Fatigue And Joint Pain: Common Arthritis Symptoms
The symptoms of fatigue and joint pain, are associated with a great deal of illnesses and diseases, ranging from the common flu to serious autoimmune diseases like lupus or thyroid disorders.
And.....
The symptoms that are most associated with arthritis are those of fatigue and joint pain.
So if you are experiencing any problems that you think to be arthritis, consult your primary health care provider before making any attempts at self medication.
Although a diagnosis of arthritis may be troubling, know that although there is no cure known today for the disease, there are a great many treatment options available to deal with the fatigue and joint pain so that you can reclaim your life.
Generally speaking, arthritis is a condition of inflammation around the joints in a sufferer's body.
Any joint is open to being affected by arthritis, but the usually affected areas include the hands, knees, shoulders, and back.
When the area becomes inflamed, the joints swell, causing a great deal of pain and often an overall feeling of stiffness.
Usually, arthritis causes an individual to lose a certain amount of mobility, whether it is an inability to grasp items or complete a given task due to a restricted range of motion.
Quite often, individuals who suffer from fatigue and joint pain are forced to give up favorite activities simply because their bodies are unable to perform tasks they once enjoyed.
This can include hobbies that require fine motor work, such as needlework, gardening, or painting.
Instead of letting arthritis rule your life, take a stance and fight back. There are many over the counter and prescription medications that can reduce inflammation and restore lost mobility.
Consult your primary health care provider to ensure any medications--including those that are advertised as all natural--will not interact with any current medications or medical issues that you may be experiencing.
Another way to ward off the affects of arthritis is to ensure your body is in proper health.
Work to maintain a healthy, well balanced diet that includes all necessary vitamins and nutrients.
Exercise at least twice a week and consider taking ancient forms of exercise like yoga or Tai Chi.
Cat Arthritis – Symptoms And Treatments
Cat arthritis is a progressive disease characterized by the inflammation of the joints. It tends to be a chronic condition and its symptoms recur, becoming more severe over time. Cat arthritis usually appears in older or geriatric cats but it can also develop in younger pets. It's not very common, but it can be a very uncomfortable, even debilitating disease among our feline friends.
There are several types of cat arthritis that your pet might develop. These include:
Osteoarthritis
This is the degenerative form of cat arthritis, a chronic condition that results from joint fatigue or wear and tear of the cartilage that protects the surface of the joint. When this happens, bones grind against each other and later becomes damaged from the friction. This usually appears on the shoulders and elbows.
Traumatic Arthritis
This usually results from a sprain or joint injury. Trauma or damaged sustained from accidents, falls, even fights can injure the joint and promote the development of cat arthritis.
Progressive Polyarthritis
This type of cat arthritis affects several joints at once and symptoms tend to worsen as the disease progresses. This results from the erosion of the protective cartilage, exposing the bones.
Another factor that may lead to cat arthritis is a congenital joint problem, something that your cat was born with and will suffer from by virtue of his genes. Obesity may also contribute to the wear and tear of the joints due to excessive weight.
Symptoms of Cat Arthritis
Cats usually exhibit the signs and symptoms of cat arthritis when the disease has already progressed, which makes it difficult for us to detect the condition in its early stages. However, it's good to note any changes in your cat's behavior especially if he or she is advancing in age. Cats with arthritis also show limping or joint stiffness. They will be reluctant to move or play and will often resist touch especially if it involves the affected area. Since the condition is quite painful, cats often show signs of irritability.
Is Prevention of Cat Arthritis Possible?
It's difficult to prevent cat arthritis caused by age or at least to predict whether a cat's breed or size will contribute to the development of this disease. What is important is that the cat is treated when signs appear. Do not try unproven treatments or supplements without first consulting the veterinarian. Prompt diagnosis and proper care are best.
Treatment for Cat Arthritis
It is unclear whether cat arthritis may be prevented but it may be prudent to ensure that your cat is not overweight. Try to keep a balanced diet to ensure that your cat is well-nourished but that he does not gain too much weight. Proper exercise is also key to help cats maintain their weight so make sure your pet has enough opportunities to participate in physical activities.
An early diagnosis of cat arthritis will be an important factor in helping minimize symptoms and prevent further damage. Regular medication may also be prescribed to relieve pain and inflammation. Some of the most common include painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, which are strictly available through prescription only. Supplements such as glucosamine and chondroitin, which show promise in helping in the development and repair of cartilage, may also be used.
Certain medications, such as Adequan, may be injected into the affected area in order to bring about relief in severe cases. Some medications, such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and corticosteroids which are used to reduce inflammation and minimize pain, are used sparingly. The limited use is due to their side effects, especially to cats with liver, kidney or heart disease.
