Complete Health Care Guide

Archive for the ‘Arthritis’ Category

Rehabilitation services, exercise and diet is important to find a balance between rest and exercise to control rheumatoid arthritis. When there is an increase in symptoms, or hurt your joints are hot or swollen, rest. You can continue to make a variety of exercises to keep your joints moving, but be careful and not get tired. Avoid excessive walking and household chores or other activities that are not necessary.

When your joints improve as other symptoms, including fatigue and stiffness in the morning, less obvious, increase your activity. Exercises such as walking or weight lifting can strengthen the weakened muscles without jeopardizing your joints. If exercise causes more pain or swelling of the joints, cut it.

Despite the publicity about it, there are diets, supplements, herbs or other alternative therapies to improve the course of the disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Certain medications improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, while other medications reduce the progression of the disease.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) including aspirin, ibuprofen (Motrin and other brands) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn), can help relieve symptoms. Side effects occur in a few patients. These include stomach pain, ulcers, kidney failure or allergic reactions.

The newer NSAIDs such as celecoxib (Celebrex), offer the same benefits for arthritis than older drugs but with less risk of causing ulcers. However, there is the risk of ulcers. One study showed that high-risk patients who have had recent bleeding ulcer, up to 10 percent of them developed a new ulcer. Furthermore, the risk was similar for patients at high risk who took an older drug (diclofenac) combined with a medicine to protect the stomach (omeprazole). Read the rest of this entry »

Duration

Most people with rheumatoid arthritis have chronic symptoms. Experience periods of worsening symptoms, called outbreaks and periods when symptoms improve, what is called remission.

Prevention

There is no way to prevent rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatment

Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis has improved over the last 50 years. A comprehensive approach that combines medication, exercise, alternating with rest, changes in lifestyle and sometimes surgery can help people to lead a normal life. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms

Symptoms include:
- pain, swelling, limited motion, heat and stiffness around the joints affected, often affect the hands and wrists, feet and ankles, elbows, shoulders, neck, knees and hips, usually symmetrically. over time, joints can become twisted
- ulceration, stiffness and pain, particularly in the mornings and afternoons
- rheumatoid nodules under the skin
- weight loss
- sweating and fever
- difficulty sleeping
- weakness and loss of mobility
- depression Read the rest of this entry »

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pain, stiffness, warmth, redness and inflammation (swelling) in joints. Over time the affected joints may lose their shape, and become damaged. The tissue lining the joints may become thick and can wear down the ligaments, cartilage and bone that surround it as it progresses. Rheumatoid arthritis usually occurs symmetrically, which means that if one knee or hand has the disease, the other usually develops as well.

The cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, although it appears to be an autoimmune disease. When the body’s immune system malfunctions, the white blood cells that normally attack bacteria and viruses attack healthy tissue, in this case to the synovial membrane or tissue covering the joint. As the synovium becomes inflamed, enzymes are released. Over time, these enzymes and certain immune cells damage the cartilage, bones, tendons and ligaments near joints. Read the rest of this entry »

Duration

Psoriatic arthritis tends to be lifelong. However, symptoms vary from person to person, so sometimes it may be mild and sometimes more severe. It is not uncommon for joint problems disappear completely.

Prevention

There is no way to prevent psoriatic arthritis.

Treatment

The main treatment are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn). Corticosteroids like prednisone, which is taken by mouth, are used only occasionally, because they may cause side effects when taken for prolonged periods and psoriasis tends to occur when you stop taking the medication. Place occasionally steroid injections can help when joints are severely inflamed. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms

Symptoms include:
- skin rash scaly pink or dull red in patches, especially on the inside of the arms, the front region of the legs and scalp
- inflammation of the joints, especially the fingers, feet or spine
- joint stiffness in the mornings
- pain in the lower back

Psoriatic arthritis can affect other parts of the body, such as fatigue and anemia are common in people with active psoriatic arthritis. Often arthritis is accompanied by inflammation of the tendons and the points where tendons attach to bones, such as heels and fingers. Read the rest of this entry »

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic (long) in which the person with psoriasis develops signs and symptoms of arthritic joint pain. Psoriasis is a common hereditary condition and the skin that causes scaling on a white-gray skin rash (skin) pink or dull red.

Approximately 5 to 10% of the 3 million people who have psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic arthritis affects men and women equally and usually occurs between 30 and 50 years, however, the disease can also occur in children. Most people have the mild form of the disease, although in some cases the symptoms can be very severe.

Types of Psoriatic Arthritis

There are five types of psoriatic arthritis. These are classified according to their severity, if both sides of the body are affected equally and according to the affected joints. Read the rest of this entry »

Prevention

There is no known way to prevent arthritis associated with IBD.

Treatment

There is no good treatment for arthritis associated with IBD. The joint pain could be relieved with a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID) such as ibuprofen or naproxen. IBD can cause hemorrhage (bleeding) of the gastrointestinal tract, which may worsen with anticoagulant medications. All NSAIDs may worsen the intestinal inflammation caused by inflammatory bowel disease. Read the rest of this entry »

Symptoms

In addition to the symptoms of IBD on the intestinal tract (such as bloody diarrhea, severe abdominal cramps and fever), people with arthritis associated with ISS have pain, inflammation (swelling), stiffness (particularly in the morning) in the joints inflamed.

Symptoms tend to vary over time, sometimes better and others worse. Often joint symptoms related to bowel symptoms, ie, the joints tend to be more painful and swollen when the gastrointestinal symptoms worsen. The reasons for the visit to the doctor include pain in the lower back in the morning relieved by exercising and “gelling” which means getting stiffer after a period of inactivity. Read the rest of this entry »