An Introduction to Arthritis

If your joints are painful after a mild workout or you find it difficult to move in the morning, you may have arthritis. However, if you know what you should do about it, you need not worry.

Know that one of the first symptoms of arthritis is pain and stiffness- especially in the morning and after exercise. There are many different types of Arthritis, however in this article we will talk about the two most common types -- osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is sometimes called degenerative arthritis. The impact of it is felt on the weight bearing joints, hips, knees and back. It also frequently occurs in the joints of the hand and knuckles. Osteoarthritis is the deterioration of the cartilage that protects the ends of bones. It is mostly caused due to wear and tear from ageing, diet and lifestyle, though sometimes it may occur due to injury. This type of arthritis rarely occurs before age 40, and affects nearly everyone over 60 years.

Rheumatoid arthritis can start at any age, including childhood. It is caused by physical or emotional stress,
poor nutrition, bacterial infections, or genetics. It is an inflammation disorder of the immune system. That means it is a 'self-attacking-self' disease. It happens when the body's immune system improperly identifies the synovial membrane as a foreign substance. Consequently, the joint swells up, and damages the cartilage and tissues around the joint.

Rheumatoid arthritis is determined by using a combination of medical tests. While a blood test will indicate the probability of the presence of the disease, X-rays, MRI scans and bone scans are used to visualize the joints to check the severity and progression of arthritis.

Once a diagnosis is confirmed, the doctors have a wide variety of treatment options to slow the progression and maintain mobility. They choose the one that promises the best results depending on other aspects of the patient's health.

Arthritis is not a new disease and much research has been done and is still being done to find a cure. This ongoing research is financed by The Arthritis Society. They track research trials and the latest breakthroughs on the medical front. They publish these latest finding on their website, as well as in their newsletter. If you have arthritis, you might want to research their website.

Alternate medicines have been found to be quite beneficial for arthritis. This includes physical therapy, whirlpool treatments, thermotherapy (moist heat), and joint exercises are used to increase mobility and prevent complications. Cold gel packs can relieve the pain of inflamed joints. A hot morning shower will often relieve morning stiffness.

You can reduce inflammation through certain foods in a natural way. For instance, a daily dose of 20 tart red cherries or fresh pineapple can relieve pain and inflammation. If you add asparagus, eggs, garlic and onions to your diet, you will be able to help your body repair and rebuild bone and cartilage. Other beneficial foods include leafy green vegetables, non-acidic fresh fruits, oatmeal, brown rice and fish.

You also need to watch out for allergies; they can trigger inflammation, and aggravate arthritis symptoms. So, if you have neck and back pain you must eliminate certain foods that you are allergic to.

Of course, there is nothing like regular, moderate exercise, such as walking or swimming for reducing pain and slowing the deterioration of joints. If you have excess weight, you need to work on it but when doing in any strenuous physical activity, remember to take rest in between so that you keep your strength, without damaging your joints.

Finally, when you see the first symptoms of arthritis, make an appointment with your doctor to find out for sure. Don't ignore it or wait for surer signs. You might wait too long; the sooner you take care of your joints the better.

Stop the Pain and Progression of Rheumatoid Arthritis II

Once you are diagnosed with R.A., what are the next steps. My wife followed the recommendations of her doctor and started taking two medications. The first was a steroid, prednisone. Reading the possible side effects of this and her other medication was enough to scare you to death. Everyone has read about the horrors of steroids, but when you are hurting as badly as she was hurting you are willing to try anything. The second medication was methotrexate. It was initially developed to treat cancer, but now is one of the gold standards for rheumatoid arthritis. There is no known cure for rheumatoid arthritis. Some patients go into remission when the damage to joints stops and the pain goes away using traditional medical therapy. It is interesting that trauma may cause a relapse of the disease. Another patient in the waiting room with my wife shared that her symptoms reappeared after she caught her hand in a recliner resulting in a broken finger. But many people have gastrointestinal trouble taking the drug. It can also be given as shots. Taken orally, most patients take the entire dosage once a week, usually on Saturday, when stomach trouble will not interfere with work. Many patients have to go to stronger, more expensive drugs as the disease progresses. In fact, one of the first things my wife's doctor told her was she would not be able to afford the treatment since we didn't have medical insurance and he would not accept Medicare or Medicaid. He said the usual progression of treatments would run from forty-five to sixty thousand dollars a year, but he might be able to get her on a trial program. This was even a bigger incentive for us to find a better solution.

