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Arthritis is a general term covering more than 150 different conditions.
The term arthritis literally means inflammation of a joint, but is
generally used to describe any condition in which there is damage
to the cartilage. Inflammation is the body's natural response
to injury. The warning signs that inflammation presents are redness,
swelling, heat and pain.
The cartilage is a padding that absorbs stress. The proportion of
cartilage damage and synovial inflammation varies with the type and
stage of arthritis. Usually the pain early on is due to inflammation.
In the later stages, when the cartilage is worn away, most of the
pain comes
from the mechanical friction of raw bones rubbing on each other.
There are over 100 different types of rheumatic
diseases. The most common are:
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. Also
called degenerative joint disease, this is the most common type
of arthritis, which occurs most often in older people. This
disease affects cartilage, the tissue that cushions
and protects the ends of bones in a joint. With osteoarthritis,
the cartilage starts to wear away over time. In extreme cases,
the cartilage can completely wear away, leaving nothing to protect
the bones in a joint, causing bone-on-bone contact. Bones may
also bulge, or stick out at the end of a joint, called a bone
spur.
Osteoarthritis causes joint pain and can limit a person's normal
range of motion (the ability to freely move and bend
a joint). When severe, the joint may lose all movement, causing
a person to become disabled. Disability most often happens
when the disease affects the spine, knees, and hips.
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Rheumatoid arthritis.
This is an autoimmune disease in which the body's
immune system (the body's way of fighting infection) attacks
healthy joints, tissues, and organs. Occurring most often in
women of childbearing age (15-44), this disease inflames the
lining (or synovium) of joints. It can cause pain,
stiffness, swelling, and loss of function in joints. When severe,
rheumatoid arthritis can deform, or change, a joint. For example,
the joints in a person's finger can become deformed, causing
the finger to bend or curve.
Rheumatoid arthritis affects mostly joints of the hands and
feet and tends to be symmetrical. This means the disease affects
the same joints on both sides of the body (like both hands or
both feet) at the same time and with the same symptoms. No other
form of arthritis is symmetrical. About two to three times as
many women as men have this disease.
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Fibromyalgia.
This chronic disorder causes pain throughout the tissues that
support and move the bones and joints. Pain, stiffness, and
localized tender points occur in the muscles and tendons, particularly
those of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. Fatigue and sleep
disturbances may also occur.
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Gout. When a
person has gout, they have higher than normal levels of uric
acid in the blood. The body makes uric acid from
many of the foods we eat. Too much uric acid causes deposits,
called uric acid crystals, to form in the fluid and
lining of the joints. The result is an extremely painful attack
of arthritis. The most common joint gout affects is the big
toe. This disease is more common in men than in women.
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Infectious arthritis.
Arthritis can be caused by an infection, either bacterial or
viral, such as Lyme disease. When this disease
is caused by bacteria, early treatment with antibiotics
can ease symptoms and cure the disease.
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Reactive arthritis.
This is arthritis that develops after a person has an infection
in the urinary tract, bowel, or other organs. People who have
this disease often have eye problems, skin rashes, and mouth
sores.
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Psoriatic arthritis.
Some people who have psoriasis, a common skin problem
that causes scaling and rashes, also have arthritis. This disease
often affects the joints at the ends of the fingers and can
cause changes in the fingernails and toenails. Sometimes the
spine can also be affected.
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Systemic lupus erythematosus.
Also called lupus or SLE, this is an autoimmune
disease. When a person has an autoimmune disease, the immune
system attacks itself, killing healthy cells and tissue, rather
than doing its job to protect the body from disease and infection.
Lupus can inflame and damage a person's joints, skin, kidneys,
lungs, blood vessels, heart, and brain. African American women
are three times more likely to get lupus than Caucasian women.
It is also more common in Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian
women.
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Ankylosing spondylitis.
This disease most often affects the spine, causing pain and
stiffness. It can also cause arthritis in the hips, shoulders,
and knees. It affects mostly men in their late teenage and early
adult years.
