Arthritis Treatment

There was a big scare in the news recently! Everyone was surprised and saddened to learn that the hot dog eating champion Takeru Kobayashi of Japan might be unable to compete in the event that is to be held in New York in the first week of July 2007. He has been winning the competition for the last 6 years, and if he cannot participate this time, then we will have a new winner. And blame this on arthritis. Media reports are claiming that Takeru is hardly able to open his jaw, let alone eat so many hot dogs.

This has surprised many because most people had this idea that arthritis was something that affected only the aged, but now here is Takeru, an otherwise perfectly healthy man, and yet he cannot even open his jaw due to the disease.

Yes that is the truth. Arthritis has even been known to affect the newborns (juvenile arthritis). So it is a myth that the disease affects those in advance years only. In fact according to estimates, as many as 17.1 million men have been affected, and for women this figure stands at 24.3 million, which is even higher. Yes interestingly, more women seem to be affected than men. No one is quite sure why that is the case. An estimated 46 million people in the US alone suffer from arthritis, which is 1 out of every 5 adults. And these are all doctor diagnosed cases, there is a huge section of people who never get their condition diagnosed by a physician. But even then, it is true that the probability of someone having arthritis increases a great deal with age.

Actually, arthritis is the number one reason of medical disability among the senior population. But those who are younger can also be severely disabled due to the disease, and their mobility can also be restricted to a great deal. Arthritis has been known to cause many man-hour losses worldwide, as the affected individual was unable to attend office. In advanced cases, arthritis can even limit carrying out simple day to day activities such as taking a bath, dressing and walking.

And that is precisely why arthritis treatment is so important, because if left unattended to, it can cause permanent damage. Apart from medical treatment, there are several physical exercises and physiotherapy also that helps a great deal.

Arthritis affects the joints of the body and is notice in the hips, knees, elbows, hands and even in the spine. But the disease has also been known to affect the bones and muscles as well. The most common symptoms include swelling of the joints and varying degrees of pain (the pain seems to be more early in the morning and late at night). Find a suitable arthritis pain relief is not difficult if you research the topic fully.