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FAQ | Inflammation
& the Joint
Live
long enough and you can pretty much count
on developing arthritis: a touch of osteoarthritis,
at the very least.
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What
is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis
(OA) is the most common type of arthritis. Many
people over the age of 65 have OA. Signs of OA
are stiffness and mild to severe pain in the hands,
feet, knees, and hips. It may be caused by the
aging process, being overweight, or from the joint
being injured or overused. OA can range from mild
to severe cases. Researchers think that OA runs
in families.
What
is rheumatoid arthritis?
Rheumatoid
arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which
the body's immune system (the body's way of fighting
infection) attacks healthy joints, tissues, and
organs. RA usually shows up between the ages of
20 and 50. In RA, the hands are most often affected,
but other parts of the body can be affected as
well. RA can range from mild to severe cases.
What
are the signs of arthritis?
The
signs of arthritis are:
> swelling in
one or more joints (such as your fingers, feet,
knees or hips); feeling stiff in the morning for
more than 30 minutes;
> joint pain or
tenderness;
> not being able
to move your joint in the usual way;
>redness or warmth
in a joint; and
> losing weight,
feeling weak, having a fever, or feeling joint
pain that cannot be explained.
Should
women be concerned about arthritis?
Yes.
More than one out of every five women has arthritis.
It is much more common in women than in men. It
is one of the worst health conditions in women
over the age of 45. Almost one-half of all arthritis
cases take place in people under the age of 65.
Is
arthritis a disease of the elderly?
True,
many older people do have arthritis, but it's
not just a disease of the old. Some forms of arthritis
affect children still in diapers, while thousands
of people are stricken in the prime of their lives.
The common denominator for all these conditions
is joint and musculoskeletal pain, which is why
they are grouped together as "arthritis." Often
that pain is a result of inflammation of the joint
lining.
How
is arthritis treated?
Treatments
for arthritis help to reduce pain and swelling
in the joints; keep the joints moving; and keep
the disease from getting worse.
Here are some ways that arthritis can be
treated:
> Take medicine
to relieve the pain and swelling.
> Exercise each
day to keep the joints moving, reduce pain, and
strengthen the muscles around the joints.
> Walking and
swimming are good forms of exercise to do when
you have arthritis.
> Apply cold such
as ice packs or heat such as warm baths, heated
pools, or hot pads to the sore area.
> Lose weight
to reduce stress on joints.
> Have surgery
to repair or replace damaged joints. Examples
are knee or hip replacement surgery in which an
artificial knee or hip is put in your body to
take the place of the damaged joint which does
not work well.
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