Category: Arthritis

Arthritis and joint care.

What Are the Symptoms and Risks Related to Arthritis?

Arthritis is a health condition which deteriorates with aging. While browsing on the internet you will get a lot of articles on curing arthritis, but do you have arthritis? How do you get to know it? What are the symptoms? How many types of arthritis are there which can affect you? What causes it? Well, you might not know all the answers to these questions but this article can help you. By the end of this article, you will enough ideas about arthritis, its symptoms and causes.

Arthritis is the swelling of joints causing stiffness, trouble in walking and changing postures. It aggravates with age but can be cured if detected at an early stage. Osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most common types of arthritis affecting people all over the world. Even though there are treatments available for these health conditions but it varies from one person to another.

Why should you preserve your Joints?

Bone health of a person deteriorates after a certain age, in the case of women it starts from the early ’30s, while for men it starts a little late. It is very important to keep your joints healthy as it is what keeps your body moving. Every, step you take or every structural posture you make, the joints play a pivotal role in it. If your joints are in perfect health, you can be more productive irrespective of your age and structure. The symptoms of arthritis are pretty normal which makes it hard to detect at an early stage.

Why is it tough to diagnose Arthritis?

It is tough to diagnose arthritis because it is a tricky health condition. The symptoms are as normal as fatigue, decreased range of motion, joint pain, morning stiffness, etc. This, in turn, makes the early detection of this condition impossible. You might be suffering from arthritis but you don’t know it. Further, what type of arthritis has affected you is tough to detect as there are as many as 100 plus types of arthritis. Going through this article, you will get to know about some of the types of arthritis. Each type has different symptoms but there are also some common symptoms as well. It is not necessary that the symptoms will occur and last forever, it might come and go. This is why it is tough to detect arthritis at an early stage.

What are the Common Types of Arthritis?

Here is a list of 10 common types of arthritis affecting people all across the world.

  1. Osteoarthritis
  2. Ankylosing Spondylitis
  3. Gout
  4. Psoriatic Arthritis
  5. Septic Arthritis
  6. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
  7. Rheumatoid Arthritis
  8. Joint Infections
  9. Reactive Arthritis
  10. Thumb Arthritis

What are the Symptoms of Arthritis?

1.     Morning stiffness

It is an early sign of Arthritis and often goes unnoticed due to various reasons. Most people think this happens due to fatigue but that is not the case over here. The morning stiffness lasts for a couple of minutes. Suffering from it for a longer span of time can lead to inflammatory arthritis.

2.    Joint Pain

Joint pain often develops from joint stiffness and tenderness. Finger joint pain and wrist pain are the common symptoms of it which can, later on, aggravate to arthritis. Other areas of joint pain are the knee, hip, shoulder, feet, ankle, and spine.

3.     Minor Joint Swelling

Another early symptom of arthritis is minor joint inflammation which further leads to joint swelling. The joints look bigger than normal and cause trouble while changing posture. It often lasts for a couple of days or even for a week. Reappearing of such swelling is a sign of arthritis aggravating.

4.    Numbness and Tingling

Unattended joint swelling leads to numbness and a tingling sensation in the joints. This condition can also lead to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Further, you will experience a cracking sound as movements in the joints occur.

5.  Decreased range of Motion

As you age, the signs of arthritis are more prominent and your range of motion decreases due to this. It is arthritis which obstructs your body from using the full range of motion.

What are the Risk Factors related to Arthritis?

A variety of risk factors revolve around arthritis which are:

  1. Family health history

A lot of people are affected by arthritis due to hereditary. It runs in the family and anyone can be affected by it. For instance, your maternal grandmother had arthritis but your mom isn’t affected by it but your younger or older sibling is affected by it. More than the external factors, genes are a greater cause of arthritis.

  1. Age

As a person ages, the symptoms of arthritis are more prominent and severe. You might not feel that you can ever get affected by arthritis at any point of time in your life. Unfortunately, the moment you cross the age of 35 or forty, signs of arthritis starts developing. In some cases, people have experienced it in a much later age as well.

  1. Gender

As mentioned earlier, in the case of women the bones start losing density after the age of 30which makes them more susceptible to develop arthritis. On the contrary, men take a little more time to start losing bone density when compared to women. Further, it is not necessary that every woman or man will get affected by it. If you take necessary measures to keep your bones and joints healthy then you can live a healthy life.

  1. Joint Injury

Any type of joint injury which you may have suffered during your childhood, teenage or middle-age can lead to arthritis. In the case of a sportsperson, they are highly susceptible to arthritis.

