders under medical care to recover their health for they are heading in the wrong direction. Try to get north by going south and you will never get there. The same can be said with the plethora of “alternative, complimentary and functional medicine practitioners” who employ treatments as opposed to understanding and addressing causal factors.
The situation in 2026 shows little to nothing has changed. Symptomatic, temporary, partial relief is still the best medical practitioners can offer. Increasingly dangerous treatments are administered that significantly compromise the patient’s health leaving patients subject to dire, even fatal consequences. Ever more potent pharmaceuticals are employed by Medical Rheumatologists, including the newer “Biological Drugs” that came on the scene in the 1990’s and can pose serious risks to a patient’s well-being.
As more people in the U.S. and around the world develop Rheumatoid and other autoimmune disorders, an increasing number of practitioners touting “natural products” to “cure” arthritis ranging from herbs to various “nutritional supplements” has emerged. These are much less likely to pose the same dangers of pharmaceutical agents; however, they also fail to address the causes of each person's Rheumatoid Disorder and the individual nature of each patient. Here too the patient is ultimately destined for disappointment.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Other Rheumatoid Disorders Not A Single Entity
To emphasize...Rheumatoid Diseases are not a single entity. Each patient must be carefully evaluated as to the specific factors involved in their own case. This is integral to the Bio-Hygienic Re-Creation Approach™ I developed over many years of practice, and which differs in its application to each patient.
A review of the current literature on Rheumatoid Disorders explores a variety of factors including genetic predisposition, infection, endocrine factors, psychological stressors, allergy, injury, autoimmune processes and bio-mechanical/neurological dysfunction. In offices around the country, however, patients continue to be treated symptomatically with drugs, that by their very nature, pose significant risks to the patient's health.
It is not enough to identify a patient’s problems as stemming from allergic, autoimmune, infectious, nutritional, or other factors unless we are prepared and competent to address those issues on an individual basis. We must also address underlying causes and establish the conditions necessary to rebuild the patient’s overall health, allowing the body to utilize its inherent capacity to normalize function. The following interview with one of our recent patients illustrates that recovery is entirely possible if causes are identified and addressed and the right steps are taken to Re-Create the Body™.
A Look At The Past
Older writings, which I studied in depth while completing my Thesis at the University of Texas, reveal that many ancient physicians took a more optimistic outlook of the Rheumatoid Ailments and addressed them with greater success. Paracelsus is quoted as saying:
“Who has filled you with such madness and despair as to believe that there is no remedy for arthritis?” [4]
There is not only hope but a positive outlook for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Rheumatoid Disorders if they are willing to look in a new direction (see over fifty patient interviews from our clinic). The path we must follow leaves symptomatic and fad “treatments” behind in favor of a comprehensive, individualized approach tailored to each patient. This involves identifying and addressing underlying causes through the integration of clinical epidemiology, hygienic analysis, an extensive case history, a detailed physical examination, and modern laboratory testing. From the information gathered we are then in a position to develop a. comprehensive health restoration program that addresses the causes identified in each patient and creates the appropriate conditions to foster improved function and health. Part two of this three-part series, to be published next week, will explore some of the underlying causes of Rheumatoid Disorders and how the Bio-Hygienic Re-Creation Approach™ seeks to identify and address them. We will examine how this individualized approach offers patients the opportunity to rebuild their health, restore function, and reclaim their lives by shifting the focus from Rheumatoid Disease Treatment to Rheumatoid Disease Reversal.
📞 Contact the Goldberg Tener Clinic
If you are struggling with chronic health issues, contact our clinic to schedule a complimentary phone consultation with Dr. Tener to learn how we can help guide you through the recovery process. Click here to learn more about becoming a new patient at the Goldberg Tener Clinic.
Learn More
👉 Visit: www.GoldbergTenerClinic.com and www.RheumatoidReversal.com
👉 Read More:
1) Inflammation is NOT the Enemy
[1] Osler, Sir William, The Principles and Practice of Medicine, (1892; 16th edition, 1947).[2] Life Magazine June 6, 1949 Arthritis…Mayo Clinic Finds a Treatment For Man’s Most Crippling Disease
[3] Goldberg, P.A. Rheumatic Disease – A Biolistic Approach The University of Texas Health Science Center At Houston, 1979.
[4] Aschner, B., M.D. Arthritis Can Be Cured, Arco Publishing Co., 1975, p. 213
