Arthritis Awareness: Shedding Light on a Common but Misunderstood Condition

Host: Hello and welcome to the PACE Hospitals Podcast. Today, we embark on a journey to explore a condition that affects millions worldwide, casting a shadow over the lives of those it touches.

Joining us today Dr. Chitithoti Prathyush - Orthopaedic Consultant, Joint Replacement Surgeon & Sports Injury Specialist.

Today he would like to delve into the world of arthritis—a complex and often misunderstood ailment that manifests in countless forms, each presenting its own unique challenges.

Dr. Chitithoti Prathyush thank you for joining us at PACE Hospitals, Hitech City

Doctor: Thank you for having me here today. I am here to basically clear some of your doubts that you regularly undergo in your daily life activities regarding the arthritis and its complexities in your joints and your daily activities.

Host: Dr. Chitithoti Prathyush thank you for joining us lets understand exactly by what is Arthritis? 

Doctor:  Arthritis in the condition where there will be inflammatory conditions along with degenerative conditions and stiffness in more than one joint, it is called as generally we term it as arthritis.

Host:  What are the different types of arthritis?

Doctor:  Generally, there are lot of varieties of arthritis. One of the most commonest is the osteoarthritis which is developed in that individuals along with that there is other condition called as rheumatoid arthritis which is generally high nowadays.

Host:  So doctor, what are the primary factors contributing to the development of arthritis?

Doctor:  So osteoarthritis is generally caused because of the age related issues and amount of the work activity that we are doing in our regular activities. Whereas rheumatoid arthritis it is caused because of the autoimmune condition that is present in our body which kills our own cells, that is called rheumatoid arthritis.

Host:  What are the most common signs and symptoms of arthritis?

Doctor:  Pain, stiffness and inflammatory condition in more than one joint. For example, if you can see in osteoarthritis, most common pains will be there at the major joints like both shoulders, knee joints and also in the spine. Whereas in the rheumatoid condition we can generally see our small joints, that is finger pains will be there in the early morning times those are the main symptoms of osteoarthritis. Along with that, there will be redness and stiffness in our joints and slight increase in the temperature in our joints.

Host:  What are some of the common complications associated with arthritis?

Doctor:  The main complications of the arthritis are is the loss of joint congregity and early osteoarthritis, degenerative conditions of the joints.

Host:  How is arthritis diagnosed? 

Doctor:  Generally for osteoarthritis we generally go for x rays along with that few of the investigations like identifying the sinoval fluid level and everything else. Whereas in the rheumatoid arthritis we generally go for a rheumatoid profile where the whole rheumatoid profile conditions will be checked in that mostly ana profile is performed to see which kind of a mutation which is causing this kind of arthritis.

Host:  What factors determine the choice of treatment for an individual with arthritis?

Doctor:  Mostly arthritis are treated conservatively with the help of medicines and everything else along with that physiotherapy and lifestyle modifications, especially in changing in the dietary habits which we are using. Generally we discourage people having the red meat along with decrease in the sugar levels in the food intake along with decreased carbohydrates and protein levels which include increases the inflammatory conditions in the body.

Rheumatoid arthritis can be treated with the medications along with regular checkups from your treating doctor because it itself has a flaring levels and cool down levels. During the flaring levels mostly at around cold weather conditions, Ups will be there at that flare up times you have to be checked properly with the investigations and take appropriate medications to decrease down the amount of inflammation that is getting in your joints to prevent the joint damage along with increase the life of your joints.

Host:  Can arthritis be cured?

Doctor:  Yes, arthritis can be cured with lifestyle modification and few medication from the medical support along with physiotherapy and everything else.

Host:  Is arthritis genetic?

Doctor:  Yes, few arthritic conditions are genetical. For example, if you take rheumatoid arthritis it is it has shown few of the traits it is genetically familiarly so.

Host:  Doctor, can you suggest some of the foods that found helpful in managing arthritis symptoms?

Doctor:  Patient can consume any kind of a food that he is consuming regularly depending on the type of the medical condition which he is having along with that he should not consume sugars and red meat and decrease the protein value in his body which in turn decreases the inflammatory condition which causes severe pain in the people who are having arthritis.

Host:  Can knee arthritis be cured?

Doctor:  Yes, knee arthritis can be cured depending on the grading of the arthritis at the time of presentation with the doctor, if it is in a grade one, it can be completely cured with lifestyle modification and few medications and physiotherapy.

Host:  What are the environmental factors could potentially trigger arthritis at a younger age?

Doctor:  Young adults arthritis is generally caused because of the sports injuries which they are doing, which in turn causes the loss of cartilage or damage to the cartilage surface that are present in the joints those are the main reasons why they are having arthritis in the knee joints along with steroid abuse because of the recent prevalence of the COVID and everything else, steroid abuse was done because of which the joints are getting damaged nowadays, especially knee joints and hip joints.

The second thing is like genetically as we have speaking genetically, so there might be a genetical trait in which young individuals may develop arthritis which we generally term it as juvenile arthritis.

Host:  Does arthritis flare up in cold weather?

Doctor:  Yes, in few of the people. Arthritis generally flare up during the cold weather conditions because of the muscle contractions, amount of the blood supply and increase in the inflammatory conditions in the individuals, which in turn increases the pain levels in the joints, especially in the people who are having arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Host:  What are the difference between gout and arthritis?

Doctor:  The main difference between gout and arthritis is in gouty conditions we generally have increase in the amount of uric acid crystals. Because of your high protein intake and your dietary activities, there will be an increase in the uric acid levels which in turn causes increase in the uric acid crystallizations in the joints, especially the first we generally see in the grade two.

But nowadays instead of grade two, there are many presentations in multiple joints also because of the increase in the uric acid levels. Whereas osteoarthritis, as I already mentioned you, it is either caused by age related things or because of the rheumatoid conditions.

Host:  How does osteoarthritis differ from rheumatoid arthritis?

Doctor:  The main difference between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is osteoarthritis is generally caused in multiple bones but because of the age related issues there will be decrease in the bone density and decrease increase in the absorption levels which in turn causes pain in the joints.

Whereas in the rheumatoid condition it is an autoimmune disease where our own cells will be damaging our own body muscles, body tissues which are especially around the joints. So in rheumatoid generally we see multiple body pains. Multiple joint pains especially in the major joints along with small joint involvement is also present that means they will be having pain in the fingers also.

Host:  Thank you Dr. Prathyush for being with us to share crucial information on topic arthritis 

Doctor:  I hope this information is valuable and I really hope that I have cleared most of your doubts.  Thanking you for having me on your podcast today. Hope you guys have a very good healthy diet and good health and good health to your joints. Thank you.

Host:  If any of you have any further questions regarding arthritis please don’t hesitate to consult an orthopaedic and let's carry forth the insights gained today into our lives and communities. Let's foster empathy for those living with arthritis, encourage research, and promote inclusivity in healthcare. Together, we can create a future in which arthritis no longer has a negative impact on the lives of millions of people.

We will see you soon with another episode on PACE Hospitals Podcast until next time stay informed and take care thank you.