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

One of the most common diseases that afflict a large section of the population is arthritis. It is common among people who are above 40 years of age. Acute joint pain, difficulties in movement and weakened bones are among the most common symptoms of arthritis. Given the fact that it is a condition that has permeated into modern life so deeply is what makes arthritis one of the most feared illnesses of this time. Although there are multiple forms of arthritis, there are primarily two types, which are:

Osteoarthritis: This is characterized by a breakdown of the cartilage between the bones. It is mostly known to affect a person s joints.
Rheumatoid Arthritis: This is a form of auto immune disease that severely affects the lining within the joints of bones.
Causes
The causes of arthritis might vary from person to person. Some of them are discussed below:

Diet and nutrition habits: Some food items, especially red meat and products derived from animals can cause a rise in the level of uric acid thus, increasing the risks of arthritis as well as gout. Smoking also has been known to worsen this condition.
Genetic predisposition: Some people are more prone to develop arthritis as they are genetically predisposed to it.
Problem in the immune system: Rheumatoid arthritis is one condition which is caused by the attack of immune system on the lining of the joints within the body.
Risk factors for arthritis include:

Obesity: The joints are subject to excess stress because of the excess weight. This results in a higher risk of arthritis in obese people.
Age: The risk of arthritis increases with age.
Family history: It is possible for you to be vulnerable to this disorder if arthritis runs in the family.
Previous injury: People who have had a previous joint injury are more susceptible to arthritis.
Typical symptoms of both forms of arthritis are:

Redness in the affected areas
Stiffness in the joints
Pain in the joints of the body
Swelling in particular joints or most joints of the body
Decreased mobility either due to pain or stiffness

Can Poor Diet and Nutrition be a Cause of Arthritis?

Inflammation and resultant pain in the joints are usually the basic tenets of arthritis. This joint disorder can be painful and often, a debilitating one. It can also make the joints stiff. There are many ways of dealing with this problem, but with ayurveda, one can get to the root cause of the ailment and its presence. This helps in taking a well rounded holistic approach towards treating it with ancient know how that revolves around herbs and other natural substances which have great medicinal value, lifestyle changes, diet, exercise and yoga, oil massages, and other methods. Arthritis is known as sandhivata in ayurvedic jargon. Read on to find out how ayurveda can help in dealing with arthritis.

Herbs: one can make use of various herbs that contain linoleic acid to help in providing lubrication to the joints so as to prevent pain and stiffness. These herbs include borage seed oil which is extracted from borage seed, evening primrose oil, blackcurrant seed oil, capsaicin, curcumin, feverfew, flaxseed oil and a standard ayurvedic concoction that combines ashwagandha, gugulla, ginger, cumin and haldi or turmeric. These substances can help in treating the joints that are suffering from the pain of arthritis.

Diet: in ayurveda, to treat ailments like arthritis, it is usually recommended that a patient should start by flushing out the body toxins from within. Diet is one of the ways in which this can be done. A detoxification diet to clean the colon would be one of the foremost ways of doing a cleanse. Further, in one's daily diet, there should be a good dose of vegetables, fruits and other juices. Also, one must have plenty of herbs and spices, which can be used to season the food. Curd should generally be avoided and garlic should be used liberally. The various properties that help in an inside out cleanse that will help the system function in a better manner so that the treatment of ailments is also effectively supported.

Exercise: in ayurveda, a certain amount of daily exercise, which spans at least 45 minutes to one hour, is a must. A pattern of healthy eating, restful sleep and exercise is what usually helps in treating ailments like arthritis. For this ailment specifically, light exercise like walking is recommended. Various yoga asanas that involve sitting, standing, balancing and lying down poses as well as restful poses will also help in treating knee, shoulder and lower back pain specifically. Also, mustard oil massages can help in reducing the pain.
These are the few ways in which ayurveda can help arthritis patients live a more normal life with minimal pain.

Ayurveda For Arthritis

Arthritis is inflammation of one or more of your joints. Pain, swelling, and stiffness are the primary symptoms of arthritis. Any joint in the body may be affected by the disease, but it is particularly common in the knee.

