12th October is World's Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Disease (RMDs) day, which is celebrated as “World's Arthritis Day”.
The fact that there are more than 100 types of Arthritis that trouble not only the old but the young as well, Arthritis is thereby one of the reasons for disability.
Most common are Osteoarthritis affecting mostly the elderly and Autoimmune Arthritis affecting the younger people.
Autoimmune Arthritis
Commonly called as Inflammatory Arthritis. Includes Rheumatoid Arthritis, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Psoriatic arthritis, Gout, Ankylosing Spondylitis etc.
Here our body defense mechanism recognizes Joints as foreign and starts attacking and destroying them instead of protecting. That is how Arthritis develops.
Here not only joints but other organs like heart, kidneys, lungs and other organs may also be affected.
With the newer medicines like the Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatoid Drugs(DMARDs) and Biologics, these Arthritis can be cured or got into control.
The most important part of this is to recognize it early and start medications.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is due to Wear and Tear of the cartilage.
With age our cartilage loses the resilience and undergoes degeneration.
Other reasons for Osteoarthritis can be:
Fractures or ligament injuries through the joint where the cartilage is also injured.
Infection of the joints
- Excessive usage of joints than usual like usage of cell phones leading to excessive pressure over the thumb.
- Sitting for long hours in work in front of a computer affecting the cervical (neck) and lumbar spine (Lower back).
- Any form of Arthritis finally causes destruction of the cartilage of the joints resulting in pain, swelling, stiffness and finally disability. This disability robs us of doing our regular activities and holds back our quality of life.
- On this occasion of Arthritis day let us raise the awareness about Arthritis and how to overcome the disability associated with it and revamp the quality of life.
Steps to Improve Arthritic Condition
Know your arthritis.
- Seek a doctors help to know your Arthritis.
- Early diagnosis and treatment will help you stay active and independent.
- Work with your healthcare team to find a combination of treatments that best suits your type of Arthritis.
- In late and debilitating condition joint replacement may be recommended.
Protect your joints
- “Work smarter not hard”
- Use an elevator instead of climbing stairs.
- In a grocery shop use a shopping cart/trolley rather than carrying groceries in hand..
- An activity can be done by using more stable joints and stronger muscles. Take grocery bags in the forearm and elbow rather than in the hands and fingers.
- These small modifications as above will reduce stress on the joints and make your daily jobs easier.
Dealing with pain
- Take medicines wisely.
- Avoid activities which aggravate pain and take help when required.
- Ice packs and hot packs will help.
- A mild massage relaxes muscles and reduces Arthritic pain.
Exercise
- Take time to exercise gently. It is one of the best ways to be active along with Arthritis.
- Exercises like yoga and resist bands increase mobility and strengthen the muscles.
- “Avoid high impact exercises and avoid exercising during pain”
- A good sleep reduces fatigue and will make your day fresh and energetic.
- Having a warm bath before bed and a sleeping pill may be useful.
Sleep
Positive Attitude
It is not surprising to have negative thoughts and emotions such as a sense of loss or distress when you find out you have a chronic health condition. As a person living with arthritis you need to take care of both your physical health and your mental health and with the right management plan you can live well with Arthritis
On this very significant day, i.e. Oct 12th being recognized as “World Arthritis Day”, and 'Arthritis' being a big health issue affecting major population, it is absolutely necessary to initiate awareness so as to bring in solutions in dealing with the “How's” and “What's” of living a life both Actively and Positively. Very important is a right treatment for Arthritis. This will improve well-being and bring a balance in the quality of life.