Arthritis

Arthritis affects more than 350 million people globally and is anticipated to increase in the coming years. It is a disease that damages the joints of your body.

Joints are places where two bones meet, like in your knees or fingers. Elastic capsules usually surround them, and their main function is to hold the bones together. 

The capsule is filled with a thick and lubricating fluid called synovial fluid. Its primary function is to absorb shocks and allow the joint to move freely. The ends of the bones have a smooth, cushiony, and rubbery layer called cartilage, which prevents friction between the two bones.

The cartilage can wear away in an arthritis patient. The bones will then rub against each other, and the patient will suffer from joint pain and stiffness.

It can affect people of any age, i.e., children to adults, and the joint pain worsens with age. There is no permanent cure for arthritis, but advanced treatment methods have developed with time and can reduce joint pain to a greater extent.

What Is Arthritis?

Arthritis is a disease that causes swelling of either one or more joints in your body. Inflammation can even affect the muscles and tissues surrounding it.

The most common joints affected by arthritis are as follows.

• Knees
• Feet and ankles
• Hands and wrists
• Shoulders

Arthritis can lead to pain and stiffness; in worse conditions, patients feel difficulty moving from one place to another.

It's quite challenging to say the exact reason for the cause of arthritis. Numerous factors increase arthritis symptoms.

For example, you may inherit genes from your parents or grandparents, and that increases the risk of developing arthritis at some point in your life. 

So, are you experiencing joint pain or decreased mobility? If yes, then you should immediately contact your healthcare provider. Your doctor can manage arthritis symptoms. If your joint pain is severe and affects your daily life, your healthcare provider may recommend surgery.

What Are The Symptoms Of Arthritis?

• Pain 
• Swelling
• Redness
• Stiffness
• Redness and warmth
• Decreased movement 
• Skin discoloration

Types of Arthritis

There are mainly two types of arthritis. We are listing them below.

1. Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is quite common in millions of people all over the world. It can affect joints in your spine, knees, hips, and hands.

Cartilage is rubbery tissue present at the ends of bones. It allows the bones to move quickly against each other. But when a person suffers from osteoarthritis, the cartilage starts to break down, and the bones rub against each other.

Osteoarthritis affects the complete joint and its surrounding connective tissues and muscles. It can cause bone spurs and bone overgrowth.

The disease control centre had earlier stated that osteoarthritis is caused mainly by ageing. However, later researchers realized that there are numerous reasons for having osteoarthritis.

The most common causes of osteoarthritis include the following:

• People above 50 years old
• Genetics
• Past injuries like broken or torn cartilage.
• Overweight
• Obesity
• Females after menopause
• Doing an occupation that involves heavy lifting or climbing
• You have a medical condition that mainly affects your joints.
• People born with joint malformation or defective cartilage
• People suffering from metabolic diseases like diabetes.

Arthritis is a degenerative disease and is quite challenging to detect early. There are usually four stages of osteoarthritis. 

Stage 1: The patient's cartilage is in good condition and may experience a few early symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Stage 2: Your cartilage will begin to wear and tear.

Stage 3: The joint cartilage ultimately gets damaged, and you experience constant symptoms of osteoarthritis.

Stage 4: This is the most serious form of osteoarthritis. Here, you will experience severe pain and stiffness in the joints. You may need assistance to move from one place to another.

Joint damage can never be reversed with osteoarthritis. However, you can manage its symptoms by maintaining a healthy weight and treating it properly.

2. Rheumatoid Arthritis

The immune system in a normal human body fights with foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses. But when a person has an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis, the body mistakenly thinks of its own cells as foreign invaders and releases inflammatory chemicals. It affects joints and various body areas like skin, lungs, heart, and blood vessels.

Rheumatoid arthritis can affect the synovium, a tissue surrounding the joints. The synovium produces a fluid called synovial fluid, which lubricates the joints. But when a person has rheumatoid arthritis, the synovial fluid thickens, making it difficult to move the joint.

