Contest: Creating Awareness for Arthritis
Introduction |
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Arthritis is a complex condition that greatly affects people’s lives worldwide which is characterized by joint pain, stiffness, swelling, and decreased range of motion. Luckily, there are many kinds of treatments available for their varying causes and symptoms.
In this post, I will be talking about the major types of arthritis, understanding how exercise and our daily diet can be a tool in managing arthritis, the several treatments that can be used and clear some common misconceptions about arthritis for better understanding.
Before delving deeper into this conditions, let me invite @dar22, @esteem and @divinelife to participate in this discussion.
What are the different types of arthritis, and how do they impact people? |
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There are so many types of arthritis but popular ones among them are the osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
- osteoarthritis (OA):
This is the most common type and affects millions of people, usually as they age. Osteoarthritis is the gradual breakdown of joint cartilage and underlying bones. The symptoms include pains, stiffness, swelling around the affected joint. Once this happens, movement becomes so difficult.Osteoarthritis can affect any joint in the body but common place it’s seen includes the knees, hips, hands, spine, neck and feet.
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
This is a disorder were your immune system mistakenly attack its own tissue, which is the synovium, the soft tissue that lines the inside of your joints. It brings about severe pains, swelling, fatigue and fever. The most common affected joints is mostly in the hands and feet’s. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect places like knees, hips, shoulders, elbow etc.
Other common ones include; gout and Psoriatic Arthritis
How can lifestyle changes like exercise and diet help in managing arthritis symptoms? |
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Adjusting to a particular lifestyle to defeat this arthritis symptoms and live a better life is paramount.
- Exercise: I saw a 73 years old woman carrying light weight in the gym and was looking so healthy and strong. That’s the effect of exercise. You don’t need to carry weight but just regular exercise like walking, jogging, swimming will go a long way to keep the muscles around the joint more strengthened and will improve overall fitness.
- Diet: it seems this days, balance diet is now meant for the rich people. In fact, people are even struggling to eat a two square meal, talk more of balance diet. Notwithstanding, we can’t overemphasized enough the importance of balance diet rich in vegetables, fish, nuts, and whole grains, which can help reduce inflammation. It help reduces stress on weight-bearing joints.
What are some common treatments for arthritis, and how effective are they in relieving pain? |
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Like I mentioned in the introductory part of the post, arthritis have so many kind of treatments. It only means each various forms requires various approaches to the treatment. I’ll be listing few of them;
- Medication
To manage pains, patient can take pain relief drugs but it doesn’t stop inflammation, but ibuprofen and naproxen can do both. For cases like rheumatoid arthritis, drugs, such as methotrexate, slow the disease's progression. Such drugs are called Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs). There are other ones in this category that can help reduce inflammation they are etanercept and infliximab.
Other common treatments that doesn’t involve drugs are exercise, physical therapy, changing your lifestyle and in some cases surgery.
How does arthritis affect daily activities and quality of life for individuals? |
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Using my dad as a case study here, I will say my dad now finds it difficult to move for a long distance. Sometimes when he sits for so long, he might find it hard standing up on his own without the help of others. This has affected his day to day activities.
Due to the pains, my dad had to move from top floor to down floor because he was finding it hard to climb staircase as a result of the pains.
He’s now forced to abandon his favorite food and dwell more on fruits, vegetables, green tea, the oil we use for cooking his food is now different.
He no longer attends meetings or partake any longer in social gatherings with friends except it’s very important. This makes him so bored and lonely whenever no one is around.
What misconceptions about arthritis do you think are important to address |
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One of the biggest misconceptions is that arthritis affects only older people but I’m sorry to burst your bubble, even young ones have arthritis too. The day I took my dad to the hospital for checkups, I was shocked to see a kid that has arthritis as well. So, if you think arthritis is for old people alone, better think again. Is important you start now to take care of your body and eat lots of healthy food.