What your joints need

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an inflammatory arthritis of the spine. It may be a systemic disorder, and it affects males more often than females. Diagnosis is usually made during young adulthood. The disorder is characterized by back pain, stiffness, and loss of spinal mobility due to involvement of spinal joints. Later these joints tend to become fused and rigid. The hips and shoulders may also become inflamed and stiff.

Treatment

Physical therapy

Physical therapy is treatment to improve mobility (such as walking, going up stairs, or getting in and out of bed), to relieve pain, and to restore physical function and overall fitness. The physical therapist uses exercise, manual therapy, education, and modalities such as heat, cold, and electrical stimulation to work toward these goals.

Juvenile Arthritis

Juvenile arthritis, for the most part, is similar to arthritis in adults. It is estimated that 250,000 [1983] young people in the US have some form of arthritis.

The complications of juvenile arthritis can be quite variable. These diseases cause growth disturbances and result in high fever and skin rash more frequently than is the case among older patients. Disorders in other body tissues and organs also accompany the disease. Some 30% of patients develop permanent joint changes.

Treatment

Exercise helps maintain muscle tone. It also helps preserve and recover joint range of motion and function. The doctor may recommend a physical therapist to design an appropriate exercise program. It is important to balance activity with rest.

Although pain sometimes limits sports and physical activity, children with juvenile arthritis can often fully participate when symptoms are under control. Swimming is a particularly good exercise, because it uses many joints and muscles, without putting weight on the joints. In some cases, splints and other devices can help maintain joint alignment.

Psoriatic arthritis

Psoriatic arthritis is a specific type of arthritis closely connected with the incidence of psoriasis. The statistics vary depending on the source but sources state that between 8 and 23 percent of people with psoriasis will develop psoriatic arthritis.

Treatment

There are different types of exercises that you can do to lessen your pain and stiffness:

•Range of motion exercises reduce stiffness and keep your joints moving.

•Strengthening exercises maintain or increase muscle strength.

•Endurance exercises strengthen your heart, give you energy and control your weight. These exercises include things like walking, swimming and cycling.

•Moderate stretching exercises help relieve the pain and keep the muscles and tendons around an affect joint flexible and strong.

Septic arthritis

Septic arthritis, also called infectious arthritis, is caused by an inflammation in the joints. Typically, septic arthritis affects the large joints — shoulders, hips, and knees – although smaller joints such as ankles and fingers may be affected. In a nutshell, septic arthritis occurs when a joint becomes infected. A germ such as a fungus, virus or bacterium causes the inflammation associated with septic arthritis.

Treatment

Septic arthritis usually requires immediate treatment with antibiotics which can improve symptoms within 48 hours. However, certain infections caused by fungi need treatment with anti-fungal medications, while viral infections usually have to run their course without treatment. To prevent accumulation of pus from the infection, which can damage the joint, pus may be drained with a needle, tube, or surgery.

1.) Rheumatoid Arthritis is the most common type of inflammatory arthritis. There is 2.1 millions people in the U.S. that have it. It develops mostly between the ages of 30 and 50 years of age. But can develop at any age.

2.) Rheumatoid Arthritis is an autoimmune disease. It is a chronic disease and it is triggered by the immune system. Autoimmune diseases happen when the body tissues are attacked mistakenly by the body’s own immune system. The immune system has a complex organization of cells and antibodies that normally seek and destroy invaders like bacteria. This can cause inflammation in joints and it can also target important organs in the body like the lungs, kidneys, and heart.

3.) Blood tests and physical exams are used in combination to diagnose rheumatoid arthritis. There is no 2 cases of rheumatoid arthritis that are the same. And the course its going to run can be very unpredictable. Some people who have it can have very severe joint pain and their x-rays can show that there is no damage done to the joints. Some patients have a lot of joint damage and don’t experience very much pain at all. So in order to find the best treatment for one’s case many tests and exams are done to determine the best treatment.

4.) There are 2 types of Arthritis, seropositive and seronegative. The word “sero” comes from serum. This means seronegative happens when blood tests can show up negative when tested for rheumatoid arthritis. Signs and symptoms are still there it just doesn’t show up in blood tests. This does not mean, however, that it is a less severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Only about 20% of rheumatoid arthritis cases are seronegative.

