Arthritis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments Options!

“Do you have Arthritis? Do you want to know how to Treat your Arthritis Naturally at Home? This article contains proven steps and strategies on how to cope with the pain of arthritis which can hit people of all ages. I desire that all people living with arthritis be able to address the balance of their lives and be able to move on to a pain-free life which is more fulfilling. Within these pages lie the secrets that people living with arthritis need to know to get the most out of techniques that help with pain relief.

What is Arthritis? - An Overview

The most frequently employed definition for arthritis is “An inflammation of the joints.” It happens in the joints of the body, where two bones come together permitting the free movement of legs and hands, the bend movements of hands and leg functions. Arthritis is the reason the joints swell and, in turn, make the bones stiff and decrease the suppleness of your movement. A key point worth noting is that arthritis is not a single disease; it affects the complete musculature system, particularly the joints. It is the first reason for disability between people over fifty years of age in developed countries.

The term “arthritis” comes from the Greek word “arthom,” meaning “joint,” and the Latin word “itis,” meaning “inflammation.” This condition develops when joint cartilage wears away, eliminating the buffer that allows bones to work together without damaging each other by scraping together. As a result, many people, most often women and people over 50, suffer debilitating symptoms. Apart from the pain associated with arthritis, arthritis patients can experience joint swelling, numbness, and tingle in their limbs. The pain and soreness that accompanies the condition limits joint and, therefore, overall limb, movement.

Tips for the Young and Elderly living with Arthritis Pain?

‘Arthritis’ as already explained, is a disease which affects the joints of the body. We all are familiar with the term joint. A joint is a connection where two bones meet. Our muscles are attached to our bones by ligaments. When muscles contract and relax, they control the ligaments, and the ligaments control the bones. Between each bone is lubricating, protective padding called cartilage which serves as a buffer between the ends of each bone and allows the bones to move freely and smoothly without scraping against each other. Unfortunately, with use, this padding can wear away. For some of us, as we get older, our bodies do not produce new cartilage to replace what has been lost. Consequently, this protective protein buffer slowly deteriorates.

As a result, with usage over time, cartilage and bone can begin to wear away as they scrape against each other. Obesity has been contributed to more significant pressure on the cartilage that buffers the bones, wearing it away and, thereby, exposing the bone to damaging friction. However, other factors as well contribute to an increased chance of developing arthritis, including heredity; previous injuries to the bone; a lack of potassium, calcium or phosphorous; and the hormonal imbalances that often occur with aging.

One can check the development of arthritis symptoms as a result of minor modifications in lifestyle and dietary changes. Simple physical exercise is also good. If joints are left inactive, the difficulty of stiffness will intensify. On the other hand, exhausting exercises and rhythmic movements are to be avoided, because they may increase the wearing out of affected joints. Alkaline diet, which includes fresh fruits and vegetables are to be added to a regular diet. Meat, beef, pork amplify the threat of obesity that in turn increases the joint inflammation and thus ought to be avoided.

The patient is to avoid smoking and alcohol consumption because this way of life generates pressure on body tissues and increases arthritis pain. Kneading the area which is also suffering helps in controlling pain and in hiding the signs of arthritis. Kneading gives an increase in blood circulation and helps the muscles in the region of ill joints.

Lukewarm water baths and swapping using alternate hot and cold water via a shower can help to manage the pain of arthritis.

Controlling Your Arthritis

A person who has undergone the pain of arthritis and its syndrome knows the significance of discovering a successful way to control or to manage the arthritis pain. Sometimes these severe symptoms of arthritis can control and constrict your life, and make you incapable of performing tasks which you would normally perform. However, don't panic, arthritis pain can be controlled and managed, effectively.

Reason behind arthritis pain

A regular, unaffected joint has a cartilage which displays a firm thickness on the bones. This thickness can differ from one joint to another. The more pressure a joint is supposed to take in regular activity, the thicker the cartilage. At some point in life, what happens is that the cartilage may wear out to such an extent that there is no protection between the bones. The wear and tear of the cartilage are capable of generating other warning signs like oedema. This is puffiness of the neighboring tissues of the joint, and this causes arthritis pain. The involved joints become less movable as well. Because arthritis is generally caused by wear and tear over time, it most often affects older people.

How to control arthritis pain?

In simple terms, proper medication and exercise can be the best treatment for arthritis pain. Look for medicine that controls the distension of the adjoining tissues and relieves the pain that comes with the weakening capacity of shock absorbency from the cartilage. It is essential to find an effective medication which reduces the arthritis pain, as you want to keep your joints working effectively. If your joint gives you too much pain, you need to stay away from too much pressure, and that itself will be the reason for more stiffness and pain. Talk to your doctor about which medications are suited in your case.

