There are over 100 types of arthritis. The two most common are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. And both of them can be crippling.
"Osteoarthritis is regular wear and tear, so we more than likely all are going to get that," said Dr. Hilda Draegar, a rheumatologist for University Medicine Associates within University Health System. "Osteoarthritis is when the cartilage starts to break down."
Some of the risk factors of osteoarthritis are age, weight, trauma to parts of the body, and repetitive use.
"If you do begin to notice that when you do a certain thing, you are not successful, or you are having more pain, go see your primary care provider," Dr. Draegar added.
Rheumatoid arthritis, however, is related to control of your immune system.
"Rheumatoid arthritis is sort of an allergy, and so your body begins to put all this inflammation against its own joints. When we treat rheumatoid arthritis, we begin to tell the body and the immune system to quiet down and we start using medications to help with the inflammation," Dr. Draegar explained.
Rheumatoid arthritis is called a systemic disease, meaning it can attack organs throughout your body, such as nodules or lumps under the skin, inflammation of the eyes which can lead to blindness, scarring of the lungs, affecting your kidney function, and forming plaque in your blood vessels that could lead to a heart attack or stroke.
So keeping your cholesterol in check is a big deal.
To help prevent rheumatoid arthritis, get enough sleep, eat fruits and vegetables, avoid smoking, decrease stress, and get enough exercise.
"The inflammation starts to eat up at the bone so you have bone erosion, and that then limits your mobility,” Dr. Draegar said.
If any joint pain doesn't subside after a day or two, see your doctor to prevent permanent damage.
For more men's health information call 210-358-3045. You can also find the rest of our Wear the Gown stories at WearTheGown.com.