Health And Wellness Center: Arthritis is an Inflammatory Disease

Arthritis is the inflammation of our joints and it is a prevailing condition in the United States. Statistics predict that around 40 million people suffer from some form of arthritis. Arthritis can be expressed in over a 100 different types.

We have always assumed arthritis affects people in their old age. This is not true and it has been found that people can suffer at any age with one or more of the different types of arthritis. Symptoms from the different types may overlap making it not always easy to diagnose which form a person is suffering from. People may suffer from multiple forms of arthritis simultaneously.

Early onset of arthritis is often expressed through general symptoms such as feeling joint stiffness, swelling around joints, pain and discomfort of joints, and inflamed joints that display a red skin coloration.

Many people think arthritis is the same across the board and so many waste money by purchasing over the counter medication to ease their pain. It is important to consult a physician who will be better able to tell you what arthritis you are suffering from and what the best protocol is in treating it.

One of the most common forms of arthritis is known as Rheumatoid arthritis. Not only does it have an impact on your joints, but it can also spread to your organs systemically. People who suffer from Rheumatoid arthritis often feel as if they have cured it through taking medication because the signs and symptoms of the disease go away for sometime, however this is often false.

It is yet to be discovered what really causes Rheumatoid arthritis yet some medical professionals speculate that it could be due to bacteria or fungi. Others would have you believe that the disease is genetic and can be inherited from generation to generation. Common symptoms of this disease are swelling of joints, pain, sometimes fever, warmth emitted from joints, reddening of the skin around joints and fatigue.

Another common form of arthritis is known as osteoarthritis.

This is brought about by the disintegration of cartilage in joints. It is not a systemic form of arthritis and thus pain is localized to the joint in which it is experienced. Common areas of osteoarthritic is the knees, hips, ankles, hands and back. One of the downfalls to this is that the person often experiences the pain in joints long after the cartilage damage has occurred, thus it is often irreparable.

Arthritis is a very diverse disease and whilst some suffers can experience pain relief from simple over the counter treatments, others may experience severe symptoms of arthritis that require specialist attention. This may involve operations to the joints and even replacement joints to try and ease the pain. Many doctors believe changing the diet of the patient may assist in relieving pain too.

It is believed that certain foods (acidic) can enhance the pain of arthritis, although discussions around this still persist. It is still recommended to consult with your local physician about your arthritis and what form of treatment he/she recommends.