What is Arthritis and How is it Treated

Posted by The Popular News Today on Friday, December 16, 2011

By John Spratt


The name Arthritis, a quite frequent condition chiefly in the elderly, is derived from a Greek phrase meaning joint inflammation. There are more than 100 distinct variations of arthritis, yet they all imply some amount of degradation to the natural components of the body located near the joints, or the regions where two bones are joined together.
In a correctly performing joint, there is a cartilage layer that encircles and buffers the extremities of the bone to hinder grinding and friction that could arise from bone to bone contact. There is moreover a tissue layer known as a synovium which stimulates a lubricant fluid to maintain the smooth function of the joint, and keep it well oiled. In addition to this, there are tendons, ligaments, and muscles in a joint that ideally connect the bones to each another and let them be moved around without a large amount of discomfort.

The most common reason for arthritis is regular every day wear and tear upon the cartilage layer, gradually reaching the point where they are unable to perform their function of buffering the extremities of the bone. This is known as osteoarthritis, and happens most often in the weight bearing knee, spine and hip joints in the body. The more often these joints get used on a daily basis, the more quickly the deficiency in cartilage will eventually increase over some time. After this 'cushion zone' of the cartilage is not there anymore, the bones might grind directly upon each other, bringing all manner of pain if they can should, splinter, become buried in tissue, etc. For certain, a major blow to the injured area, such as from a work or sport related accident, can accelerate the failure of cartilage much faster than the result of old age.

The other significant variety of arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, is brought about by inflammation at the joints, making it swell greatly or get stiffer. This is sometimes a condition connected with certain other ailments that are associated with joint inflammation. Rheumatoid arthritis is a very damaging sort of arthritis that means the lining around the joint gets enflamed and swells until the point where it presses against or invades other tissue, and certain fluids being released from it that attack instead of protect or lubricate the joints' various component pieces.

Treatment for arthritis starts with diagnostic testing such as blood testing, to find out the specific kind of arthritis in question, as well as x rays to determine what amount of impairment is present. Once this is performed, treatment might take various attributes, depending on the severeness of the complaint. It can be treated through occupational therapy, cold and heat treatments, medicines that lower inflammation, and medicines that copy the function of nature's joint lubricators. In the most aggravated scenarios, the patient might have to be operated on to pull out the injured joint, whether partially or completely, to replace it with an artificial one.

There are also many such ailments such as gout or pseudo gout that, arising from the degrading function that they have on the joint tissues, are moreover classified as kinds of arthritis.

Nevertheless, in spite of all the modern progress in learning about and recognizing different sorts of arthritis, their internal causes, and pain management and relief, there is still at the present time no real cure for many kinds of arthritis.




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