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Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
The most common type of arthritis in children, this disease
causes pain, stiffness, swelling, and loss of function in the
joints. A young person can also have rashes and fevers with
this disease.
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Polymyalgia rheumatica.
Because this disease involves tendons, muscles, ligaments, and
tissues around the joint, symptoms often include pain, aching,
and morning stiffness in the shoulders, hips, neck, and lower
back. It is sometimes the first sign of giant cell arteritis,
a disease of the arteries characterized by inflammation, weakness,
weight loss, and fever.
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Polymyositis.
Causing inflammation and weakness in the muscles, this disease
can affect the whole body and cause disability.
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Psoriatic arthritis.
This form of arthritis occurs in some persons with psoriasis,
a scaling skin disorder, affecting the joints at the ends of
the fingers and toes. It can also cause changes in the fingernails
and toenails. Back pain may occur if the spine is involved.
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Bursitis. This
condition involves inflammation of the bursa, small,
fluid-filled sacs that help reduce friction between bones and
other moving structures in the joints. The inflammation may
result from arthritis in the joint or injury or infection of
the bursa. Bursitis produces pain and tenderness and may limit
the movement of nearby joints.
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Tendinitis.
Also called tendonitis, this condition refers to inflammation
of tendons (tough cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone)
caused by overuse, injury, or a rheumatic condition. Tendinitis
produces pain and tenderness and may restrict movement of nearby
joints.
Osteoarthritis is caused by the wearing out of the cartilage covering
the bone ends in a joint.
This may be due to excessive strain over prolonged periods of
time, or due to other joint
diseases, injury or deformity.
Primary osteoarthritis is commonly associated with ageing and
general degeneration of joints.
Secondary osteoarthritis is generally the consequence of another
disease or condition, such as repeated trauma or surgery to the
affected joint, or abnormal joint structures from birth.
Uric acid crystal build-up is the cause of gout and long-term
crystal build-up in the joints may
cause deformity.
Some people may have congenital abnormalities of the joints-for
example, Perthes' disease of
the hips-that cause early degeneration and subsequently cause
osteoarthritis.
Some conditions may predispose the hip to osteoarthritis, It tends
to affect people as they get
older and particularly affects joints that have to take a lot
of stresses and strains.
A previous fracture that involved the hip.
Growth abnormalities of the hip (such as a shallow socket) may
lead to premature arthritis.
Some childhood hip problems later cause hip arthritis (for example,
a type of childhood hip
fracture known as a Slipped Epiphysis; also Legg-Perthe's Disease).
Inactive lifestyle- Obesity (overweight) Your weight is the single
most important link between diet
and arthritis, as being overweight puts an additional burden on
your hips, knees, ankles and feet.
Abnormalities of knee joint function resulting from fractures
of the knee, torn cartilage and torn ligaments can lead to degeneration
many years after the injury. The mechanical abnormality
leads to excessive wear and tear - just like the out-of-balance
tire that wears out too soon on
your car.
Predisposing factors to osteoarthritis of knee
Abnormalities of knee joint function resulting from fractures
of the knee, torn cartilage and torn ligaments can lead to degeneration
many years after the injury. The mechanical abnormality
leads to excessive wear and tear - just like the out-of-balance
tire that wears out too soon on
your car.
There are more than 150 different forms of arthritis,
symptoms vary according to the form of arthritis. Each form affects
the body differently.
Arthritic symptoms generally include swelling
and pain or tenderness in one or more joints for more than two weeks,
redness or heat in a joint, limitation of motion of a joint, early
morning stiffness, and skin changes, including rashes.
Doctors diagnose arthritis with a medical history, physical exam
and x-rays of the hip.
There is no blood test for osteoarthritis.
 Consult a doctor
who will determine the type of arthritis you have.
Rest the joint
until the pain subsides to prevent further inflammation.
