Arthritis is the joint disease where you have inflamed or swelled joints with severe pain. It restricts you from moving and makes your joint stiff and painful and it worsens with increasing age. The common types of Arthritis are rheumatoid Arthritis and osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis causes the cartilage to break down gradually and rheumatoid Arthritis is basically the autoimmune disorder which targets the synovium, the lining of the joints. Infections or other underlying diseases and uric acid crystals cause other types of Arthritis in patients. The treatment plan is decided based on the type of Arthritis you are having. However, the prime goal of the treatment is to reduce the symptoms of Arthritis and to enhance the overall quality of life.
The most common signs of Arthritis involve the joints. However, the symptoms vary depending upon the type of Arthritis you are suffering from and this may include:
There are two different types of Arthritis – Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis and both the conditions damage the joints in a variety of ways.
The risk factor includes:
Complications include restricted movement and mobility, difficulty in performing your daily tasks.
Doctors check the joints for redness, swelling and warmth in the physical test. Doctors may also ask for other test to confirm the presence of Arthritis. The tests include
The treatments for Arthritis usually focus on alleviating the symptoms of Arthritis and improving the joint functions. Patients have to try different treatments and combinations of treatments to get relief from Arthritis.
Medications are also prescribed to treat the Arthritis conditions and the medications prescribed vary upon the type of Arthritis you are having. Apart from medicines, doctors may also ask the patients to undergo physical therapy which can help patients to get relief from Arthritis. Workouts are there which can improvise the range of motion and also make the muscles surrounding tissues stronger.
In some serious conditions, surgery is also prescribed like joint replacement or joint fusion. These are the surgery which are perform to remove damaged joints and replace it with artificial one.