What Are The Most Common Types and Causes Of Arthritis?
If you’ve injured yourself previously and find that you have ongoing issues with painful joints, you might wonder if you have arthritis or a particular type of arthritis. Perhaps you’ll decide to investigate further and search for some common causes of arthritis. Arthritis is a condition that affects almost everyone. It tends to be very disabling and can be the reason for many patients applying for disability. Arthritis is an inflammatory process involving the joints of the body. It commonly occurs in the knees, hands, and feet.
So, what are the most common causes of arthritis? Several things lead to arthritis, including heredity, age, obesity, infections, sugars and alcohol intake, joint damage, and general inflammation. If you want to understand the causes, it may be best to learn about the most common arthritis types.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis most commonly seen. It most often occurs in the elderly population. Some of the contributing factors to osteoarthritis are wear and tear, infection, and blood hormonal level issues. Osteoarthritis affects the elderly most of all, and it’s often seen in several joints. It leads to bony degeneration over time. The bones become deformed, and the cartilage which supports the bones breaks down.
Another common type of arthritis is an autoimmune type called rheumatoid arthritis, which affects the lining of the joints. It’s seen more often in people over 50 years of age, and it usually follows a previous injury or illness. Medical testing of the blood for factors that are produced in this inflammatory process is one of the primary methods utilized to make the diagnosis.
Psoriatic Arthritis
The other common type of arthritis is psoriatic arthritis, which is often a complication of the skin disease psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic disease for which there is no current cure. It is also characterized by the autoimmune phenomenon where the immune system abnormally attacks normal cells in your body and causes inflammation of the joints.
Infections
Infections can also be the cause of arthritis. An example of this would be Lyme disease, an infectious complication of the bacteria carried on ticks. Lyme disease can typically lead to joint inflammation of the knees.
A bad infection in the blood called sepsis can also lead to the complication of septic arthritis which can be seen in the hands, hips, and knees.
Inflammation
The inflammation in the joints is the main problem in cases of arthritis. Common injuries are often the source of inflammation and swelling. As mentioned above, an infection, foreign body, or toxins in the system can also cause arthritis. Certain foods, environmental factors, and genetics also can lead to inflammation of joints.
When you have an inflammation of the joints, you will subsequently develop damage to the joint tissue. If the cartilage is damaged and cannot properly replace itself, this results in stiffness and a loss of mobility. The goal in treating arthritis will be to address any underlying problems causing inflammation, restore mobility, and relieve pain.
Another problem with arthritis progression is the risk of needing joint replacement. There are different types of surgery that can actually replace a joint to help correct the symptoms of arthritis. Many patients have had good outcomes with joint replacement surgery such as in the knees or hips or shoulders. The surgeries can be very difficult to experience, and this will deter some patients. As time has passed, the success of joint surgery has improved with better equipment and improved techniques.
The treatment for each form of arthritis varies. Arthritis can be managed with medication and physical therapy. Medications can help control arthritis symptoms but often cannot cure the disease completely. There have also been promising results with natural remedies and maintaining good nutrition.
What Are the Worst Foods to Eat For Arthritis?
If you are suffering from arthritis, it’s important that you know what are the worst foods to eat for arthritis. It’s best to see what you need to avoid in your diet in order not to cause yourself unnecessary problems. An excellent way to look at this is to focus on the positive. When you know what foods to avoid in arthritis, you can try to take full advantage of eating foods beneficial for arthritis. This is a much healthier way to approach the diet. This way, you can be proactive and look to eat foods that will actually be beneficial to someone who has arthritis.
The thing you should do first is decrease the amount of foods that have high fat content. High-fat foods have a tendency to cause painful, achy joints. Examples of these types of foods are cookies, pastries, and donuts. If you are someone who tends to have a sugar habit, you will notice an improvement of your symptoms if you can drastically decrease the intake of these foods.
Next, you need to start incorporating more foods into your diet that are good for reducing pain. Some examples are foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables. These are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals which can be especially helpful in pain reduction. The best way to approach changing the sugar habit is by focusing on how good a particular food is for managing your arthritis pain. Then look to replace that sugar fix with a more healthy alternative. When you have less pain, you’ll really appreciate that you avoided that sugar habit.
Little Changes Can Make a Massive Difference Over Time.
Make sure to educate yourself about processed foods. They are awful for the person living with arthritis. Any processed food will have preservatives added to it, which will worsen your arthritis symptoms. Again, look to replace this type of food with something that has much better nutritional value.
A person with arthritis should try to eat natural foods that are right outside your refrigerator. This means that you need to start looking for natural foods that are high in antioxidants and other nutrients that are truly beneficial in reducing arthritis pain. Instead of a sugar-filled soft drink, why not try to eat cherries? Try to eat dark green leafy vegetables to best compliment your arthritis. These foods contain essential omega 3 fatty acids, which are great at lowering the inflammation in your joints. The fatty acids help to produce factors that help resolve inflammation. So, when you know that the food you eat will decrease inflammation, which means less pain, it can be an excellent motivator.
Altering the kinds of foods that you eat daily can lead to active relief from the pain you are experiencing. One of the things to do is to look to add better food to your diet. Some of the best foods to eat for arthritis include fresh produce, fish, and lean proteins. When you make those changes and your outcome is decreased pain, you’ll know that your diet is one of the biggest keys to arthritis management. So make the right choices and start feeling better today.
Is Exercise Good Or Bad For Arthritis?
You might wonder, “Does exercise help or hurt your arthritis?” If you have arthritis and are considering an exercise routine, perhaps you have some concerns. The pain of arthritis can be unbearable at times, and exercise has proven to be a very effective way to alleviate some of the pain. It’s important to make sure that you consult with your doctor before embarking on an exercise routine for the first time or thinking of increasing your exercise levels. The last thing you want is to cause yourself additional pain and hardship.
Exercise helps build our strength and endurance and helps us lose some weight when done with routine. If you have arthritis, the answer to whether exercise is useful or harmful is truly dependent upon what type of arthritis you have. For example, rheumatoid arthritis patients may have a hard time doing any kind of exercise. This is because the pain from this type of arthritis is usually so intense and constant that it really makes the simplest of chores very difficult. So if you have this type of arthritis, it would certainly be best to consult your doctor to determine how to approach exercise.
Low impact exercise can be utilized in patients with arthritis, but the critical point is to pay close attention to pain during exercise. If you are having increased pain, it usually means something is wrong.
The pain can sometimes be from other areas not involving the joint, such as the muscle or tendons surrounding the joint.
Being taught the most proper techniques for exercise will be especially important in someone with arthritis. If you can strengthen the muscles surrounding the joints, this is very helpful for your condition. Likely good exercise candidates are walking and swimming.
People that have exercised a lot in their lives can be at risk of developing arthritis. One of the main exercises that is a huge contributor to knee joint arthritis is running. Running is extremely hard on the knees. A better type of exercise is using an elliptical trainer. This technique is much easier on the knees and can allow exercise into the later years without the increased risk of developing arthritis.
Certainly, many issues can trigger the onset of arthritis, such as chronic inflammation, weak bones, lack of joint mobility, obesity, and previous injuries. The best advice is to consult a physician who specializes in sports medicine or a physical therapist.
Do I need a physical therapist to help develop an exercise program for me? Physical therapists are specially trained to teach patients different types of exercises. In most cases, they can also design an exercise program for patients who have joint problems or arthritis. Depending on certain kinds of arthritis, you may also want to discuss this with your doctor. They can recommend a physical therapist who specializes in treating patients who have your specific type of arthritis.