Arthritis in the youth

When we think of arthritis, we believe of the elderly it affects. But age is not the only factor for arthritis; it can affect young and old alike. Data source? The number of cases of arthritis among youth has seen an increase in last two-three.

Arthritis may result from an injury to a joint, inflammatory disease or an infection. The most common causes of arthritis affecting young people include Juvenile Chronic Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Haemophilia, infections like Tuberculosis, etc. It often presents as pain and swelling in the joints. It disturbs the normal life of a person. He or she is unable to do his or her basic activities like walking, running, climbing and even sitting. It not only leads to the restriction of movement but also make the life of the person painful.

The human body has 68 joints, and all of them are susceptible to arthritis. However, the disease, once diagnosed, can be controlled by prompt and continued treatment. Arthritis strikes more women than men. And if intervention is not sought in time, it can impact the chances of improvement in symptoms like stiffness when waking and joint pain during the day, swelling around joints, reduced activity level does not improve over time.

Treatment depends on the type of arthritis and the various symptoms associated with it. Lifestyle changes can also help. Usually, treatment includes drugs to control the pain and inflammation and also stronger painkillers and steroids to alter the immune system. Then there are various types of injections (like steroids, platelet-rich plasma etc.) used for painful joints. For rheumatoid arthritis, it is crucial for the patient to follow an exercise regime along with it a good diet.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a concentrated extract of platelets derived from patient's own blood, by centrifugation. Platelets have high concentration of various growth factors which help in healing of tissues and hence PRP is now considered as a novel and new treatment option for arthritic patients.

Rest, relaxation, medication and appropriate use of joints are also other forms of treatment. Apart from this, there are other natural medications (haldi pack for temperory relief) also. However, if the problem is severe, surgery like arthroscopy or joint replacement may be required. Recently, various cartilage restoration techniques like cartilage transplantation have emerged as a biological solution for arthritic patients. Cartilage transplantation is a biological treatment where the cultured chondrocyte cells or concentrated mesenchymal cells are injected to the damaged areas of joint. It thus repairs the damaged cartilage of joint and not only provides pain relief by postpone the need for joint replacement surgery.

These help the person in leading a normal life, and also do all the activities which earlier had become a burden. In short, they make the lives of arthritis patient much easier.

It is also important to lose weight to lessen the burden on the joints. Do exercise that doesn't damage joints like low-impact biking, swimming, along with yoga, walking (if it is not too fast), and weightlifting (as long as it is not stressful).

The author is a senior consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi and founder president of Arthritis Care Foundation.

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