If you have aged parents or grandparents at your house, you may have heard about Arthritis quite often during their medical visits to doctors and clinicians. Arthritis is an informal way of describing joint pain diseases and has a lot of specific diseases under its umbrella. More than 50 million adults and 3 lakh children have some form of arthritis disease. The risk of the disease increases with age and is more common in women after menopause. The three most common types of the disease are Osteoarthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Gout.
Risk Factors of Arthritis
Older people have a higher chance of being affected by Arthritis. Besides age, genetic inheritance and dysregulation of sex-hormones, testosterone, and estrogen, also pose a higher risk. Several reports and clinical publications have given evidence regarding the prevalence of prior injuries and microbial infections as a risk factor for the disease. Moreover, lifestyle habits play a major role in patients prone to Osteoarthritis. An unhealthy diet, stress, and a lack of hygiene can increase the risk of the disease in people.
Symptoms of Arthritis
The general symptoms of this disease can be described as:
Pain
The most prominent symptom of this disease is Pain in the joints, generally in the knees and wrists, during movement or after being at rest for a long time. The pain is generally due to inflammation in the joints and it worsens with aging.
Swelling and Redness
In Arthritis, joint areas which are affected by the disease condition, swell up and become reddish due to tissue degradation and fluid accumulation.
Stiffness
Patients with Arthritis suffer from joint stiffness mostly when they wake up in the morning and due to stiffness, joint flexibility is lost, leading to difficulty in movement.
Fatigue
Arthritis leads to the weakening of muscles and bones, generally in the patient’s arm and knees. Due to this weakening and frailty of the body, patients are always tired and show severe signs of fatigue in case of this disease.
Loss of Movement
Due to joint stiffness and muscle weakening, patients suffering from Arthritis find it difficult to move around normally and often lose the strength to walk or do normal activities with severity of the conditions.
Besides these common symptoms, there are some specific symptoms for every other Patient. Osteoarthritis is sometimes accompanied by a grating sensation during bending of the joints and in severe cases, formation of hard bony lumps occurs around degrading joints. In cases of Rheumatoid Arthritis, hand and leg digits show mid to severe deformities. And lastly, in case of Gout, swelling and pain is generally seen around the bigger toe
Medications for Arthritis
The medications focus on limiting the pain, preventing further tissue deterioration, and improving function.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): This is the first line of therapy for reducing both pain and inflammation. They are available in both oral and topical formulations. Oral medications are preferred only if the topical medication doesn’t work.
- Corticosteroids: Intra-articular corticosteroids injections are also employed in the treatment. They are immunosuppresses that can control inflammation. Cortisone and prednisone are key examples of corticosteroids.
- Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs): These are commonly used in rheumatoid arthritis and regulate the immune system to prevent its attack on cartilage.
- Pain-Relievers: These are aimed at pain reduction.
- Antibiotics: They are used as treatment for arthritis caused by microbial infections.
- Surgical Replacement: It is the last resort for arthritis patients who have poor responses to medications. Although it is highly effective, it results in limited joint function.
- In the case of gout, uric acid-decreasing medications are recommended for repeated episodes of gout as these medications have no significant effect on acute gout.
Generally, a combination of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches is recommended for better management of disease and treatment outcomes. However, none of the treatments can reduce the damage and can only slow the progression of the disorder.
Arthritis Treatment
The disease has been a common household name and for decades, many conventional treatments like pain-relief and anti-inflammatory medications have been practiced to help patients from further tissue degradation and pain. Recently, Regenerative Medicine has been a boon for many tissue-specific disorders and clinical reports are successfully backing up the potential of stem cell therapy in Arthritis and other orthopedic diseases. Regenerative medicine has come up with the treatment regime foe the disease that promises damage prevention and tissue regeneration using patient-derived stromal cells.
Advancells is one of the pioneers of regenerative therapies in India with a high success rate for Arthritis treatment and they provide advanced therapy using the patient’s own stem cells active in platelet-derived plasma. It is never too late for a second chance!
FAQs
Q: What is arthritis?
It is a joint disorder characterized by pain and swelling in the area.
Q: What are the symptoms of arthritis?
The symptoms of arthritis include joint pain, stiffness, fatigue, swelling, redness, and difficulty in movement.
Q: What are the types of arthritis?
There are several types of arthritis, but three of them stand out: rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and gout.
Q: What are the treatment options for arthritis patients?
The medications usually focus on eliminating pain and inflammation, which improves functions. Surgical treatment can be effective but also lead to restricted functionality. Stem cell therapy has the potential to repair the tissue damage and restore function.
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