What is arthritis?

Basically, there’re lots of Heating Pads & Ice Packs that can help soothe your Arthritis, Back Pains or even Neck Pains. Bearing in mind, an Arthritis Condition is an inflammation of the joints.

Usually, it’s okay to use heating pads for brief periods, and it may be safer than other pain relievers, such as ibuprofen. Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling are the most common symptoms of Arthritis.

Your range of motion may also decrease, and you may experience redness of the skin around the joint. Many people with arthritis notice their symptoms are worse in the morning.

In the case of RA, you may feel tired or experience a loss of appetite due to the inflammation the immune system’s activity causes. You may also become anemic — meaning your red blood cell count decreases — or have a slight fever. Severe RA can cause joint deformity if left untreated.

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is an inflammation of the joints. It can affect one joint or multiple joints. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis, with different causes and treatment methods.

Two of the most common types are osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). AND The symptoms usually develop over time, but they may also appear suddenly.

Arthritis is most commonly seen in adults over the age of 65. But, it can also develop in children, teens, and younger adults. It’s also more common in women than men and in people who are overweight.

The main symptoms of arthritis condition are joint pain and stiffness. Not to mention, which typically worsens with age. Whereby, the symptoms of arthritis usually develop over time, but they may also appear suddenly.

Notably, the condition is common today with children, teens, and younger adults too. Especially, due to unprecedented climate change, pollution aspects, and genetic alteration. As well as, poor lifestyle adoption.

What Causes Arthritis?

First of all, Cartilage is a firm but flexible connective tissue in your joints. It protects the joints by absorbing the pressure and shock created when you move and put stress on them.

Secondly, a reduction in the normal amount of this cartilage tissue causes some forms of arthritis.

Normal wear and tear cause Osteoarthritis (OA), one of the most common forms of arthritis. An infection or injury to the joints can exacerbate this natural breakdown of cartilage tissue. Your risk of developing OA may be higher if you have a family history of the disease.

Another common form is Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), which is an autoimmune disorder. It occurs when your body’s immune system attacks the tissues of the body. These attacks affect the synovium, a soft tissue in your joints that produces a fluid that nourishes the cartilage and lubricates the joints.

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a disease of the synovium that will invade and destroy a joint. It can eventually lead to the destruction of both bone and cartilage inside the joint.

The exact cause of the immune system’s attacks is unknown. But scientists have discovered genetic markers that increase your risk of developing RA fivefold. Your risk of developing Osteoarthritis may be higher if you have a family history of the disease.

Which are the Types of Arthritis?

Important to realize that there are different types of Arthritis conditions.

As I had earlier mentioned, they include; Osteoarthritis (OA), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA), Fibromyalgia and Gout.

Whereby, all of them cause pain in different ways.

1. Osteoarthritis

The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to your joints cartilage — the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones.

Enough damage can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. This wear and tear can occur over many years, or it can be hastened by a joint injury or infection.

2. Rheumatoid Arthritis

In Rheumatoid Arthritis, the body’s immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts.

This lining, known as the synovial membrane, becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint.

3. Psoriatic Arthritis

Psoriatic Arthritis is one of the major complications that’s associated with psoriasis. Notably, a relapsing inflammatory skin disease.

As a matter of fact, an estimated 30 percent of people with Psoriasis Symptoms will go on to develop psoriatic arthritis. In particular, another type of inflammatory disease that’s caused by both genetic and environmental factors.

Risk factors for arthritis include:

Family history. Some types of arthritis run in families, so you may be more likely to develop arthritis if your parents or siblings have the disorder. Your genes can make you more susceptible to environmental factors that may trigger arthritis.
Age. The risk of many types of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and gout — increases with age.
Your sex. Women are more likely than are men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most of the people who have gout, another type of arthritis, are men.
Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to eventually develop arthritis in that joint.
Obesity. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, particularly your knees, hips, and spine. Obese people have a higher risk of developing arthritis.

What are the Symptoms of Arthritis?

As can be seen, from my introduction part, Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling are the most common symptoms.

Your range of motion may also decrease, and you may experience redness of the skin around the joint. Whereas, many people with it notice their symptoms are worse in the morning. And in the case of RA, you may feel tired or experience a loss of appetite due to the inflammation the immune system’s activity causes.

You may also become anemic — meaning your red blood cell count decreases — or have a slight fever. Severe RA can cause joint deformity if left untreated.

Seeing your primary care physician is a good first step if you’re unsure who to see for diagnosis. Whereby, they will perform a physical exam to check for fluid around the joints, warm or red joints.

And a limited range of motion in the joints. In that case, your doctor can refer you to a specialist if needed. However, if you’re experiencing severe symptoms, you may choose to schedule an appointment with a rheumatologist first. Leading to faster diagnosis and treatment.

Extracting and analyzing inflammation levels in your blood and joint fluids can help your doctors too. Especially, to determine what kind of arthritis you have.

Blood tests that check for specific types of antibodies are also common diagnostic tests. Like anti-CCP (anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide), RF (rheumatoid factor), and ANA (antinuclear antibody).

How is Arthritis Diagnosed and Treated?

Commonly, doctors may also use imaging scans. Such as X-ray, MRI, and CT scans to produce an image of your bones and cartilage. This is so they can rule out other causes of your symptoms, such as bone spurs.

The main goal of treatment is to reduce the amount of pain you’re experiencing and prevent additional damage to the joints. And by all means, you’ll learn what works best for you in terms of controlling pain. Some people find heating pads and ice packs to be soothing.

Others use mobility assistance devices, like canes or walkers, to help take the pressure off sore joints. Improving your joint function is also important.

Your doctor may prescribe you a combination of treatment methods to achieve the best results.

You can Shop heating pads for pain relief.

1. Medication

A number of different types of medication include;

Analgesics, such as hydrocodone (Vicodin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol), are effective for pain management but don’t help decrease inflammation.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) and salicylates, help control pain and inflammation. Salicylates can thin the blood, so they should be used very cautiously with additional blood-thinning medications.
Menthol or capsaicin creams block the transmission of pain signals from your joints.
Immunosuppressants like prednisone or cortisone help reduce inflammation.

If you have RA, your doctor may put you on corticosteroids or disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), which suppress your immune system.

There are also many medications to treat OA available over the counter or by prescription.

Eventually, you can Shop capsaicin creams for pain relief.

2. Surgery

Surgery to replace your joint with an artificial one may be an option. This form of surgery is most commonly performed to replace hips and knees.

If your arthritis is most severe in your fingers or wrists, your doctor may perform a joint fusion. In this procedure, the ends of your bones are locked together until they heal and become one.

3. Physical Therapy

Physical therapy involving exercises that help strengthen the muscles around the affected joint is a core component of arthritis treatment.

Severe arthritis, particularly if it affects your hands or arms, can make it difficult for you to do daily tasks. Arthritis of weight-bearing joints can keep you from walking comfortably or sitting up straight. In some cases, joints may become twisted and deformed.

Here are 8 Natural Therapies to Control Joint Pains

Resources;

Finally, I hope the above-revised guide on how to maintain Arthritis naturally was helpful to you. And therefore, if so, please help us share the word with other readers online.

But, if you’ll have additional contributions, suggestions, and recommendations, please Contact Us. Or even, leave your thoughts in the comments box below this blog post.

You can as well as go ahead and Buy Sunbeam Heating Pad for Pain Relief on Amazon (XL King Size UltraHeat, 3 Heat Settings with Moist Heat | Light Blue, 12-Inch x 24-Inch).

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