Arthritis is a very painful disease. It restricts you from doing a lot of the activities you would love to engage in. However, there are steps you could take to reduce the chances of it happening to you. Here are some tips, which help you in preventing Arthritis:
1. Take Omega-3 fatty acids
Research proves that the regular consumption of Omega-3 fatty acids, present in fish, result in decreased risks of rheumatoid arthritis. Omega-3 fatty acids are also found in foods such as olive oil and walnuts.

2. Take Vitamins and olive oil
Vitamins are crucial, especially A, C and D. Vitamin A can be found in carrots. vitamin D can yet again be found in fish while vitamin C can be found in strawberries, mangoes, pineapples and oranges. Olive oil is also useful because it contains polyphenols which reduce the chances of developing arthritis.

3. Eat ginger and broccoli
Ginger and broccoli are two of the most therapeutic foods for various reasons and the chances of getting arthritis are also proven to reduce due to these foods.

4. Avoid injury
Although this is very hard to do sometimes, avoiding injuries do reduce your chances of getting arthritis.

5. Control your weight
This is very important, especially for your knees. It has been proven by researchers at John Hopkins University that if you are 10 kg overweight, then 30 to 60 extra kilograms of weight fall on your knees.

6. Exercise
Strengthening your muscles around your joint decreases the pressure on the joint. If there is less pressure on the joint, then the chances of arthritis are reduced. The best way to decrease pressure on the joint and strengthen your muscles is to exercise.

6 Tips To Prevent Arthritis

Arthritis refers to extreme joint pain. It could either manifest in one of the joints in the body or more than one. At times, it occurs because of a vitamin deficiency. However, it can also advance with age. This is how arthritis can be easily diagnosed:

To diagnose arthritis, your specialist will consider the side effects and symptoms. They will then take a physical exam to check for swollen joints or loss of movement.

They will then use blood tests and X-ray to affirm the conclusion. X-ray and blood tests help in identifying the sort of arthritis you have. For instance, a great many people with rheumatoid arthritis have antibodies called rheumatoid components (RF) in their blood. X-rays are used to analyse osteoarthritis, normally uncovering lost ligament, bone deformities and in many extreme cases, a bone rubbing against another bone.

Sometimes, a needle is used to draw a little specimen of liquid from the joint for testing. This is done to eliminate different sorts of arthritis. In case your specialist speculates irresistible arthritis as a confusion of some other sickness, taking a sample of liquid from the influenced joint will typically affirm the finding and decide how it will be dealt with.

Depending on what kind of arthritis you have, your doctor will recommend you different therapies. However, some of the most common treatments for arthritis are as follows: 
Occupational Therapy

Certain therapies involve long-term treatment to treat the affected joint. With the assistance of an occupational therapist, you can learn simpler approaches to do your typical exercises. A therapist can show you how to do the following:
Maintain a strategic distance from positions that strain your joints.
Utilise your most healthy joints and muscles while saving weaker ones.
Use props to support certain joints.
Medication
Joint pain treatment will rely upon the nature and level of the condition. The principle objectives are to diminish aggravation and enhance the capacity of the influenced joints before the condition worsens. Your specialist will most likely recommend acetaminophen or a non-steroidal mitigating drug (NSAID), for example, Aleve.

Surgery
Different types of surgeries might be expected to lessen the inconvenience of joint inflammation or to recover the joint capacity. Synovectomy is the expulsion of a harmed connective tissue coating a joint depression. In case that ligament pain and irritation turn out to be genuinely chronic, or ligament joints turn out to be badly damaged, the answer may lie in surgical substitution.

Non-medical management of arthritis pain:
Besides medicine-based treatment for arthritis, there are many psychotherapeutic techniques to manage the same. Enhancing patients  mental state by showing them how to unwind and perform their every day exercises at a sensible pace will also help in finding a way to defeat mental anxiety and nervousness.

Arthritis - How Can It Be Diagnosed And Cured?

