Pain and Arthritis

Arthritis (Rheumatics, Joint Pains)

By Dr. Lillian Sanvee
Published: 31 October, 2005

What is pain? Pain is the body's warning system, alerting you that something is wrong.

The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as an unpleasant expression associated with actual or potential tissue damage to a person's body. Specialized nervous cells, called neurons that transport pain signals are found throughout the skin and other body tissues. The cells respond to things such as injury or tissue damage. For example, when a harmful agent such as a sharp knife comes in contact with your skin, chemical signals travel from neurons in the skin through nerves in the spinal cord to your brain, where they are interpreted as pain.

Most forms of arthritis are associated with pain that can be divided into two general categories: Acute and Chronic. Acute pain is temporary. It can last a few seconds or longer but wanes as healing occurs. Some examples of things that cause acute pain include burns, cut, and fractures. Chronic pain, such as that seen in people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, ranges from mild to severe and can last weeks, months and years to a lifetime.

What is arthritis?

Arthritis is an illness that causes pain, stiffness and swelling in or around joints. It is one of the causes of disability, limiting the activity of many working class people. It is a chronic disorder that affects people all over the world and fifty percent of people over 65 years old and above. Arthritis is a significant public health problem that is expected to affect about thirty percent or more of our working population by the year 2020. Arthritis is an illness that can be prevented in certain cases by risk-reduction strategies.

What are the types of Arthritis?

Two common types of arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. These are separate diseases that affect people in different ways.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, affecting many older Liberians. It is also called “degenerative joint disease” and most often involves the weight-bearing joints. (Knees, hips, feet) and others like hands and spine. The knee is the most commonly affected joint. The disorder results from mechanical joint damage whether from long-term “wear and tear” or previous injury. Osteoarthritis is usually diagnosed in people older than forty. Nearly everyone seventy and older has osteoarthritis in at least one joint, but not everyone develops symptoms.

Rheumatoid arthritis involves inflammation of the joints and results from the body's abnormal attack on the joints, not from overuse of joints. It can affect someone's entire body and often causes other symptoms, in addition to joint pain. Rheumatoid arthritis is most commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of twenty-five to fifty, but can affect people of all ages, including children.

Many other types of rheumatic disorders exist. Not all of them are diagnosed in adults. Juvenile arthritis is the name given to a group of arthritis-related conditions that affect children.

How can you prevent arthritis?

You can reduce your risk of developing symptomatic osteoarthritis by maintaining a normal weight. Being overweight puts more stress on your weight-bearing joints and increases your risk for knee pain (and possibly hip and back pain).

If you are overweight, losing just ten pounds significantly reduces your risk of developing osteoarthritis in your knees. If you have wanted to take off weight for some time, do not feel that you have to take it off all at once. Just set your sights on taking off the first ten or eleven pounds and you will have accomplished a significant reduction in your health risk.

How can you get help for arthritis?

See your doctor if you suspect you have arthritis. Your doctor will find it easier to give you an accurate diagnosis if you describe your symptoms clearly. You may be asked the following:

• Where do you feel joint pain?

• How long does your joint pain or stiffness last?

• When did you first start having this type of pain?

• Have you had swelling of the joint?

• Are you having problems carrying out certain activities?

• Have you ever injured the affected joint?

• Does anyone else in your family have similar symptoms?

Your family doctor can evaluate and treat most cases of arthritis. Some patients are referred to special doctors for specialized treatment.

How can you cope with arthritis?

If you are already being treated for arthritis:

• Learn as much as you can about what type of arthritis you have and how the disease affects you. Enlist your family members or close friends in this effort so that they, too, may become informed.

• Follow your doctor's treatment recommendations. Make sure a qualified doctor who communicates well with you is treating you. Consider looking for another doctor if you are not satisfied.

• Exercise (according to your doctor's recommendation) to help you feel better, to extend your movement and to increase your strength.

• Protect your joints by using your stronger joints to carry out task, by avoiding stress on joints affected by arthritis and by using assertive devices to make daily life easier. Ask your doctor for more information.

• Your doctor cannot make the pain go away completely but can help you with ways to reduce joint pain. Ask for help with pain management if you feel your treatment is not addressing your pain well.

• Do not believe everything you hear when it comes to “miracle treatments” or “cures” for arthritis. If an advertised remedy sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Check with your doctor before spending money or potentially risking your health on it.

Important Points to remember about Arthritis?

• Arthritis is a common condition that is becoming even more frequent in our world today as the average age of the population increases.

• Arthritis is a leading cause of disability and a significant public health concern.

• There is more than one type of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis affects people differently from osteoarthritis.

• Arthritis can affect children and adults.

• Maintaining a normal weight or losing ten pounds if you are overweight helps reduce the risk of osteoarthritis and helps reduce joint stress if you already have arthritis.

• Other strategies for coping with arthritis include exercising appropriately, joint protection, rest and medication as recommended by your doctor; staying informed about your condition; and getting support from your family, friends and arthritis organizations when you need it.