What are joints?
In human and animal anatomy, joints are the areas where one or two bones meet. There are approximately 250-350 joints in an average human body. They help humans and animals alike to bend their elbows and knees, rotate one’s hips and neck, bend one’s back, and wave good-bye with one’s fingers. Some joints are mobile and extremely flexible; the others have less flexibility, while the rest are completely immobile.
Joints can only move in the following four ways:
- Gliding – in which one bony surface glides over another
- Angular – movement that only occurs between long bones
- Circumduction – a movement which occurs in a specific kind of a joint, which are composed of the head of a bone and an articular cavity
- Rotation – a movement in which the bone rotates without moving from its central axis
There are several layers of smooth tissues called cartilages, which act as a pillow to the joints and refrain them from getting rubbed together. However, old age and too much pressure on the bones, either due to heavy exercise or lifting heavy duty objects, can create tears in the cartilages which can result in arthritis1.
What causes deterioration in joint health?
Joint pain is basically an inflammation sensation in your bones. When your bones are not self-lubricating and not work as properly as they used to, they start to grind with each other. The pain can get so bad that one would find themselves searching for ice packs in a desperate attempt to soothe the aching joints.
It is a myth now that creaking joints can only be a result of old age, a lot of young to middle-aged women and children are suffering from this disease. Contrary to popular belief, joint pain has never been nor will ever be a normal next step in the process of aging. Experts are of the opinion that the most common reason for bones to deteriorate and start to ache is either due to seldom usage or because of overpressuring one’s self.
Bones require exercise and a healthy diet, in the absence of which they start to lose their strength. Bones act as a bank deposit box for calcium which is required by our body to function and move around. Bones are our live tissue and just like other tissues in our body, over the course of our life, bones constantly break down, and new structures are made, through a fascinating process called Resorption. However, if, due to any reason, our old bones break down faster than new bones can be made, it results in bone loss – which basically means that the present bones will be low in density and will be susceptible to damage way easier than a healthy set of bones. Frail bones would eventually and undoubtedly mean feeble joints.
Signs and symptoms
Though there are several kinds and reasons for joint pain, ranging from old age to sport-related injury or just a result of physical labor. The signs and symptoms of each of the following are almost the same, though the treatment, at times, differs. The root of the reason can vary but as soon as one notices aches and distress in their joints visit the doctor immediately.
Symptoms of the agony may include some or all of the following:
- Recurring or constant joint pain
- A crunching sound is heard when one walks or a feeling of bone being rubbed on bone
- Unexplained and unusual fatigue
- Weight loss
- Morning stiffness is perhaps one of the most common and earlier signs to the surface which, if not treated properly, can worsen over time
- Dry, itchy, or inflamed eyes2
- Loss of appetite
- When accompanied by joint pain or slight swelling, fever can be an early warning sign
- Lumps and bumps around joints
- Joint stiffness or difficulty in moving the joint after a significant amount of either movement or immobility
- Deformity of joints
- Inflammation can put pressure on your nerves which results in a slight tingling sensation or numbness in your joints
- Dry mouth
- Swelling or redness in the joints
Treatment [Joint health supplements]:
There are several reasons for joint pain, and almost every one of them can be managed by giving ourselves a timeout, consistent exercise, vitamins, and mineral supplements, and taking prescription medicines.
Home Treatment:
A large community believes homeopathic or home treatment works wonders. If you are one of them and suffer from pain due to arthritis, then the following are the treatments that one can use when looking to cure stiffness of joints at home:
- Stay physically active
- Maintain a scheduled intake of anti-inflammatory pain relievers
- Stretch a while before you start your daily exercise so you can prepare and warm up your body
Keep a close eye on your body weight in order to put minimum stress on your bones
However, if your pain is not due to arthritis, one can take long, warm, and relaxing baths; get frequent massages; rest with equal intervals so as not to put pressure on your bones, and take over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs.
Medical Treatment:
There are several ways to treat a wide variety of joint pains. It ranges from testing joint fluids to surgeries to oral [joint health] supplements. Another non-surgical way of treatment is the change of lifestyle. The patient can be advised to take low stress and put less pressure on their joints.
It takes a lot of care and heavy treatment for joint pain to fade away. The only kind of arthritis [joint pain] that can be completely cured is one that is caused by infection. After trying a bunch of non-surgical treatments, your doctor can suggest a joint replacement. In the past decade or so, a lot of research has been done on the subject, and research dictates that the patients who opt for surgeries early in their journey have a better success rate than the patients who wait for the last minute and have to cure a large amount of deterioration.
References:
- Arthritis Foundation - What Is Arthritis?
- All About Vision - Swollen Eyelids: Causes And Treatment
