What Everyone Needs To Know About Arthritis
Arthritis isn’t actually a single disease, its a group of over 100 various diseases and conditions that tend to cause joint inflamation and pain. The two most common distinct forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. It has been estimated that, by the year 2020, there will be as many as 59 million people suffering from the disease in the United States alone.
The signs of Arthritis are joint pain, stiffness, swelling and pain when a joint is touched. It can affect a person of any age and around 3 out of 5 sufferers are under the age of 65.
Osteoarthritis is often refered toa s degenerative arthritis. This is because it tends to be common in joints that are worn or damaged. The most common symptoms are pain, swelling, sensitivity and often stiffness. It can affect any joints in the body but is commonly seen in finger joints, knees and the spine.
Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by the human bodies immune system attacking itself. Exactly what causes the human immune system to adversely affect the body in this way isn’t known but recent research has identified some of the most common factors. These include genetics, possibly environmental factors and also contraceptive use.
Although rheumatoid arthritis is most likely to affect various joints it can also adversely affect other key organs, such as the lungs. In fact as many as 15 to 25% of those afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis are likely to experience some extra-articular (outside the joints) symptoms.
Various forms of treatment can help to manage the disease. It is recommended that you consult a doctor or a specialist such as a rheumatologist as early as possible. They will provide an expert diagnosis and outline the various treatments available which will include some very effective over the counter remedies. Ultimately it may become necessary to consider joint surgery, but this is generally only used as a last resort.
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