What exactly is arthritis?

Question

my mri showed arthritis in my lower back..and it hurts all the time.. do you know of some exercises i can do at home to relieve the pain?

Answer 1

Below is a good information that will answer your questions on arthritis. Lengthy but well worth the read.

After the info on arthritis I've included great info on low back pain, what exercises to do, and which ones not to do. Hope it helps.
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What is arthritis?
Arthritis is a condition that causes pain and stiffness of the joints. It sometimes also causes redness, swelling, and warmth. In severe cases, joints may become deformed.

There are different kinds of arthritis. Two common forms are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both of these forms of arthritis are 2 to 3 times more common in women than in men.

Examples of other forms of arthritis include gout, ankylosing spondylitis, and arthritis that occurs after an injury or with certain infections such as gonorrhea.

How does it occur?
Osteoarthritis is a disease in which the cartilage in joints breaks down. Cartilage is the joint's cushion. It covers the ends of bones and allows free movement. If it becomes rough, frays, or wears away, bones grind against each other. As a result, the joint becomes irritated and inflamed. Sometimes the irritation causes abnormal bone growths, called spurs. Bone spurs increase swelling. The disease normally affects the knees, lower back, hips, and fingers. Symptoms of osteoarthritis begin to appear by middle age. Most people over age 60 have some osteoarthritis, although they may not have symptoms.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) affects the lining of the joints. RA is an autoimmune disease. This means that the body's defenses against infection attack the body's own tissue. It causes redness and swelling, stiffness, and deformity. It usually affects the joints of the hands, arms, and feet. Rheumatoid arthritis usually starts in early adulthood or middle age.

What are the symptoms?
Possible symptoms of arthritis include:


mild to severe pain in joints
red, swollen joints
stiffness and limited movement, especially in the morning
deformed joints.

Fatigue is a symptom with some types of arthritis.

How is it diagnosed?
Your health care provider will review your medical history and examine you. You may have blood tests and x-rays to confirm the diagnosis and measure the extent of the disease.

How is it treated?
The goal of treatment is to keep the joints working properly by:


relieving pain and stiffness
reducing any swelling.

Your health care provider may suggest using heat or cold therapy, depending on the type of arthritis you have. Sometimes a splint or brace is used to let the joint rest and protect it from injury.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may relieve some types of arthritis pain. TENS directs mild electric pulses through the skin to the nerves in the painful area.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and naproxen can help relieve pain and inflammation. COX-2 inhibitors such as celecoxib (Celebrex) are prescription NSAIDs. While they may help arthritis symptoms, COX-2 inhibitors have been linked to a greater risk of heart attacks and stroke. Talk with your health care provider about this.

When NSAIDs do not work, several other kinds of medicines may be used, such as:


Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) for people with rheumatoid arthritis
Biological response modifiers to help reduce inflammation in the joints
Corticosteroids, which can be taken by mouth or injected into a joint.

Treatment with these medicines must be watched carefully by your provider to avoid side effects.

Hyaluronic acid can be injected into the knee joint to act as a lubricant. It helps the knee to move without pain. Very severe rheumatoid arthritis may be treated by filtering harmful antibodies out of the blood.

Several kinds of exercise may help arthritis:


Range of motion exercises help keep the joints moving normally.
Strengthening exercises keep the muscles strong, which is important to support and protect the joints.
Aerobic activities, such as walking and bicycling, help to control weight and maintain cardiovascular fitness. Aerobic exercise may reduce the inflammation in some joints.

A well-balanced diet is important to help control body weight and stay healthy. Proper weight control is important as extra weight can put extra pressure on some joints and worsen some types of arthritis.

If your joints are severely damaged, surgery may be necessary. Surgeries that can be done are:


synovectomy to remove the inflamed joint tissue
osteotomy to realign a joint
joint replacement to replace a damaged joint with an artificial joint.

How long will the effects last?
If you have arthritis, you will probably have it for the rest of your life. How often you have symptoms of arthritis depends, at least in part, on the type of arthritis you have. You might be reminded of the arthritis every time you use the affected joints. Or you may have periods when you have symptoms and then other times when you do not. The periods of no symptoms are called remissions.

How can I take care of myself?

Take the medicine your health care provider recommends for controlling your arthritis.
Follow your provider's advice for weight control if you are overweight.
Do the exercises recommended by your provider or physical therapist.
Keep your body healthy by eating a healthy, varied, low-fat diet.

What can I do to prevent arthritis?
No one knows how to prevent arthritis. However, it is a condition that can usually be managed by taking medicine, protecting the affected joints, and keeping the joints mobile.
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Low Back Pain Exercises
Exercises that stretch and strengthen the muscles of your abdomen and spine can help prevent back problems. If your back and abdominal muscles are strong, you can maintain good posture and keep your spine in its correct position.

If your muscles are tight, take a warm shower or bath before doing the exercises. Exercise on a rug or mat. Wear loose clothing. Do not wear shoes. Stop doing any exercise that causes pain until you have talked with your provider.

The exercises are intended only as suggestions. Ask your provider or physical therapist to help you develop an exercise program. Check with your provider before starting these exercises. Ask your provider how many times a week you need to do the exercises.

