Is it Arthritis?

What is arthritis? Children often ask this question whenever their grandparents complain about such a miserable health disorder.

Arthritis is known to be next to heart disease (another condition that causes work disability) as a most rampant disease. It is very common ( but not exclusively )to old people with whom activities may be limited only to walking, dressing and bathing.

So some of us might be asking ourselves, ok so what is this disease? How does it affect people and how should we deal with it?

Some people think that there’s nothing they can do to relieve the pain brought by this condition. But knowing its nature would mean discovering the secrets to fight it.

So, what is arthritis?

Arthritis refers to more than hundreds of different diseases that affect the areas in or around the joints of an individual, which affect other parts of the body. It generally causes pain with the loss of movement and often causes swelling. It usually attacks women more often than men, and of the more or less 350 million people worldwide who suffer, women are in the majority.

Common Forms of Arthritis

Apart from being a major illness, arthritis can also appear as a "minor" part of another illness.

The most common form of this disease is osteoarthritis (or OA), more frequently suffered by people over the age of sixty. However, it does not only exist in old age, but can even start as early as infancy. Sometimes it affects those people in their young-adult period as they are beginning to have their own careers and families, while others start during the peak career and child-rearing years.

The one hundred medical conditions of arthritis are known under this umbrella term, where they all affect the musculoskeletal system, specifically the joints. To be even more specific, it is where two or more bones meet. Related joint problems, which include severe pain, stiffness, inflammation and damage to joint cartilage are its usual effects. It happens at the point where the tough, smooth tissue covers the ends of the bones, and enables them to glide against one another.

In an healthy joint that is exactly what happens, but the lack of four elements important to healthy joints can result in arthritis.

These elements are :-

A joint that is unable to hold water becomes dry and cracked. It is now a poor shock absorber.

Any damage caused can lead to joint weakness, instability and sometimes visible deformities. But it depends on the involvement of the location of the joints, which are affected by daily basic tasks like walking, climbing the stairs, using a computer keyboard, cutting your food or even brushing your teeth.

It is a difficult disease to cope with because of its joint involvement, but it isn't the full extent of the problem. This condition has many forms, which are classified as “the systematic”, which means that they can affect the whole body of the individual. It can cause damage to the whole body organ or body system including the heart, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels and skin. Related conditions of the arthritis primarily affect the muscles and the bones of the body.

The number of people suffering with this disease in the world is continuously growing. But of course, you can do something about it by taking taking your health seriously. Whenever you see some symptoms of arthritis, don’t hesitate to see your doctor so that you can get an accurate diagnosis. Remember, prevention is always better than cure.

The symptoms include pain, stiffness and swelling in and around a joint for more than two weeks. This condition must not be ignored. Find the time to see a doctor, because these symptoms can develop suddenly or slowly without you knowing. And only your doctor can determine if you have arthritis or not. But if you do have, doctors can give you the correct treatment and this requires getting the right diagnosis.

Early diagnosis and treatment often mean lesser joint damage and lesser pain. Medications may include weight management, some exercise, the use of heat or cold, and methods to protect your joints from further damage.

To prevent arthritis, you must know how to protect your joints specifically. You should not give your joints excess stress or carry heavy things at your work. Having a normal weight also helps to relieve some damaging pressure on your hips and your knees. If your doctor agrees frequent exercise can also help lessen the pain that you feel, and increasing the range of your movements reduces fatigue and helps you to feel better after all.

But REMEMBER to consult your own, personal health care professional because they are the only, proper people to diagnose if you have arthritis, and what you should do to lessen its effects.