  1. Obesity

One major reason for developing arthritis is obesity and you need to be aware of it. Fitness is the source of all goodness regarding health. Excess weight in the body can lead to joint pain as it puts a lot of pressure on your joints. Obese people often suffer from spine, knee and hip pain.

An Overview of Remedies and Treatment Options That Reduce Arthritis Flare-Ups

Arthritis is a common term used to refer to diseases that affect the joints. Some common symptoms of arthritis include lasting pain, stiffness, swelling, tenderness, warmth, redness, and difficulty using your joint. In order to effectively manage, treat or prevent arthritis, one needs to know the risk factors and make some lifestyle changes. In addition to monitoring your health and taking arthritis medications, there are several innovations such as the compression gloves for arthritic hands that are aimed at decreasing the harshness of the symptoms.

How Can I Decrease Arthritis Symptoms?

There are millions of people out there who suffer from different types of arthritis. Any type of arthritis is both physically taxing and can limit a person’s daily activities.

While arthritis is commonly believed to be incurable, there are several ways in which you can manage and reduce the symptoms. Substantial evidence shows that the symptoms associated with arthritis can be controlled through the following ways:

  1. Proper Diet and Nutrition

As it is with any other disease, the first essential step is to change your dietary practices. Proper dieting will help the cells in your body to get nutrients and to detoxify. Foods that are high in antioxidants help relieve arthritis symptoms and increase your energy levels making it easy for you to manage daily pain.

Some of the foods that arthritis patients should eat include salmon and other fatty fish that are rich in omega-3, nuts, red wine, blueberries, whole grains, and fresh vegetables. Avoid any processed foods, GMOs, artificial flavorings, chemical additives, preservatives, yeast, gluten, caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol.

You should also add supplements and nutrition powder to your diet. Fish oil, for example, helps ease arthritis stiffness in the mornings. Consult your doctor to ensure that the supplements don’t interfere with your prescribed meds.

  1. Exercise

Exercise is really important and helpful in easing the pain of arthritis. Patients should focus on cardiovascular exercises that don’t put much strain on the muscles and joints. Exercising not only helps with weight loss but also contributes to an improved sense of well-being by reducing joint pain and stiffness, increasing muscle strength and flexibility, and improving cardiac fitness and endurance.

Physical activity is also necessary to move your lymph fluid. The fluid helps to remove wastes and toxins from the cells.

Before you set out on this journey, you need to have a talk with your physician so that they can recommend the best form of exercise for you. The type of exercise varies depending on the joints involved and the amount of inflammation on the joints.

Movement can be uncomfortable due to inflamed joints. To improve the flexibility of the joints, one has to maintain a consistent exercise routine.

  1. Fighting Stress and Fatigue

Patients are advised to get enough rest to avoid constant fatigue and tiredness which are common symptoms among people living with arthritis. However, they also need to maintain a balance between rest and activity. Too much inactivity would result in more pain at the joints.

The patients also need to have an active lifestyle and reliable support groups that help them deal with the stress associated with chronic arthritis. Family members and healthcare givers ought to be supportive to help the patients maintain a positive mental health.

  1. Surgery

In extreme cases, your doctor may suggest surgery. The most common procedures that are carried out include joint repair, joint replacement, and joint fusion.

Surgery can realign joint surfaces to improve function or remove damaged joints and replace them with artificial ones.

  1. Alternative Treatment

Although there is little reliable evidence showing the effectiveness of alternative remedies for arthritis, there are still a lot of people who go for these services. Some of the most promising alternative remedies for arthritis include:

1. Massage

Light stroking and kneading of muscles aids with the circulation of both blood and lymph in the muscle tissues. This works magic; it relieves muscle tension and eases the pain.

2. Acupuncture

This type of therapy uses fine needles to reduce pain at specific points. Arthritis is an autoimmune disease arising when WBC don’t recognize the joint as part of the body. Acupuncture enhances the recognition of the joint tissues.

3. Chiropractic Adjustments

This has become a popular treatment for arthritis and has proven to be quite effective. Chiropractic adjustments restore proper movement and get rid of the pain.

  1. Herbal Remedies

In addition to the basic approach of dieting and proper nutrition, herbs also play an important role in providing significant relief of the pain and swelling often associated with arthritis. Some of the most recommended herbs for arthritis include garlic, turmeric, feverfew, ginkgo, valerian, and skullcap.

  1. Assistive Devices

Using compression gloves for arthritic hands, walkers, canes, raised toilet seats, and other assistive devices helps protect your joints and improves your ability to perform daily tasks.

In some cases, braces or sprints may also be recommended.

