Arthritis: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

About Arthritis

The word arthritis actually means joint inflammation, and that is how it is used by clinicians and biomedical researchers. In the public health world however, arthritis is used as a shorthand term for arthritis and other rheumatic conditions—a label for the more than 100 rheumatic diseases and conditions that affect joints, the tissues which surround joints and other connective tissue.

Symptoms of Arthritis

The pattern and location of symptoms can vary depending on the types of arthritis. Generally, people with arthritis feel pain and stiffness in and around one or more joints. The onset of arthritis symptoms can develop gradually or suddenly. Arthritis is most often a chronic disease, so symptoms may come and go, or persist over time.

Elevated uric acid levels cause gout, and specific infections can cause arthritis of a joint. The causes of many of the other forms of arthritis are unknown. Scientists are studying the role of factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and environment on the various types of arthritis.

The focus of treatment for arthritis is to control pain, minimize joint damage, and to improve or maintain function and quality of life. According to the American College of Rheumatology, the treatment of arthritis might involve the following:

• Medication.
• Nonpharmacologic therapies
• Physical or occupational therapy.
• Splints or joint assistive aids.
• Patient education and support.
• Weight loss.
• Surgery.

In conjunction with medical treatment, self-management of arthritis pain and symptoms is very important as well.

Natural Remedies for Arthritis

People with rheumatoid arthritis have been reported to have an impaired antioxidant system, making them more susceptible to free radical damage. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant, protecting many tissues, including joints, against oxidative damage. Low vitamin E levels in the joint fluid of people with rheumatoid arthritis have been reported.

In a double-blind trial, approximately 1,800 IU per day of vitamin E was found to reduce pain from rheumatoid arthritis. Two other double-blind trials (using similar high levels of vitamin E) reported that vitamin E had approximately the same effectiveness in reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as anti-inflammatory drugs. In other double-blind trials, 600 IU of vitamin E taken twice daily was significantly more effective than placebo in reducing rheumatoid arthritis, although laboratory measures of inflammation remained unchanged.

References for Arthritis Article

• Ozturk HS, Cimen MY, Cimen OB, et al. Oxidant/antioxidant status of plasma samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatol Int 1999;19:35–7.
• Fairburn K, Grootveld M, Ward RJ, et al. Alpha-tocopherol, lipids and lipoproteins in knee-joint synovial fluid and serum from patients with inflammatory joint disease. Clin Sci 1992;83:657–64.
• Scherak O, Kolarz G. Vitamin E and rheumatoid arthritis. Arthrit Rheum 1991;34:1205–6 [letter].
• Wittenborg A, Petersen G, Lorkowski G, Brabant T. Effectiveness of vitamin E in comparison with diclofenac sodium in treatment of patients with chronic polyarthritis. Z Rheumatol 1998;57:215–21 [in German].
• Kolarz G, Scherak O, El Shohoumi M, Blankenhorn G. High dose vitamin E for chronic arthritis. Akt Rheumatol 1990;15:233–7 [in German].
• Edmonds SE, Winyard PG, Guo R, et al. Putative analgesic activity of repeated oral doses of vitamin E in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Results of a prospective placebo controlled double-blind trial. Ann Rheum Dis 1997;56:649–55.
• Miehle W. Vitamin E in active arthroses and chronic polyarthritis. What is the value of alpha-tocopherol in therapy? Fortschr Med 1997;115:39–42.
• National Institutes of Health