Is arthritis an old age disease? Is arthritis caused by wind? Is arthritis just painful? ... Is this really the case? Beware of these five myths

Arthritis is a well-known disease. Many people suspect they have arthritis when they experience joint pain. What exactly is arthritis?

As the name suggests, arthritis refers to inflammation in the joints caused by various reasons. The joints contain structures such as articular cartilage, synovium, ligaments, and joint capsules. Cartilage wear caused by various reasons, bone hyperplasia around the joints, synovial hyperplasia, congestion, and edema, ligament damage in the joints, meniscus damage, and bleeding and exudation on the joint surface are all manifestations of arthritis.

There are five types of arthritis

Degenerative osteoarthritis

This is caused by the wear of articular cartilage, which leads to the proliferation of bone and synovium around the joints, which can further lead to joint deformity, pain and limited movement. What we usually call arthritis refers to this type, which is referred to as osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis.

Autoimmune arthritis

This is a type of arthritis in which the body attacks its own joints and connecting tissues due to an abnormal immune system. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of arthritis. This type of arthritis is mainly caused by synovial hyperplasia eroding the joint cartilage, which in turn causes damage to the joint structure, pain and swelling. Arthritis caused by ankylosing spondylitis also belongs to this type.

Septic arthritis

The joints are infected with bacteria, which multiply in large numbers inside the joints, invading the synovium and cartilage, leading to inflammation. The clinical diagnosis is suppurative arthritis.

Traumatic arthritis

Damage to the articular cartilage, ligaments and surrounding bone can lead to uneven joint surfaces and joint instability, which in turn causes rapid wear of the articular cartilage and the onset of arthritis.

Gouty arthritis

Gout can cause joint pain, which is due to abnormal purine metabolism in the human body and the deposition of urate in the joint capsule, bursa, cartilage, bone and other tissues, causing lesions and inflammatory reactions.

Don't fall into arthritis myths

Many people have many misunderstandings about arthritis, such as arthritis is an old age disease, arthritis is caused by diet, arthritis is caused by wind, arthritis is just joint pain, arthritis means bone spurs, and bone spurs can be ground off... Is this really the case?

Myth 1: Arthritis is a disease of the elderly

"Arthritis is an old age disease, young people won't get it!" This is a very common misconception. As the saying goes, "people get old first in their legs", the elderly are more susceptible to osteoarthritis, which is a degenerative, wear-and-tear arthritis. Osteoarthritis can indeed be said to be an old age disease. Osteoarthritis is often found in the weight-bearing joints of the lower limbs, such as the knees, hips and ankles, and can also occur in the fingers, which are joints that are used more. But in general, arthritis has no direct relationship with age, it can affect people of any age, including children, young people and middle-aged people.

In particular, immune arthritis, suppurative arthritis, traumatic arthritis, and gouty arthritis have little to do with age , and many patients are not very old.

Myth 2: Arthritis is caused by diet

Overeating may cause weight gain, which increases the load on the joints of the lower limbs and accelerates the wear of the joints, which is a predisposing factor for the onset of osteoarthritis. A continuous high-purine diet may lead to hyperuricemia, which in turn induces gout, and the probability of gouty arthritis increases. But other types of arthritis are not closely related to diet. There is no scientific evidence that specific foods or diets can cause arthritis. Similarly, no certain food or diet can prevent arthritis. A reasonable and healthy diet can help control weight and reduce the incidence of osteoarthritis.

Myth 3: Arthritis is caused by wind

Many people believe that arthritis is caused by wind or cold, wet weather, and that if you live in a warm, dry place, your arthritis will go away. This is not true. People living in any climate can get arthritis . Pain and inflammation can occur wherever cartilage wears down, regardless of the climate.

Warm weather does seem to make arthritis better, probably because higher temperatures improve blood circulation to the joints, which relieves pain. A warmer environment can make people feel more comfortable overall, so discomfort in the affected joints may be lessened.

Myth 4: Arthritis is just joint pain

Another common misconception that is similar to this is that “arthritis is just joint pain.” Neither of these beliefs is true.

Arthritis can also cause the following symptoms: limited range of motion, joint stiffness, joint deformity, partial loss of joint function, etc. Taking knee osteoarthritis as an example, in addition to knee pain, there will also be limited squatting and joint valgus deformity, which is commonly known as "X-shaped legs" or "O-shaped legs" . In addition, when patients first start to move, they feel obvious stiffness in the knee joint, and severe knee osteoarthritis can also cause joint walking dysfunction.

Myth 5: Arthritis is just bone spurs, which can be removed by grinding.

Bone spur is a common name, and is called osteophyte in professional textbooks. Bone spur is a self-compensatory reaction of the human body to increase the contact area between joints after joint wear. Some patients imagine that they can wear it off by walking more. This is impossible, and it will only grow bigger .

The cause of arthritis is not bone spurs ; bone spurs are just a manifestation of the disease itself.

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There are many misunderstandings about arthritis. Here we only analyze the more representative ones, hoping to help the majority of patients. We also hope that everyone will seek medical treatment in time after getting arthritis, exercise scientifically, relieve pain, and don't miss the best time to treat the disease.