Painful Arthritis

The word arthritis means joint inflammation, it refers to a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that can cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints.

The pain of arthritis may come from different sources. These may include inflammation of the synovial membrane (tissue that lines the joints, and contain the joint fluid), the tendons, or the ligaments; muscle strain; and fatigue. A combination of these factors contributes to the intensity of the pain.

Factors that related to the pain include swelling of the joint, heat or redness present, or damage that has occurred within the joint.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. No longer considered just a consequence of aging, researches now looking for a cause: musculoskeletal defects, genetic defects, obesity, or injury. Human may not be able to control a genetic trait or knock knees, there are some definite actions he can take to protect his joints and help prevent osteoarthritis:

1. Maintain your ideal body weight. The more you weigh, the more stress you are putting on your joints, especially your hips, knees, back and feet.
2. Exercise. Exercise protects joints by strengthening the muscles around them. Strong muscles keep your joints from rubbing against one another.
3. Stand up straight. to distribute your weight equally on your joints.
4. Be careful when lifting heavy weights .
5. Listen to your body. If you are in pain, don't ignore it.
6. Don't be static. Changing positions regularly will decrease the stiffness in your muscles and joints.

These precautions will help you protect your joints, and avoid arthritis, but what if it already present (the arthritic pain)?? of course you should use medications, and we will discuss it in the next article.