Do you have any of these symptoms?
- Fatigue
- Weight loss
- Non-specific fever
- Persistent joint pain
- Joint deformity
- Joint swelling, stiffness, redness and/or warmth
- Loss of flexibility or range of motion in a joint
- Pain or tenderness in a joint which gets worse by movement or activity
(walking, typing or turning a key for example)
- Cracking noise arthritic joints make upon movement (Crepitus)
If you answered "yes" for any of the symptoms above, you should
see a doctor. You may have Arthritis.
Do you know what Arthritis is?
The literal meaning is "joint inflammation". But there are a
group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases that can also be defined as Arthritis.
The symptoms are pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints. Arthritis can also
affect muscles, bones, tendons, and ligaments, as well as some internal organs.
The list below contains the most common arthritic
conditions:
Ankylosing spondylitis: This condition primarily affects
the spine, but it may also cause Arthritis in the hips, shoulders, and knees.
The tendons and ligaments around the bones and joints in the spine become
inflamed. Symptoms include pain and stiffness, especially in the lower back. It
tends to develop during late adolescence or early adulthood.
Bursitis: Inflammation of the bursae (small,
fluid-filled sacs that help reduce friction between bones and other moving
structures in joints). The inflammation may result from Arthritis in the joint
or from injury or infection of the bursae. Symptoms include pain, tenderness and
limited movement of the involved joint.
Fibromyalgia: A chronic syndrome associated with pain
and stiffness throughout the tissues that support and move the bones and joints.
Pain and localized tender points occur in the muscles and tendons, particularly
those of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. Other common symptoms include
widespread pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances.
Gout: Results from deposits of needle-like crystals of
uric acid in the connective tissue near joints and/or in the joint space.
Symptoms include inflammation, swelling and pain in the affected joint, often
the big toe.
Infectious Arthritis: In some cases, Arthritis can
develop as part of a bacterial or viral infection. If a bacterial infection is
involved, early diagnosis and treatment with antibiotics may relieve the
Arthritis symptoms and cure the disease.
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis: Chronic condition that
causes inflammation in one or more joints and begins before the age of 16. It is
the most common form of Arthritis in children. Symptoms include pain, stiffness,
swelling and loss of function in the joints. The Arthritis may be associated
with rashes or fevers and it may affect other parts of the body.
Psoriatic Arthritis: Occurs in some patients with
psoriasis, a common scaling skin disorder. Psoriatic Arthritis often affects the
joints at the ends of the fingers and causes changes in the fingernails and
toenails.
Reactive Arthritis: Can develop after an infection of
the lower urinary tract, intestines or other organs. It is commonly associated
with eye problems, skin rashes and mouth sores.
Scleroderma: Also known as systemic sclerosis,
scleroderma means hard skin. It refers to several diseases that almost always
affect the skin, blood vessels, and joints. A more serious form also affects
internal organs such as the lungs and kidneys. In scleroderma patients, there is
an excessive production of collagen (a fiber-like protein) in the involved areas
of skin or internal organs.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): Also known as lupus,
SLE is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system harms the body's cells
and tissues. This can result in inflammation and damage to the joints, skin,
kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels or brain.
Tendinitis (tendonitis): Refers to inflammation of
tendons (tough cords of tissue that connect muscle to bone) caused by overuse,
injury, or Arthritis-producing conditions. Symptoms include pain, tenderness and
restricted movement of nearby joints.
What really causes Arthritis pain?
The pain of Arthritis may come from inflammation of the
synovial membrane (tissue that lines the joints), the tendons or the ligaments;
muscle strain; and fatigue. If these factors are combined, it can intensify the
pain. People react differently to pain for several reasons such as emotional,
social or physical conditions. Activities also affect pain differently. One can
note pain after prolonged use of the joint while others feel pain immediately
after rising from sleep. Most forms of Arthritis are associated with pain that
can be divided into two general categories: acute and chronic. What defines an
acute pain is that it is temporary while a chronic pain is long-lasting.
