Dr Jindals clinic

Over time, our joints, connective tissues and muscles go through a lot of wear and tear. Additionally, certain conditions may also cause problems, including inflammation and conditions that create persistent pain. These conditions usually fall under the broad category of arthritis, which can be of many types. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) happens when your immune system targets your joints and causes inflammation. RA influences the joints on both sides of the body, for example, both hands, wrists and knees. This symmetry separates it from other kinds of arthritis. It can affect the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, blood, or nerves.

Various signs of inflamed joints are as follows:

1. Stiffness: Functioning of the joints becomes rigid and doesn't move properly. It is particularly severe in the morning. While those with different types of arthritis have stiff and immobile joints in the morning, people with rheumatoid arthritis take over 60 minutes before their joints feel free.

2. Swelling or Inflammation: Liquid enters the joint and gives rise to inflammation.

3. Extreme pain: Irritation inside a joint makes it painful and delicate even to touch. In a chronic condition, this may also lead to fractures.

4. Redness and warmth: The joints might appear hotter and more pink or red than the skin around it.

Needless to say, your lifestyle choices affect all aspects of your physical wellbeing, and that also include your joints- especially if you are suffering from arthritis.  It’s a common theory, that joints which are strained and stressed by bearing the burden of extra pounds show more inflammation, wear and tear and stiffness which lead to aggravation of arthritic pain. Here are a few holistic approaches to consider; certain changes in your existing lifestyle that can help you to reduce your arthritic pains: 

1. First and foremost, it’s important that you must indulge in plenty of exercises every single day, to keep pounds off and thus help yourself handle this degenerative disease.
2. In case of creating a healthy diet plan, stick to low calorie and low carb foods. Also be sure that you are consuming lots of vegetables and fruits in your diet. This also helps you to keep fit and put a break on the obesity factors that are detrimental to your health.
3.  As even a few extra pounds can worsen arthritic pain, keep track of your weight and talk to your orthopedic doctor to determine your optimal and healthiest weight. Focus on this prescribed weight coefficient and keep tracking your weight loss patterns unless you have reached your goal.
4. Cut down on alcohol. There has never been a finer alternative to that. 
5. Feeling depressed or stressed by arthritic pain is a common syndrome among arthritic patients. Nevertheless, on the flipside, such reactions actually worsens the agony of this disease and inhibit you from doing what you need to do, such as taking medications and exercising to keep yourself fit at the end of the day. 

Although admittedly, making drastic modifications in your lifestyle can be painful and difficult at first, these are the best remedies for easing arthritic pain in a natural way.
Don’t just rely on medications, take control of your disease in a holistic manner and you’ll soon find yourself in control of your life again.

Lifestyle Changes

Being overweight is a large risk factor for osteoarthritis because it puts a large amount of stress on weight-bearing joints. This damage is largely preventable by losing excess weight and increasing safe activity. Exercise (as long as it does not put dangerous strain on the joints) will improve your muscle strength. Strong muscles will support your weight-bearing joints and ultimately lower the chances of the negative symptoms of OA. Regular exercise can help prevent and reverse these effects.

Several different kinds of exercise can be beneficial, including range-of-motion exercises to preserve and restore joint motion, exercises to increase strength (isometric, isotonic, and isokinetic exercises), and exercises to increase endurance (walking, swimming, and cycling). Exercise programs for people with rheumatoid arthritis should be designed by a physical therapist and tailored to the severity of your condition, your build, and your former activity level. Getting a sufficient amount of rest is also necessary for management of OA symptoms.

Most of the arthritic conditions don’t have any cures. Ankylosing Spondylitis is also a type of arthritis that does not have a cure. It is a kind of arthritis of the spine; it affects the vertebrae. It primarily affects the spine, but it may also affect other areas such as shoulders, hills, hips, ribs, small joints of the feet and hands etc. In very advanced stages, it may also affect eyes, lungs and heart.

However, what really makes it scary is Ankylosis. When Ankylosis takes place, there is formation of new bony structures in the spine. These structures cause some sections of the spine to fuse and make the spine immobile.

Symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis

● Pain and Stiffness

One may feel a constant pain coupled with stiffness in areas like buttocks, lower back, hips etc. These symptoms may go on for months. It often starts at the sacroiliac joint.

● Bony Fusion

The formation of bony structures in the spine in advanced stages may affect movement of the back, neck, hips etc., and may also impair the ability to perform daily activities. The formation of bony structures may go to the extent of fusing the ribs in the rib cage to the breastbone or spine. This may limit the ability to expand the chest while taking deep breaths.

● Pain in Ligaments and Tendons

Ankylosing Spondylitis may also affect the tendons and ligaments that attach the muscles to the bones. This may precipitate pain and stiffness beneath or behind the heels.

Cause of Ankylosing Spondylitis

The cause of this disorder is not yet known, yet a genetic link cannot be ruled out. It has been observed that most of the people affected with Ankylosing Spondylitis carry a specific gene in them. People carrying this gene are susceptible to spondylitis. However, there are about 10% people who carry this gene, but don’t have any sign of Ankylosing Spondylitis. So, a sure determinant of cause of this disease is not completely known.

Diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis

To diagnosis Ankylosing Spondylitis, the physician has to look at several factors.

These include:

● Symptoms exhibited by the patient

● Physical Findings

● X-Rays of pelvis and back regions

● Taking chest measurements while taking deep breaths

● Laboratory tests Based upon the complete diagnosis, physician can positively determine if the condition is indeed Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Treatment

While a cure for Ankylosing Spondylitis is still not on the horizon, there are some treatments which can reduce pain and discomfort and thereby improve daily activities. Goals of treatment Since the disease can’t be cured, the goal is to reduce pain and stiffness, prevent deformity, maintain a good posture, and help perform daily activities. In fact, if treatment is proper, the patient may lead to a semblance of a normal life. However, it calls for a team approach. The team must include a physical therapist and an occupational therapist, apart from a rheumatologist. If the patient is suffering from bony growth, the doctor may go for an osteotomy.

Diabetes is a state where the body suffers from lack of energy due to poor metabolic state. This is construed as depression in many patients as they already feel lethargic and subdued. The fatigued state of body in diabetes can be alleviated by exercise which raises endorphins - substances which are released in the body especially by exercise - providing us the necessary elation so much necessary for our recovery

Managing diabetes may make a person feel alone and set apart from their friends and family due to the number of dietary restrictions they need to follow. Additionally, if the person has trouble controlling their blood sugar level, it may make him frustrated and anxious. Over time, these negative emotions can build up into depression.

Depression can make a person lose his sense of purpose and can make regular tasks feel like too much to handle. Thus, a depressed person may stop taking care of himself. The lack of energy can lead to a loss of appetite or unhealthy snacking. This can trigger fluctuations in blood sugar levels that worsen diabetes.

Thus, depression and diabetes have a cyclic relationship. The good news is that these two diseases can be treated together and managing one of these diseases can have a positive effect on the other as well.

Here are a few ways to treat diabetes and depression:

1. Regular Exercise

Regular exercise is very beneficial towards treating, both depression and diabetes. Exercise helps regulate blood sugar levels and hence can help control diabetes. It also helps in reducing excess weight, which can enhance your self image and make you feel happier. Simultaneously, it also releases endorphins or the 'feel good' brain chemical. This can help alleviate depression symptoms.

2. A Balanced Diet

A balanced diet is essential for good health and can help manage, both these disorders. Along with a balanced diet, there is also a need to abstain from snacking between meals. Reducing the amount of sugar in your meals helps stabilize blood sugar level and control fluctuations. Stable blood sugar level keep a person from becoming increasingly anxious and can thus prevent depression.

3. Restful Sleep

A good night's sleep can treat, both diabetes and depression. If you have proper sleep, you will awake feeling refreshed and energetic. This positive energy balances the negativity of depression, lowers the urge to snack and helps in stabilizing blood sugar level.

4. Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy or in particular cognitive behavioral therapy has been proven beneficial towards treating depression. This in turn gives a person the motivation needed to manage his diabetes as well.