Acupressure can prove to be extremely effective if you are looking for non-medicinal solutions to treat musculoskeletal problems, such as back pain, sports injuries, arthritis, etc. Acupressure is the application of putting firm pressure on the areas on the body which are swollen, agitated or tense by massaging the acupoints (specific points in the body). Acupressure believes that relieving these areas of pressure reduces the pain.

Here are some musculoskeletal problems that can be healed by acupressure:

    Arthritis: Those who seek acupressure as an alternative treatment for pain are mostly suffering from arthritis (a disease characterised by chronic joint inflammation and cartilage degeneration). Acupressure applies pressure on the inflamed joints.
    Back pain: Back pain is a common problem that can affect anyone irrespective of his or her age. Acupressure acts to relieve the points where the muscles are too tense and helps to tone or support the muscles which have become weak with disuse.
    Chronic pain: Unrelenting pain can stem from many causes. Acupressure focuses on the pain and the pain signals when treating chronic pain. The acupoint of the pain and the nerves are gently massaged to relieve the pain.
    Fibromyalgia: Traumatic injury to the soft tissue, emotional trauma or severe illness can cause fibromyalgia. It is non-inflammatory in nature and often leads to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (a troublesome disorder with symptoms of deep fatigue, sleeping problems, pain, etc.). Acupressure can greatly improve the fatigue and sleeplessness that fibromyalgia causes.
    Tendonitis: The tendon connects the tissue to the bone, and tendonitis is the condition when the tendon is inflamed. Acupressure helps in reducing the inflammation and easing mobility restrictions.
    Sciatica: The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body, stretching from the lower spine to the back of the foot. So when this nerve is agitated, pain radiates from the lower back to the foot. This condition is called sciatica. The acupoints in sciatica are the lower back and the hip. Acupressure effectively loosens the muscles in these regions and reduces inflammation.
    Sports injuries: Strains and sprains are common sports injuries, which mostly affect athletes. Acupressure has anti-inflammatory benefits that can help heal severely injured tendons, ligaments or muscle. Acupressure also plays a huge role in restoring and retraining the body, especially if you are an athlete and play high-demand sports.
    Carpel Tunnel Syndrome: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a condition in which the pressure increases on the median nerve as it goes through the carpal tunnel, and this causes wrist pain. Acupressure involves the use of directed pressure to specific acupuncture points on the surface of the body.
    Insomnia: Insomnia is a sleep disorder. The Acupressure Points between your heel and anklebones (on both sides) have traditionally been used to relieve and prevent insomnia.
    Migraines: Acupuncture is used to effectively treat primary headaches, namely tension and migraine, which are the most common.

Acupressure: The Non Medicinal Solution to Musculoskeletal Problems

A Simple Guide to Arthritis

One of the most common ailments the elderly suffer from is arthritis. However, arthritis can affect people of all ages. It is a rheumatic disease as in, it affects joints and bones. It can be of many types and the term covers a number of inflammatory and non-inflammatory joint diseases. Some of the most well-known types of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis, bone spurs, gout, and osteoarthritis.

The causes of arthritis have not been defined but there are a number of factors that increase a person's chances of getting it. Foremost amongst these is increasing age and excess weight. Arthritic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and lupus are said to be hereditary and linked to certain genes. Sometimes, injuries can also cause arthritic conditions. Misuse of steroids can also result in arthritis.

Here is a look at the most common symptoms of the disease :-

Pain around the joints is the most well-known symptom of arthritis. Along with pain, you may also notice swollen or stiff joints.
Increased body temperature around the affected joints and redness in the area is also a symptom of arthritis. These symptoms range from mild to severe, and can be constant or may come and go.
Everybody suffers from occasional joint pains but if any of the above symptoms persist for a long duration, it is best to consult a doctor. The sooner you seek treatment, the easier it becomes to deal with arthritis. If left untreated for too long, arthritis can result in permanent joint damage.

While there is no single cure for arthritis, it can be effectively controlled if treated in time. Since the type and severity of arthritis differ from person to person, treatment for the same must also be tailored to the needs of the individual.

Drugs for arthritis can be categorized as those that treat symptoms such as pain and stiffness, and those that suppress inflammatory conditions.