Consult Your Veterinarian
Once your cat has been diagnosed with arthritis, never, under any circumstances, try to treat the condition on your own using common painkillers. Aspirin, for example, may be tolerated in small doses, but cats lack the natural enzyme with which to process aspirin in their bodies and may not be able to excrete the drug efficiently. Other painkillers, such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen may even be fatal to cats.
For severe cases of cat arthritis where joint malformation is already evident, surgery may sometimes be recommended. If the pain is untreatable, some owners may even choose to euthanize their pet in order to prevent further suffering.
Cat arthritis tends to be a life-long condition and it is often best to seek the help of a veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment if only to help prolong your cat's life. Try to keep your cat as comfortable as possible and be aware of any symptoms or side effects that treatments may produce. No one else can come to your cat's rescue except for you, so it's best to be fully aware.
Don’t Ignore Early Warning Signs Of Arthritis Symptoms
When you get an ache in your knee, it's very easy to just assume it's arthritis. But what are the symptoms of arthritis? Your body can ache for lots of different reasons, so it's sensible to get any ongoing pain checked out. Arthritis symptoms are many and varied, so it's not always obvious that something is being caused by arthritis, if you have one or more less common symptoms.
The first step is to visit your doctor. It's important to let your doctor know if there's a history of arthritis in your family. Make sure you keep track of where and when the arthritis symptoms are occurring. It's also good to note what type of pain you are feeling - is it general stiffness in a joint? Or are you actually experiencing pain when you move the joint? Keep track of any obvious patterns to your arthritis symptoms, such as whether the pain gradually improves through the day, or whether it's worse right before wet weather. If your arthritis symptoms only last a day then disappear for weeks before returning, then tell your doctor that.
Initially, your arthritis symptoms may be so mild that there will be some doubt about whether it's actually arthritis at all. That's okay, and not unusual. You should still get it checked out by your doctor, just in case the problem is being caused by something entirely different. A whole range of problems can cause pain in various parts of your body, and it's important to make sure the cause is pinpointed, so that it can be dealt with more effectively.
If you find that you're getting arthritis symptoms in one particular joint, think back and try to remember whether that particular joint has recently suffered a knock or blow. Perhaps you've been undertaking a new activity, which could have caused those particular muscles to be feeling a bit sore and tender? The thing with arthritis symptoms is that over time, they recur. So if it's possible that your current pain has been caused by a recent event, it's quite possible you don't have arthritis at all. Again, visit your doctor so that you can discuss the situation and determine what the most likely cause could be.
Arthritis Symptoms? Start with Glucosamine Chondrotin Supplements
Do you feel pain in your joints upon waking up in the morning? Do you feel that your knees seem to be protesting when you get up? When jogging, do your knees feel stiff and unable to go on?
These may be early symptoms of arthritis. Arthritis is not easily diagnosed for there are over a hundred types of arthritis that affect the joints such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, gout, and the most common being: osteoarthritis.
What is osteoarthritis?
This type of arthritis can affect any joint in the body but normally affects the body's weight-bearing joints. It is associated with joint pain through constant use. Orthopedics and arthritis specialists particularly like to dub osteoarthritis as the wear and tear arthritis because affected joints tend to degenerate through constant use. What happens is that the cartilage in the joints get worn out and thins, thereby ineffectively padding the bony layers in the joints. As a result, bone spurs materialize, which are bony overgrowths that rub with bones. Friction is produced through contact, hence, joint pain.
Osteoarthritis is further aggravated by the experience of traumatic injuries, dehydration, and glucosamine insufficiency in the body. Of the latter, it is said that as the individual grows older, glucosamine supply depletes and production is delayed. This means that cartilage repair is undermined by cartilage breakdown in the body.
The role of glucosamine in arthritis treatment
Glucosamine is a very essential molecule in the body. It enables the repair or "regeneration" of cartilage in joints. Several studies have shown that glucosamine can delay joint degeneration which is an effect of arthritis. The theory behind this is that glucosamine provides the body a very important component of healthy cartilage called glycosaminoglycans. Glucosamine comes in three different forms: glucosamine sulfate, glucosamine hydrochloride, and N-acetyl glucosamine, all of which are available in the market today. However, the most popular and widely-used form remains to be glucosamine sulfate for specialists believe it has more beneficial effects.
Combined with chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine is able to assist in rebuilding damaged cartilage in joints. Chondroitin traps essential fluids that would lubricate joint parts for flexible and pain-free movement. The synthesis of glucosamine and chondroitin in the body produces a joint lubricant called synovial fluid which is a jelly-like material.
Alternative Arthritis treatment
NSAIDs or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used to be very popular in the treatment of arthritis. In fact, some people still use them today. Though NSAIDs have produced satisfactory effects in arthritis sufferers, this type of drugs have also been associated with a series of gastrointestinal side effects such as bleeding. An alternative treatment of arthritis that is increasingly earning the favor of not just patients but the doctors as well is Synflex Liquid Glucosamine. Synflex Glucosamine is a dietary supplement. It enables joint repair and rehabilitation through regular intake.
