14 February 2016

LIVING WITH ARTHRITIS


Arthritis

Arthritis, a word that originated from the Greek meaning joint inflammation. This is a disease that causes a joint disorder leading to inflammation of one or more joints. They are over 80 types of arthritis, but the most common one is Osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis has affected more than 17 million people in the United States and the rest of the world. This type of arthritis is known for breaking down cartilage that is in between the joints. Cartilages prevent bones from grinding together and when they are worn out the bones grind together so very painfully. The most affecting joint include the knee joint.

Symptoms of arthritis in knees

A Slow increase in pain in the knee are- arthritis in most cases occur suddenly, but sometimes develop slowly in your body. When it develops slowly you may start experiencing some unusual pain, mostly when you wake up in the morning, when you kneel, when climbing stairs or when you wake up from a sitting position. You may also start finding it hard to go for either short or long walks because of the discomfort you have in your knee.  

Swelling of the knee joint- when you start experiencing pains in your knee joint that means that the cartilages protecting the bones has started wearing out. After a while inflammation of the tissues will begin due to the development of bone spurs otherwise known as osteophytes this will cause swelling when you stay inactive for long periods of time.

Popping sounds from your knee joint- as I mentioned earlier arthritis wears out the cartilages connecting the bones. When these cartilages are totally damaged the bones will grind together and when walking you will experience a grinding sensational around your knee joint.

Awful range of motion- over a period of time the knee joints will be increasingly affected by arthritis, and it will make it hard for the joints to glide together properly. This will affect your movements, if you were moving swift and simple you will start using a cane to move.

Finally, knee deformities- as the days go by, you may start noticing some changes to your knee area. The knee will start pointing to each other because the muscles surrounding the knee will be weakened and become thin giving a sunken appearance to your knees.
 Arthritis knee exercises

The leg risen while lying- while lying flat on your back (it can be a bed or on the floor) put your arms aside and toes up. While keeping your legs straight, stiffen up your leg muscles and gradually lift your legs several inches making sure you have also tightened up your stomach muscles to help you push your lower back down. While counting to five keep raising your legs up and down slowly.

The hamstring stretch while lying down- just as before lie on your bed. Slowly lifting one leg be still bent, then bring your knee back toward your chest. Put your hands together behind your thigh and stiffen your leg. Start pulling your straight leg backing up toward your head up until you start feeling a stretch sensational. Hold for 40 to 60 seconds, then slowly bend back your leg back to the floor.


Walking- sometimes walking is the best exercise we can do. What makes it special is that it is not hard and strenuous like exercises. While walking you will not have the feeling that you are exercising so you won’t be in a rush to stop. This helps in blood circulation in the body works well when blood flows well and also it prevents swelling of the knee joint. This is recommended while experiencing symptoms of arthritis in the knees.

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