Arthritis affects the musculoskeletal system, especially the joints and the main symptoms include pain, stiffness and swelling. This is not a single disease, it’s a term used for more than 100 medical conditions. Тhe most common forms of arthritis include: osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, ankylosing spondylitis, juvenile arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) and scleroderma.
Though arthritis is often associated with getting older, statistics show that a large number of people that have this disease are middle-aged. In fact, more than 50 million adults and about 300,000 children suffer from arthritis worldwide. This is a type of disease that cannot be cured, but there are ways that people cope with it.
If you have been diagnosed with arthritis, apart from taking the necessary medications, you’ll also need to consider adopting a healthy food regiment and begin with regular exercise. Proper intake of medications, according to your specific arthritis form, include drugs like analgesic for relieving pain; biologics that are mostly used for rheumatoid arthritis in order to control the immune response, or more specifically to simulate the body’s natural response so the disease; corticosteroids to mimic the effects of the hormone cortisol; disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, or known as DMARDs used to slow the inflammatory process, and many more you can inform yourself about at the doctor’s office.
Another thing that is often recommended is a healthy food regiment and you will have to pay attention to your intake of proteins and carbohydrates and consuming foods rich in anti-oxidants. Doctors often recommend a high fiber diet in order to reduce inflammation and there are certain substances you’ll have to avoid, like sugar, saturated fats, gluten, casein and alcohol; it all depends on your condition. Preparing meals for your proper diet when you suffer from arthritis can be sometimes difficult. There are some arthritis products specifically designed to help you when cooking, such as a special peeler or a twisted jar opener.
By getting the proper and adequate exercise you will not only increases the dopamine level in your brain, but it would also be quite effective when it comes to reducing pain and improving mobility. Light exercises on a daily basis are strongly recommended, because it’s shown that they can delay or even prevent the need for hip surgery. It’s recommended that you try to get as more vitamin D as you can, and one of the ways you can do this is with regular walks during the day – as a form of light exercise and exposure to direct sunlight. Walking can keep your joints healthy and there are certain arthritis products made in order to ease this process. For instance, you can get a lightweight aluminium walking stick that has a built in seat so that when you start to feel tired during your walks, you can just unfold it, sit and rest.
Living with arthritis can be painful and uncomfortable at times. According to collected data in 2011-12, around 3.3 million people have arthritis in Australia and unfortunately this number is not decreasing. The good thing is that there is a wide range of equipment at affordable prices that can assist you to go about your everyday routine and have a more independent lifestyle.
