Arthritis is a frequent accompaniment of old age. Every third person in America is affected by it. It is a complex disorder that boasts of more than 100 distinct conditions, and remains to be the leading cause of disability among many people who are aged 55 years or older. While knowing about it may not reduce the prevalence and ubiquity of arthritis, it will surely help many with dealing and managing the disease, and to reduce the complications of the disease.
What is Arthritis?
Etymologically, arthritis means the inflammation of joints, or the sections where two bones meet and join. As a result, people who suffer from arthritis usually complain from pain, stiffness, and difficulty in moving usually centered on a set of joints. While most people relate a "cracking" sound when rotating limbs from the joint area as a sign of arthritis, there is no medical proof to support this conclusion. Instead, this "cracking" sound is a result the pressure of joint fluid being pushed around the area of a joint. This joint fluid lubricates the area between the joints and helps protect these bones from rubbing and damaging each other.
In some types of arthritis, the pain is worse at night or subsequently after a period of rest, while others complain of worse pain around the time of their morning shower. Regardless of what time the symptom of pain manifests itself, the general symptom of arthritis is prolonged and sustained pain that emanates from the joints.
How do you Diagnose Arthritis?
Arthritis is diagnosed by a physical examination designed to best characterize the surrounding factors causing pain. These include when the pain was first felt, how long that pain was felt, around which joints or bodily areas the pain was localized in, and what factors worsened or lessened the pain. Blood tests, X-ray scans, and radio-graphs help assess and track progression of arthritis in a more quantitative manner.
If there are indications of other specific types of arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, screening blood tests may be performed. Blood tests will measure their rheumatoid factor, their anti nuclear factor, their extractable nuclear antigen measure, and the presence of other specific antibodies.
Treatment of Arthritis
As is true for all forms of arthritis, the first step in treatment is pain management. This is done through a combination of medication prescribed by a physician to adequately relieve the patient of the pain caused by arthritis. After which, a combination of physical and occupational therapy to help relieve pain and work the joints to lessen or slow the progression of arthritis may be prescribed by the physician as well. For those people whose form of arthritis causes the erosion of joints or may have endangering effects for adjacent organs, arthroscopic or joint replacement surgery may be recommended.
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