Page 31 - Waterfall City July Issue 2023

Osteoarthritis is treated with pain Raynaud’s disease, where their fingers Inflammatory arthritis should
medication like anti-inflammatories, change colour when exposed to cold. be treated by a rheumatologist.
topical anti-inflammatory creams Although it’s incurable, the disease
and Paracetamol. Some of these There are many forms of inflammatory can be treated and the patient may
are over-the-counter medications, arthritis. Most of them are defined as go into remission.
but if the pain is not improving, you autoimmune diseases, whereby the
may need more potent prescription body makes antibodies that attack Exercise, physiotherapy and diet
medications. its joints. They include rheumatoid will be key to improving your
arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing condition. Smoking – a risk factor for
Other over-the-counter medications spondylitis, and juvenile idiopathic rheumatoid arthritis – should also be
contain substances like glucosamine arthritis. While they typically affect the stopped, as patients who smoke have
and chondroitin, which can help. Some joints, these forms of arthritis can also a more aggressive disease.
patients may benefit from chronic cause disease in the body’s organs.
intra-articular steroid injections, Joint and bone health are extremely
but joint replacement surgery may Several therapies, besides pain important for daily functions like
be necessary in severe cases where medication, can be used to manage walking, eating and dressing.
the patient does not respond to these diseases, which, if left untreated, Exercising from an early age is vital to
conservative measures. will cause irreversible damage to keep our muscles and bones strong.
joints. It also increases the risk of
It is essential that patients with complications like cardiac, lung and Maintaining bone strength is crucial
Osteoarthritis exercise regularly, mainly kidney disease, and could ultimately to prevent fractures, so cutting back
to build up core muscles around the result in a patient becoming disabled. on smoking and alcohol intake is
joints. Activities like swimming and advised. Early in life, eating foods rich
aqua aerobics are beneficial, and Crystal arthritis in calcium and vitamin D also helps
weight loss helps. Other than autoimmune disease, there to build stronger bones.
is also crystal arthritis caused by uric
Inflammatory arthritis acid crystals – this is commonly known For our older patients, bone density
Inflammatory arthritis is the other as gout – or other crystals like calcium scans are important to screen for
form of arthritis, which usually causes pyrophosphate. osteoporosis because we can treat
joint swelling and inflammation. It can this and prevent hip fractures in the
develop at any age, even in children. To establish which form of arthritis future.
Inflammatory arthritis, pain and joint you have, you will need to visit your
stiffness, particularly early in the doctor, who may request blood tests If you want to know more about the
morning, are common symptoms. and X-rays or MRI scans. Although different types of arthritis, please go
blood tests are important, not all to the South African Rheumatism
Patients may also experience types of inflammatory arthritis can be and Arthritis Association website at
symptoms like rashes, weight loss or diagnosed with a blood test alone. http://saraa.co.za

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