The Deadly Truth About Arthritis !
All arthritis conditions affect the musculoskeletal system and joints which causes pain, stiffness, inflammation, and damage to the joint cartilage. The joints are protected by tissue called cartilage which ensures the ends of bones don’t rub against one another.
The cells or chondrocytes which cartilage is made up of are similar to the ones in the other glands in the human body. Like in the case of all living cells, chondrocytes die and are replaced.
The swelling damages cartilage cells faster than the body can re-generate and this cause problems. You will find this especially true if an injury has occurred or if there aren’t enough of the necessary nutrients within the body to repair the joint.
The condition causes damage where instability, deformities and joint weakness can obstruct daily life. A person suffering from arthritis needs to bring about a change in his day to day living and requires proper medication and physiotherapy. One method of treating joint problems is invasive joint replacement therapy and is only resorted to after all other treatments have failed.
Arthritis is divided into two main categories, i.e. localized and generalized depending on areas affected; it is further subdivided into sub-categories. One of the sub-categories is localized conditions which only affect the soft tissue that surrounds the bones or joints, and is used to relate to conditions like tendinitis or bursitis.
It could just be that the localized conditions could manifest themselves in just one of two joints being affected. In generalized arthritis, the disease affects the soft tissue and muscle where there isn’t any evidence of inflammation or swelling. Fibromyalgia, even though it isn’t associated with joint damage, is a very common form which can be placed under this particular category.
The second sub category is one where there is inflammation and the whole body is affected. Rheumatoid arthritis, gout and psortiatis arthritis are examples of the next conditions in this subcategory. Other generalized conditions are polymyositis (muscles); systemic lupus erythematosus (skin, kidneys, or other organs); and vasculitis (any organ).
It is not uncommon for people to have more than one form of arthritis; there are almost 100 medical conditions which affects approximately 300,000 children and 46 million adults in the United States. Osteoarthritis is a condition mostly noticed in adults over 60 years, however, it can start at infancy too. The numbers are increasing as the American population ages and more and more people are beginning to suffer from arthritis.
Arthritis and related illnesses are the cause of major disability in the U.S. and costs over 124 billion dollars a year in medical care and indirect expenses. 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.