Caution: If you have a herniated disk or other disk problem, check with your health care provider before doing these exercises.

Exercises

Standing hamstring stretch: Place the heel of your leg on a stool about 15 inches high. Keep your knee straight. Lean forward, bending at the hips until you feel a mild stretch in the back of your thigh. Make sure you do not roll your shoulders and bend at the waist when doing this or you will stretch your lower back instead. Hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Repeat the same stretch on your other leg.
Cat and camel: Get down on your hands and knees. Let your stomach sag, allowing your back to curve downward. Hold this position for 5 seconds. Then arch your back and hold for 5 seconds. Do 3 sets of 10.
Quadriped Arm/Leg Raises: Get down on your hands and knees. Tighten your abdominal muscles to stiffen your spine. While keeping your abdominals tight, raise one arm and the opposite leg away from you. Hold this position for 5 seconds. Lower your arm and leg slowly and alternate sides. Do this 10 times on each side.
Pelvic tilt: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and push your lower back into the floor. Hold this position for 5 seconds, then relax. Do 3 sets of 10.
Partial curl: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your stomach muscles and flatten your back against the floor. Tuck your chin to your chest. With your hands stretched out in front of you, curl your upper body forward until your shoulders clear the floor. Hold this position for 3 seconds. Don't hold your breath. It helps to breathe out as you lift your shoulders up. Relax. Repeat 10 times. Build to 3 sets of 10. To challenge yourself, clasp your hands behind your head and keep your elbows out to the side.
Lower trunk rotation: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and push your lower back into the floor. Keeping your shoulders down flat, gently rotate your legs to one side, then the other as far as you can. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Piriformis stretch: Lying on your back with both knees bent, rest the ankle of one leg over the opposite knee. Grasp the thigh of the bottom leg and pull that knee toward your chest. You will feel a stretch along the buttocks and possibly along the outside of your hip on the top leg. Hold this for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Switch legs and do the same stretch again.
Double knee to chest: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Tighten your abdominal muscles and push your lower back into the floor. Pull both knees up to your chest. Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 10 to 20 times.

Exercises to avoid
It is best to avoid the following exercises because they strain the lower back:

legs raised straight and together
sit-ups with legs straight
hip twists
toe touches
any backward arching.

Sports and other activities
In addition to conditioning your back, you need to condition your whole body. Physical activities such as walking or swimming can help strengthen your back. It is always best to check with your provider before you start any rigorous exercise program. Remember to begin slowly. Some sports can be harmful to your back.

Good activities for people with back problems include:

walking
bicycling
swimming
cross-country skiing.

Sports that may be dangerous to your back because of rough contact, twisting, sudden impact, or direct stress on your back include:


football
soccer
volleyball
handball
weight lifting
trampoline
tobogganing
sledding
snowmobiling
ice hockey.

Answer 2

That depends on the type of arthritis. I have psoriatic arthritis and my doctor told me exercise would neither help nor hurt. But I believe there is a type of arthritis that exercise may not be good for.

Best bet - ask your doctor.

And then, if he says it's OK, go to physical therapy, if you can. They know just what works, can help you not hurt yourself , and teach you how to do them properly.

My hips went out with my last pregnancy and I was in a wheel chair. They got me back on my feet after I had the baby. It was a long process and I'm not 100% but I can function so much better now.

Answer 3

Imagine for a moment your arthritis completely vanishing right now.

If, in a moment, your pain and stiffness melted away. And your joints all of a sudden functioned like a well-oiled machine.

Like a magic wand was waived, you'd be able to jump up from your chair and run around the room like a kid.

And imagine that you'd never have to suffer as much as a pinch of arthritis stiffness or pain ever again.

I know this sounds impossible right now, but bear with me, because sometimes miracles happen.

It was a gift from a woman on the other side of the world. From the kindness of her heart, she took pity on my suffering and taught me how to completely reverse my arthritis.

Today, I want to do the same for you!

Answer 4

Arthritis is a degenerative bone disease. It sucks, I've had it since I was two years old. It's caused by lots of things, there are around a hundred different types, the most common (I think) is Osteoarthritis, but there are things like juvenile and rheumatoid. Equally as annoying/painful, juvenile is handy because it calms down as your body matures. Your joints start to wear down, and it causes inflammation, and through the inflammation, pain, and stiff joints. Good luck, hope you don't need anywhere near as many operations as I've had :P. You can deal with most forms with drugs, I just had an extreme form.

Answer 5

Arthritis is the inflammation of joints....It affects small joints first,like those of wrist,then spread to larger joints...

Pain can be relieved by drugs like Indomethacin

First you have to change your bed....Select a hard bed where your back can rest straight...

Try to do some mild exercises like bending down,extending your neck backwards etc...

Contact your physician for more exercises

Answer 6

Not enough information to answer this question. The general term arthritis covers over 100 medical conditions. If you know the exact type of arthritis, please email me and I will tell you all you want to know.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I have two bad lumbar discs and arthritis to boot.
GO TO PHYSICAL THERAPY!!!
They can teach you the proper exercises to maintain your flexability.

Answer 9

stiffness and wearing down of the joints...