Symptoms:
- Requires a medical diagnosis
- Symptoms include pain, swelling, reduced range of motion and stiffness.
- They can be mild, moderate or severe. They may stay about the same for years, but may progress or get worse over time.
- Severe arthritis can result in chronic pain, inability to do daily activities and make it difficult to walk or climb stairs.
- Arthritis can cause permanent joint changes. These changes may be visible, such as knobby finger joints, but often the damage can only be seen on X-ray. Some types of arthritis also affect the heart, eyes, lungs, kidneys and skin as well as the joints.
There are different types of arthritis:
Degenerative Arthritis
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. When the cartilage – the slick, cushioning surface on the ends of bones – wears away, bone rubs against bone, causing pain, swelling and stiffness. Over time, joints can lose strength and pain may become chronic. Risk factors include excess weight, family history, age and previous injury (an anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, tear, for example).
When the joint symptoms of osteoarthritis are mild or moderate, they can be managed by:
- Balancing activity with rest
- Using cold therapies(Cold Laser which is the most effective)
- Regular physical activity
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Strengthening the muscles around the joint for added support
- Using assistive devices
- Avoiding excessive repetitive movements
If joint symptoms are severe, causing limited mobility and affecting quality of life, some of the above management strategies may be helpful, but joint replacement may be necessary. Osteoarthritis can prevented by staying active, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding injury and repetitive movements.
Inflammatory Arthritis
A healthy immune system is protective. It generates internal inflammation to get rid of infection and prevent disease. But the immune system can go awry, mistakenly attacking the joints with uncontrolled inflammation, potentially causing joint erosion and may damage internal organs, eyes and other parts of the body. Rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis are examples of inflammatory arthritis.
Researchers believe that a combination of genetics and environmental factors can trigger autoimmunity. Smoking is an example of an environmental risk factor that can trigger rheumatoid arthritis in people with certain genes.
With autoimmune and inflammatory types of arthritis, early diagnosis and aggressive treatment is critical. Slowing disease activity can help minimize or even prevent permanent joint damage. Remission is the goal and may be achieved through the use of one or more medications known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).
The goal of treatment is to reduce pain, improve function, and prevent further joint damage.
Infectious Arthritis
A bacterium, virus or fungus can enter the joint and trigger inflammation. Examples of organisms that can infect joints are salmonella and shigella (food poisoning or contamination), chlamydia and gonorrhea (sexually transmitted diseases) and hepatitis C (a blood-to-blood infection, often through shared needles or transfusions). In many cases, timely treatment with antibiotics may clear the joint infection, but sometimes the arthritis becomes chronic.
Metabolic Arthritis
Uric acid is formed as the body breaks down purines, a substance found in human cells and in many foods. Some people have high levels of uric acid because they naturally produce more than is needed or the body can’t get rid of the uric acid quickly enough. In some people the uric acid builds up and forms needle-like crystals in the joint, resulting in sudden spikes of extreme joint pain, or a gout attack. Gout can come and go in episodes or, if uric acid levels aren’t reduced, it can become chronic, causing ongoing pain and disability.
Diagnosing Arthritis
Arthritis diagnosis often begins with a primary care physician, who performs a physical exam and may do blood tests and imaging scans to help determine the type of arthritis.
People may experience:
- Pain areas: in the ankle, back, fingers, hands, heel, joints, lower back, muscles, neck, or wrist
- Pain types: can be arthritic, sharp, or intermittent
- Pain circumstances: can occur while sitting
- Joints: stiffness, swelling, swelling, or tenderness
- Muscular: muscle weakness or decreased range of motion
- Also common: flare, limping, physical deformity, redness, stiff neck, or swelling
How COLD LASER helps cure Arthiritis?
The following is an example of treating arthritis, all joints have similar treatments as per the doctor diagnosis.
Hand Arthritis
You can see and feel changes to the hand and fingers because of degenerative osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The knuckles are enlarged and tender, and the fingers may move in different directions. People complain of constant stiffness, soreness, weakness, and sharp pain with hand movements. Soon you are avoiding many of the activities you enjoy.
Arthritis destroys the joint cartilage and bones. Destruction of the joint produces chronic inflammation which makes the hands stiffer and sorer. Decreasing inflammation reduces some of the hand pain, stiffness, soreness, and limitation. Many people experience relief with over the counter or prescription medication. Other treatments are available for people who need more help controlling their hand arthritis pain.
Cold lasers utilize specific frequencies and wavelengths to cause actions inside the body to decrease pain and inflammation. During treatment people may experience warmth in the hands as blood rushes to the fingers. More blood means more healing.
Additionally, inside cells enzymatic pathways are being turned on to increase mitochondrial production of ATP, or energy for the cells. Chronically injured cells usually are short of energy which limits their ability to heal and repair. By increasing the energy inside cells they can repair damage or improve their structural integrity.
Cold lasers help block pain pathways. Arthritis destruction causes inflammatory molecules to be released which makes the area more sensitive to touch and pressure. Decreasing these molecules helps reduce pain.
After 4-6 visits most people feel improvement in their hand pain and stiffness. Likewise they have better pain free finger movement, less daily stiffness and soreness. The amount of sharp pain with everyday activities decreases.
Cold laser therapy will cure hand arthritis when diagnosied early, but it is a great option for decreasing pain symptoms in later stages and reduces pain upto 90% for more than 5 years. Most people do better with treatment. There are not any significant risks with cold laser therapy, which is why it is a great option for arthritis pain.
