World Arthritis Day 2017: All you need to know about this condition

October 12 is World Arthritis Day. Here are a few things you need to know on rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs) as well as symptoms to look out for to catch them as early as possible

What is Arthritis?

Arthritis is mainly caused by external factors like foods, physically demanding jobs, allergies or old injuries. It is a disease of the musculoskeletal system that targets the joints.

Arthritis symptoms

Morning stiffness is often an early sign of arthritis.

• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Joint tenderness
• Joint swelling
• Joint redness
• Joint warmth
• Joint stiffness
• Loss of joint range of motion
• Many joints affected (polyarthritis)
• Limping
• Joint deformity
• Both sides of the body affected (symmetric)
• Loss of joint function
• Anemia
• Fever

Arthritis on sharp rise in India

According to reports, over 180 million people suffer from arthritis in India. The survey pointed out at the elevated rate of Erthrocyte Sedimentation (a marker of inflammation in blood) at 52.07% and Rheumatoid Factor (at 13.08%) in women as compared to men.

Remedies for tackling arthritis

A change in diet is the first step in managing Arthritis. Excess weight leads to greater burden on the joints. Hence the body weight of an arthritic person should always be within the normal range. Switching over to a complete vegetarian diet with fruits and vegetables will stop the pain of Arthritis to a certain extent.

Photo courtesy: Instagram/worldarthritisday

OneIndia News