Arthritis occurs in many forms and affects innumerable people to a greater or lesser extent, causing discomfort or even resulting in disability.
Is arthritis preventable? As long as you are healthy it will not even occur to you that you should do certain things that may prevent various diseases. It is only when an ailment hits you that you can wonder if what you did or did not do affected the eventual outcome. As arthritis affects millions of people globally, it is wise to ask whether the disease can be prevented.
The bad news is arthritis in its innumerable forms can actually not be prevented. The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to prevent the disease from taking over your life, to delay the onset of the disease, to prevent it from worsening and to help improve the quality of your life even if you do have arthritis.
Different etiologies of arthritis Arthritis takes many forms from the age related osteoarthritis which affects weight bearing joints to rheumatoid arthritis which is an auto-immune disorder. Then there are ailments which come under the umbrella term of arthritis which result from injuries, traumas and repetitive movements like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis and other such disorders.
While there is little you can do about an auto-immune disorder or arthritis which results from accidental injuries, when it comes to problems like carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis you can certainly prevent them by not carrying out repetitive movements which result in these problems. For instance, when you sit working at a computer, you should take frequent breaks and do joint exercises.
If you are overweight, you should reduce your weight and also keep exercising to prevent the degenerative effects of osteoarthritis. Knees and hips are often affected by osteoarthritis and so are ankles. As the cushioning between your joints wears out you experience pain and discomfort. Even when you are exercising, you should make sure that you reduce the adverse impact on your knees and hips, by not running on hard surfaces, wearing the proper footwear and the like.
Early diagnosis can also help in prevent symptoms from worsening and resulting in damage, deformity and disability. Whether it is losing weight, continuing to exercise, eating a healthy and nutritious diet, you can help yourself by not giving in to the disease.
Outlook and treatment There is ongoing research about treatments and medicines to prevent arthritis and manage its symptoms better. It is important to try medication along with supplementary therapies to arrest the progression of the disease. While conventional treatment consists of pain killers, anti-inflammatories, steroids and newer biologics, there are even more treatments which are on the anvil.
Treating cartilage problems is also being researched. Cox-2 inhibitors and stronger drugs like interleukin and methotrexate are also sometimes used. At the same time there are many natural remedies which have shown results in many people. Glucosamine sulfate, alone or in combinations, often show good results in people with osteoarthritis. Green-lipped mussel extract is another natural remedy.
Apart from these, there is various massage therapies which can help manage the pain associated with arthritis. Homeopathy has many natural remedies for different kinds of arthritis and they do afford relief. Some people get relief with herbal medicines, flaxseed oil, omega-3 fatty acids and even acupuncture and acupressure.
Taking in enough vitamins, minerals and other bone health supplements can also improve general health and arthritis pain. A diet which in low in acid is also beneficial, as long as you make diet modification a part of your healthy lifestyle.
