Arthritis: Everything you need to know!

Arthritis is a disease that is commonly found in people around us, and its impact has diversified from elderly to youngsters. Generally, arthritis occurs out of the normal wear tear of cartilage which leads to joint pain. Joint pain can be an early symptom of arthritis which is quite common in youngsters and is a cause to worry.

An inactive lifestyle, deskbound work activities, extended duration of sitting on the computer, less exposure to sunlight, and deficiency of essential vitamins, most importantly rising obesity amongst the young population is giving rise to arthritis.

Most Common Types of Arthritis

Do you know that there are more than 100 types of arthritis? But some of the most common types of arthritis forms, what they are, what happens, and their symptoms are listed below:

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis commonly affects the body parts that bear our pain like the knee, joints, spine, and hips. It gradually increases over months or years. Generally, your affected joint starts to hurt. But you don’t feel fatigued which comes with some other types of arthritis.

Symptoms

• Deep, aching pain.
• Pain while walking.
• Stiffness after resting.
• Morning stiffness that lasts less than 30 minutes.
• Your joint may be swollen or hard to move.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

RA attacks your immune system especially joints as it is an autoimmune disease. In several cases, RA leads to inflammation, which might cause severe damage to joints if not treated. Many people who are suffering from this, get lumps on their skin called rheumatoid nodules.

Symptoms

• Severe pain, Stiffness, and swelling
• More than one swollen Joint.
• The asymmetrical pattern of knuckles
• Morning Stiffness

Psoriatic Arthritis

People with this arthritis generally have inflammation of the skin and joints. In addition, commonly it is seen in people ages between 30 to 50, but there are fair chances of it happening in childhood.

Psoriatic arthritis can swell the fingers and toes also these people have fingernails that are pitted or discolored.

We have treatment for each type of arthritis and get the best treatment from experienced doctors.

Some Safe Exercises: -

Since Arthritis most affects knees and joints as it bears the maximum pain, knee problems are very common. But it is crucial to stay active to strengthen the supporting muscles and to prevent any diseases from getting worse. Here is a list of some safe exercises that you can perform without anyone’s help:

Walk Often

Walking is a perfect low-impact exercise that can help you with mobility and also does not require any equipment. Start with what you can handle and gradually build up to 20-30 minutes a day.

Warm-up & Stretch

Stretching and warming is such crucial elements before you jump into exercising. Take a few steps and walk slowly, stretch your arms and legs gently. This will reduce your discomfort along with warming up your muscles.

Don’t exercise on hard surfaces

Whenever you are going for a walk prefer grass or a dirt path as these paths are softer than concrete or asphalt lack shock absorption and thus increase pressure on knees. Focus on Shock Absorption.

You can also see our physiotherapist for more safe exercises that will help in elevating your pain.

A worrying factor is the increasing occurrence of arthritis among women. In urban India, women are increasingly shouldering the dual responsibility of homemaker as well as professional. Therefore, they are increasingly getting exposed to new risks due to a lack of time and motivation. Therefore, awareness is a must.

Although if one is diagnosed with arthritis, he/she can still exercise as mobility is one of the key factors in the management of arthritis and should be done under the proper guidance of an expert. you can always consult us. For more information follow us on Instagram and Facebook.