  1. Prescribed Medication

The type of medication that is prescribed depends majorly on the type of arthritis that you’re suffering from. The most common arthritis medications include analgesics, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), counterirritants, biological response modifiers, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

Arthritis and supplements for prevention and care

Arthritis is the type of a problem that means joint inflammation, but this is a term that is used to describe more than 200 conditions that are related to joints, or the tissues that are connected to joints and other connective tissues. This condition is also known as a rheumatic condition. The most common form of arthritis is known as osteoarthritis. Some of the conditions that are related to arthritis are known as gout, fibromyalgia and many more.

How is arthritis treated?

Treatment for arthritis is done keeping in mind the factors that we have to control pain, minimize joint damage and improve or maintain function or quality of life. The treatment of arthritis involves:

  • Weight loss
  • Surgery, including joint replacement
  • Splints or joints assistive aids
  • Medications and
  • Non-pharmacological therapies.

Some of the joint support supplements for older adults with arthritis are as follows:

  1. T6 Cryotherapy – Natural Joint Support Supplement

This is the type of a supplement that helps to prevent arthritis before it occurs and this is a clinically proven joint supplement that is good for curing arthritis issues. The active ingredient in this supplement is curcumin (obtained from turmeric). This supplement helps to reduce inflammation and increases your bone strength. This is a supplement that also contains Vitamin C palmitate and silica which will help to strengthen your connective tissues and improves the bone density.

  1. Turmeric Strength for Joint

These are the natural supplements that are easy to digest. They have silica content that helps in improving bone density. Turmeric and black pepper help in enhancing the bioavailability of curcumin, it is an anti-inflammatory agent that will reduce your pain, makes your joints healthy. This supplement is also an antidepressant.

  1. Arthro-7 Joint Supplement 

These supplements are the fastest working supplements that will help to relieve the joint pain and also helps in regaining perfect mobility. These supplements are ideal for those people who have dietary restrictions. They are the supplements that have been formulated with nutrients such as Vitamin C, minerals and turmeric that ease inflammation and break calcium buildup.

  1. Glucosamine Sulfate Chondroitin MSM Curcumin

These supplements contain Glucosamine and Chondroitin they will help to reduce the joint pain and the hip pain. This supplement has a unique blend of ingredients that are turmeric and hyaluronic they will help in improving mobility and even joint lubrication.

  1. VEGAN OMEGA 3 

These are the supplements that have been created by physical therapists. They are the supplements that have been specially formulated with omega 3 that will help you in reducing inflammation, aid in joint pain and as well as promote bone health. They have citric acid and Vitamin C in them that act as an antioxidant and helps in supporting the immune system of your body.

  1. Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine Joint Pain Relief

These are the supplements that are formulated with turmeric curcumin that helps in reducing inflammation, helps in enhancing your immune system, relieves back and joint pains and is a supplement that also works as an antidepressant. The Bioperine in this supplement has antioxidant properties and which helps in increasing the absorption of turmeric. These natural supplements do not contain gluten, preservatives or any antibiotics.

  1. iMove Ultimate Joint Health Supplements

These are the supplements that are formulated with essential amino acids that help in promoting the growth of cartilage and collagen and increase the joint fluid that helps in lubricating the joints and makes the person unable to move easily.  These supplements have the high content of ginger, turmeric, selenium, calcium, and the B-vitamins. These are the supplements that reduce inflammation and help to rebuild the joint tissues.

  1. Organic Turmeric Curcumin w/ Ginger, Boswellia & BioPerine

These are the supplements that are formulated medically by a doctor. IT contains turmeric that helps in reducing the inflammation. It also contains ginger that helps to promote nutrient absorption. Boswellia is a supplement that helps in supporting your joints, muscles, connective tissue, and digestion health. These are the products that come from doctors recipes. So every purchase of this pack is different that helps in relieving inflammation.

  1. Legion Fortify Joint Pain Supplement

These are the supplements that are anti-inflammatory and are ideal for rheumatoid arthritis. It is a supplement that contains a blend of nutrients such as grape seeds extract that helps in protecting the joint cartilage and improves the blood flow in your body. Boswellia is a supplement which has anti-inflammatory properties. This supplement contains all types of nutrients. It is scientifically proven that it is a fast relieving supplement.

  1. Turmeric Curcumin Supplement 19X Stronger

These are supplements that are recommended by the doctor. They contain the perfect blend of turmeric and Bioperine that helps in enhancing the absorption of ingredients. These supplements have anti-inflammatory compounds such as cinnamon, rosemary, ginger and feverfew that help in relieving joint pain, brain function and improving blood circulation.

These are the few supplements for arthritis that can be given to an older adult suffering from arthritis.