The Truth About Arthritis Explained

When a patient is suffering from arthritis his musculoskeletal system is affected; the joints become very painful and stiff, there is a lot of swelling at the joints and the joint cartilage gets damaged. The joints are protected by tissue called cartilage which ensures the ends of bones don’t rub against one another. Like the other organs in our body, cartilage too needs looking after. When the chondrocytes which are living cells die, there are new ones that replace them.

However, over time inflammation can kill more cartilage cells than the body can replace. This is more so if the body is undernourished and lacks the required nutrients to repair or the joint has suffered an injury. The joints become deformed that causes hindrance in the day to day tasks. A typical treatment of arthritis includes lifestyle changes and physical therapy. If an arthritis patient does not get any relief from medication and other forms of therapies then the last option they can resort to is joint replacement.

Arthritis is divided into two main categories, i.e. localized and generalized depending on areas affected; it is further subdivided into sub-categories. Localized conditions are bursitis and tendonitis and they affect the soft tissues surrounding the bones and joints. It could just be that the localized conditions could manifest themselves in just one of two joints being affected. One of the foremost sub-categories of generalized arthritis is a condition that affects muscle and soft tissue without swelling or inflammation. Fibromyalgia, even though it isn’t associated with joint damage, is a very common type of arthritis which can be placed under this particular category.

The second one is known to include all of the conditions that involve inflammation that affects the whole body. Rheumatoid arthritis, gout and psoriatic arthritis come under this category. Still other generalized situations include polymyositis, involving muscles, systemic lupus erythematosus involving the skin, kidneys and or other organs and vasculitis where any organ is involved.

An individual is capable of having more than just one arthritis type and it includes over one hundred different medical conditions that are known to affect roughly forty six million adults and three hundred thousand children within the United States. This condition can start as early as infancy, while it is most common among adults over 60, primarily in the form of osteoarthritis. The number of sufferers is on the increase at the same pace as the population of America.

Arthritis and related illnesses are the cause of major disability in the U. Osteoarthritis can be prevented by taking a few precautionary measures; these include, maintaining suitable or appropriate body weight, and consuming plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, which are good sources for the vitamins C and D. Also by making sure they are getting enough calcium (adults: 1000-1500mg per day), regular exercise and to avoid injuries brought about by sports activities.