There are various stages of rheumatoid arthritis, which are underlined below.

Stage 1: Inflammation begins to develop in the tissues and on your joints. You will experience slight joint pain and stiffness.

Stage 2: Inflammation decreases the cartilage in the joint, and you experience stiffness and reduced mobility.

Stage 3: The inflammation will damage the entire bones and joints, and you will experience more pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility compared to stage 2.

Stage 4: The joint worsens in this stage, and you will experience severe pain and stiffness.

The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is still unknown. However, there are a few common causes, which are underlined below.

• Obesity
• Genetics
• Smoking 
• Hormonal changes
• Age

What Are The Other Forms Of Arthritis?

There are various other forms of arthritis, which are listed below.

1. Gout

Gout is an inflammatory arthritis caused mainly by excess uric acid in the body.

Your body naturally produces uric acid, which breaks down purines in some food and drinks. The kidney filters out the uric acid in the form of pee. But sometimes, your body makes excess uric acid, which your kidneys cannot remove. 

They begin to build up in the joints of your body and cause pain, swelling, and stiffness. It commonly affects the toes of a patient. However, it can affect other body parts, like knees, ankles, etc.

Consult your healthcare provider. He will provide treatment to reduce uric acid in your body, and that helps to manage gout arthritis symptoms.

2. Lupus

Lupus is an autoimmune arthritis disease that causes inflammation in different body parts, like skin or any organ. The most prevalent symptoms include

• High fever
• Ankle swelling
• Hair loss
• Seizures
• Chest pain
• Mouth or nose sores

There are usually two types of lupus, i.e., discoid and systemic lupus erythematosus. Discoid lupus can affect your skin and cause rashes. It can be limited to one small skin area or can spread widely.

However, systemic lupus can affect various body areas and cause joint pain and extreme fatigue. Unfortunately, there is no cure for it. Early treatment can help manage its symptoms.

3. Scleroderma

Scleroderma is an autoimmune arthritis that causes thickening and hardening of your skin. There are mainly two types of scleroderma, i.e., localized and systemic.

Localized scleroderma commonly affects the skin in children. Systemic scleroderma affects adults and mainly women compared to men.

The collagen increases much in the case of scleroderma patients, making the skin tighten. The organ tissues get excess blood, and a time comes when the organ stops working.

4. Ankylosing Spondylitis

Ankylosing Spondylitis is an arthritis condition in which spine bones fuse against each other. Consequently, your spine begins to lessen its flexibility, and you have a hunched posture. The ribs can be affected in some patients, and it causes breathing difficulties.

There is no permanent cure for ankylosing spondylitis. However, you can manage its symptoms with proper treatment.

5. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

This arthritis is also known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. It affects children below 16 years of age. The symptoms include joint pain, growth problems, and eye problems.

How Can You Diagnose Arthritis?

You have to consult your healthcare provider if you experience severe joint pain. Your healthcare provider will ask about your medical history and perform some tests. The tests are underlined below.

1. Complete Blood Count 

This test will check your white blood cells, red blood cells, and blood platelets. They should be within the normal range.

2. Antinuclear Antibody Test

This test will check the antibody levels in your blood.

3. Creatinine

The creatinine levels are checked to ensure that your kidneys are working correctly.

4. Sedimentation Rate 

This test will detect inflammation in your body.

5. Hematocrit

This test will detect red blood cells in your blood.

6. Uric Acid

Your uric acid levels will be checked to detect gout arthritis.

7. RF (Rheumatoid Factor) and CCP (Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide) Tests

This test can diagnose rheumatoid arthritis and its severity.

8. X-rays and Various Imaging Tests

This test will detect the severity of joint damage.

9. Joint Aspiration (Arthrocentesis)

A sample of synovial fluid is taken from the joint and is tested to find crystals, bacteria, or any other foreign invaders.

10. Urine Test

Your urine will be checked to detect protein and other blood cells.