With pain management, your muscles will grow stronger and more flexible, providing you with more energy and resilience. There are many different over-the-counter medicine options. Search for the best, which is capable of treating the pain and also one that controls swelling. If, after trying some over-the-counter medications, you do not experience relief, consult your doctor or ask your doctor if you can see a specialist. A doctor might prescribe other medicines, which are more effective.

As, at all times, the earlier one get to know about the disease the earlier it is to manage the arthritis pain. Exercise and medication will help considerably to remain active and thus alleviate the pain of simply being immobile. An arthritis diagnosis does not mean that you need to suffer or that you active life is over.

There was a point of time when most people believed that people suffering from arthritis could not exercise. Luckily, medical understanding of the disease is much broader now, and it is well known that with the aid of proper low impact exercise, the outlook is favorable. Exercise can boost flexibility, lessens stiffness and lowers the need for surgery. It also helps mobility and can be a significant boost for enhancing the mood of the patient.

People experiencing arthritis pain can reduce that pain with the help of exercise and contribute to boost muscle power. Stronger muscles denote that joints work better, and there are fewer chances of injury. It is always a good thing to avoid surgery if possible by doing the best you can to retain flexibility by using moderate exercise to help the body to stay active.

Low impact exercises are suitable for people who experience arthritis. Walking is an outstanding way to embark on any exercise program, as it lends a hand to building bone density and supports leg muscles.

Yoga is another exercise for individuals suffering from arthritis. One of the most exemplary aspects of yoga is that it can be done progressively thus making it very suitable for someone suffering as they can choose their own pace. However, it is good to exercise under a skilled trainer making him/her familiar with your arthritic condition. A few yoga poses might be damaging to joints that aren't in the finest of shape. Tai Chi is also an additional exercise that sufferers can benefit from. It consists of slow movements and poses which give the impression of being tailor made for those suffering from joint problems. Tia Chi is unquestionably a beneficial exercise and dates back to almost prehistoric times, and the exercise program itself gives the person with arthritis more patience to face their illness and gives great muscle tone.

Here are a few tips that are known to help arthritis patients but do make sure that your doctor gives you the green light to perform these exercises.

Start slowly but work your way progressively. Don't thrust yourself into harder exercise than is possible. Even modest exercise will boost your stamina and develop flexibility.

Don't hurry yourself. Always bear in mind that you are doing simple exercises for arthritis, but not for the Olympics.

Natural remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis

For people experiencing chronic pain, seizing an over-the-counter pain reliever may seem like the quickest way to deal with the pain. By merely masking the pain, as time goes by, the situation might become even become worse.

Due to the excess of over-the-counter pain relievers, these can do harm to the abdomen lining and might also cause ulcers. Those painkillers can give temporary relief from arthritis, but in the long run, one needs to discover natural methods to ease the pain and eliminate it completely

To relieve you from the pain, there is a step by step process you can follow which is shown below:

Firstly, discover the origin: To be relieved of the pain, find the source and learn as much as you can about when you started experiencing such sharp pain. While you have to take some medication to ease the severity of the pain, you need to find the initial cause of the pain, which may give you clues as to how to treat it in the best possible way. Consider chronic migraines, for instance. If you notice that they are caused by the food you have eaten, the need to avoid this food will help you to alleviate the pain. This history is very important.

Try inserting a needle where the pain is being caused: There has been much research on the benefits of acupuncture for lessening chronic pain. It is impressive that it is pretty easy to perform for many types of pain. Acupuncture is a technique of piercing a thin, sterile needle into points on the body, and it can reduce pain. Choose a practitioner who has been in the business for a long time and whose patients can recommend him.

Reduce foods that promote pain: A hale and hearty diet that consists of fresh vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and whole grains which will help. Also, foods which have anti-inflammatory properties like fish oil, turmeric and magnesium should be added to the diet. However, be careful to reduce foods which promote inflammation.

