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Arthritis

Arthritis facts:

• Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints.
• Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints.
• Arthritis sufferers include men and women, children and adults.
• Earlier and accurate diagnosis can help to prevent irreversible damage and disability.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is a joint disorder featuring inflammation. A joint is an area of the body where two different bones meet. A joint functions to move the body parts connected by its bones. Arthritis literally means inflammation of one or more joints.

Arthritis is frequently accompanied by joint pain. Joint pain is referred to as arthralgia. When four or more joints are involved, the arthritis is referred to as polyarthritis. When two or three joints are involved, it is referred to as oligoarthritis. When only a single joint is involved, it is referred to as monoarthritis.

What causes arthritis?

The causes of arthritis depend on the form of arthritis. Causes include injury (leading to osteoarthritis), metabolic abnormalities (such as gout and pseudogout), hereditary factors, the direct and indirect effect of infections (bacterial and viral), and a misdirected immune system with autoimmunity (such as in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus).

Arthritis is classified as one of the rheumatic diseases. These are conditions that are different individual illnesses, with differing features, treatments, complications, and prognoses. They are similar in that they have a tendency to affect the joints, muscles, ligaments, cartilage, and tendons, and many have the potential to affect other internal body areas.

What are arthritis symptoms and signs?

Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited function of joints. Joint inflammation from arthritis is characterized by joint stiffness, swelling, redness, pain, and warmth. Tenderness of the inflamed joint can be present with or without pain. When large joints are involved, such as the knee, there can be loss of cartilage with limitation of motion from the joint damage. When arthritis affects the small joints in fingers, there can be bone growth and loss of hand grip and grip strength of the hand.

Many of the forms of arthritis, because they are rheumatic diseases, can cause symptoms affecting various organs of the body that do not directly involve the joints.

Therefore, symptoms in some patients with certain forms of arthritis can also include fever, gland swelling (swollen lymph nodes), weight loss, fatigue, feeling unwell, and even symptoms from abnormalities of organs such as the lungs, heart, or kidneys.

Who is affected by arthritis?

Arthritis sufferers include men and women, children and adults.

What are the treatments?

Whether you have a non-inflammatory or inflammatory type of arthritis or even a painful case of gout, there are numerous medications and recommendations to relieve pain and ensure that your joints do not become damaged further.

The focus of treatment for arthritis is to control pain, minimize joint damage and improve or maintain function and quality of life. According to the American College of Rheumatology, the treatment of arthritis might involve the following:

• Medications
• Non-pharmacologic therapies
• Physical or occupational therapy
• Splints or joint assistive aids
• Patient education and support
• Weight loss
• Surgery - joint replacement and joint surgery.

What is the diet?

There is no specific diet that treats arthritis. However, there are several types of food that can help people with the condition by reducing inflammation.

The following foods are all found in a Mediterranean diet and can provide many nutrients that are good for joint health:

• Fish
• Nuts and seeds
• Fruits and vegetables
• Beans
• Olive oils
• Whole grains

There are also some foods that people with arthritis may want to avoid. Nightshade vegetables contain a chemical called solanine that some studies have linked with arthritis pain. Research findings are mixed when it comes to these vegetables, but some people have reported a reduction in arthritis symptoms when avoiding nightshade vegetables.

Self-management

In combination with medical treatment, self-management of arthritis symptoms is also important.

Key self-management activities include:

• Key self-management activities include:
• Staying physically active
• Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight
• Getting regular check-ups with the doctor
• Protecting joints from unnecessary stress.

There are seven important self-management habits that can help you successfully manage your disease:

• Be organized: keep track of symptoms, pain levels, medications, and possible side effects for consultations with your doctor
• Manage pain and fatigue: a medication regimen can be combined with non-medical pain management. Learning to manage fatigue is key to living comfortably with arthritis
• Stay active: exercise is beneficial for managing arthritis and overall health
• Balance activity with rest: in addition to remaining active, rest is equally important when your disease is active
• Eat a healthy balanced diet: a healthy diet can help you achieve a healthy weight and control inflammation. Avoid refined, processed foods and pro-inflammatory animal-derived foods and choose whole plant foods that are high in antioxidants and that have anti-inflammatory properties
• Improve sleep: poor sleep can aggravate arthritis pain and fatigue. Take steps to improve sleep hygiene so you find it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep - avoid caffeine and strenuous exercise in the evenings and restrict screen-time prior to bedtime
• Joint care: tips for protecting joints include using your stronger, larger joints as levers when opening doors, using several joints to spread the weight of an object such as using a backpack and gripping as loosely as possible by using padded handles.

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