I might add that some, including the author you are about to discover, says that taking these drugs can slow up the recovery using the diets described. She specifically mentioned the two drugs my wife started taking. I specifically asked her doctor if we could try the diet first. He wanted to start her on the drugs immediately to give her relief from the pain. We decided to work with Nell's doctor and take the medications. As I have said several times, I am telling our story and what we have done. I encourage you to do what you feel is best for you. Most traditional doctors will want you to take the drugs. You might want to try the fasting for five to six days and see if it offers some relief, and then make your decision, maybe before seeing the doctor. But don't put off getting a correct diagnosis too long.

Types of Arthritis and Know About Their Major Symptoms

Arthritis literally means joint inflammation. Arthritis is not a single disease. Arthritis refers to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions that can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints.

Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common serious inflammatory form of arthritis. It affects roughly 1 per cent of the population and is the prototypical autoimmune form of arthritis. Because it may do most of its damage in the first year, early diagnosis and aggressive therapy is critical. Left untreated RA may shorten life expectancy by as much as 18 years! Reiter's syndrome is a combination of urethritis, conjunctivitis, and arthritis.

The arthritis affects the spine and peripheral joints. The disease occurs most commonly in young male adults, and the first attack usually lasts only a matter of weeks or months.
Although Reiter's syndrome is not considered a venereal disease, it appears to result from infection, and sexual exposure to an infectious agent often seems to be the cause.

Gouty arthritis is a condition that is caused by the accumulation of crystals made of urate within the joint. The urate crystals are formed by an unusual breakdown of a normal body substance. Accumulations of urate within a joint causes gouty arthritis. The most commonly affected joints are the big toe and the knee.

Reactive arthritis

This is a temporary inflammation of the joints as a reaction to an infection elsewhere in the body - for example, in the bowel. There may be a delay before the beginning of the arthritis, which usually clears up by itself.

Juvenile rhuematoid arthritis is a chronic condition that causes inflammation in one or more joints and begins before the age of 16. It is the most common type of arthritis in children. Symptoms include pain, stiffness, swelling, and loss of function in the joints. The arthritis may be associated with rashes or fevers, and it may affect other parts of the body.

Fibromyalgia is a common condition. However it can get severe enough to start intruding into your day to day life. Fibromyalgia literally means, fibrous tissues (fibro-) and the muscles (-my-) being affected by pain (-algia). In this disease the whole body feels affected since the tendons and the ligaments both get affected. Fibromyalgia in fact affects the muscles and not the joints at all. Also, this form of arthritis never causes permanent damage to tissues though the symptoms may last for months or years.

Ankylosing Spondylitis: This is a chronic disease and highly inflammatory, mainly affecting the spine. It can lead to the fusing of the vertebrae resulting in a rigid spine. One of the most common symptoms is low back pain, along with stiffness, which continues for several months. Usually this type of arthritis affects men in the age range of 16-35, though women can also be affected

Arthritis Treatment Facility

The condition arthritis can be defined as the inflammation of the joints. The major symptoms of arthritis are pain in joints and inflexibility, which usually become intense with age. These are the two most common types of arthritis osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is generally caused by normal old age and rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. Other types of arthritis can occur due to uric acid crystals, infections and underlying disease like psoriasis. The pain due to arthritis caused by joint damage. Joints consist of the following parts:

Cartilage

Cartilage is a hard, but smooth coating on the ends of bones, cartilage permits bones of the joint to move smoothly over each other.

Joint capsule

This is a membrane which encloses all the joint parts.

Synovium

This is a thin membrane which lines the joint capsule and produces synovial fluid, which makes the joint slippery and nourishes the cartilage.

The most usual signs and symptoms of arthritis include the joints. Rely upon the type of arthritis, signs and symptoms also include:

• Pain


• Stiffness


• Swelling


• Redness


• Decreased range of motion

Treatment options:

Medications

The medications used in the treatment of arthritis alter, rely upon the type of arthritis. Normally used arthritis medications contain:

Analgesics

These types of medications help in reducing pain, but these medications do not have any effect on inflammation. Examples are acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), narcotics containing oxycodone (Percocet, Oxycontin, others) and tramadol (Ultram, Ryzolt).