5.) Recognizing the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis is important. Getting the earliest diagnosis can prevent severe damage to joints, bones, muscles, and organs later on. Early symptoms include warmth, swelling, and pain that occur in small joints like fingers, wrists, and feet. Stiffness in the morning that can last up to an hour or more and fatigue that normally goes along with loss of appetite and fever. Joints that are affected are normally symmetrical, and lumps can be present in the areas. Deformities in joints and damage to tendons, ligaments, and cartilage can be signs too.

6.) Rheumatoid arthritis is more common to occur in women than in men. Genetics and hormones are said to be the major role in the cause rheumatoid arthritis. This does not mean that men hardly get arthritis. This means that certain kinds of arthritis are more common in women than men. Arthritis such as gout and ankylosing spondylitis are more common in men than women.

7.) Joint damage can occur quickly in rheumatoid arthritis. Damage can occur within 2 years of being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. This is why it is so important to get diagnosed early is so important. Your doctor will be able to determine whether an aggressive approach is needed or not.

8.) The risk of disability for rheumatoid arthritis is high. An early diagnosis can mean saving your body from severe damage like joint and bone deformities and even crippling.

Arthritis and other rheumatic diseases are the leading cause of disability in the U.S. according to the center of disease control and prevention.

9.) A product called Rhumatol that Alternative Health Supplements offers can support your joints and cartilage. It can improve your energy, give relief from joint discomfort, supports cartilage for comfort and mobility, and it is all natural with no side effects. This product also supports immune system and autoimmune health. It will improve your over all health and sense of well being.

10.) There is still hope, help, and new medical research being done to treat and cure rheumatoid arthritis. If you get diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis don’t lose hope, there is a lot that can be done to treat it and keep your life as normal and healthy as possible. It can get emotionally overwhelming, financially stressful and disabilities can be frustrating but keeping your head up will make you stronger.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects joints of a human body. The disease causes inflammation in and around joints, which result in decreased mobility.

As in all autoimmune diseases, the body tissues are mistakenly attacked by its own immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis can also cause inflammation of tissues present in other organs in the body. That is the reason why this disease is sometimes referred as systematic illness. Rheumatoid arthritis cures, if any, are possible only by early diagnosis and timely treatment.

Causes

In rheumatoid arthritis, specific antibodies present in the blood begin to attack the healthy tissues of the body. The disease starts with pain and inflammation in joints. As it progresses, it starts affecting the muscles and other organs also. The disease normally attacks people who are between 40 to 60 years of age. Wrists and hands are some of the first joints to be attacked. This condition can be genetic, but there are other factors as well (like smoking) that lead to its onset.

Symptoms

The preliminary symptoms for rheumatoid arthritis include swelling of the joints. At first, the delicate lining (synovium) of the joints are inflamed. Gradually, the joints stiffen and turn red. You may also suffer from a low fever, loss of appetite, and/or fatigue. As the disease progresses, the synovium gradually becomes thickened. In advanced rheumatoid arthritis, antibodies attack the entire joint by breaking down bone, synovium and cartilage. Cartilage is the strong white flexible substance found between the joints in the body. There is greater inflammation in the entire joint area resulting in heaviness and pain. After some time it becomes very difficult to bend the joints.

Cures for Rheumatoid Arthritis?

Treatment depends on the severity of your symptoms and medical history. The rheumatoid arthritis specialists (Rheumatologists) tailor a specific treatment based on your medical history. This may include anti-inflammatory drugs like analgesics etc to ease the pain or administration of cortisone shots to control swelling and stiffness. The specialist may also suggest you medications (like prednisone) to reduce the risk of joint deformity. If the disease is in its advanced stage, treatment measures may include extraction of fluid from the joints through arthrocentesis.

Some common rheumatoid arthritis treatments include sufficient rest, splinting of affected joints and mild exercise programs. Good nutrition is also very important because patients often experience anemia and weight loss.

True, that there are no known cures for rheumatoid arthritis, but an early diagnosis and treatment can substantially reduce joint inflammation and pain. Timely treatments can prevent joint destruction and deformity and prolong joint functionality and mobility. However, one should always remember that rheumatoid arthritis treatment can be much more successful if there is a close co-operation between the doctor, the patient and his or her family members.