Arthritis is a degenerative disease that affects your joints. This condition causes symptoms like pain and inflammation that affect joint mobility. Most patients have trouble at work due to their arthritis. Collaborating with your primary care provider will help you find an appropriate solution to manage your arthritis Fort Worth and restore your productivity at work.
What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a disease affecting your joints by causing inflammation and pain that limits movement. This disease mostly affects the legs, arms, knees, hips, and lower back.
Joint anatomy
Your joints assist in movement. These connections prevent bones from rubbing directly against each other using soft tissues known as cartilage. The articular cartilage is the connective tissue that ensures the smooth gliding of bones against each other. The synovial membrane in some joints provides joint lubrication to eliminate friction and pain during joint function.
Joints also receive additional support from tendons and ligaments. Muscles are linked to the bones by tendons while ligaments connect bones to other bones. These structures allow for seamless joint action across a wide range of motion.
Are there different types of arthritis?
Arthritis typically causes pain and inflammation of joints. However, patients exhibit different types of arthritis due to varying underlying causes. Your doctor will conduct a series of tests to determine the type of arthritis you have. An accurate arthritis diagnosis will promote an appropriate treatment approach and guarantee desired clinical outcomes. The following are the most common types of arthritis:
- Osteoarthritis develops due to joint wear and tear causing cartilage breakdown.
- Ankylosing spondylitis: This type of arthritis affects the spine. Patients with ankylosing spondylitis experience pain in their lower back.
- Juvenile arthritis (JA): This type of arthritis affects children under 16 years. Juvenile arthritis is an immune response against joint tissues.
- Gout: This type of arthritis involves the formation of hard crystals of uric acid in your joints.
- Psoriatic arthritis: Psoriasis patients develop joint inflammation due to autoimmune disorders.
- Rheumatoid arthritis develops when the immune system attacks the synovial membranes that lubricate your joints.
What are the risk factors for arthritis?
Various risk factors may predispose you to joint inflammation. The most common risk factors of arthritis include:
- Engaging in sporting activities or jobs that repeatedly stress the joints.
- A family history of arthritis
- Underlying autoimmune diseases
- Understanding viral infections
- Aging
- Sedentary living
- Smoking
- Obesity
How do doctors treat arthritis?
There is no cure for arthritis. However, various treatment plans can help you manage your condition and resolve your symptoms. Your doctor will personalize your arthritis treatment depending on your condition’s cause, type, and severity. Conservative treatments for arthritis include:
- Anti-inflammatory and pain medications
- Physical therapy
- Therapeutic injections like cortisone shots to reduce inflammation and viscosupplementation to increase joint lubrication
Patients with advanced arthritis can benefit from a surgical treatment approach. The following surgical treatments address arthritis concerns:
- Joint fusion
- Joint replacement
An initial consultation is important in your arthritis treatment journey to help your doctor review your concerns and the severity of your concerns. Please inform your doctor about your treatment expectations to guide the development of a treatment plan to meet your goals. Contact Clover Internal Medicine Associates to talk to a specialist about your arthritis complications and determine the best approach to eliminate your symptoms.
