About Arthritis
Back to ArthritisWhat is Arthritis
Arthritis ('arth' meaning joint, 'itis' meaning inflammation) isn't a one-note story or even a few variations on a single theme; it actually consists of more than 100 different conditions.These can be anything from relatively mild forms of tendonitis (as in 'tennis elbow') and bursitis to crippling systemic forms, such as rheumatoid arthritis.There are pain syndromes like fibromyalgia and arthritis-related disorders, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, that involve every part of the body.
There are forms of the disease, such as gout, which almost nobody connects with arthritis, and there are other conditions - like osteoarthritis, the misnamed 'wear and tear' arthritis - that a good many people think is the only form of the disease.
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About Arthritis
The word arthritis literally means joint inflammation, but its used to refer to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that can cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints.These diseases might affect not just the joints, but also other parts of the body, including supporting structures such as muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments, as well as some internal organs.
Two of the most common forms of arthritis cause many of us a great deal of pain: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
How is Arthritis diagnosed?
Diagnosing can be difficult because some symptoms are common to many different diseases. Your health care provider will first do a complete physical exam, looking for any swelling, redness, warmth, deformity, ease of movement, and tenderness in your joints.Your heart, lungs, eyes, ears, throat and other parts of your body may be examined as well. This is because some types of arthritis can affect your organs.
Lab tests may also be ordered and samples of blood, urine or synovial (joint) fluid may be taken. Your doctor may have you also see a rheumatologist, a doctor who specializes in arthritis.
Click here to read The Arthritis Helpbook: A Tested Self-Management Program for Coping with Arthritis and Fibromyalgia
Warning Signs of Arthritis
Any recurring joints symptoms (lasting longer than 6 weeks) should be checked with a doctor, no matter how mild or "temporary."A physical examination, X-ray studies, and specific laboratory test can distinguish arthritis from other ailments and can identify the specific type of arthritis.
Important arthritis warning signs are:
Pain, tenderness, or swelling in one or more joints.
Pain and stiffness in the morning.
Recurring or persistent pain and stiffness in the neck, lower back, or knees.
Symptoms such as these that go away for a week or a month but return.
Arthritis Treatment
Prevailing myths inaccurately portray arthritis as an inevitable part of aging that must be endured. On the contrary, some forms of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis, can be prevented with weight control and precautions to avoid certain occupational and sports injuries.Similarly, the pain and disability accompanying all types of arthritis can be minimized through early diagnosis and appropriate management, including weight control, physical activity, self-management, physical and occupational therapy and joint replacement surgery.
Click Here to read about Arthritis Tretament Options
Arthritis Prevention
Primary prevention is designed to prevent a disease or condition from occurring in the first place. Only a few primary prevention strategies are considered effective for arthritis. They include: Weight control
Physical Activity
Occupational injury prevention
Sports injury prevention
Infectious disease control
Secondary prevention efforts attempt to identify a disease at its earliest stages so that prompt and appropriate management can take place. The focus is reducing the impact of the disease. Secondary prevention strategies include:
Early diagnosis
Medical treatment
Tertiary prevention focuses on reducing or minimizing the consequences of a disease once it has started. The goal is to eliminate or delay the onset of complications and disability. Tertiary prevention strategies include:
Self-management including weight control and physical activity
Education such as the Arthritis Self-Help Course.
Rehabilitation services such as physical or occupational therapy.
Medical and surgical treatments such as joint replacement therapy.
Y! Health Arthritis News
- New inhibitor drug seen for arthritis, lupus (Reuters)
Reuters - Researchers in Australia have designed a drug which appears effective in treating arthritis in mice, and they hope it can be used to treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus in people. - FDA advisers recommend approval of new gout drug (AP)
AP - Government health advisers Monday recommended approval of the first new drug in 40 years for gout, a painful joint disease that mainly strikes middle-aged men. - No heart risk seen with Takeda gout drug: FDA (Reuters)
Reuters - New data do not signal any heart risks with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd's experimental drug to treat acid build-up in patients with gout, a top U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said in a document released on Thursday. - Vitamin E won't prevent rheumatoid arthritis: study (Reuters)
Reuters - Taking vitamin E supplements does not reduce a woman's risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an analysis of data from the Women's Health Study indicates. - New Therapy Could Transform Arthritis Treatment (HealthDay)
HealthDay - THURSDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) -- New understanding about how to control autoimmune responses offers promise in efforts to develop treatments for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), British researchers say. - Health Tip: Exercise to Beat Arthritis Pain (HealthDay)
HealthDay - (HealthDay News) -- Arthritis is a rheumatic disease that affects the body's joints and connective tissues. Exercise is a relatively easy way to help control its symptoms.
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