The most common form of arthritis is osteoarthritis, which is also known as degenerative joint disease. It is experienced by 80% of people over 50 years of age, and can begin in the teenage years.
Pain, deformity, and limitation of motion of joints within the whole body are usual symptoms. The onset can be very subtle; morning joint stiffness is often the first symptom. As the disease progresses, there is pain on motion of various joints and is made worse by prolonged activity and relieved by rest. Common regions that are affected are neck, back, hips, knees, feet, fingers.
There are two misconceptions about osteoarthritis: 1) It is a normal part of aging and 2) Nothing can be done about it.
Osteoarthritis is caused from an improper function (or motion) of the involved joints. When joints begin to move improperly we will not feel it 90% of the time and as a result we unknowingly cause joint degeneration. We will all be led to a world of joint degeneration and osteoarthritis unless we actively work to make sure all of our joints are working properly throughout life.
By taking care of our joints at young ages, we will greatly help to ensure that we will not become one of 80% of people afflicted with pain from osteoarthritis by the age of 50. Even people who have left it to the point of daily pain and limited motion can benefit greatly by having their joints improve in function from chiropractic care. It is never too late.
Some people are not aware that they can fight osteoarthritis naturally and are constantly taking drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, etc., a category of drugs called NSAIDs. Unfortunately, people are too commonly not aware of the down side of what these drugs will do to their health.
According to a UK research report in the journal PAIN patients taking NSAIDs for at least two months show a risk of death at a rate of 1 in every 1,200 patients, 1 in 5 will have ulcers, about 1 in 70 have stomach pains/symptoms, and 1 in 150 have ulcers that bleed. It was concluded that NSAIDs kill 3 times as many people as cancer of the cervix.