10 Mistaken Symptoms of Arthritis
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What is arthritis?
The word arthritis refers to “joint inflammation”, a combination of Latin and Greek. In Latin, it means inflammation and in Greek, it means joint. This ailment affects people of all ages, genders, all over the world. It is really common in adults of ages 65 and above. Interestingly, the first evidence of arthritis was discovered in dinosaurs.
Arthritis is not a single disease but encompasses 100 different diseases instead. Osteoarthritis Rheumatoid arthritis and Infectious arthritis are some the most common ones.
Osteoarthritis
If cartilage loses its elasticity and becomes stiff, it will get damaged and worn easily. Cartilage, functions as our body’s natural shock absorber. When it loses its elasticity, our bones start rubbing against each other – making even normal movements painful/uncomfortable. The most affected areas are hips, hands, knees and spine.
Rheumatoid arthritis
This type of arthritis leads to inflammation of joints and severe pain. The synovial membrane (soft tissue between the joint capsule and joint fluid) is the victim and any carelessness during the treatment and medication can worsen the condition, leading to deformity. As the arthritis progresses it spreads from the smaller joints in your hands, wrists, ankles and feet to your elbows, knees, hips, neck, shoulders and jaw.
Infectious arthritis
This kind of arthritis happens because of an infection in the synovial fluid (joint fluid) and a tissue of a joint. The culprit is a bacteria or a virus that infect joints too, after affecting the tissues around. People who already suffer from one of the types of arthritis are more vulnerable to get affected by this one too.
Symptoms
The symptoms for arthritis develop gradually and slowly. But with time, the condition worsens. There are not enough signals that can help you in early detection but one most important and noticeable one is joint pain and discomfort. Here some of the symptoms for better diagnosis.
- Morning stiffness: Besides, tenderness in your joints, you can also experience stiffness and rigidity in the morning.
- Swelling around the joints: Due to friction between the bones, the joint pain increases and worn tissues lead to swelling and inflammation. The immune system that protects your body from foreign cells instead attacks your own tissues, leading to inflammation and swelling.
- Numbness in the hands: Tingling and numbness in the hands is another symptom for arthritis. The sensation is because of the swelling in arms, compressing the nerves going into the hands. The numbness is generally during nights that might be another reason for your poor sleep.
- Slow healing of joint injuries: Any sprained leg or arm that takes extra time to recover might be a sign of arthritis in the making. It’s easy to mistakenly attribute the slow healing to old age or seasonal shifts can only worsen the condition. So, if any inflammation or joint ache last than usual then it is necessary to report to your doctor as soon as possible.
- Foot trouble: If you have pain in your foot, even with your favorite heels then the pain and swelling be might be due to plantar fasciitis (foot disorder caused by inflammation of the tissue at the bottom of the foot). People with this disorder switch to flats and footwear with cushioned base due to excessive pain and discomfort.
- Eye problem: Arthritis can also make your eyes, mouth, nose, throat and your skin, dry and dehydrated due to swelling that stop glands from releasing moisture.
- Locked joints: You can also experience locked joints in knees and elbows because of excessive swelling of the tendons around the joints, the joints fail to bend. This can also inhibit motion and lead to cysts behind that usually bulge out.
- Fatigue and malaise: Inability to walk or move the joints, often leads to weakness and exhaustion. Try and take some calcium supplements and energy boosters to kill fatigue and weakness from your life.
- Poor sleep: Severe pain can keep you awake till you take a pain killer to kill the pain. Numbness in your hands during nights can also be another reason for your poor sleep.
- Fever: Though in rarest cases but yes, severe joint pain can also lead to fever at times.
These joint problems might inhibit you from living a normal, active life but never lose your enthusiasm and passion for living. Always remember, proper medication and treatment can make your life simpler and a healthy, nutritious diet will make it better.