Arthritis

- Exertive force from overusage of affected joint(s) causes Osteoarthritis which is a form of degenerative disease. More commonly seem along elderly people, however people who are young might not be isolated to not have the risk of developing Osteoarthritis affected by sports injuries.

There are signs and symptoms that might show among patients suffering from Osteoarthritis that may experience dull aches at affected joints. Other symptoms will include:

- Crepitation, where it's a sensation of grating or grinding of the affected joint by rubbing damaged cartilage surfaces.

- Changes in surrounding joints

- Cysts in your hand that may cause ridging or dents in the nail plate of the affected finger

- Pain

- Stiffness of affected joints

- Swelling of affected joints

- Warmth; where the joints might be warm upon touching

Here at Gleneagles Hospital, we offer treatments for Arthritis that include:

- Exercise, in order to keep up with muscle strength and ligaments to stabilise your joints.

- Medicines such as Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

- Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs to reduce pain, swelling and stiffness in Osteoarthritis.

- Steroids can sometimes be injected directly into a joint so that it can alleviate pain and swelling.

- Physiotherapy to exercise the joints in order to stabilize it

- Surgery to correct deformity in joints or new replacement for severely damaged joint

Rheumatoid arthritis might affect many of the organs in the body. It's important to seek treatment to avoid future occurence of other diseases such as anaemia, fibrosis of the lung, risks of heart attack, stroke or some cancer.