Arthritis - Rufaida and Aamna
Definition: Arthritis refers to painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints. It typically worsens with age and is a result of infection, trauma, degenerative changes, autoimmune disease or other causes. There are multiple branches of arthritis such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis; the most common one is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis specifically breaks down cartilage, which is a part of the bone that aids in moving the joints smoothly. It generally affects the hips, knees, hands, feet and spine. Osteoarthritis can occur at a young age, but it usually develops later in life. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which basically means that the immune system attacks the joints. This causes people with rheumatoid arthritis to get lumps called rheumatoid nodules on their skin as well as inflammation of the infected area. Psoriatic arthritis
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There may be swelling which can be warm to the touch. This can lead to trouble dressing, combing, holding things, sitting, bending over, or simple day to day activities.
Treatment: There is no real cure for osteoarthritis but research is starting focus on the fundamentals of the disease which should lead to further discoveries on treatment in the future. Presently treatments center on managing pain, decreasing burden on the joints and improving the strength of the muscles that support the joints. There have been experimental therapies done that attempt to slow the progression of the disease and increase mobility and flexibility of the joints.
Prevention: There are four precautionary methods of preventing the growth and development of osteoarthritis.
#1: Control Weight: Being overweight strains the joints, mainly the ones that carry body weight such as the knees, hips, and ankles, which causes the cartilage to
Osteoarthritis is a noncommunicable disease. In Unit 4 Lesson 6 it talked about noncommunicable diseases and how to prevent yourself from developing osteoarthritis and other noncommunicable diseases. It says, “You can help reduce your risk of developing osteoarthritis by controlling your weight to minimize pressure on the joints, staying active to keep your joints strong, preventing sports injuries by wearing protective equipment and practicing proper warm-ups, and taking precautions against Lyme disease, an illness spread by deer ticks.” Getting regular physical activity helps you to stay active and eating a healthy diet can help you to control you
Due to these changes in the cartilage this can cause great pain, discomfort and stiffness. It can also cause mobility issues in the elderly. This puts the elderly at high risk for falls and ultimately other possible injuries. This can be very frustrating as it can affect their independence and ability to perform everyday tasks. There are medicines, therapies and surgery to help with osteoarthritis. People with osteoarthritis can lead a very fulfilling life when this disease is treated correctly.
The goals for management are to reduce joint pain and stiffness, maintain and improve joint mobility, improve muscle strength, limit subsequent joint damage and improve quality of life. Conservative treatment may include rest, range-of-motion exercises, use of assistive device to decrease weight-bearing, weight loss and glucosamine. Pharmacological treatment may include analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs or intra-articular injections of hyaluronic acid (Ng, Heesch & Brown 2012). Alternative therapy includes acupuncture or magnetic bracelets. Surgical treatment includes artificial implants to create new joints, correction of a deformity or misalignment, and improvement of joint movement (McCance, Huether, Brashers, & Rote, 2010). The Osteoarthritis Research Society International (ORSI) has an extensive list of recommendations to manage OA that emphasizes weight reduction in the obese, exercise and educating patients (ORSI,
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory autoimmune disease. The disease happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks a healthy tissue as if it was a foreign invader, such as a virus or bacteria. If left untreated it can lead to permanent joint damage, decrease in quality of life, and total disability. It affects over a million people in the U.S. alone. Rheumatoid arthritis symptoms include persistent joint inflammation which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling. Fatigue and stiffness are usually early symptoms. Joint pain can be an early symptom in a variety of diseases. Symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis often develop slowly over a period of weeks or longer, but this is not always the case, it can have an acute
Many people all over the world may have rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disorder that affects the small joints in the hands and feet (Mayoclinicorg, 2015). It is also an autoimmune disease, where the immune system sees the body as a foreign object and attacks it (Mayoclinicorg, 2015). As the chronic disorder matures, it could seep into the blood vessels and into other organs: heart, lungs, skin, and eyes (Mayoclinicorg, 2015). This chronic pain is found mostly in women around forty to sixty years old; however, men with low testosterone could also have the chronic disorder (Mayoclinicorg, 2015). Because smokers burn off certain cells to prevent infection, they are also at risk for rheumatoid arthritis. This
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease characterized by a fragmentation and erosion of the articular cartilage, which becomes soft, frayed and thinned with alteration of the subchondral bone. It also characterized by the hypertrophy of the bone, changes accompanied by pain and stiffness which finally leads to loss of
Osteoarthritis is an extremely prevalent degenerative joint condition that frequently affects the weight bearing joints such as the back, hips, and knees.
This causes a result of pain, stiffness, swelling, and a difficult ability to move. Women are more likely
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time. Osteoarthritis often gradually worsens, and no cure exists. But staying active, maintaining a healthy weight and other treatments may slow progression of the disease and help improve pain and joint function. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints gradually deteriorates. Cartilage is a firm, slippery tissue that permits nearly frictionless joint motion. In osteoarthritis, the slick surface of the cartilage becomes rough. Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, you may be left with bone rubbing on bone. These symptoms can develop slowly and worsen
Adding to the involvement of joint tissues, osteoarthritis has been characterized by a failure of the repair process of damaged cartilage due to changes in the joint. This leads to a formation of a matrix that cannot handle normal mechanical stress. Thus, the tissue enters a cycle in which degeneration dominates the makeup of extracellular
The type of joint that is chronically affected is the synovial joint. The bones that are at a synovial joint are covered by articular cartilage; which reduces friction and absorbs shock. The space between the articulating bones is
Osteoarthritis is a condition what effects the joints and the bones change shape all the time. The musculoskeletal system is effects by this immoral because the joints that are the victim. The hips, spine, wrists, fingers, toes and knees are joints that can have osteoarthritis. With this condition the bones brake down a lot faster than they would usually, due to not doing any physical activity, not enough calcium, genetics, smoking and certain medications [5].
Osteoarthritis can be prevented by maintaining a healthy weight because extra weight can cause strain on joints which can help joints wear down joints quicker than keeping your weight in a normal range. If you are experiencing osteoarthritis working on a plan to lose weight would help with decreasing the pressure you feel on your joints and your body can align itself back to normal. Maintaining a healthy workout regime can also keep your body in shape and healthy. Doctors prescribe pain medication, depending on the seriousness of your case some doctors send you to physical therapy. Sometimes surgery is the need depending on the severity and joints that are involved whether it be back, knees or hands this conditions can make life harder by not
Many people have heard of arthritis, but don’t know exactly what it is. Arthritis is a autoimmune disease that is a combination of over 100 diseases. What happens is the immune system fights against the body and causes inflammation while deteriorating the synovium around the joints.(Compton’s by
Osteoarthritis is defined as degeneration of articular cartilage witch lead to matrix fibrillation, mild synovitis, gross ulceration, and full thickness lose at the surfaces of the joint. Those changes are combined with hypertrophy of the bone, osteophyte formation at the margin, muscle weakness and thickening and sclerosis of subchondral boney plate by stretching of articular capsule. In the time patients present to the clinic there are also changes of the synovial membrane (produces synovial fluid for lubrication) and inflammatory reactions. The predisposition and etiology of osteoarthritis is due to mechanical, biochemical and genetic factors. (5)