By Jack Russell
Millions of people (estimated to be 20 million and growing rapidly) suffer from arthritis in the United States alone. Arthritis is a degenerative disease can be debilitating, and depending on the severity, can bring on unbearable pain affecting ones quality of life. And yet, not everyone is clear about what arthritis is, how it is treated, and what changes it can wreak upon the life of a person suffering from it.
What do we know about arthritis and about living with it? Here are seven facts about this debilitating disease:
1. There are many forms of arthritis. People tend to think that the term arthritis refers to a single disease, but it is actually an umbrella term that refers to more than 100 conditions characterized by painful, swollen and inflamed joints. A common misconception is arthritis only affects those past their prime but the truth is any age can fall victim to one form or another of arthritis. Juvenile arthritis is one, which afflicts children and doctors now believe that osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, begins in our 30s, 20s, or even younger manifesting itself as a problem in our 40s and 50s.
2. Seeing a family physician will most likely result in a referral to a rheumatologist, a doctor that specializes in arthritis. Rheumatologists treat arthritis along with certain autoimmune diseases, musculoskeletal disorders and osteoporosis. Only rheumatologists can make an accurate diagnosis of the ailment and prescribe the right treatment for it.
3. It is important for the arthritis to be diagnosed and treated early. Arthritis takes many forms, and careful diagnosis is important as soon as symptoms appear. Some forms of arthritis can have devastating effects on future health. Early detection and treatment will help to relieve pain and prevent any future complications.
4. Arthritis affects individuals in different ways. Treatments vary from person to person, and therapies that work for one person with one type of arthritis, may not work for another person with another type. Left alone and untreated, arthritis can lead to permanent joint damage and disability.
5. Mild to moderate exercise can help in alleviating joint pain caused by arthritis. Exercise increases flexibility and endurance, helps reduce stiffness, and leads to stronger joints. Exercise will also promotes good general health by giving you more energy, controlling weight, and giving an increased sense of overall well being.
6. Arthritis can have a major impact upon the life of the patient. Joint pain varies, and those in the moderate to severe range, can experience emotional upheavals like depression, fear, anger, and irritability. Daily, routines such as cooking, cleaning and even attending to personal hygiene can be affected. Arthritis can be so debilitating, the inability to work can threaten ones livelihood.
7. There is no cure for arthritis discovered as yet, but there are many treatment options available to the patient. Diet, exercise, weight loss, massage, vitamins, herbal remedies, nutritional supplements are a few. Typical treatments involve the use of NSAIDs (Celebrex for example) to control immediate inflammation and pain, but because of the adverse side effects of NSAIDs, more and more people are turning to natural supplements with glucosamine and chondroitin.
New improved formulas designed specifically for arthritis have patients turning to glucosamine and chondroitin supplements such as Syn-flex Premium Liquid Glucosamine. This is because supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin work directly on the cartilage tissue damaged by arthritis. Glucosamine assists in repairing affected cartilage tissue while chondroitin helps lubricate joints. Glucosamine and chondroitin work together to repair the affected cartilage in osteoarthritis patients, while NSAIDs only work to reduce inflammation and block pain in the affected joints.
Recent studies done in the United States in 2006 have shown that supplements containing both glucosamine and chondroitin (the same found in Syn-flex) are more effective in controlling those with moderate to severe arthritis pain than Celebrex. Syn-flex has one of the most advanced formulas for treating osteoarthritis available in the market today.
Starting with pharmaceutical quality glucosamine, adding chondroitin sulfate along with several other nutrients effective in reducing inflammation and swelling, Syn-flex Premium Liquid Glucosamine is considered among the best of these supplements available. For more information about how glucosamine and chondroitin works in fighting arthritis, as well as how effective Syn-flex Liquid Glucosamine is in treating arthritis, please visit this website at http://www.syn-flex-usa.com .
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Living With Arthritis - Seven Points of Facts and Interest
