Pune (Voice News Service): Good and active lifestyle, controlled weight and adequate nutrition can help maintain bone strength and avoid or delay arthritis opined experts.
12 October is observed as World Arthritis Day.Arthritis is swelling or inflammation in one or more joints. Although there are many types of arthritis the most common amongst them is osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and post traumatic arthritis.
Osteoarthritis is caused with wear and tear due to ageing. Our joint is an interjection of two bones. The surrounding tissue at the end of the bones is called cartilage. With age and resultant wear and tear of cartilage, the friction between the bones causes joint pain. This condition is called arthritis. The wear and tear continuous to happen with every movement like getting up, climbing stairs or other physical movements. Rheumatoid Arthritis on the other hand is caused when the immune system attacks this lining of the joints. It is an inflammatory condition and can cause painful swelling. Post Traumatic arthritis is caused fractures or ligament injuries have not healed completely and the resultant arthritis is called as Post Traumatic Arthritis. This usually happens in younger age.
Dr. Sachin Karkamkar, Orthopaedic and Joint Replacement surgeon at Sahyadri hospitals said that the awareness is important because this is not just a medical condition, it has social and psychological aspects on an individual with arthritis. This is because the joint pain results in restricted movements and affects the daily routine and in turn quality of life. While many of the times arthritis is diagnosed in people in their fifties or above, the restricted movements’ makes socializing or attending social gatherings, travelling difficult. This has psychological effect. Arthritis can be divided into various stages. In initial stage the daily work is not a problem, but in case of travel or work overload can cause pain. In stage two or three is characterized by increased pain and can affect daily routine. In stage four or end stage arthritis the maximum wear and tear, increased friction of the bones during any movement can cause more pain. In early stages we can take some measures not to advance to the fourth stage. This include changes in daily routine like sitting position during having food, lesser physically draining work, decreasing weight thereby decreasing load on knees. Physiotherapy, exercises like swimming with guidance from experts can help strengthen muscles and decrease weight. Use of braces, like simple knee caps, hinge braces, offloading braces can also help. If these things don’t help doctors may prescribe mild pain killers, injections which are used for lubrication and decrease friction between bones. Treatments vary depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.However in last stage surgery may be the only option. Risk factorsSmoking , Alchohol, history of fractures in an individual or family , digestive problem resulting in under nourishing of bones, diabetes, poor lifestyle are all risk factors for arthritis . Dr. Sachin Karkamkar said that apart from regular exercise, good lifestyle, balanced diet which maintains calcium and Vitamin D levels is the key to bone strength. We can get calcium in milk and milk products , green vegetables, dry fruits . Those who have a history of fractures or ligament wear and tear may be in case of their own or their family , bone density scan which is a low x-ray test that measures calcium and other minerals in your bones, shows strength and thickness of the bones can help.