What is pain?
Pain is the body's warning system, alerting you that something
is wrong. The International Association for the Study of Pain
defines it as an unpleasant experience associated with actual or potential
tissue damage to a person's body. Specialized nervous system cells (neurons)
that transmit pain signals are found throughout the skin and other body tissues.
These cells respond to things such as injury or tissue damage. Pain "tells" you
that you need to do something. For example, when a harmful agent such as a sharp
knife comes in contact with your skin, chemical signals travel from neurons in
the skin through nerves in the spinal cord to your brain, where they are
interpreted as pain.
Pain is more common than you think.
In a poll by The Gallup Organization from May 21-June 9, 1999,
nine out of ten Americans reported they have pain at least once a month and for
15 percent of them, the pain is severe. You should also know that nearly 43
million Americans are affected by Arthritis. Based on predictions of population
growth, in 2020 an estimated 60 million Americans will have some form of
Arthritis.
OsteoArthritis (OA) is the most common type and affects more
than 20 million Americans. It begins with the breakdown of cartilage in joints,
resulting in joint pain and stiffness. An estimated 2.1 million people, about 1%
of all American adults, have Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It involves inflammation
of the lining of many different joints in your body. In some people, RA can also
affect other parts of the body, including the blood, the lungs, and the heart.
Inflammation of the joint lining, called the synovium, can cause pain,
stiffness, swelling, warmth, and redness. The affected joint may also lose its
shape, resulting in loss of normal movement. RA can last a long time and can be
a disease of flares (active) and remissions (little to no activity).
Who can be affected by Arthritis?
Some risk factors determine who gets Arthritis, such as:
Age: Arthritis is the leading cause of physical
disability among adults 18 years of age and older;
Gender: in general, Arthritis occurs more frequently in
women than in men;
Obesity: increases the chances of getting OsteoArthritis
(OA), particularly for women. There is a clear link between obesity and the
development of OA of the knee in women;
Work factors: Work-related repetitive injury and
physical trauma contribute to the development of OA. If you have a strenuous job
that requires repetitive bending, kneeling or squatting, you are at high risk
for OA of the knee.
How to cope with Arthritis pain?
You are the main participant in the process to manage your
pain. There are some things that may help you to cope with your pain. Some of
them are just related to your attitude - keeping a positive attitude and humor
can make you feel better. Others are alternatives techniques such as hot and
cold treatments, appropriate exercise and wise use of joints, counseling and
other supports, physical therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, occupational
therapy, relaxation (deep breathing, meditation and biofeedback for example) and
other pain management techniques (massage and topical lotions for example).
Having a healthy diet, getting enough sleep and staying aware
about new research about pain management can also help you to cope with your
Arthritis pain.
There are also things that you should avoid because they can
only make your pain worse: worsening of underlying condition, stress, overdoing
physical activity, focusing on pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression.
The goals of these methods are to control pain by learning new
ways to reduce it, taking as few pain medicines as possible, changing pain
habits that disrupt your normal lifestyle and increasing your physical and
social activity so you can return, as much as possible, to an active life.
O24™ can Help You to Relieve Pain
Using O24™ Essential Oil Pain Neutralizer while having massage
can give you some relief from your pain. O24™ Essential Oil Pain Neutralizer's
formula is 100% natural and is made using only the finest pure essential oils
(peppermint oil, rosemary oil, aloe vera oil, eucalyptus oil, lemon oil and
orange oil). It has also a U.S patent (U.S. Patent 6,444,238 B1).
O24™ Essential Oil Pain Neutralizer helps you to relieve pain
caused by Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, sport activities and daily physical strain
and stress, relax and have a refreshing and vitalizing effect by simply applying
the product to your skin.
O24™ Essential Oil Pain Neutralizer has been developed in
cooperation with health care professionals, physiotherapists, massage therapists
and professional athletes with the goal to provide relief from sore aching
muscles and joints. Read our Clinical Trials for more information about how O24™ can
help you relieve pain.
