How Can Arthritis Be Treated?

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The number of Americans with arthritis increased 60% from 1997 to 2002, encompassing over 70 million people. While an aging population warrants the increasingly high number of sufferers, doctors say that getting treatment early can help relieve many of the symptoms, even though no cure currently exists. There are more than 100 different types of arthritis but the basic premise is that they all involve joint inflammation.

How do you know if you have arthritis? While symptoms and severity vary from person to person, the most common symptoms are: pain, swelling, stiffness, tenderness, redness and warmth. Osteoarthritis is characterized by progressive stiffness without swelling, chills or fever. Rheumatoid arthritis is the painful swelling, inflammation and stiffness in the fingers, arms, legs and wrists, which are prevalent on both sides of the body and are usually worse in the morning. Children with on-off fever, loss of appetite, weight loss and a blotchy rash on the arms and legs might have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. You should call the doctor if symptoms appear suddenly, or if they are accompanied by a fever or rash.

It is now believed that a number of environmental factors may trigger psoriatic arthritis. For instance, 4.6% of psoriatic arthritis patients had a rubella vaccination within the past five years, 14.9% had trauma requiring medical care, 25% had recurrent oral ulcers and 50% had a bone fracture requiring hospitalization. Further studies are needed to reveal how to prevent this type of arthritis, but the 2008 study from the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases has shed some light on a somewhat mysterious condition.

Local community news is usually filled with “Walks For Arthritis,” encouraging citizens to educate themselves about this common pain condition and raise money for those who suffer. Sometimes the best way to beat the disease is to meet with others who have it and combine experiences and knowledge. In support groups, you can hear about treatments that work or don’t work. Since arthritis proves to be such a hot topic right now, much new research is emerging about possible treatment.