Back Arthritis Is One Of The Most Common Health Problems
One of the most common health problems observed these days is back pain. It is sometimes a result of poor posture and at times a result of an injury. A common form of back pain is arthritis. Back arthritis can be uncomfortable and excruciating and might linger for weeks, months and even years. A form of arthritis that is related to age factor is degenerative osteoarthritis. It is caused by the breakdown and loss of cartilage of bones. With age the water content of the cartilage increases and the protein part of the cartilage degenerates. With repetitive use of the joints, the cartilage starts degenerating in the form of flakes and tiny crevasses. As a result, the cushion effect provided by the cartilage between the bones of the joints is lost causing osteoarthritis.
Arthritis in back is generally degenerative spinal arthritis. It causes stiffness in the lower back. It is the most common form of arthritis that affects the spine and is responsible for osteoarthritis back pain. Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, is a multisystemic disease of an unknown cause. It is an immune disorder that causes deformity and disability. It is not a hereditary disease and affects women three times more than men. People generally in the age group of 20-50 are affected, though it has been found to affect the older people too. This disease causes the inflammation of the synovial membrane lining the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis of the spine is generally caused in the cervical region. It rarely affects the thoracic or the lumbar spine. In case of lower back pain arthritis affects the lumbar spine, while pain in the neck is the sign that the cervical spine has been affected. The disease generally causes joint swelling, loss of joint motion and muscle strength, stiffness, pain, fatigue, fever, sleeping difficulty, headache, weakness in arms and legs etc. The degenerative arthritis of the spine is also called degenerative disc arthritis. It commonly affects the lumbar and the cervical spine. It causes pain very similar to osteoarthritis back pain. Rather, it can be said that osteoarthritis and degenerative disc arthritis go hand in hand and both are closely associated with each other. The symptoms are also similar to osteoarthritis. Arthritis treatment mainly depends on the cause of the disease. It is important to consider which joints are affected and how severe is the condition. Back arthritis treatment mainly includes exercises to relieve stiffness, reduce pain, maintain healthy joints and improve muscle and bone strength. Together with these, those positions and movements should be avoided that place extra stress on the affected joints. Proper rest, meditation, physical therapy in the form of yoga and reduction of stress are also helpful in such conditions. |