To ease the pain
or stiffness of the joint, apply heat on the joint for about 15
minutes once
or twice a day using a hot water bottle, towel
or an infrared lamp.
Take painkillers
or anti-inflammatories, as recommended by your doctor.
If you are overweight,
try to reduce weight to lighten the load on weight-bearing joints.
Participate in
regular exercise.
There is no cure for arthritis, so beware of 'miracle cures'. Your
doctor may prescribe
anti-inflammatory medicine. They may recommend occupational therapy
or physiotherapy,
which includes exercises and heat treatment. In severe cases, surgery
may be suggested,
such as a hip or knee replacement. The type of surgery will depend
on your age and severity
of the disease. In the elderly with severe arthritis, joint replacement
can give good results.
Initial treatment for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee is conservative,
consisting of rest,
avoidance of vigorous weight bearing activities, and the use of
non-narcotic analgesic and or
anti inflammatory medications. With worsening symptoms a cane or
a knee brace may be helpful.
For more severe symptoms, an injection of cortisone into the joint
is frequently advised and can
be quite helpful. When conservative measures have been exhausted
and are no longer helpful,
and the arthritis has become disabling, surgery may be recommended.
Treatment of osteoarthritis focuses on decreasing pain and improving
joint movement, and may include:
Exercises to keep
joints flexible and improve muscle strength
Many different
medications are used to control pain, including corticosteroids
and NSAIDs. Glucocorticoids injected into joints that
are inflamed and not responsive to NSAIDS.
For mild pain without inflammation, acetaminophen may
be used.
Heat/cold therapy
for temporary pain relief
Joint protection
to prevent strain or stress on painful joints
Surgery (sometimes)
to relieve chronic pain in damaged joints
Weight control
to prevent extra stress on weight-bearing joints
Exercise is very important because it increases lubrication of the
joints and strengthens the surrounding muscles, putting less stress
on joints. Exercise in heated swimming
pools-hydrotherapy-can bring enormous relief from pain and stiffness.
Also studies have shown that exercise helps people with arthritis
by reducing joint pain and
stiffness and increasing flexibility, muscle strength and energy.
It also helps with weight reduction
and offers an improved sense of well-being.
But what if you have arthritis - are diet and nutrition still such
a simple matter?
Can what you eat cure your arthritis? Can food prevent it from occurring?
Are there foods that can cause your arthritis to 'flare' or go into
remission?
What role do vitamins and nutritional supplements play in the treatment
of arthritis?
Will losing (or gaining) weight help ease your symptoms?
Will taking powerful anti-arthritic medications affect your appetite
or your ability to eat
certain foods?
These are the sorts of questions that people with arthritis often
ask, and they're valid questions.
Some questions (Can what you eat cure your arthritis?) have simple
answers (No). Some
questions (Are there foods that can cause your arthritis to 'flare'
or go into remission?) aren't so straightforward (Perhaps...).
Most of what you need to know about diet and nutrition is common
sense; healthy eating is pretty much the same for anyone, whether
you have arthritis or not. But there are exceptions.
From learning about the importance of exercising regularly to fully
understanding your arthritis medications, the information contained
in this section is meant to provide you with insights,
information and tips that can be used by you to help make living
with arthritis a little bit more manageable.
For people with arthritis, learning to make it part of your life
can be difficult. But learning as much
as you can about your particular type of arthritis and actively
working with your arthritis treatment team are two very effective
ways of regaining control over your life. There is plenty of information,
some specific to arthritis and some not, that can be very helpful
to someone facing the challenges associated with having a chronic
or lifelong disease.
Our suggestion is - don't let arthritis beat you. Take control.
How? Arm yourself with as much information as possible. Learn from
the experiences of others in similar circumstances. What
we're presenting here is a virtual toolbox of tips for living well
with arthritis. Some may work
for you one day and not the other. Some may work for you but not
others. That's why we've
tried to cover several topics. There are plenty of tools or tips
here. Use them or refer to them
when you need them. Call upon them when you require help.
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