The answer to the question who does Arthritis affect? is very simple. It can affect anyone. Arthritis is not only found in the elderly, it can strike at any age.
Arthritis is not really one disease, it is a word that is used to cover over 100 medical conditions, relating to the joints of your body, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, wrists , fingers, in fact anywhere that you have joints.
About 60% of Arthritis sufferers are actually of working age and of course, even the very young can suffer this debilitating disease.
The result of Arthritis can be stiffness in the joints, together with pain and it can bring on a feeling of everything being too difficult to do, or cope with on a daily basis.
The disease has no cure, and at this point in time there is no prediction of any cures in the near future. However, there are many things that can be done to manage the problems and even help to prevent further degeneration within your joints.
As with most medical conditions, early intervention is important, it is absolutely no use leaving the condition until it is too bad to do anything.
The important thing for sufferers to do, is to keep the joints supple and the muscles strong, it is no use resting the joint, the vital element is to keep it moving. Exercise is very important, Walking, swimming, gentle weight lifting, tai chi and yoga, are all very good for keeping the joints mobile and supple.
I realise that when you are in pain, you will feel that resting the joint is the best way to go. Wrong, research has proved that it is the worse thing you can do, as I said before, you must keep it moving.
Exercise is very beneficial, but you must not do high impact exercise, as this can do more harm than good to your joints.
I have previously written an article about Glucosamine and Chondroitin, this can be very useful in helping with pain and sometimes even helping to restore some of the tissue in the joints. Some Medical Practitioners are even recommending this to their patients, the main problem is, that Glucosmine is made from shellfish shells, and if you are allergic to shellfish, stay clear of it, though there is another type recently on the market, that is not made from shellfish, so people with shellfish allergies, please be aware of what type you are thinking of using.
You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Arthritis. But don't be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.
There is another problem with Glucosamine capsules and that is from all reports, if you stop taking them, the pain and stiffness will return.
Glucosamine is excellent, but exercise is even better, usually when you exercise, you also lose some weight, this can improve the symptoms of Arthritis because your back and joints is being subjected to less strain.
Good quality food can help, plenty of fruit and fresh vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and beans, stay away from what is called junk food, the immune system is what controls all of your health, it is the system that you were given when you were born and medicine has not developed anything to compare with the way it performs. The important factor in the immune system, is that it must have a healthy natural nutrition to function efficiently, that means it must be fed correctly. If your immune system is functioning 100% efficiently, well you just would not have any health problems.
If you have any of these problems, Joints swelling, Stiffness in the morning that lasts for a while, Tenderness or pain in a joint, not able to move the joint properly, then you should consult with your normal physician, also you should consult with your physician before embarking on any exercise program, let the physician tell you what you can do, to improve your condition.
There is no doubt in my mind that all is not lost, you really can help yourself, but get professional advice first.
There are many Arthritis Information Center's throughout the western world, just look in your telephone book, I am sure that there will be a number of listings under Arthritis.
To all sufferers of Arthritis (Worldwide many millions) I hope that you will get some benefit from reading this article, Please pass it on to anyone else that you know that also suffers this problem.
As your knowledge about Arthritis continues to grow, you will begin to see how Arthritis fits into the overall scheme of things. Knowing how something relates to the rest of the world is important too.
