Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints in different parts of the body. Inflammation can be caused in one joints or multiple joints. There are a lot of types of arthritis, and each type has other causes and treatments. The most common types of arthritis are Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).
You can get arthritis symptoms after a long time, but they can also appear at a short instant. You will get joint pain, which often gets deep and worsens with age. Arthritis is more common in people of age more than 60 years, but it can also affect children in some types. It shows some severe symptoms in younger adults as well as in teens. Most common and fast victims of arthritis are women and people who have a bulky and obese body.
There are more than 100 types of arthritis. Some of the well-known and most common are given as:
- Thumb arthritis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- Osteoarthritis.
- Gout
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
- Septic Arthritis
- Reactive Arthritis
We will discuss osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and juvenile idiopathic Arthritis in this article because they are most common, and people need guidance regarding them to solve their health issues.
Causes of Arthritis
Cartilage is an exceptionally soft and flexible type of connective tissue. Cartilage is present in the joints and protects you from many shocks created when you move your joints in multiple directions and minimize your joints' pressure. The amount of any cartilage in a specific joint is fixed, and any decrease in that amount causes inflammation of joints, i.e., arthritis. The causes of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid are different and vary.
Causes of Osteoarthritis OA
Osteoarthritis is caused by normal wear and tear to your joints. It is one of the most common types of arthritis, and almost 90% of people in old age can get it. Any injury or infection to the joint can affect the cartilage's natural amount in that joint and reduce flexibility. If you have a family history of osteoarthritis, you will have two times more chances of getting osteoarthritis than a person with no family history of osteoarthritis.
Causes of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Another most common form of arthritis is Rheumatoid Arthritis, which is an autoimmune disorder. Rheumatoid Arthritis often occurs when your body immune attacks the cells and tissues of your own body. In this type, your joints' softest secretory tissue called Synovium secretes a fluid known as synovial fluid, affects. This fluid plays an essential role in the lubrication and nourishment of your joints from the inside.
In Rheumatoid Arthritis, Synovium destroys and affects, and invades your joints badly. It can also result in the death of cells of bones and cartilages of your joints. No one knows the exact reasons for your immune system's attack on your body cell, but much research has come to see that it is due to some genetic markers that increase the risks of rheumatoid Arthritis five times.
What is Rheumatoid Arthritis?
It is a chronic inflammation of the joints of your body, usually considered an autoimmune disorder. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a very slowly developing inflammation and can take 5-10 years to show symptoms. You can get minor symptoms, but they can go their own way. Symptoms can take different times from person to person and varies.
Every person could have different types of symptoms and can change day by day. It can go to the maximum for a short time as bouts and is called flare-ups. There will be some rest for some days, and we called it remission. Pathophysiology of rheumatoid Arthritis is that it infects the Synovium of your joint and reduces synovial fluid.
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some of the common symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis in all patients are:
Morning stiffness
Morning stiffness is the most known and early symptoms of arthritis. Stiffness can vary from minutes to hours and can worsen if you ignore it and do not do any specific arthritis treatment.
Stiffness that can be longer and lasts for more than 2-3 hours can result in inflammatory Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. You will get deep and tense stiffness after putting load or weight on your joints, like in the position of sitting and napping.
Fatigue
Fatigue is one of the early symptoms of any disorder if you are not feeling well. You will get tired and fatigue before any other clear symptom. Fatigue is the onset of o a loner and challenging condition to your body in the future.
You can get illness and depression etc., along with fatigue and can slowly get a high-grade fever.
Joint Stiffness
Stiffness in the smaller and most movable joints of the body is the onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis. It can occur at any time, whether you are active or in the rest. Most commonly, stiffness and toughness start in the joints of phalanges of hands and feet. Symptoms of stiffness come first, and then after stiffness occurs slowly, it can also happen very fast and can give you severe and hard feelings for one or two days.
Joint Pain
After a few days of profound stiffness of joints, it will be converted into joint pain and tenderness during the rest and any movement. Joint pain affects both upper and lower limbs equally, either left or right.
In the start, you can feel pain in small and most movable joints of hands like fingers and writs and then after severeness, and you can get symptoms and pain in feet, ankles, shoulders, and knees.
Swelling of joints
Inflammation of joints in rheumatoid arthritis can result in increased size of your joints by swelling from inside. It can increase the size of the Synovium and affects the joint badly. Due to swelling, you can feel warmth in your joints.
You can get bouts of pain in inflammation for a long time, more than ten days to months. Sometimes flare-ups may be present in the same joint or any other joint.
Fever
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, so it will affect your immune system and make it weak. A low-grade fever can be there in the start and early symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
You can also get a high-grade fever of more than 100F after getting severe symptoms with time.
Limited motion range
Due to rheumatoid arthritis, You can get a limited number and range of movements by a joint. Some joints are doing 3-5 activity under normal conditions, and it can be fixed. It can also restrict the range of training, like you cannot extend your joint fully and cannot abduct it in a better way.
