Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, involves the wearing away of the cartilage that caps the bones in your joints. Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease in which the immune system attacks the joints, beginning with the lining of joints. Arthritis is the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints.
Joint pain that occurs on both sides of the body, such as both feet, ankles, wrists, or fingers. Significant stiffness in the morning that persists for at least an hour. Aching muscles all over the body.
Although osteoarthritis can damage any joint, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, knees, hips and spine.
Depending on the type of arthritis, signs and symptoms may include: Pain. Stiffness. Swelling.
Pain, swelling and stiffness in one or multiple joints. Morning stiffness in and around the affected joints lasting at least one hour. Pain and stiffness that worsens with inactivity and improves with physical activity. Reduced range of motion.
The most common triggers of an OA flare are overdoing an activity or trauma to the joint. Other triggers can include bone spurs, stress, repetitive motions, cold weather, a change in barometric pressure, an infection or weight gain. Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an inflammatory disease that affects the skin and joints.
Joint scans
Scans may be done to check for joint inflammation and damage. These can help tell the difference between types of arthritis and can be used to monitor how your condition is progressing over time. Scans that may be done to diagnose and monitor rheumatoid arthritis include: X-rays.
If you have arthritis, participating in joint-friendly physical activity can improve your arthritis pain, function, mood, and quality of life. Joint-friendly physical activities are low-impact, which means they put less stress on the body, reducing the risk of injury.
Should I avoid certain types of exercise if I have arthritis? For arthritis that affects the joints, running, jogging, jumping rope, high impact aerobics or any other exercise where both feet are off the ground at the same time are to be avoided.
Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
NSAIDs are the most effective oral medicines for OA. They include ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) naproxen (Aleve) and diclofenac (Voltaren, others). All work by blocking enzymes that cause pain and swelling.
Depending on the type of arthritis, symptoms can develop suddenly or gradually over time. Symptoms may come and go, or persist over time.
It most commonly starts among people between the ages of 40 and 60. It's more common in women than men. There are drugs that can slow down an over-active immune system and therefore reduce the pain and swelling in joints.
You can't reverse your arthritis, but certain treatments can help slow the progression of the disease and help you manage your condition. Getting the right kind of treatment can ease your pain and help you maintain or even improve function, which will enable you to carry out daily activities.
Both heat and cold therapy may help ease symptoms of arthritis. Heat may help relieve aches and stiffness, while cold therapy may help ease swelling and pain. Applying heat or cold to affected parts of the body may help relieve the uncomfortable symptoms of arthritis.
Over-the-counter pain medications, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve) can help relieve occasional pain triggered by activity your muscles and joints aren't used to — such as gardening after a winter indoors.
Paracetamol. If you have pain caused by osteoarthritis, a GP may suggest taking paracetamol to begin with. You can buy this at supermarkets or pharmacies. It's best to take it regularly rather than waiting until your pain becomes unbearable.
You should see your GP if you have persistent symptoms of osteoarthritis so they can confirm the diagnosis and prescribe any necessary treatment.
Blood tests
People with rheumatoid arthritis often have an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, also known as sed rate) or C-reactive protein (CRP) level, which may indicate the presence of an inflammatory process in the body.
Massage therapy can help with inflammatory types of arthritis as well. A case study published in Massage Today found that regular massage helped alleviate pain and swelling from rheumatoid arthritis and also helped improved joint function, sleep quality, and daytime energy levels.