Learn this arthritis knowledge to protect joint health! Don’t let your joints become inflamed

October 12th of every year is "World Arthritis Day". Currently, there are 355 million arthritis patients in the world, which seriously threatens the health and safety of the sick residents and reduces their quality of life.

In daily consultations, outpatient doctors in the Rheumatology Department of Hunan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnose and treat patients with various clinical manifestations of arthritis every day, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis, osteoarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, infectious arthritis, etc. The damage to the joints varies in severity, and in severe cases it can cause deformity and disability, which often becomes the biggest health pain point for patients.

Arthritis affects many people and causes great harm. On this World Arthritis Day, let us pay attention to and understand some health issues related to arthritis.

1. What is arthritis?

Typical symptoms of arthritis include joint pain, morning stiffness and limited mobility. Arthritis refers to inflammatory diseases that occur in human joints and surrounding tissues, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gouty arthritis and other types. Joint pain may also be the first symptom in rheumatic immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren's syndrome. Of course, some local joint infections, paraneoplastic syndromes, genetic metabolic diseases, etc. can also manifest the above joint symptoms.

2. Do only the elderly get arthritis?

Arthritis, a disease that is often misunderstood as only affecting the elderly, can actually occur in people of any age. Different types of arthritis have different age-specific predispositions. For example, gouty arthritis is common in young men, while osteoarthritis is more common in middle-aged and elderly people.

3. Prevention and treatment of common arthritis

1. Gouty arthritis

The trend of younger people suffering from gouty arthritis is reflected worldwide, with the prevalence rate among young men (18-29 years old) as high as 32.3%. Acute gout attacks can cause redness, swelling, heat and pain, accompanied by limited mobility, which is closely related to hyperuricemia. The formation of hyperuricemia may be related to a variety of factors, including genetic factors, eating habits, and lifestyle.

For the prevention of gout, it is recommended to maintain healthy eating habits, reduce the intake of high-purine foods, maintain a proper weight, avoid excessive drinking, and have regular physical examinations. Of course, for gout patients, the management of blood uric acid standards is even more important. Good blood uric acid control can greatly reduce the frequency of gout attacks and reduce the risk of visceral damage.

2. Rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease. In the past, it was generally believed that rheumatoid arthritis mainly occurred in middle-aged and elderly people, but existing studies have shown that the incidence of rheumatoid arthritis also includes young people, and the trend is to become younger.

Typical symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include chronic joint pain, stiffness, tenderness, warmth and swelling, especially in the hands, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, shoulders and elbows. In addition, patients may also experience fatigue, general malaise and even depression.

The goal of treating rheumatoid arthritis is to control symptoms, slow disease progression, prevent joint damage, reduce disability, improve prognosis, and enhance quality of life. Treatments include medication (such as slow-acting antirheumatic drugs), physical therapy, and surgery.

4. Prevention and treatment of arthritis

Maintaining a good lifestyle may avoid the occurrence of some diseases; maintain a healthy weight, avoid obesity, exercise moderately, avoid joint injuries, and avoid colds; maintain a healthy and reasonable diet, avoid staying up late, etc., which may lead to a decrease in immunity.

During the acute phase of arthritis, proper rest is needed, and Chinese medicine can be used externally or internally to dispel wind, dredge the meridians, reduce swelling and relieve pain. At the same time, observe for other discomforts, such as fever, rash, oral ulcers, Raynaud's phenomenon, etc. If combined with other symptoms or there is no improvement, you need to see a rheumatologist in time to rule out the possibility of extra-articular systemic damage.

Hunan Medical Chat Special Author: Zhou Jian, Rheumatology and Immunology Department, Hunan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Follow @湖南医聊 to get more health science information!

(Edited by ZS)