Degenerative joint disease - Arthritis

Degenerative joint disease Arthritis 

It occurs most frequently in the hands, hips, and knees. With OA (osteoarthritis,) the cartilage within a joint begins to break down and the underlying bone begins to change.

Understanding Arthritis Symptoms, Causes And Treatment Options. 

Introduction 

Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain and stiffness, which typically worsen with age. The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis Uric acid crystals, which form when there's too much uric acid in your blood, can cause gout. Infections or underlying disease, such as psoriasis or lupus, can cause other types of arthritis.

Treatments vary depending on the type of arthritis. The main goals of arthritis treatments are to reduce symptoms and improve quality of life

Osteoarthritis causes cartilage — the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint — to break down. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints.

Symptoms 

The most common signs and symptoms of arthritis involve the joints. Depending on the type of arthritis, signs and symptoms may include:

1. Pain
2. Stiffness
3. Swelling
4. Redness
5. Decreased range of motion

The two main types of arthritis — osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis — damage joints in different ways.

Osteoarthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis

In rheumatoid arthritis, the body's The most common type of arthritis, osteoarthritis involves wear-and-tear damage to a joint's cartilage — the hard, slick coating on the ends of bones where they form a joint. Cartilage cushions the ends of the bones and allows nearly frictionless joint motion, but 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.

Osteoarthritis also causes changes in the bones and deterioration of the connective tissues that attach muscle to bone and hold the joint together. If cartilage in a joint is severely damaged, the joint lining may become inflamed and swollen.immune system attacks the lining of the joint capsule, a tough membrane that encloses all the joint parts. This lining (synovial membrane) becomes inflamed and swollen. The disease process can eventually destroy cartilage and bone within the joint

Risk factors

Risk factors for arthritis include:

1. 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.
2. Age. The risk of many types of arthritis — including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout — increases with age.
3. Your sex. Women are more likely than men to develop rheumatoid arthritis, while most of the people who have gout, another type of arthritis, are men.
4. Previous joint injury. People who have injured a joint, perhaps while playing a sport, are more likely to eventually develop arthritis in that joint.
5. Obesity. Carrying excess pounds puts stress on joints, particularly your knees, hips and spine. People with obesity have a higher risk of developing arthritis

Treatment

Treatments for rheumatoid arthritis can help reduce inflammation in the joints, relieve pain, prevent or slow down joint damage, reduce disability and enable you to be as active as possible.

Although there's no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, early treatment and support (including medicine, lifestyle changes, supportive treatments and surgery) can reduce the risk of joint damage and limit the impact of the condition.

Your treatment will usually involve care from your GP and several different specialists.

There are medicines available to help stop rheumatoid arthritis from getting worse and reduce your risk of further problems.

These are often divided into main 2 types: disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological treatments.

1. Therapie-Hydrotherapy, Stretching, Massage and Acupuncture
2. Self-care-Physical exercise, Weight loss, Yoga, Heating pad, Ice packs and Cold compress 
3. Surgury-Hip replacement, Knee replacement and Joint replacement
4. Medications-Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Steroids,Analgesic, Narcotic and Immunosuppressive drug