- Arthritis Pain can be Tackled - Fiona McQueen, Marissa Lassere and Mikkel Østergaa
A significant percentage of the population may be susceptible to swelling and damage to the joints in the body. This condition is known as arthritis. The term itself literally means joint inflammation. There are more than one hundred different types of this condition.
Regardless of the form of arthritis, the most common symptom that appears to be present in all types is a dull ache or pain that worsens during exposure to cold weather.
Although there is no known arthritis cure, treatments for this debilitating problem involve reducing the severity of symptoms as much as possible.
Symptoms of Arthritis
There are a number of key arthritis symptoms. Normally, people suffering from the condition experience heat inside a joint, along with redness of the affected joint. These are classical signs of inflammation and swelling. Another sign of arthritis is stiffness in the joints, especially lasting for at least 60 minutes during the early hours of the morning.
The arthritis sufferer will also notice that the affected joint would be unusually tender. The tenderness may usually be accompanied by intermittent or constant pain. Due to the difficulty associated with moving a joint, the arthritis sufferer may tend to experience a degree of occasional stiffness in the affected joint. Sometimes it may be too painful to even move a joint afflicted by arthritis. Finally, individuals suffering from arthritis may experience general fatigue in response to the whole ordeal.
Arthritis Treatments and Relief
Although there is no known arthritis cure, there is a combination of therapeutic options that may mitigate arthritis symptoms. The patient suffering from arthritis can be taught new skills to help cope with the debilitating condition from day to day. This treatment option is otherwise known as self-management.
Another arthritis treatment may include physiotherapy to address stiffness, pain and tenderness in joints. Moreover, since arthritis is most commonly associated with the joints in the human body, other therapeutic options aim at protecting afflicted joints from further damage by the condition or any external factors. Arthritis pain tends to be reduced when joints are shielded, especially from cold weather.
Indeed, joint protection has also meant taking on the form of relocation to a warmer climate. In many cases, though stiffness of joints (and, to a lesser extent, tenderness) has remained, arthritis pain has even disappeared. There are a lot of arthritis sufferers who can attest to the benefits of moving to a warmer climate because the cold and rain significantly increase the debilitating effects of the condition.
Source:
Arthritis Foundation of WA – Arthritis
Matthew Steel - Matthew is the owner of a small business called Matscopy. He specialises in writing media releases for small to medium enterprises. He is ...