Tingling and Numbness
Rheumatoid Arthritis can also damage your joint's tendon, which can press your nerves and put pressure on them. Due to stress, nerves are lost, and you can feel numbness and tingling in your joints.
This feeling of burning, numbness, and tingling in the wrist joint can refer to carpel tunnel syndrome. Due to this, your joint can also produce crackling or squeak noises during movements.
Other most common symptoms due to Rheumatoid Arthritis
Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis can also be felt in other parts of your body. Some of them are:
- Weight loss
- Chest pain during respiration.
- Eye discharge
- Dry mouth
- Loss of appetite.
- Sleeping difficulty.
- General weakness and nausea.
- Bumps formation in tissues.
- Dry and itchy mouth.
- Inflamed eyes.
You will have to contact a specialized doctor whenever you feel the symptoms discussed above.
Diagnosis of Arthritis
How can a doctor diagnose that you have arthritis? You will have to visit a primary care doctor after getting any of the symptoms discussed above. Your doctor will check a few of the basics things to diagnose arthritis. He will review the fluid around the joints, redness, and warmth of joints, and movements by doing a physical test. If he comes to know about arthritis, he will advise you to visit a specialized doctor.
You can also visit an orthopedic surgeon or rheumatologist directly on having some severe and profound symptoms. He will check, diagnose, and treat your arthritis. He will extract and analyze inflammation levels in joints, fluid, and blood and find them.
How to test arthritis?
The doctor will advise you to do some blood tests from the laboratory like RF (rheumatoid factor), ANA (antinuclear antibody), and some to check types of antibodies like anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide).
Some doctors advise you to do MRI, CT scans and X-rays, etc., to get an image of your bones and joints. By looking at your bones and cartilage in the joints, he will come to know that either you have arthritis or not.
Ayurvedic Medicine for Arthritis
Now, what are the treatments for arthritis? The main aim of treatment is to heal and reduction of pain in the joints. There are few medicines which your doctor will advise you. Some are there:
- Immunosuppressants like cortisone and prednisone help you to get some relief from inflammation.
- Capsaicin or methanol creams reduce or block the signals of pain from joints.
- Analgesics such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and hydrocodone (Vicodin) play a role in reducing pain and inflammation.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like salicylates and ibuprofen (Advil), also help you get some relief and play a role in thinning the blood.
If you are not getting the best results from medicines, doctors will advise doing surgery and physical therapy. With surgery, the doctor will remove or correct the infected part and reduce pain, etc. Physical therapy is also too much beneficial in these cases.
Home Remedies to Treat Arthritis
You can treat arthritis with some essential home remedies. Some of them are:
- Use ice packs and healing pads for soothing.
- Use mobility and mover devices like walkers and canes etc., to get rid of joint pain.
- Manage your weight by doing daily exercises.
- Try a puncture.
- Follow a healthy diet and avoid bad foods.
- Use medication properly.
- Do some movements after some time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the food to eat for arthritis?
Some of the food you can eat and helpful in reducing the pain of arthritis:
- Grapes.
- Ginger.
- Broccoli.
- Walnuts.
- Spinach.
- Berries
- Garlic because it has too much healthy and beneficial stuff for health.
- Tart Cherry Juice.
- Olive Oil.
You can eat fatty fish varieties like sardines, trout, mackerel, salmon, etc. These fish are full of omega-3 fatty acids and have too many anti-inflammatory effects, and can reduce inflammation.
What is food to avoid arthritis?
You will have to avoid some foods that can play a vital role in the increment of inflammation. Some of them are:
- Omega 6 fatty acids are inflammatory and can increase arthritis pain.
- Red meat.
- Alcohol
- Fried chicken and meat.
- Sugar-based meals.
- Cheese and milk etc.
- Refined carbohydrates.
- Backed goods and snacks etc.
- Processed and fast foods.
These all can boost inflammation and must be avoided in arthritis.
Is arthritis a disease?
Yes, arthritis is a disease but not one disease, but it has more than 100 types and can last for more than ten years. It is a disorder that also affects many other functions and parts of your body. It affects people of all ages, from children to older adults.
What is juvenile idiopathic arthritis?
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis was primarily called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and one of the most frequently occurring types of arthritis in children under 16. Juvenile idiopathic arthritis can cause persistent swelling, stiffness, and joint pain.
Is arthritis curable?
Yes, you can get relief by following some home remedies, treatment plans, and some desired diet properly. It can be prevented by giving some movants and avoid bulky weight.
The Bottom Line
We have discussed all the aspects related to arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. It is challenging for a person to live a good life after getting symptoms of arthritis. Take care of yourself the whole life and live a healthy life. Prevention is better than cure. It would be best if you had to avoid unnecessary and unhealthy things in your life.
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