Have you ever suffered from arthritis? Many of us often have misconceptions about certain medical conditions. For instance, because elderly people often suffer from arthritis, we may conclude that it cannot affect younger people. That is wrong. Also, arthritis itself is technically not a disease. So what exactly is it? Arthritis is a medical condition that causes people's joints to become swollen and painful.

Just the facts

Here are some interesting facts about arthritis:

- It includes more than 100 unique diseases that impact regions in or surrounding joints

- It affected about 46 Americans (1 in 5 adults) in 2006.

- It is the top cause of disability among Americans (at least 16-years-old)

- It yearly costs the U.S. economy $128 billion.

- It yearly causes over half a million hospitalizations

- It affects almost 300, 000 children

Joints, bones, and antagonistic muscles

To better understand arthritis, we need to comprehend how our joints function. The bones of our skeletons work as a group of levers that move around joints, which are points where pivoting takes place. This happens as muscles switch between contracting and relaxing. Meanwhile, the muscles surround the joints in pairs. So each group of muscles directs bones in one particular direction, while a twin "antagonistic" muscle group moves the bones in the converse direction.

Among the numerous types of arthritis, here are some of the most common:

Osteoarthritis: This is the most common type of arthritis. It causes the joints to worsen. Cartilage covering the tips of bones within the join wears down. The result is that as the bone starts to scrape against the bone, one's range of motion is reduced, and pain is created.

Rheumatoid Arthritis: This is a disease in which the body's immune system attacks normal cells. The result of is that the lining of the joint becomes red or swollen. This type of arthritis mainly strikes women, and is one of the most powerful types of arthritis.

Gout: This condition primarily affects males. It usually results from a blemish in the chemistry of the body. In the majority of cases, this condition affects small joints and the big toe in particular. But there is good news for you! Gout can nearly always be totally managed with changes in diet, and certain medication.

Fortunately, you can use several types of treatment s for arthritis:

Medication: Numerous types of drugs can be used to treat arthritis, and they have different purposes. These can include reducing pain, lowering soreness, and attacking the disease itself.

Surgery: The majority of people who experience arthritis could never require surgery. On the other hand, surgery can be very beneficial for those with extremely damaged joints, and when other types of treatments are not effective. Joint replacement is the most popular form of arthritis surgery.

Physiotherapy: This can improve people's strength, flexibility, and mobility. When used with medication, pain can be significantly reduced. Physiotherapists can create a treatment plan especially for you, which could include exercise, hydrotherapy, and pain relief methods.

Massages with hot stones are another type of effective treatment for arthritis sufferers. When we suffer from stress, our bodies produce too many hormones. Thus, the body attacks its own joints, resulting in rheumatoid arthritis. Through massage, the body's muscles, ligaments and tendons are relaxed, thus creating balance within the body.

More specifically, a massage moves the muscle and regions around the joints, increasing the body's circulation of blood and lymph. Thus, the body gets rid of more toxins. The ultimate result is that the movement of the joints is significantly improved. In addition to massages improving the condition of the actual joints, they also relieve the symptoms of arthritis. Massages warn arthritis to stay out of your joint!