Arthritis is a major health concern in the United States, there are 43 million American adults who are doctor diagnosed with the disease and an estimated 23 million others. Arthritis causes pain, stiffness and in some cases swelling in and around the joints. These symptoms can have a great impact on arthritis sufferers being the ability to remain physically active at work and complete the basic tasks in life.

Other symptoms of arthritis includes: swelling, tenderness, redness and warmth in the affected area or joint. The cause of the disease is not yet known, the common symptoms are inflammation, stiffness, and swollen joints. Although there may be numerous causes for rheumatoid arthritis, the symptoms are the same.

Public health efforts

Historically, public health authorities in chronic diseases focused on the leading causes of death, while thankfully arthritis is not fatal, it only recently been addressed by the public health authorities. However, arthritis is America's #1 cause of disability, which dramatically reduces of the life of arthritis sufferers

Who is at risk?

Ultimate, all adults are at risk of developing arthritis at some point in their life. There are however certain characteristic's, that can be used to identify anyone with the disease. Factors including: age, sex, region, income and education, of all these features it is age that is closely link to arthritis, can figure.

But, there are other factors to consider including physical inactivity and obesity.

Physical activity can be a pain reliever

If you have been physically active can you can reduce arthritis pain, but unfortunately some individuals with arthritis tend to exercise less than the general population. and those who tend not to exercise frequently are either have not been educated and have not responded to the message, or it could be they have had previous bad experiences or negative expectations.

Obesity

Obesity, is another risk fact for the development and progression of certain types of osteoarthritis - associated with joint pain.

To assess whether your body is obese, your doctor would typically use the Body Mass Index (bmi), which calculates your height to weight ratio. A BMI of less than 25 indicates normal weight. A BMI of between 25 and 30 signifies you as being over-weight, while BMI of 30 or over would be evidence obesity.

These factors has the effect to disrupt your quality of life and have your health status as considered as poor than those without arthritis. This association has the perception that your activities are limited, and in some cases requires the use of specialised equipment, such as a wheelchair or cane.

Conclusion

Arthritis is a significant health problem. As I stated above, 43 million in America are doctor diagnosed with a form of the disease and a possible (estimated) 23 million undiagnosed.

But there are steps you can take to prevent or reduce the elements of pain associated with this horrible disease. There is an availability of treatments that reduce symptoms related to arthritis. but consult with your medical doctor first, before taking a course of medication, there are some promising new drug treatments are current being developed, but it should also be noted that there could be some possible side effects.

Some cases of arthritis is not preventable...There are, however, 3 steps you can take to reduce the chances of developing arthritis.

*Maintain a healthy weight, by balancing a good diet with regular, moderate exercise.

*Eat a diet with plenty of calcium to reduce the chance of reducing osteoporosis.

*Try to avoid activities that repeatedly injure joints, and do not over use a joint that is currently injured.

Did I say three?

* There is one other element that can help you win the battle with arthritis, and that is to educate yourself, there is a ton of information on the internet, think of the internet as one big library as big as the earth, its utterly fantastic. There is everything you want, however, it comes at a price. No, not a monetary one, but it will cost you in effort and energy and that usually means your time.