Here are a handful of required proteins and vitamins which should be included in your daily diet, to reduce arthritis pain, which can help you feel better and make living with the disease easier:

• Foods that contain Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for arthritis patients
• Cooking with olive oil as a substitute for vegetable oil or butter is first-class for the health as well as for the joints because olive oil is high-quality oil which contains monounsaturated fat
• Free radicals are necessary for the body to build up resistance to inflammation.
• Vitamin C is the most vital vitamin for the production of collagen that is so important to help build up cartilage.
• Patient with low levels of selenium is more prone to severe arthritis judged against with people who eat a selenium-rich diet regularly.
• Research in the U.K. found that people who had Foods high in carotenes were half as likely to develop inflammatory arthritis. Many fruits and vegetables contain carotenoids, a group of powerful antioxidants
• Bioflavonoids - quercetin and anthocyanins, are both antioxidants. The anti-inflammatory effect of quercetin is comparable to medications such as aspirin and ibuprofen

To lessen the pain that is caused due to arthritis, stay away from meat, eat plenty of foods with fish oils and add ginger to your diet.

Get some exercise: Of course, it is hard to exercise while you are tormented by constant pain, but gentle exercises help sufferers of arthritis to fight off the pain. Exercises also discharge endorphins, which are natural feel-good chemicals that are released in your brain. Try something light that keeps your body poignant like yoga, tai-chi, walking or swimming to improve your exercise levels.

Exercise is an excellent alternative when you are trying for a natural substitute for arthritis pain relief. Walking is particularly useful; it is effortless to do and does not lay a great deal of excess pressure on the joints.

Losing weight is an additional measure which really does help the body to be relieved from arthritis pain. It makes sense to lose weight and take the pressure off joints that are already weak.

If none of the above options give you relief from the pain, then it is best to visit a physician and perhaps talk about potential changes to your diet which can help. By talking this through with a doctor who is familiar with your case, you will be able to find relief much easier. Their support really does help and talking about your pain, rather than merely suffering in silence is the best way forward.

Tips to Care for an Elderly Person with Arthritis in Home Care

Elderly people suffering from arthritis needed to be taken care very carefully, their fragile body could not handle much of a pressure and on top of that arthritis might be the bad thing for them, few tips regarding taking care of an elderly person suffering from arthritis is as follows:

Develop into an uncomplaining supporter:

What they need is a person who will not complain about their ailments, if the individual who is very important to them complaints about them and their problem, it would mentally disturb them, it is good to take care of them and to make them feel comfortable.

Consult a doctor with the arthritic patient, so with the aim that you are sure you will be aware of precisely what the doctor has designed for caregiving. I t will also offer you with the chance to ask questions, raise alarms, and completely understand the level to which arthritis has affected your elderly loved one.

Keep an eye on the elderly patient's medication:

If the Doctor has prescribed medications, Keep in mind and ask the pharmacist that they cannot unlock child-resistant caps and request for simple open caps intended for those with arthritis or others.

Support with therapeutic exercises, if needed:

If the patient has been asked to undergo a few therapeutic exercises, help them with the remedial exercises to make their muscles stronger, which have power over the ligaments that are connected to the bone. Now and then, pain in the knees, wrists, back, and neck can be lightened by intensification the nearby muscle.

Use relevant analgesics and ibuprofen to assist in relieving pain

Specified by the doctor’s permission, they can also be given few topical analgesics to help relieve pain. If few medication has been prescribed, as a dietary supplement, hit a bottle that can be effortlessly opened, or place pills in another container, neatly labeled, which is easy to open.

Help them understand what actually arthritis is

It is helpful if we make an elderly person suffering from arthritis be aware of their condition. Those who do not realize might go on doing things which causes them more pain in the long run.

Discourage heavy labor and lifting

Elderly people suffering from arthritis should not be encouraged in doing heavy works like lifting heavy luggage’s, and which might harm them more. The already weak and worn off joint become tenderer, and all the pain might come back to them without any relief; therefore elderly people suffering from arthritis should be far from doing heavy labor and lifting at any cost.

Promote slow, fluid movements

Make the elderly people understand that, slow, smooth, easy movements are the finest way to stay away from avoidable joint pain and swelling. Facilitate your elderly patient gain knowledge of how to move without difficulty with less recurring wear on tender joints.

Regular rest periods all the way through the day might help put off arthritis from blaze up. Assist your elderly arthritis patient become skilled at his or her limitations.

Try cold packs for pain release

Make it trouble-free for the elderly by endowing them with quite a lot of cold packs which know how to be re-frozen stored in the freezer. Guard the skin with a towel amid the ice pack and the skin.

Discuss with the doctor prior to using heat to relieve arthritic pain

A few doctors suggest that heat should not be used, as it can deteriorate swelling. On the other hand, people found that on days when arthritis is particularly painful, such as cold rainy days, heating pads and warmth might make them feel calmer. However, on shouldn’t use this technique without consulting a physician. If you are permitted to employ heat to make arthritis more contented for the elderly, keep an eye on their body temperature when heat is being used. The aged occasionally build up the sensitivity to warmth.

