Arthritis Explained - A Resource

Are you looking for an Arthritis Cure? Arthritis means pain and this could be anywhere in the muscles or the bones which the disease affects; the joints especially bear the brunt and are very painful. Cartilage is a dense, living, tissue covering the ends of bones, protecting them from abrasion as the joint bones rub against each other. Cartilage as a living tissue behaves very much like other organs and glands and these cells are termed as chondrocytes. The chondrocytes die, they are replaced with new ones and the life cycle goes on. The primary focus of this article will be to explain arthritis rather then arthritis cures.

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. Lack of sufficient cartilage, can cause instability, joint weakness, pain and deformity, all of which affect and interrupt regular activities. Generally, arthritis can be treated with physical therapy, medication, and changes to the lifestyle the individual is used to living. Health care providers use joint replacement surgery as their last resort, once they have tried all of the less intrusive interventions, to try and relieve the discomfort.

Arthritis has two main categories which is based on the areas of the body affected, ‘localized’ or ‘generalized’; this is further divided in to sub categories. The two localized conditions are bursitis and tendonitis; they affect the soft tissues surrounding the bones and joints. A sub-category of this affects one or some of the joints like hip or knee joints. A generalized arthritis condition is a condition where the muscles and the soft tissues get damaged, in this condition there is no swelling or any kind of inflammation on the joints. Fibromyalgia, even though it isn’t associated with joint damage, is a very common form which can be placed under this particular category.

Another sub-category involves inflammation affecting the entire body. Gout, psoriatic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are examples of this condition. 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.

However a person may suffer from multiple kinds of arthritis, in the United States of America around forty six million adults and abut three hundred thousand children suffer from hundred medical conditions. The condition is most common as osteoarthritis in adults age 60 and above but it can start as early as infancy. 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. By taking the time to follow a couple of simple steps, most individuals can help to prevent osteoarthritis: The ability to maintain the appropriate weight and consume fresh vegetables and fruits are a really good source of vitamins D and C. Consumption of calcium is very important, adults must consume about 1000-1500mg calcium every day, exercising daily is a must and one must avoid injuries that may damage the joints.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

 Print This Post Posted in Arthritis