What is arthritis?

  What are the risk factors and causes of arthritis?

  What are the symptoms of arthritis?

  How is arthritis diagnosed or evaluated?

  What are the treatments and drugs to treat arthritis?

  Role of Homoeopathy in treating arthritis

What is arthritis?

The term arthritis literally means inflammation or swelling of the joints. These conditions have the similar symptoms of pain, swelling, and stiffness of the joints and surrounding areas. The two most commonly diagnosed types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, is a degenerative arthritis. Osteoarthritis commonly affects portions of the wrists, ankles, fingers, and toes; as well as the knees, hips, neck, and lower spine.

The arthritis pain described by osteoarthritis patients includes morning stiffness, and stiffness following inactivity of the affected joint. This stiffness rarely lasts for more than 30 minutes. As osteoarthritis progresses, patients report arthritis pain with movement of the joint and resolution of pain upon resting the joint. In advanced disease, patients report pain at rest and pain that awakens them from sleep.

Rheumatoid arthritis, the second most common form of arthritis, is the chronic swelling and inflammation of the joints. The hallmark rheumatoid arthritis symptom is pannus-a swelling and overgrowth of rough tissue (called granular tissue) over the smooth connective tissue that surrounds the area around and between the bones and joints. Although some cases of rheumatoid arthritis are mild, this type of arthritis is often chronic and progressive, and leads to deformities and disability.

What are the risk factors and causes of arthritis?

The cause of arthritis remains unknown. There are three promising theories about the cause of arthritis. These include:
Genetic or hereditary factors
Immune system abnormalities or autoimmune disease
A persistent or triggering infection.
Because more women have arthritis than men, some scientists believe there is a hormonal component to the disease as well.

Other arthritis risk factors are:
Age: With the exception of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis symptoms often begin after age 40.
Gender: Women are at higher risk of arthritis. Other forms of arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and fibromyalgia occur more often in women than in men. Men have a higher risk of gout (another common arthritis) and they experience osteoarthritis in greater numbers after age 55.
Weight: As few as 10 extra pounds can translate into a higher risk for arthritis, especially in weight-bearing joints like the knees. This increased weight places more pressure on joints, and causes the cushioning layer between bones in a joint (cartilage) to break down.
Past injuries: A severe joint injury, such as a knee injury that damages cartilage, can add to the overall risk of arthritis.

What are the symptoms of arthritis?

Rheumatoid arthritis symptom list:
Gradual onset
Weakness, fatigue, and loss of appetite (anorexia)
Joint swelling, tenderness, and loss of motion, especially in the wrists, ankles, and fingers
Dislocations and joint contractures
Chronic inflammation of tendons
Possible tendon rupture
Rheumatoid nodules over bony areas such as the elbow and wrist.
Enlarged spleen
Pericarditis (inflammation of the heart wall), and vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels)

Osteoarthritis symptom list:
Stiffness, pain, and noisy grating of the joints (crepitus)
Joint tenderness, swelling
Decreased range of motion
Crepitus with motion
Bony overgrowths
Pain with movement
Finger joint involvement leading to development of nodular swellings

How is arthritis diagnosed or evaluated?

It is important to see a doctor to be diagnosed properly. Because there are so many types of arthritis, it may take some time to get the correct arthritis diagnosis. Successful diagnosis depends on patient history, symptoms, blood tests, physical examination, and X-rays or radiographic studies.

There are no definitive laboratory tests for osteo or degenerative arthritis. A blood test for rheumatoid factor, an autoantibody found in the blood of people with rheumatoid arthritis, can help with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.

X-rays can help with an arthritis diagnosis. An X-ray of an arthritic joint will show joint space narrowing, new and abnormal bone formation, and abnormal, dense, tissue growth.

What are the treatments and drugs to treat arthritis?

The goals of arthritis treatment are simple:
Relief arthritis pain
Minimize joint stiffness
Reduce inflammation
Preserve muscle and joint function
Maintain a normal lifestyle
Minimize side effects of arthritis medication.

A basic common sense approach achieves these goals for a majority of patients. Although this approach is not an arthritis cure, it helps patients maintain their quality of life.
This arthritis treatment approach consists of :
Adequate rest
Anti-inflammatory therapy
Physical therapy to maintain joint function
Drug therapy to slow the progression of the disease (in some patients).
One of the most important aspects of arthritis relief is the control of inflammation and pain. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) help control these symptoms..

Other aspects of arthritis treatment can include simple interventions such as the local application of heat or ice, periods of rest at selected times during the day, exercise to maintain joint motion and muscle power, reduction of weight on painful joints by the use of canes or crutches. Patients also need patient education and emotional support. Surgical procedures may be necessary in patients with severe hip or knee involvement or spinal nerve compression.

Role of Homoeopathy in treating arthritis

Homoeopathy can be a great boon for all those suffering from arthritis. As a homoeopathic prescription is based on a careful analysis of the symptoms of the patients, it becomes a system of medicine that understands and treats the patients’ individualised disease characteristics, deeply enough to ensure complete elimination of the disease.

The scope of homoeopathic treatment in rheumatoid arthritis is very favourable. But the patient needs to understand that the homoeopathic system is aiming to clear out the disease from the body and not trying merely to suppress or give temporary relief Thus, it could take a while before one experiences relief. The time for its treatment is dependent on various factors — the chronicity of the disease (the duration since the disease has been in the body), genetic propensity and the extent of damage.Homoeopathic medicines regulate the immune system and deactivate the misdirected immune cells. They also help in reducing the inflammation in the joints too. Reversal of deformity with homoeopathy is still under debate and nothing conclusive can be said about it.

Right homoeopathic medicine also requires complete analysis of our body on various levels — mental, physical and the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. Homoeopathic medicines stimulate our body’s own restorative systems to eradicate the disease. They are extremely safe with no side effects.