Health blog Category: Arthritis Pain
Strengthen, Lengthen, and Reduce Pain in Our Joints
Joint health is something that ALL ages need to be concerned about, not just older populations. The more we educate ourselves, the less likely we are to develop joint conditions like arthritis or general joint pain and stiffness. Healthy joints are key to living a pain free life. Unfortunately, nearly half of Americans over the age of 65 are dealing with arthritis somewhere in their bodies, according to the CDC.
Arthritis is a condition in which inflammation has invaded the joint space and is causing joint stiffness and/or pain.
Inflammation of Our Joints
The term arthritis is often used in everyday conversation with family and friends and is usually associated with topics of joint pain.
What Arthritis Is…
This term refers to the inflammation of a joint. The two most common forms of arthritis:
- Rheumatoid arthritis, often abbreviated to “RA,”
- Osteoarthritis, often abbreviated to “OA.”
RA is more of a whole body presentation affecting multiple joints at once as a result of an autoimmune disease.
Read full blogArthritis Making it Hard to Move…
The change in weather brings some less pleasant symptoms like joint stiffness, pain and inflammation. Arthritis symptoms can increase with changes in weather. But there are ways you can manage the pain and also increase your activity level.
You’ve probably heard the word ‘osteoarthritis’ but what exactly does it mean and what are the symptoms?
Osteoarthritis:
- Joint inflammation that causes pain and stiffness
- It is progressive
- There is no cure for arthritis.
How to Relieve Arthritis Pain Naturally
Do you find your knees or hips hurting after sitting for too long? Has bending or squatting become difficult or even painful? This is a common complaint of people with knee or hip arthritis or osteoarthritis. Did you know that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that 1 out of every 2 people will have symptoms of knee osteoarthritis sometime before age 85?
The incidence of osteoarthritis generally starts to increase after age 35 and decreases one’s ability to perform walking, bending and every day tasks.
Physical Therapy Helps Reduce Arthritis Pain
You’ve probably been out somewhere and you, a friend, or family member say that they were stiff, or even heard them predict the weather because of how they were feeling. It’s pretty common from middle age and on to have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis involves the degeneration of the joints, more specifically the cartilage that lines a joint. When this smooth material is worn down, the joint no longer will move like it’s supposed to. This occurs because the bones that are a part of the joint are rubbing together.
Your Knee and Arthritis
Arthritis is a degenerative joint condition that occurs overtime. Our joints wear down over our lifetime, and the cartilage or cushioning layer on our bones disappears. When this layer is gone your bones begin to rub other bones. What you might not realize is that knee arthritis specifically, impacts every age group.
Knee Arthritis Symptoms:
- Pain and swelling inside the joint
- Stiffness not only in the joint but also in the surrounding muscles
- Loss of range of motion in your knees
- Bending and extending your knees becomes difficult
- Grinding and popping in your knee joint.
Motion is Lotion
You have probably heard a thousand times, “If you crack your knuckles, you’ll get arthritis.” Well guess what, this isn’t true!
Cracking your knuckles isn’t really the main culprit (or culprit at all) for arthritis, I can tell you that NOT moving your joints will get you there much faster.
So what is Arthritis really? It is the degeneration of the cartilage in various joints of the body that lead to pain, stiffness, and inflammation.
How Much “Wiggle” is in Your Joints?
Joint mobility is the amount of movement that occurs within a single joint. This is not just how high you can raise your arm or how far you can bend your knee, it also is how much or how little “wiggle” there is within a joint. This “wiggle” is known as mild, moderate, or severe, hypermobility (excessive movement) or hypomobility (limitation of movement, stiffness).
How does having too little joint mobility (hypomobility, or stiffness) affect someone?
Grab Arthritis by the Horns and take Control of Life
Are you tired of your joints being stiff and joint pain dictating the activities you are able to do? Although there is no cure for arthritis, as it is a degenerative disease, there are ways you can manage the pain and also increase your activity level.
Osteoarthritis involves the degeneration of the joints, more specifically the cartilage that lines a joint. When this smooth material is worn down, the joint no longer will move like it’s supposed to.
Arthritis: Maintain Your Independence
Arthritis can prevent you from being able to reach in your overhead cabinets, take a walk with a friend or your dog, go up and down stairs, and participate in your favorite physical activities or hobbies such as dance or golf.
You’ve probably been out somewhere and had a friend or family member say that they were stiff, or even heard them predict the weather because of how they were feeling. It’s pretty common from middle age and on to have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis.
