Did you ever watch a puppet show? You must have noticed how easy it was for the puppets to walk, jump and dance. The parts of their arms and legs are always connected with thin threads. The latter can be torn, thus disabling a puppet.
Humans, suffering from arthritis, seem to be those broken puppets. There is a difference though: the master can either throw the puppet away (which cannot be done to the human) or mend it. Doctors can mend peoples bodies, though it is not so easy as with a puppet.
The first step in healing the disease is its thorough studying. So let us get to know everything possible about the illness, which makes us broken puppets.
Arthritis is a very common disease in many countries. For example, about 42 million Americans (300,000 of those are children) suffer from its chronic form. Nevertheless, nowadays people ignore arthritis as it does not kill. It is necessary to point out that inability to move (which is often the result of arthritis) can sometimes be even worth than death; therefore, this disease deserves our attention.
Arthritis is a name for a group of more than 100 diseases targeting joints at the first place and many other parts of the body (muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and even internal organs). Arthritis causes pain, stiffness and swelling of the joints. These feelings can be either acute (passing in a short period of time) or chronic (lasting for weeks, months or even for a lifetime).
The most common types of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatic arthritis. Degenerative joint disease is the former name for osteoarthritis. It affects about 21 million people in the USA. The majority of them are over 50, that is why the disease is associated with age. Really, it is a result of tear and wear of life, not the inflammation. The pressure of gravity, obesity, repetitive joint use or its trauma gradually cause osteoarthritis. It usually develops on one or several joints, mainly knee, hip and hand.
Rheumatic arthritis is of different nature: it is an autoimmune disease, which occurs when bodys immune system mistakenly attacks cells lining inside the joint, thus ruining them. It targets people irrespective of age, but women suffer from it more often than men. The exact causes of rheumatic arthritis are unknown. Meanwhile, scientists suggest that heredity may play an important role in its development. A person may be susceptible to this kind of arthritis due to the inherited trait. The disease itself, though, develops in the additional favorable environment.
There are several ways to lessen arthritis pain: eat a healthy diet; sleep at least 8 hour at night; avoid joint injury or repetitive joint use; do not strain the joint during exercising, and alternate rest with work. Some decades ago doctors advised their patients with any kind of arthritis to avoid physical job. Nowadays they confirm that reasonable strain to joints and muscles is absolutely necessary, otherwise they will degenerate, which will result in disability.
It is worthy to note about one more type of arthritis called lyme arthritis, which is the result of bacterial infection transmitted to the organism through tick bites. To avoid the infection, use insect repellents, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants while going to the forests or to the areas, where there is a risk of tick bites.
Unlike puppets, human beings require much more time to be healed. Therefore, the better way for us is to avoid or prevent the breakage. Take care of yourself!
Ivanna
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