How Common is Arthritis? | What Treatments Can Be Done at Home? |
What’s the Takeaway?
Overview
Living with arthritis is challenging. Anyone who has this potentially life-altering condition can attest to that.
It can be frustrating to be unable to do the things you were able to do before pain-free. Stiffening of joints and potential side effects of medications certainly don’t help.
But before you shut yourself out of living a full life, consider that it’s possible to live comfortably with this condition – for a very long time.
How Common is Arthritis?
An estimated 59 million Americans (around 20 percent of the population) have some form of the 100 types of arthritis,[1] a disease of the joints and connective tissues that causes painful swelling and tenderness. The disease is progressive, incurable, and, unfortunately, can be debilitating.
Osteoarthritis is the most common form of the disease and one of the most common causes of pain and disability in middle-aged and older people.[2] Although it can affect large or small joints, weight-bearing areas such as knees, spine, and hips tend to be affected the most due to increased wear as time goes on.
The main symptoms of arthritis are joint pain, stiffness, redness, swelling, and decreased range of motion.
Short-term treatments for arthritis include:
- NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
- Hot or cold therapies
- Joint immobilization (such as with a knee brace)
- Massage and acupuncture
Long-term treatments can include corticosteroid injections or pills, hyaluronic acid injections directly into the space where joints have worn away, and even surgery, such as a partial or complete joint replacement.
What Treatments Can Be Done at Home?
As with many conditions, lifestyle factors can and do affect arthritis with varying degrees of success. The main point is that one doesn’t have to let the disease become all-consuming. Let’s look at some tips to make living with arthritis easier and more comfortable.
1) Movement:
Get up, stretch your limbs, and walk around as much as you can to keep those joints moving and as elastic as possible for a long time. Keeping your body in one position for extended periods may feel comfortable in the short term, but if you allow this behavior to settle in over the long-term, joint stiffness and pain can occur and will further decrease the range of motion down the road.
2) Strategy
Some planning can make a lot of difference to your condition. Examples of this can include placing your most used household items within easy reach, using products or devices that allow you to avoid unnecessary bending or exertion (think spray-on, self-scrubbing kitchen or bathroom cleaners), pushing doors open with the side of your arm rather than hands and fingers and adding a grab bar over your bathtub to make getting in and out easier. These compromises aren’t “giving in” to the disease – it’s a strategy for your future.
3) Weight Management
Because arthritis affects weight-bearing joints the most, this one is a no-brainer. Studies have shown that a 10 percent reduction in body weight can significantly improve symptoms, pain relief, physical function, and overall quality of life for people with the disease.[3]
4) Smoking
Believe it or not, smoking causes more well-known diseases and complications involving the lungs and heart and can also cause stress on connective tissue, more significant cartilage loss, and more severe knee pain.[4] If you are struggling with nicotine addiction, please seek help. Speak to your doctor about treatments to help you live a smoke-free life.
5) Be Mindful
It’s entirely understandable that living with chronic pain can be discouraging and can result in a chronic low mood. If this is allowed to go unabated over time, the negative cognitive state can worsen arthritis pain.[5] Consider relaxation therapy, deep breathing, gentle yoga (great for stretching tight, stiff joints, too), gratitude, walking in nature – anything that can put your mind into a more positive headspace. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can work very well here. This form of therapy teaches behavior modification to break the cycle of negativity that can weigh you down.
What’s the Takeaway?
This list is certainly not a cure-all or a promise of instant relief from arthritis, but applying them to your daily life can ease the burden of this condition and lessen its effects. Please consult your doctor if these suggestions don’t work for you or if your condition changes.
References:
- Lawrence, R. C., Helmick, C. G., Arnett, F. C., Deyo, R. A., Felson, D. T., Giannini, E. H., Heyse, S. P., Hirsch, R., Hochberg, M. C., Hunder, G. G., Liang, M. H., Pillemer, S. R., Steen, V. D., & Wolfe, F. (1998). Estimates of the prevalence of arthritis and selected musculoskeletal disorders in the United States. Arthritis and rheumatism, 41(5), 778–799. https://doi.org/10.1002/1529-0131(199805)41:5<778::AID-ART4>3.0.CO;2-V
- Buckwalter, J. A., & Mankin, H. J. (1998). Articular cartilage: degeneration and osteoarthritis, repair, regeneration, and transplantation. Instructional course lectures, 47, 487–504.
- Bliddal, H., Leeds, A. R., & Christensen, R. (2014). Osteoarthritis, obesity and weight loss: evidence, hypotheses and horizons – a scoping review. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 15(7), 578–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12173
- Amin, S., Niu, J., Guermazi, A., Grigoryan, M., Hunter, D. J., Clancy, M., LaValley, M. P., Genant, H. K., & Felson, D. T. (2007). Cigarette smoking and the risk for cartilage loss and knee pain in men with knee osteoarthritis. Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 66(1), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.1136/ard.2006.056697
- Wise, B. L., Niu, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, N., Jordan, J. M., Choy, E., & Hunter, D. J. (2010). Psychological factors and their relation to osteoarthritis pain. Osteoarthritis and cartilage, 18(7), 883–887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2009.11.016
