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Pune doctors stress on awareness and prevention on World Arthritis day: October 12
Since there is no scientific cause, researchers have observed that wrong posture, lack of supervision in the gym or while lifting weights, deficiency of vitamin D3 which is essential in preserving of cartilage and wrong foot wear, are all leading to arthritis
Arthritis, an inflammation of the joints, common only among senior citizens once, is now getting diagnosed in a much younger population as well, experts have observed.
On World Arthritis Day, orthopaedic surgeons from Pune stressed that awareness and prevention remain the key for saving oneself from this disorder.
According to Dr Ramesh Ranka, director, Ranka Hospital, arthritis is mainly restricted to old age, but now we are seeing a shift in pattern. “We are seeing more people in their productive age group — early 40s and 50s — with both rheumatoid arthritis (inflammation of joints) and osteoarthritis (degeneration of joints). These are the most common types of this disease and have the highest levels of morbidities.”
“We have observed that people with this disease not only suffer from swelling in joints or wear and tear of the cartilage, but also face deformity, which is another major concern,” Dr Ranka said.
Since there is no scientific cause, researchers have observed that wrong posture, lack of supervision in the gym or while lifting weights, deficiency of vitamin D3 which is essential in preserving of cartilage and wrong foot wear, are all leading to arthritis, Dr Ranka said.
Dr Nitin Bhagali, past president of Pune orthopaedic society, explains, “There are no certain causes we can mention behind arthritis, but it can be prevented. However, once detected it is an irreversible disease. There are treatments available and efficient drug modules now that include biological therapies as well, which are fairly new to us in India.”
“As of now we have around 500 active patients of arthritis and there are few who are in the 20-30 age group bracket,” said Dr Bhagali.
Speaking about the biological therapies, Dr Bhagali says, “One is a cartilage transplant; cartilage is regrown in the laboratory and then transplanted in the affected area. This is expensive and not many youngsters can afford it.”
Padmashree Dr Sharad Hardikar, director of Hardikar hospital, says, “Longevity in India has increased and is going to rise further. We will see many older people in the coming years from now. Hence osteoarthritis (OA) which is degeneration of bones and joints in this population cannot be ignored. This disease is more common in females and of all the OA cases 70 per cent are females. Symptoms are noticeable right after a woman hits menopause. Early signs and warnings of this disease should not be ignored and early therapies and exercises are some of the ways to prevent it.”
Arthritis - silent killer
Most common types — rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
Affects joints, knees, spine, shoulder
Known as auto immune disorder
Leads to deformities, severe morbidity, permanent disability and dependency
Treatments include only a few drug modules; doctors stressed this again leads to dependency and addiction in patients as it acts as a major pain reliever
Biological therapies — expensive and a therapy that is mainly cartilage transplant
Disease is irreversible