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs treat both pain and inflammation. Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs include naproxen (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others). Few types of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are accessible only by prescription. Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause stomach problems like irritation, and few may enhance the risk of heart attack and stroke. Some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are also accessible as creams and gels, which can massage on joints.

Counterirritants

Few types of creams and ointments which contain menthol or capsaicin, these ingredients make hot peppers spicy. Massaging these preparations on the skin over the aching joint may obstruct the transmission of pain signals from the joint itself.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs are often used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs decrease or stop the immune system from attacking the joints. Examples are hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) and methotrexate (Trexall).

Biologics

These are commonly used in combination with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, biologic response modifiers are genetically made drugs that aim many protein molecules that are included in the immune response. Examples are infliximab (Remicade) and etanercept (Enbrel).

Corticosteroids

This type of drug, includes cortisone and prednisone, and decreases inflammation. Corticosteroids can be used orally or also used in the form of injections directly into the painful joint.

• Therapy

Physical therapy can be effective for some types of arthritis. Exercises can improve the motion and strengthen the muscles surrounding joints.

• Surgery

If other treatment options do not work so surgery is the only cure.

Joint replacement

In this procedure doctors remove the damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial joint. Joints of hips and knees are most commonly replaced.

Joint fusion

This procedure is common for smaller joints like joints in the wrist, joints in the ankle and fingers. It usually removes the ends of the two bones in the joint and then fix those ends together until they heal into one stiff unit.

• Home remedies

Home remedies include the following:

Weight loss

Losing weight will decrease the stress on the weight-bearing joints. This may enhance the mobility and prevent future joint injury.

Exercise

Exercising can help in keeping joints flexible. Swimming is usually a good choice because the buoyancy of the water decreases stress on weight-bearing joints.

Heat and cold

Heating pads or ice packs may help in reducing arthritis pain.

Assistive devices

Using walkers, raised toilet seats and other assistive devices can help in protecting the joints and enhance the ability to perform daily tasks.

Chondroitin Sulfate Helps Osteoarthritis

Many supplements seem effective but it's unclear how they work. Not chondroitin. This complex carbohydrate is a naturally occurring part of our cartilage, and its use and the effects thereof have been studied for decades.

What Is It?

Chondroitin sulfate is a complex carbohydrate that naturally occurs in our cartilage. Cartilage is the soft tissue covering the ends of bones inside our joints that helps reduce friction as the joint bones move against one another, helping with fluid joint movement.

Chondroitin's primary function is to help cartilage retain water, making it more supple. It is often combined with glucosamine sulfate as an anti-arthritis supplement combination.

Where It Works Best

Note that it is chondroitin sulfate which has been extensively studied. As with glucosamine, any form other than sulfate will not have the benefit of reliable scientific research behind it.

Taken orally, there is strong evidence that chondroitin will reduce osteoarthritis pain of the knee, spine, hips and finger joints, will increase mobility and reduce the need for anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen. The studies have shown these effects when taken orally for 6-24 months. Always cautious, scientists are unwilling to say whether you will see benefits outside these time parameters.

There is somewhat less strong but still good evidence that it may be beneficial in treating interstitial cystitis, a chronic inflammation of the bladder. It may also help those with an overactive bladder or with bladder control problems. While these findings are preliminary and deserve further study, they are promising and have the support of serious scientists.

Other suggested uses such as for psoriasis, eye treatment, iron absorption deficiency, or muscle soreness simply do not have enough research behind them to be scientifically reliable. As with the use of any supplement, it is best to consult your health care provider before use, particularly if you have a medical condition or already take medication or supplements.

Safety

While generally considered safe, there are some precautions to consider.

Allergy
Since it is often manufactured from shark or beef cartilage and bovine trachea, any allergies to these substances should be considered. There are synthetically manufactured varieties which can be a good substitute. Hives, rash, sun sensitivity and less asthma control have also been reported.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding
Avoid use if pregnant or breastfeeding, as this has not been reliably studied. Also, there is a chemical similarity to heparin, a blood thinner not recommended during pregnancy.

Side Effects
Generally there is good tolerance in studies which have looked at use for up to three years. This is not a recommended supplement if you have or are at higher risk for prostate cancer, since it increases the risk of spreading or recurrence of this disease. There are rare reports of a variety of adverse side effects including nausea, headache, elevated blood pressure, leg swelling or diarrhea.

