"Arthritis" is not THAT bad!

Before going into the specifics of Arthritis, let’s break the word down into its parts! Arthro- means joints and anything with a suffix of –itis means inflammation. So YES the inflammation of tonsils are tonsillitis and the inflammation of pancreas is pancreatitis! This was a little secret into the “big medical word” dictionary!

I have recently discovered that many of patients being diagnosed by “Arthritis” don’t really know much about it. The word “Arthritis” seems to also have some effects on their mental state, preventing them from the normal activities of daily living or ADL. There are many types of arthritis, each having different signs and symptoms and different effects on your body. 

The most common type of arthritis (and I mean THE most common type) is Osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis (and now known as Degenerative Joint Disease) is a type of arthritis mostly associated with aging. What I mean by aging is not someone over 90, but anyone after the age 25 can have potentially some sings of Osteoarthritis. This is caused by “wear and tear” of bones and the increased friction between them causing pain. You can have osteoarthritic changes in your bone without knowing it. Sometimes I send a patient to get an x-ray for a potential fracture and I find out that they have some osteoarthritic changes!

There are different types of medications that help with OA (Osteoarthritis) and usually supplements such as Glucosamine Sulfate, Chondroitin Sulfate and MSM (which needs about 6-8 weeks to get absorbed and for you to feel the effects) help with symptoms. (Talk to your doc for specific doses!)

Although there are many types of arthritis such as Rheumatoid , Psoriatic and many more (which you can ask me if you like), with varying degrees of disability, it seems wrong to me that a patient would allow this to limit their horseback riding, hiking, snowboarding and running!

So, the reason for this blog was for you to realize there are MANY types of arthritis and the most common type being Osteoarthritis COULD have minimal effects on your life and you should NEVER stop being active and do things you like since you have been diagnosed with “arthritis”.

Please ask your doctor to clarify the type of arthritis you may have for you!      

Dr. Ali Masoumi
www.facebook.com/drmasoumi