More rheumatoid arthritis cases among youth in recent years

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease. This disease erodes the lining on the joints causing inflammation, swelling, pain, and deformity which needs to be diagnosed early. The doctors said that it is a chronic weakening condition affecting almost 1.5 per cent of the population in Mumbai and due to the general lack of awareness about arthritis and misconception about its treatment and prognosis is a point of concern. Arthritis was once believed to be a disease that affected the elderly. But now, with cases being reported on a daily basis, doctors say that there has been a steady increase in the number of youngsters suffering from arthritis as well. Surprisingly, they say, age is not the only factor for the disease.

“Age is not the only cause of arthritis, and it does not just affect the elderly. All the big and small joints in the body are susceptible to arthritis, and once diagnosed, it can be checked with treatment and lifestyle modification. In recent times there has been a rise in arthritis in younger people,” said a senior doctor.

The doctors said that there are several types of arthritis which are the rare forms like septic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia are other rare forms of arthritis.

Osteoarthritis is the agerelated wear and tear of the joints, which is exacerbated by excessive weight and lack of physical exercise. On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type of autoimmune arthritis, which tends to affect the wrists, small joints of the hand, including knuckles and the middle joints of the fingers. On the other hand, a bacterium or virus entering the joint can sometimes cause inflammation, leading to infectious arthritis.

In cases of RA, surgery may be the option, especially if other treatments such as medications, physiotherapy, etc. fail to work. “Surgery does not cure RA but it certainly helps to correct the deformities caused by the disease and reduces the pain. During the surgery, not all joints need to be touched as only the ones giving trouble are fused. Fusion of the affected joints is the most common type of surgery performed for RA,” said Dr. Pradeep Monoot, Orthopaedic surgeon.

He further added that during this surgery, a joint is removed, and the two ends of bones are fused together. This makes one large bone without a joint. This is usually done on patients with advanced RA. After the fusion of the bone, there is no movement in the fused joint and the patient is able to lead a normal life.

“During the healing process, the body grows new bone between the bones in these joints. Ankle fusion and total ankle replacement are the two primary surgical options for treating RA of the ankle. Both treatment options can be successful in minimising the pain and discomfort in the ankle. The appropriate surgery is based upon multiple factors and is individualised for every patient,” added Dr. Monoot.

There are probably close to a hundred kinds of arthritis and they are all characterised by a pain in the joints.