Children
There is no proven effect in children under 18, and therefore it should be avoided.

Manganese
It is often seen combined with manganese, a trace element necessary for bone health. Since the maximum recommended daily intake of manganese from foods and supplements should not exceed 11 mg, read the label carefully and choose a brand without manganese if necessary.

How To Avoid A Knee Replacement

Avoiding a knee replacement is something that every individual with knee pain due to osteoarthritis tries to avoid or put off to the very end as a last resort. Depending on the amount of damage that osteoarthritis has caused inside thee knee compartment will determine how much time you have. You can buy some time and avoid surgery by following these three key ideas and putting them into action.

1. Ask Your Surgeon If You Are A Candidate For Viscosupplemntation.

You can check and discuss with your orthopedic surgeon if viscosupplementation injections will work in your case. The use of this procedure will depend on the amount of osteoarthritis you have in your knee and where it is located. This procedure helps replenish the natural lubrication you have and, helps to maintain the shock absorber qualities inside your knees. This can be discussed with your doctor to determine if the benefits outweigh the risks.

This procedure is given through a series of injections and you can feel either immediate results or may find some relief in a couple of weeks.

2. Lose Some Weight To Help Decrease Impact Forces In Your Knees.

The amount of weight you carry greatly impacts the health of your knees. As we age we tend to put on more weight if we do not make a conscious effort to exercise and eat right.

By carrying extra body weight you place a greater amount of force through your knees.

For every extra pound you carry over your ideal body weight, you add three pounds of added force to your knees when you walk and, ten pounds of added force when you run.

Ten extra pounds of body weight can add anywhere from thirty to sixty pounds of force through your knees.

Your diet and controlling your weight may be the most important thing you can do to maintain healthy knees and decrease the chances of developing osteoarthritis.

3. Keep Your Legs Strong With Resistance Training.

Maintaining strong knees involves keeping the surrounding muscles strong. The muscles involving your quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves when sufficiently strengthened allow them to absorb the impact of your daily activities such as walking and decrease the amount of stress that is placed through the knee joint itself.

Exercise activities such as bicycling and swimming also are highly recommended to build sufficient leg strength if you are unable to start a resistance training program.

Bicycling will build both quadriceps and hamstring strength and will help in developing your cardiovascular system which helps in delivering nutrients to your knees.

Swimming assists in taking stress off your joints and allows for more freedom of movement.

Avoiding a knee replacement through weight loss and exercise can be very successful if properly followed with discipline and determination. If you need viscosupplementation than it may be just a matter of time however before surgery will be required. it can buy you six months or more before replacement is required.

Arthritis Treatment: Water Exercises

It is always advised to those who currently have arthritis to eat the right kind of food, consume green lipped mussel extract and other supplements, take some vitamins and minerals, and exercise. Exercise may be one cause of an injury which then results to arthritis but if it is being done in a proper way, you will never go wrong and consider it as a very effective arthritis treatment or prevention.

As water is considered as an elixir of life because we cannot live without it, it is also being considered as one way in dealing with joint problems and can become a very good treatment for arthritis. But before engaging into this kind of activity, it is a must that you consult a physician first just to settle things properly.

With water exercises, it is not a requirement that you swim all the way in the entire pool and do some lapses because you might end up hurting your bones if you do it. You can just stay in one place while you are in the water and do some exercises pertaining to your affected joint areas. You can move some joints, flex your body and you stay in one place while you are in the water. This can result to a relief from pain, and can aid you to move pretty well.

It is even much recommended if you are in seawater. Salty water has this soothing feeling to the skin and also to your body. So, this one option is also a good shot. Take your family or some friends with you to the beach. It will not only help you get relieved from the pain of arthritis but you can also have some great time with people close to you once in a while.

These are just some basic arthritis treatments and preventions which can make the pain it causes to go away. Pair it with proper food and balanced diet and you'll be feeling healthy in no time. Do not forget the health supplements as well which are being recommended to you like the green lipped mussel extract which is a very good anti-inflammatory supplement for arthritis. It is rich in Omega 3 fatty acid and has no major effects when being taken due to the fact that it came from an all-natural source which is the seashell. So don't miss these chances of avoiding and getting rid of arthritis that prevents you to live life normally. Live healthy in the natural way.