Arthritis is not a separate disease, but a symptom of various diseases. The very term arthritis means inflammation of the joint, t. puffiness of the joint, increased local temperature, redness of the joint, tenderness and disruption of joint function.

- What are the types of arthritis?.

First of all it is necessary to divide arthritis into inflammatory and degenerative. Degenerative diseases are osteoarthritis (osteoarthritis), osteochondrosis, which is based on the natural process of decay of the cartilaginous tissue, the age processes when the cartilage does not withstand the strain that is constantly exposed, and it is quite difficult to affect these processes. Inflammatory arthritis is a huge group of diseases, including diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, such as Bechterew's disease, psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis caused by chlamydia or ureaplasma infection, gout, as well as arthritis caused by viral infections such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or HIV infection and t.

- Is arthritis really an affliction of the elderly?.

If we are talking about degenerative arthritis, they are more likely to occur in people already at a conscious age, and if we are talking about a group of inflammatory arthritis, they can occur at any age, from early childhood (so-called juvenile arthritis), to the elderly. Consequently, all age groups are subject to these diseases.

- Is massage useful for arthritis?.

It should be noted that in the acute phase of arthritis, that is, if there is swelling, pain, all signs of inflammation in the joint, massage is not indicated. If we are talking about chronic arthritis, osteoarthritis, osteochondrosis outside the stage of exacerbation, then a medical massage is shown, and this is very useful. Massage leads to maintaining the tone of the muscular corset, and reducing the pain syndrome, but the masseur must be qualified.

- What are the symptoms of arthritis?.

What I said at the beginning: the main clinical symptoms of arthritis are edema, a local increase in temperature, redness, tenderness of the joint, and impaired joint function.

- Joint pain is the main symptom or not?.

Given that the pain is the main reason why the patient turns to the doctor as a result, it is possible to regard this symptom as the main.

- What are the causes of arthritis?.

For each type of arthritis, its causes. If we are talking about osteoarthritis, the main reason is the wear of the cartilaginous tissue. If we are talking about a disease like gout, these are metabolic disorders that lead to an increase in the level of uric acid in the blood and due to the appearance of arthritis. If we are talking about inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis or such as Bechterew's disease, here the mechanisms are more complex and more subtle. They are genetically conditioned, but for one specific reason, doctors can not yet say. All these are very complex mechanisms that are not fully understood.

- What treatment will be effective?.

The correct treatment will be effective. That is, for each type of arthritis it is different. The most important condition is the correct diagnosis and the joint work of the doctor and patient. On the part of the doctor - is the appointment of the right drugs, which not only take away the symptoms, but also affect the course of the disease itself, and on the part of the patient it is a commitment to treatment and a conscious attitude towards one's health, the fulfillment of all the doctor's recommendations.

- What should be the food for arthritis?.

The theme is very good and very voluminous. There is no magic product, with the use of which any arthritis passes once and for all. Although the Internet often write this. There is a disease such as, for example, gout, in which a diet is very important. Since this disease is caused by a violation of metabolic processes, it is provoked by disorders in the diet, that is, the use of alcohol, especially red wine or beer, a large amount of meat, fatty foods, tomatoes. However, in other diseases, exacerbations with diet are not related.

In most joint diseases, weight of the body is very important.

If the patient is overweight, the diet should help to reduce body weight, that is, maintaining the principles of healthy eating are very important and really facilitate the course of the disease, and the prognosis. However, there is a fairly large number of myths, folk recipes. So, with osteochondrosis (osteoarthritis), people believe that a cold, conditionally, an extract from bones, cartilage and joints, can improve the joints and alleviate the symptoms of the disease. However, this is not true, and even vice versa, these dishes are very fatty, contribute to weight gain, therefore, they act really negatively.

- What will happen if you do not treat arthritis?.

Unfortunately, chronic arthritis progresses slowly but steadily leads to disability. Address to the doctor at the first occurrence of symptoms.

- In what cases is surgery required?.

This is determined by the orthopedic traumatologist and it comes not only from objective indicators such as X-ray, the stage of arthritis, but from the way the patient feels. If the patient feels normal with the second third X-ray stage, then the operation is unlikely to be assigned to him. If the process is two-sided, and the patient experiences great problems in walking, it gives a great deal of discomfort, consider a variant of arthroplasty of the joints. There are absolute indications for surgical intervention, such as aseptic necrosis of the head of the femur or fracture of the femoral neck in the elderly. In such cases, the operation is mandatory.

- How to distinguish arthritis from arthrosis?.

This question can be restated, how to distinguish inflammatory arthritis from degenerative joint damage. Signs of an inflammatory disease are both local symptoms, that is, the inflammatory nature of pain, perhaps morning stiffness, swelling of the joint, local fever or redness, so there may be signs of systemic inflammation. The patient may have weight loss or decreased appetite, fever, with fever both subfebrile and febrile, that is, 37.1-37.5 and 39, sweating, fatigue, fatigue. In degenerative diseases, such as osteoarthrosis and osteochondrosis, pain of a mechanical nature, that is, it arises more often after physical exertion.

- What should I do or not do so as not to get arthritis?.

The causes of most arthritis have been studied very poorly and are not fully understood, respectively, and it is also difficult to influence the occurrence of these diseases. However, there is a sufficiently large group of risk factors, which are not the main causes of the development of the disease, but may be triggers for the development of the disease. These include smoking, excessive drinking, overweight, stress, sleep disturbance - all this leads to the emergence of various processes that affect not only the occurrence of arthritis, but also a large group of other diseases, especially cardiovascular diseases. By influencing these risk factors, changing our habits, we can prolong our lives.

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