The theory is that supplementing your diet with glucosamine helps in the increase production of glycosaminoglycans and synovial fluid that are needed to keep your cartilages healthy and less prone to immediate destruction or breakdown. Syn-flex Liquid Glucosamine comes with anti-inflammatory ingredients such as yucca that helps in alleviating joint pain from arthritis without the side effects produced by NSAIDs. You'll also find that these dietary supplements have been widely used in pets with tremendous success. The fact that Synflex comes in liquid form gives it a huge advantage in 2 ways, absorption into your system (relief in as little as 10 days) and its ease of administering to pets. Learn more of this leader in Glucosamine sales at Syn-flex-usa.com.
Arthritis – What to Expect at a Doctor’s Examination
After conducting the necessary physical examination, especially on joints like your knees, hips and legs, your doctor will require a detailed enumeration of your medical history for a more accurate diagnosis. You will be asked questions about:
the first time you felt pain in your knee whether you've had previous knee pain, and why the length of time you've been experiencing pain whether the pain is constant or intermittent whether the pain affects one or both knees the precise area where pain is felt - above, below, at the sides, or on the knee itself the severity of the pain whether the knee feels tender and battered your ability to put weight on your knee or walk any history of injury or accident involving the affected joint whether the whole limb or just the knee has been used excessively your normal day-to-day activities and exercise regimen the home remedies you've used to treat the knee and whether they alleviated any of the symptoms other signs like hip, leg or calf pain, and swelling of the knee and its surrounding areas any incidence of fever
Your doctor may also order the following tests:
extraction of a fluid sample from your knee for analysis knee x-rays MRI scan of the knee to determine any tears in the ligaments or meniscus
To counter pain symptoms, your doctor may prescribe NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are more potent than over-the-counter painkillers. For more severe symptoms, injectible steroids can be administered to cut down pain and inflammation.
Other methods of treatment may involve sessions with a physical therapist for stretching and strengthening joint exercises, or visits to a podiatrist for orthotics fittings. These remedies can avert the reoccurrence of arthritis symptoms.
When the disease has progressed to a stage where there is extensive bone and cartilage damage and severe pain and inflammation, surgery may be necessary to replace the affected joint. While minor injuries involving ligaments strains and tears will heal naturally with self-nurturing home care or the use of supportive apparatus, substantial tears and fissures, like a torn meniscus will require arthroscopic knee surgery.
Ligament and meniscus-related conditions result in slow and painstaking recovery, often involving the use of crutches and prolonged physical therapy.
Can Your Diet Affect Your Arthritis Symptoms?
There has long been a theory that the severity of arthritis symptoms can be linked to a patient's diet, but a lot more research needs to be conducted in order to know what diet is right for what type of arthritis. There has been enough proof that changing dietary habits can make a difference in the amount of pain an arthritis patient has. For example, it is a known fact that gout patients who avoid alcohol and eat a diet high in purine can lower their chances for a gout attack. This diet actually lowers the uric acid level in their blood which is responsible for gout.
As with many other conditions, excess body weight can have adverse effects on arthritis. With a weight that's just 20% higher than normal body weight, a person will raise his chances of developing arthritis as well as putting extra strain on joints damaged by active arthritis. There's also an increased chance that someone who eats more will come in contact with an allergen which will trigger an outbreak of arthritis and alter the function of the immune system.
By eating a healthy diet, arthritis patients are contributing to their own well-being. They should also completely avoid fad diets which can introduce too much of certain chemicals and things into the body and which don't guarantee that they are getting all the nutrients they need.
High cholesterol and high fat diets have been linked to arthritis. People who don't have arthritis are far more likely to develop it with these diets. Patients who are already suffering from arthritis can help relieve pain by avoiding high fat, high cholesterol foods from their diets.
In order to eat a diet that will help you keep from getting arthritis or which will relieve arthritis pain, you should avoid:
• Anything from a fast food restaurant
• Soda pop
• Foods that are high in starches such as potatoes and pasta
• Red meats
• Foods with high levels of saturated fats
Patients who suffer from arthritis should try consuming a diet which is high in vitamin C, such as oranges, strawberries, and apples. Other beneficial foods include oily fish which contain high amounts of vitamin E, and whole grain wheat and rice products.
People who eat western diets regularly ingest far too much fat and cholesterol to be healthy. These high fat diets have been shown to increase the chances of developing arthritis, and for arthritis patients, they can have a devastating effect on their level of pain and suffering. Everyone should eat a diet which is high in nutrients and low in fat. This type of a diet will promote health and decrease the risk of obesity. And it's never too late to take control of your diet, your health, and your future.
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