What is Arthritis?
Arthritis usually means pain in the joints but it is a disease of the muscles and the bones so there could also be swelling and pain all over. Cartilage is considered to be a living tissue that covers both ends of the bones, which protect them as they begin to rub together. The cells they are made of are called chondrocytes. The life cycle of the chondrocytes is like all cells and they die and new ones come in.
When there is long time inflammation, cartilage cells are destroyed and die faster than the body’s ability to replace them. This is more so if the body is undernourished and lacks the required nutrients to repair or the joint has suffered an injury. Arthritis makes the joints to become weak and instable. A typical treatment of arthritis includes lifestyle changes and physical therapy. Health care providers use joint replacement surgery as their last resort, once they have tried all of the less intrusive interventions to try and relieve the discomfort.
Arthritis is divided into to major groups that may affect the ‘localized’ or ‘generalized’ parts of the body or even depending on the joints that get damaged; it is further divided into sub-groups. Localized conditions are where the soft tissue around the bone or joint is affected; it refers to conditions like tendonitis and bursitis. One of the localized conditions could affect just the hip or the knee joints. Generalized Conditions: The first sub-category for generalized conditions is for those that affect the muscle and soft tissue where there is no evidence of swelling or inflammation. The condition is not associated with joint damage; Fibromyalgia is a common type of arthritis that is placed under this category.
The second sub category is one where there is inflammation and the whole body is affected. Other generalized conditions are polymyositis (muscles); systemic lupus erythematosus (skin, kidneys, or other organs); and vasculitis (any organ). Some of the other generalized conditions are known to include: muscles or polymyositis, vasculitis and systemic lupus erythematosus.
However a person may suffer from multiple kinds of arthritis, in the United States of America around forty six million adults and abut three hundred thousand children suffer from hundred medical conditions. Arthritis may affect people in infancy and its effects are more prominent in adulthood and are most common in the form of osteoarthritis. The number of sufferers is on the increase at the same pace as the population of America.
Medical care and indirect expenses costs over 124 billion dollars in the US where arthritis and related problems are the main cause of disability. Osteoarthritis can easily be prevented by following few easy steps: consume more fresh fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin c and vitamin d and also maintain appropriate weight. By taking the time to make sure that you are consuming enough calcium, participate in regular exercise and avoiding injuries that are brought about due to sports activities, you can also help with prevention of this condition.
Tags: , arthritis, bursitis, cartilage cells, fibromyalgia, health care providers, inflammation, interventions, kidneys, knee joints, last resort, life cycle, lifestyle changes, lupus, physical therapy, polymyositis, replacement surgery, soft tissue, systemic lupus erythematosus, tendonitis, typical treatment