Orlando HomeCare | Arthritis, Get the facts

Arthritis is way more than the aches and pains that are associated with it. In fact it’s a form of musculoskeletal disorder that consists of more than 100 diseases that affect people of all ages, races, and genders. It’s not just a disease of the elderly; half of the people diagnosed with arthritis are under the age of 65.

Arthritis can take many forms, and affects each individual differently, some severe enough to require home care. The most common disease that makes up arthritis are these:

• Osteoarthritis (OA), is the most common form, it’s a degenerative joint disease that is characterized by the breakdown of joint cartilages. It is associated with factors such as obesity, injury and age.
• Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), a disease characterized by the inflammation of membranes lining the joint, which cause pain, stiffness and swelling which may lead to severe joint damage.
• Juvenile Arthritis (JA) is used to describe many auto immune and inflammatory conditions affecting children under the age of 16

Prevention

Arthritis is not always preventable, factors such as history of the disease in family members are out of control. Nevertheless, you can maintain a few health habits to reduce the risk of developing painful joints as you get older.

• Eat fish; it is rich in omega 3 fatty acid, a healthy polyunsaturated fat, that helps reduce inflammation in the body.
• Don’t strain your joints; there are techniques you can use to protect your joints from everyday strains, like lifting with your knees and hips and not with your back.
• Avoid injury; over time joints may start to wear out, but an injury may damage your cartilage and cause them to wear out more quickly.
• Stay physically active. Physical activity and weight management play a very crucial role in arthritis prevention.

Symptoms

Prevention is the best cure, but if you start noticing these symptoms an early visit to a doctor is in order.

• Joint pain
• Joint swelling.
• Joint redness.
• Joint warmth.
• Stiffness of joints
• Many joints affected

Treatment

Regardless of whether you developed arthritis with age or you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, you don’t have to let the pain and discomfort prevent you from living your life. Your physician has a range of medication and recommendations to relieve pain and prevent your joints from suffering further damage.

Simple ways to protect your joints

Treatment for arthritis doesn’t always have to come in a bottle. Maintaining a healthy routine can work wonders for patients. If you are overweight, then losing some can take the pressure off your joints. Also, if you have a severe case of stiff joints regular excise is one of the best cures. When in pain the last thing you want to do is exercise; it is important to understand that in the long term it will be worth it. Patients that follow these practices experienced a sizable reduction in their symptoms.

Medication

The medication for arthritis is a special group medication known as anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs interfere with the chemicals that cause pain, inflammation, and fever. They are very useful in relieving pain and swelling in all types Arthritis.

The nurses at Partners in Healthcare are available to talk with you about your in-home senior care needs including how to stay healthy at home with RN managed affordable care. We are a private duty home care agency that provides elder home care serves in the Orlando area, call us at 407-788-9393.