In some cases, surgery may be advisable. 

Physical therapy and regular exercise are very important when dealing with arthritis.

It is equally important to eat a healthy, nutritious and well-balanced diet. If you are overweight, try and lose the excess kilos.

You must also look after your joints to ensure that there is no further degradation of bone or muscle tissue. Avoid staying in one position for a long time, and try and maintain a good posture. These simple techniques can be very effective when dealing with all types of arthritis.

A Simple Guide to Arthritis

The shoulders are the most mobile joints in your body. Shoulder joints undergo wear and a tear over time and hence become unstable. Shoulder arthritis is one of the painful conditions affecting the shoulder joints. Arthritis not only takes a toll on the tendons and muscles, but also affects the ligaments and joints too. They usually cause symptoms such as joint pain, resulting in limited mobility.

Treatment:

Nonsurgical or Lifestyle treatments:

Take rest or avoid the activities that provoke pain or change the way of your arm movements.
Physical therapy boosts shoulder mobility.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen or aspirin alleviate pain and inflammation.
Corticosteroid injections in the shoulders can also help to ease the pain and inflammation, although temporarily.
Applying moist heat or ice packs over the shoulders for about half an hour at least thrice a day brings relief.
Drugs such as methotrexate can be administered in case one is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (a chronic disease attacking multiple joints of the body).
Dietary supplements such as chondroitin and glucosamine may help reduce pain.
Surgical treatments (if your pain results in disability and does not lessen with nonsurgical options)

Join replacement surgery or arthroplasty involves replacing the damaged parts of the shoulder with a prosthetic (artificial) joint.
Few mild forms of arthritis may be treated using the Arthroscopic procedure (minimally invasive surgery). It requires a surgeon to ease the joint pain by making small incisions to  clean out  the joint. A tiny camera fitted into the joint guides the surgeon through the surgery.
Resection arthroplasty is a method that involves the surgical removal of the bone from the collar bone and substituting it with a scar tissue to treat arthritis of particular joints.

Everything You Need To Know About Shoulder Arthritis Treatment

Joint Replacement Surgery is a procedure where the damaged surface of the advanced arthritic joints are removed and replaced with artificial joints, such as metallic, plastic and ceramic joints.
These surfaces closely replicate the original anatomy.

When do you need a knee replacement?
When you suffer from severe pain or deformity in the joint (knee in this case), the pain or stiffness and deformity makes it difficult to perform simple tasks. Severe grade IV osteoarthritic knees of  people over 50 years when have pain, swelling and deformity fail to respond to medicines, physiotherapy, injections and rest.

Aim of the surgery

    Correct the deformity: Relieve the pain and give near full movements almost immediately after the procedure. Details including techniques and safety, it is a safe, rewarding surgery with a success rate of as high as 99.5% when done by an able and experienced professional.
    Anaesthesia: Usually it is the spinal cord epidural where one is rendered numb for 3 to 4 hours waist down. Sometimes a general anaesthesia is given. A 4 to 5 inches cut is made in front of the knee and all the damaged cartilages, bones, loose bodies are removed from the lower end of the thigh, upper end of the tibia (usually of few millimetres) and the surface re-crafted to match the size and shape of the artificial joint (it is usually imported). They are fixed with bone cement. The ligaments and muscles are reattached and the parts closed.
    Recovery: Stand up and walk a few steps with a walker the day after the procedure i.e. in 24 hours. Physiotherapy in hospital for 5 to 7 days and/or walking, progressively longer walks and exercises over the following 15 days. Stitches are removed in 15 days. The patient can return back to normal activity in 4 to 8 weeks the surgery.
    Activities: Normal walks of 3 to 5 km per day Climbing stairs, cycling, swimming, and driving can be performed with the new implant(s) now.
    Avoid: Squatting/kneeling Prohibited: contact sports like football, cricket, tennis; jumping; adventure sports Longevity of joints: 15-35 years depending on the materials used.

Joint Replacement Surgery - When Should You Go for  it

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