Arthritis: An Overview

The Meaning of Arthritis

Joint inflammation is what arthritis means. Arthritis encompasses a wide variety of diseases and is not a single disease.

There are more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions, that can cause pain, stiffness in the body and also swelling of the joints.

When one of these conditions damages the joints of the body this is when it is referred to as arthritis. Arthritis effect and disables our seniors and people 65 and older. There are many different forms of arthritis and they each have there own cause.

What do they have in common, 100 different diseases

We have a hundred different forms of arthritis, so what is common with all of them? The answer to this question is without a doubt pain. The arthritis pain will be different among all of the individuals suffering from arthritis, and the location of the pain will also be different.

Some symptoms of arthritis to warn you of possible problems

Swelling of your joints and stiffness are some of the signs and symptoms that you may be suffering from arthritis.

Are you feeling stiffness and swelling in one or more of your joints and have you been feeling this for a couple weeks or more? If you answered yes to the above then you need to visit your physician and have these warning signs diagnosed and treated.

Listing all the different types of arthritis would become quite extensive and I am not about to do that here. I will do another article explaining them, but for now here is a list of some of the most common types and the symptoms that are associated with each type of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis - what you will find is that the pain is worse at night or after rest. Osteo arthritis is a degenerative joint disease that results from wear and tear. Some of the symptoms of this are:

pain tenderness swelling decreased function

The onset of osteo arthritis is very subtle and gradual, usually involving one or only a few joints. Some of the joints most affected by this are:

knees hips hands spine

Rheumatoid - pain is felt in the morning. Sometimes in the elderly and children the pain may not be as pronounced, but some limbs may not want to function.

When you are suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis you are suffering from an auto immune disease. What is happening is the body is attacking itself. This can be a chronic and a disabling problem and can cause the following:

stiffness joint pain swelling loss of joint function

The cause of rheumatoid arthritis remains elusive. Doctors believe that there could be something genetic involved with this. Rheumatoid arthritis in the beginning stages can be difficult to diagnose because again this is gradual and has subtle symptoms.

There are many different types of arthritis and I am going to list some of them now. There is rheumatoid, osteoarthritis, gout and pseudogout, septic, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and many more.

The advances in medicine today have made treating the different types of arthritis many. You can use medicine prescribed by your doctor or even over the counter drugs and also arthroplasty and this is only a couple of ways to treat arthritis symptoms.

When joint pain is so severe that there may come a time when prosthetic joint replacement may become necessary. The people who have had this done are very satisfied with the results.

Arthritis has been around a long time. The first traces of arthritis dates back to 4500 B.C.

Dinosaurs have even had evidence to have had ankle osteoarthritis. The skeletal remains of Native Americans of Tennessee were noticed to have arthritis.

As time and technology advances may be in the future there will be a cure for arthritis. But only time will tell. Right now we try to treat the symptoms of pain and stiffness the best that we can.

There are other treatments besides the couple listed above and I will talk about them in another article.

Today many people struggle because of some form of arthritis, so learn of some Arthritis Prevention Tips now and you can also discover how some of the Celebrities with Rheumatoid Arthritis get by.

Arthritis definitions

Inflammation of a joint. When joints are inflamed they can develop stiffness, warmth, swelling, redness and pain. There are over 100 types of arthritis. (see osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, lupus, gout, pseudogout).

A disease characterized by joint inflammation. Joint injury can be caused by trauma or by the wear and tear of aging. The general term arthritis includes over 100 kinds of diseases, most of which last for life. In many forms of arthritis, injury is caused by the uncontrolled inflammation of autoimmune disease, in which the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues. Common kinds of arthritis include osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Arthritis causes

Scientists do not yet fully understand what causes the various forms of arthritis. They are studying risk factors to determine why some people develop the disease and others do not.

The literal meaning of arthritis is “joint inflammation” and it can affect joints in any part of the body. Joints are the places in the body where two bones meet. When you have arthritis, damage is caused to a lesser or greater degree to the joints and mostly occurs in the hands, arms and legs. The inflammation in one or more of the joints results in pain, swelling and limited movement. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in those over the age of 65 and it generally affects people from the age of 60.

Arthritis Symptoms

Osteoarthritis / Osteoarthrosis (OA, also known as degenerative arthritis, degenerative joint disease, arthrosis or in more colloquial terms “wear and tear”), is a condition in which low-grade inflammation results in pain in the joints, caused by wearing of the cartilage that covers and acts as a cushion inside joints. As the bone surfaces become less well protected by cartilage, the patient experiences pain upon weight bearing, including walking and standing. Due to decreased movement because of the pain, regional muscles may atrophy, and ligaments may become more lax. OA is the most common form of arthritis.

Arthritis treatement

A cornerstone of therapy of any form of arthritis is physical therapy and occupational therapy to maintain joint mobility and range of motion. The proper kind and amount of this therapy will vary depending upon the underlying cause and upon individual factors that your physician will discuss with you

Arthritis remedies

Herbal arthritis remedies have been helping ease arthritis pain and inflamation for centuries. Unlike harsh modern drugs that can shock and weaken our system, medicinal herbs and herbal remedies soothe and strenghten our entire body and are good for arthritis relief ..

1 tbs juice of fresh leaves of bathua, drink every day on an empty stomach for 2-3 months. Do not add anything to the juice and do not eat anything for 2 hours before and after.

Warm mustard oil, spread it over Madar leaf ( Indian ) and foment the joint by spreading the leaf over the joint and keeping it there for a few hours for arthritis relief

On an empty stomach take 3-4 walnuts (akhrot) or 1 fresh coconut.

Arthritis can be hell to live with, but you don’t have to put up with it. There is a range of natural approaches that can help ease the pain.

Anyone who has arthritis knows it can be a nightmare. It causes inflamed, stiff and swollen joints, leading to chronic pain. And, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be over a certain age to get it. Of the eight million people in the UK with arthritis, a million are under 50, with 27,000 aged 25 or younger.