Knee arthritis can make it hard to do many everyday activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. It is a major cause of lost work time and a serious disability for many people. There are 2 types of arthritis the knee joint in the human body can get afflicted with. They are:

Osteoarthritis 

The form of arthritis which, with increasing pain, slowly wears down the joint cartilages is called osteoarthritis. This form of arthritis usually affects people after the age 40. The symptoms of osteoarthritis include:

Severe pain in the knee joints
Pain after walking up the stairs and it subsiding once you are on rest
Severe pain after the movement of joints for a long time
Pain that becomes worse in rainy days
Joints becoming stiff after waking up in the morning but they improve in the latter part of the day
Pain which also occurs in the thighs and the genital regions coupled with joints swelling and joints getting stiff after rest.
Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis caused because of the knee joint inflammations. This form of arthritis can occur at any age. Being an auto-immune disease, its symptoms include, but are not limited to:

Severe pain in the morning
Mild fever accompanying the pain
Joints suddenly becoming swollen, red and warm causing, immense pain
Sudden stiffness of the joints
Pain that increases in cold weather
Mild fever, extreme tiredness and weakening of the muscles
Doctors are still doubtful about what exactly causes the disease; but the deformation of the immune system might cause the damage of the joints, causing people who are already suffering from obesity, smokers, and women, in general, more prone to this disease.

When the knee pain is diagnosed as a form of arthritis, the following treatments are suggested:

If you are overweight or obese, losing some of those extra pounds can go a long way in reducing the pain.
Muscle-stretching exercises are effective in keeping the knee joints flexible.
Dry needling, cupping, taping can help to control the pain and keep the joint supported.
Prescribed dosage of anti-inflammatory drugs such as Tylenol, Motrin, and Advil or injections of hyaluronic acid might relieve your pain.
If regular treatments do not work, you might opt for knee-replacement surgery and osteotomy (the process of cutting a bone with the help of surgery) which might better the alignment of the knee by transforming the bone shapes.

Physiotherapy for knee arthritis

Physiotherapy treatment is aimed at improving the symptoms of the disease (i.e. knee pain, swelling, stiffness), and you should begin to notice a positive difference within one or a few physiotherapy sessions. The main goals of physiotherapy for your knee arthritis are:

Reduce your knee pain and inflammation.
Normalise your knee joint range of motion.
Strengthen your knee: esp quadriceps (esp VMO) and hamstrings.
Strengthen your lower limb: calves, hip and pelvis muscles.
Improve your patellofemoral (knee cap) alignment and function.
Normalise your muscle lengths.
Improve your proprioception, agility and balance.
Improve your technique and function eg walking, squatting.

How Physiotherapy Helps To Manage 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

Yoga is recommended for people with joint inflammation or arthritis. In the case of certain individuals with different sorts of arthritis, studies have shown that consistent yoga practice can lessen joint pain, improve flexibility of the joint and release the stress and strain to provide better rest. Yoga comes with a wide range of practices; however, for the most part, it includes adopting specific bodily postures. It also includes breathing and meditation exercises. 

Some of the yoga postures to cure arthritis are as follows:

Sun salutations: They are the perfect way to begin a day. They can be reflective and calming as you develop the strength to breathe fresh air. Stand with both feet touching, and afterwards, join your hands, palm-to-palm, and place them on your chest. Breathe out and raise your arms upward. Gradually twist backwards and extend your arms over the head. Unwind your neck and breathe in. You must keep in mind that it is one breath for every movement.
Kid's pose and child's pose plus: This is a truly gentle and simple approach to stretch the lower back. Get into the stance by dropping down onto your knees, spread your knees wide and join your toes. Place your hips back onto your feet or heels and stretch your arms forward onto the ground.
Bovine pose (cow pose): Get on all fours with your hands; keep your wrists directly under the shoulders, and spread your fingers wide. Your knees need to be at the hips' width and directly under your hips. Point your abdomen upwards, as your shoulder bones push down towards your abdomen, and tilt your pelvis up and back so that you are sitting.
Furious cat: Turn around the cow pose to do the furious cat pose. From all fours, pull your belliy in and your back arches into a back bend. Point your hips back toward your lower legs to build the space between every vertebra.
Prostrate twisting: Bending should be very useful, but if the bending or twisting brings on any pain, leave it quickly. Lie on your back, draw your knees toward your abdomen, and wrap your arms around your legs, giving yourself a little hug. Shake yourself from side-to-side or forward and backward.
Bridge pose: Lie in a straight position on the floor, twist your knees, and set your feet on the floor. Breathe out and press the inner parts of your feet and your arms into the floor. Push your tailbone up, tighten your hips, and lift them off the floor until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your knees right above your heels and lift the upper part of your hips toward your stomach.

Arthritis - 6 Yoga Positions That Are Beneficial for You

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