Arthritis – Beyond the Pain

Many people suffer from Arthritis every day and yet we don’t truly understand what this disease really is or what exactly it is doing to our bodies. Millions of people every year are diagnosed with this disease and it has become as common as the common cold. Many people will think “oh, arthritis well, my sister has it” they act like it is such a common occurrence but they don’t really understand the pain that a person goes through with this and the fact that this person will suffer needlessly for the rest of their lives with it.

Arthritis is a very sneaky disease and many people will only start to feel their bodies have pain and stiffness over a period of time. It might start out just being a little stiff in your hands or hips, even your knees will be difficult to move. You know that feeling, when you wake up in the morning and you feel stiff and sore, not being able to get up very easy…that is arthritis!

It is also said that arthritis can cause swelling and pain in the joints. Joints are the places where two bones meet, for example at your elbow. There are certain kinds of arthritis that will cause problems in your skin, chest and even your eyes! These problems are of course caused by inflammation, which is a swelling in the joints or the muscle, it is also your body’s way of saying “hey, there is something wrong here!”

You can learn even more about this ailment and at the DermaTech Reseach Center. It’s a great free site complete with charts and illustrations to help you or a loved one deal with the crippling effects of arthritis. It’s provided by the folks at Q-Based Healthcare, who manufacture arthritis relief solutions available at their All Stop Arthritis website.

So What to Do Now?

Many people worry that if they have arthritis that they will never be able to work, which is definitely not true, they even think that they can’t take care of their kids or their family. While it is a well known fact that arthritis hurts it doesn’t mean that it is the end of the world. You can still live your life and do all of the things you want to do, you just have to do it in a more careful manner. There are also different things that you can do to reduce the pain which we will discuss in the next few articles.

Surely you were aware that there are as many as seven different kinds or types of arthritis but we will only name the two most common ones here today, the first one is Rheumatoid Arthritis and the other is Osteoarthritis. In the next few paragraphs we will discuss these two types and fill you in on information pertaining to them.

Osteoarthritis: This is the type of arthritis that is found in most people. Surely you can say it is the most common. Usually this is found in people who are older and who have lived a very long and active life, usually it is found in the person’s hips, knees, fingers, basically any place on your body where you have joints. If as a youngster you twisted your knee or banged it really bad then years and years down the road that is when osteoarthritis will set in. It is because you once had an injury in that area.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: This is the type of arthritis that happens when a person’s imune system is not working well. It will affect the organs of your body the bones and the joints (most often the feet and hands). You might feel tired and run down, running a fever and just generally feel lousy.

Other things that can cause Arthritis are:

1.Gout which usually affects the person’s big toe. Gout is when the fluid in the joints crystallize.

2.Lupus which sadly you tend to hear about very often, this is where your body’s immune system basically goes haywire and starts to attack your own skin, kidneys, heart, your joints and even other organs in your body.

3.Viral hepatitis is another infection which attacks the person’s liver, when it is finally put under control the fight is not ended, this usually causes arthritis.

We’ll continue this series next week with more information to help you diagnose and deal with arthritis.

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HealthGeek