Arthritis

Arthritis

Joints in our body are prone to erosion that could cause friction due to the depletion of supporting tissues between two bones of the joints. Prolonged friction can cause the wearing off of cartilage and ligaments, resulting in arthritis.

Arthritis is a non-communicable joint disease that could affect any significant body joint. We can define Arthritis as inflammation in the joints, which can have symptoms like stiffness, intense pain, and swelling and redness around the joints.

Symptoms and causes

Arthritis can affect various joints in the body as well as organs. Common symptoms of arthritis can be severe pain, stiffness, swelling, and tenderness. Severe symptoms are difficulty in movement, experiencing pain while moving, the tension in that joint, fatigue, and loss of flexibility. In some cases, bumps could occur over the skin in the joints, affecting arthritis—also reports of bone deformity in the bones of the joints.

Arthritis can be of several types, but the most commonly reported ones are −

• Osteoarthritis

• Rheumatoid arthritis.

One of the causes of arthritis can be obesity. The impact of unhealthy food habits, old age, and a sedentary lifestyle might flow into a family's genetics and influence the severity.

Types of Arthritis

Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, the two most common kinds of arthritis, cause various types of joint damages.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is a disease caused by a severe sports injury, a spinal injury, or a fatal accident. Osteoarthritis is a result of the erosion of articular cartilage over some time. Osteoarthritis is common amongst the elderly and middle-aged population; however, it can affect all genders.

Articular cartilage is a smooth connective tissue at the end of the joints, aiding the gliding motion of one bone over another bone in the joints. Due to the depletion of articular cartilage, friction reduces between bones, causing intense pain, weakness, and even the loss of sensation. This situation gave rise to paraplegia, paralysis in the lower body, or weakness with a lack of sensation in that part of the body.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation in the joints when, for some genetic reasons, cells of the body start attacking selfcells. It is called an autoimmune disease. The inflammation can identify this kind of arthritis in the synovial membrane.

In rheumatoid arthritis, cells start eroding cartilage and the joint lining capsule. Rheumatoid also differs from other kind of arthritides. Rheumatoid produces symmetrical effects on the affected area; in rheumatoid arthritis, both sides of the body’s joints get equally affected.

Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis are −

• Joint pain

• Swelling in the joints,

• Lack of flexibility

• Stiffness, and

• Occasional high body temperature.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Affecting Young People

Rheumatoid arthritis severely affects younger people, known as an adult still’s disease. This still disease can be reported in the younger population more often, and it is rheumatoid arthritis, which is autoimmune and autoinflammatory

Symptoms of still disease are −

• Fever

• Rashes

• Swelling, and

• Intense pain.

If the problem persists without treatment for long enough, severe symptoms will start to appear, including −

• Deformity in the joints

• Severe muscle aches

• Sour throat, and

• Swollen lymph nodes in the neck.

The patient may also report joint pain in the whole body and the major joints.

Diagnosis of Arthritis

Doctors suggest and declare people with arthritis in parents based on

• The medical history

• Symptoms experienced by the patient

• A physical examination, and

• X-ray diagnosis.

There is no single test to diagnose arthritis of any kind. Instead, the doctor devises a treatment for the patient after observing all the parameters and their results.

Treatment of Arthritis

There is no definite cure for arthritis. However, drugs and medication are available to relieve the pain. Doctors prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to help with pain and inflammation. In some server cases, medication varies, and disease-modified drugs are prescribed to the patients.

Treatment for adult still arthritis does not end with symptoms, but continuous medication is required to keep inflammation under control. In addition to drugs, a patient needs to shift toward a healthy lifestyle and opt for healthy eating. Having a positive mindset and engaging in regular exercise are advised. Physiotherapy also helps with arthritis.

Conclusion

Severe arthritis can make regular tasks challenging both for old and young people, as it affects your hands or arms. Weight-bearing joint arthritis can make it difficult to walk or sit up straight comfortably. Joints can lose their alignment and shape over time in specific situations.

FAQs

Q. What are the different kinds of arthritis?

Ans. Various type of Arthritis are found, although the most commonly reported ones are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Q2. Is arthritis curable or not?

Ans. Arthritis has no definite or permanent cure. Only medication, exercise, and lifestyle changes can lead to relief. Physiotherapy is also effective in reducing its ill effects.

Q3. What are the common symptoms of arthritis?

Ans. Patients' most commonly seen and experienced symptoms are intense pain, swelling, movement difficulties, fatigue, redness, and uneasiness in motion with that joint's movements.

Q4. What is rheumatoid arthritis?

Ans. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease with symptoms like inflammation in the synovial membrane. Patients report it in any significant or minor joint of the body after tests.

Q5. What is osteoarthritis?

Ans. Osteoarthritis is a common disease in elderly people. Osteoarthritis arthritis results from the wear and tear of cartilage present on the bones. In this condition, two bones rub against each other reducing friction and causing intense pain, stiffness, and difficulty in movement.