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Arthritis & Osteoporosis…
Arthritis [Rheumatoid Arthritis or RA]:
Arthritis (from Greek arthro-, joint + -itis, inflammation; plural: arthritides) is a group of conditions involving damage to the joints of the body. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability in people older than fifty-five years.
Rheumatoid arthritis (rue-ma-TOYD arth-write-tis) is a chronic disease which is primarily characterized by symptoms of inflammation of the lining, or synovium, of the joints. RA, as it is most commonly referred to, can lead to long-term joint damage, which leads to chronic pain and a progressive loss of strength, function, and range of motion, and may even result in disability.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) progresses in three general stages.
* Stage 1 includes swelling of the synovial lining, pain, heating or warmth and redness in the joint area, along with swelling and stiffness around the joint.
* Stage 2 includes the rapid division and growth of cells, or pannus, which causes the synovium (synovial lining) to begin to harden or thicken. Patients within stage two will generally experience more frequent episodes or more severe or constant pain, swelling, and stiffness.
* Stage 3 includes (sees) the inflamed cells begin to release enzymes that begin to digest the bone and cartilage, often causing the involved joint to lose its shape and alignment. As with each stage in the process, the RA patient in stage 3 experiences even more pain, swelling, and difficulty using the affected joints, and begin to see permanent loss of function (disability).
Because RA is a chronic disease, it continues indefinitely — it is a degenerative progression process — and it will not simply go away, although the progression and severity of the disease process is not the same in all individuals and some patients respond better than others to certain therapy.
Sporadic flare-ups in the disease activity process are common, and tend to become more frequent with time. RA is a systemic disease, which means it can affect other organs within the body. Early diagnosis and treatment of RA is critical if patients want to continue living productive lifestyles, with numerous studies and historical evidence supporting the effectiveness that early aggressive treatment can have in limiting joint damage.
RA affects an estimated 1.3-1.5 million Americans. As with many degenerative diseases, there is currently no known cause of RA, and currently no cure. Although there is no known cure, medical science has provided many effective treatments and new drugs, special exercise routines to help sufferers maintain use and mobility, and other techniques to help sufferers to protect their joints, and to more effectively delay or slow down the degenerative process, and to self-manage their disease.
For more information, please see our Arthritis Page. Osteoporosis:
Osteoporosis is a disease of the bone that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis, the bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone microarchitecture is disrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins in the bone is altered. What makes osteoporosis especially concerning, is that when untreated or undiagnosed, the patient is usually unaware of the condition and the osteoporosis can progress painlessly until a bone breaks.
We’ve all heard stories, or perhaps even have first hand experience with elderly people who have taking a fall and broken a hip, but these types of fractures are not always related to an osteoporotic condition. However, osteoporosis itself has no specific symptoms and the main consequence is the increased risk of bone fractures. Osteoporotic fractures are those that typically occur under circumstances or situations where otherwise normal healthy people would not be expected to break a bone, even if they are elderly.
As we age, our bones tend to loose mass and become more brittle, but particularly in older post menopausal women, the risk for osteoporosis is significant, and osteoporotic fractures are often the first and only sign that the condition exists, if routine screening and other preventive measures are not taken.
Risk factors for osteoporotic fracture can be split between non-modifiable and (potentially) modifiable. In addition, there are specific diseases and disorders in which osteoporosis is a recognized complication. Medication use is theoretically modifiable, although in many cases, the use of medication that increases osteoporosis risk is unavoidable.
The most important risk factors for osteoporosis are advanced age (in both men and women) and females with estrogen deficiency following menopause. In older men, a decrease in testosterone levels has a comparable, but somewhat less pronounced effect.
While osteoporosis occurs in people from all ethnic groups, the clinical evidence indicates that European or Asian ancestry predisposes one for osteoporosis. Also, for individuals who have a family history of fracture or osteoporosis, there appears to be a genetic correlation and an increased risk.
For more information, please see our Osteoporosis Page.