Few changes required in the home of the elderly person with arthritis

One should make simple and timely changes for the elderly people at home, who are suffering from arthritis, three simple steps that are needed to be followed are as follows:

Change living conditions to make life easier

Most elderly people feel like living separately as long as feasible. One can make possible an easier way of life for an individual with arthritis by making small feasible adjustments. easier.

Formulate opening packages simple

Maintain scissors handy to open packages and also a letter opener to open mail. Arthritis in the fingers can even make such effortless tasks complicated.

Household items ought to be easy to access

Maintain the items that are used on a daily basis within easy reach for them, to avoid unwanted bending and stretching. This can be particularly throbbing for elderly people with arthritis in their back and/or legs.

There are a many ways in which we can help care for an elderly person with arthritis. Stay attentive to those things that appear to be irritating arthritis and make an effort to make the patient feel hope by helping in getting simple everyday jobs done.

Arthritis pain: Do's and Don’ts

It may come as a shock to you, but you do need to work out the dos and don'ts of the disease to get the most benefit from your actions. If you have been suffering pain because of arthritis, now is the right time for you to take control of the disease and do something about it. If you can lessen your own pain, you may find that you extend your useful working life. If you are young and suffering due to injury, you may find that you help yourself to heal so that life does not pass you by.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can cure this alone. When you have arthritis pain, you should get it diagnosed rather than assume the pain you are experiencing comes from arthritis. There are different reasons why you may be suffering, and you need to sort out what the reasons are with a qualified doctor.

Don’t try too many remedies at the same time. They may work against each other and not combat the pain. Make sure that what you are doing or the medications and vitamins that you take work together. Ask a professional.

Chat with your doctor regarding all your symptoms, whether it is related to arthritis or not. Now and then apparently disparate troubles are, in fact, linked.

Feed your doctor full information regarding all your medical ailments, not just arthritis.
Ask your doctor to tell you clearly about the type of arthritis you have.

Discover whether any of your joints was previously injured.

You may feel more stiffness in the morning. If so, do a few tender exercises in the evening when you are more flexible. When you are tentatively doing nothing—watching TV or sitting at your desk, for example—make sure that:

• You adjust your sitting position regularly.
• From time to time, lean your neck from side to side, transform the position of your hands, and turn and stretch your legs.
• Pace yourself and take breaks often so that you do not overexert yourself and possibly cause more pain to the joint.

Do’s and Don’ts while Exercising

When you are suffering from arthritis, a little movement can reduce your pain, and improve your assortment of motion, making your muscles stronger and boosting your stamina.

Do‘s

Choose the right kinds of activities, ones that build the muscles around your joints but don’t harm the joints themselves.

Concentrate on stretching, a variety of motion exercises and slow progressive muscle training.
Take in low shock aerobic exercises, such as walking, cycling or water exercises, to develop your mood and help you control your weight.

Don’ts

While exercising, DO NOT ever run, jump, play tennis, engage in high- impact aerobics or do repetitive exercises (such as tennis serves). These can cause muscle atrophy and further reduce joint firmness.

Do’s and Don’ts while using Medications

Quite many medications are accessible for arthritis pain relief. A good number are moderately safe, but no medicine is fully free of side effects.

Do’s

First, take a break. Gentle, occasional ache may subside with only rest and the use of cold or heat. Elevate your feet above the sore joint, and apply cold packs to ease pain or hot packs to alleviate stiff and achy joints and muscles.

For occasional pain. For occasional pain, one can simply use over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) or aspirin tablets.

For longer duration of pain. Take Aspirin for temporary pain relief; however, if pain persists, consult a doctor immediately.

When pain continues. Check with your doctor if these medications are not reducing your pain.

Don’ts

Overtreatment. Make an appointment with a doctor if you find yourself using acetaminophen, aspirin or NSAIDs frequently

Under treatment. Never try to disregard severe and lingering arthritis pain.
It might mean you have joint harm requiring daily medication.

Focusing only on pain. Hopelessness is more general in people with arthritis. Doctors have found that treating dejection with antidepressants and other remedies diminishes depression symptoms as well as arthritis pain.

Conclusion

Thank you again for reading this article

I hope this artic;e was able to help you to find a way to cope with the pain of arthritis.

The next step is to recommend this artic;e to families and friends who suffer from arthritis.

Finally, if you enjoyed this article please take the time to share your thoughts and post a review. It’d be greatly appreciated!

Thank you and good luck!