11. Skin Biopsy

A small sample of your skin is taken and checked under an ultramicroscope. It can diagnose arthritis type. It is done, especially if a patient has lupus or psoriatic arthritis.

12. Muscle Biopsy

Tiny muscles are removed from your skin and checked under an ultramicroscope to diagnose the arthritis type.

Treatment of Arthritis

As discussed above, there is no 100 per cent cure for arthritis. But when you consult a healthcare provider, he will provide medications that can lessen some arthritis symptoms so that you can manage your daily activities.

Treatment plans can be short-term or long-term. It purely depends on the health condition of the patient.

1. Medications

Your doctor may provide aspirin, ibuprofen, and anti-inflammatory medicines for short-term pain relief.

2. Heat and Cold

You can relieve pain by using a heating pad and warm bath. You can even reduce joint pain and swelling by ice wrapped in a towel.

3. Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation Device

This device will use mild electric current to reduce pain in your joint area.

4. Massage

A light massage on your painful joint area can increase blood flow and provide relief.

5. Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an excellent treatment used to relieve pain caused by arthritis. Here, tiny needles are inserted in the painful areas. It stimulates the pain relief chemicals and reduces pain. This process is always done under the guidance of a professional.

Long-term treatments include the following:

1. Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs

Your doctor can provide medications like sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and chlorambucil to treat immune problems and manage disease symptoms.

2. Corticosteroids

Corticosteroids can reduce joint pain and swelling. 

3. Hyaluronic Acid Therapy

Hyaluronic acid naturally exists in the joint and provides lubrication. However, the hyaluronic acid decreases in an osteoarthritis patient. Your doctor will inject it into the joint to relieve pain.

4. Surgery

There are numerous surgery options, which include joint replacement and fusion. The recovery may take from six months to one year.

Lifestyle Changes to Manage Arthritis

1. Try to maintain a healthy weight.

Extra weight puts pressure on your joints. So, always try to maintain a healthy weight to manage arthritis symptoms.

2. Exercises

There are specific exercises that reduce pain caused by arthritis. This includes stretching, walking, swimming, and slight aerobic exercises.

3. Use Assisting Devices

To reduce joint stress, you can use assisting devices like cranes, walkers, and crutches.

4. Manage Medicine Use

If you take some anti-inflammatory medicines for a long time, then it can cause health problems like stomach bleeding. So, discuss the treatment plan with your doctor to reduce such risks.

Benefits of Medical Tourism

There are some countries where health care costs are quite expensive, which everyone cannot afford. The patient even has to wait long to consult doctors or have effective surgeries.

Do you have arthritis and want to consult a doctor at an affordable fee? If yes, you must take advantage of medical tourism destinations like India.

It has world-class hospitals with skilled and experienced doctors. The healthcare professionals will detect the root cause of arthritis and provide treatments accordingly.

Some patients may have extreme joint pain and have difficulty in moving from one place to another. Doctors may recommend surgery. The surgery can be done in Indian hospitals at an affordable cost. You don't even need to wait for a longer time to access high-quality medical care.

Racure Healthcare is one of the most prominent medical tourism companies. This company will schedule a virtual consultation with the doctor before travelling to the destination.

It will appoint a personal care executive who will stay with you every day to assist you. The company will book the flight so you can reach your destination without stress. You can visit the company website to learn more about its services.

Cost Comparison and Insurance

Arthritis treatment in the United States will cost around $12,500, which many patients cannot afford. But if we talk about medical tourism destinations like India, it will cost you between $1000 and $3500, which is easily affordable.

There are even some hospitals that offer international medical insurance plans. Patients can take advantage of these plans to treat arthritis at an affordable cost.

Conclusion

Arthritis is a complex disease that affects many people from around the globe. The patient suffering from it usually has joint pain, stiffness, and mobility issues. But with proper treatment and lifestyle changes, you can manage arthritis symptoms.

If the arthritis treatment costs are so high, you can choose medical tourism destinations like India. Racure Healthcare will help you to treat arthritis at an affordable cost.