Arthritis Has A Become Rising Trend Amongst Indians, Here's What You Need To Know About It

Arthritis used to be a disease that used to plague the elderly. Today it has become a fairly common to hear youngsters complain about knee stiffness or joint pain. A steady rise in arthritis cases among youngsters has transformed this ailment into an epidemic; to the point where it now affects over 15 percent of the Indian population.

In fact, arthritis affects more than 180 million people in India-prevalence higher than many well-known diseases such as diabetes, AIDS and cancer. Around 14 percent of the Indian population seeks a doctor's help every year for this joint disease.

In order to educate people about this joint disease, World Arthritis Day is observed on the 12th of October around the world. Arthritis often causes painful, restricted movements which directly affects the quality of life of an individual.

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Therefore, it is critical to create awareness regarding its diagnosis, symptoms, treatment procedure, and prevention methods to tackle the epidemic and to help people lead a pain-free and healthy life.

Dr Ramneek Mahajan, Director, Orthopedics & Joint Replacement, Max Smart, Saket, New Delhi, elaborates on the various facets of the disease and shares prevention tips to keep knee pain at bay.

Causes and symptoms:
The main cause of arthritis is the wearing off of the knee cartilage. The conditions that cause the degeneration of the knee include:

-Genetic predisposition

-Constant excessive stress on the knees

-Obesity

-Sedentary lifestyle

-Lack of exercise
While knee pain is often considered to be the common symptom, it is not the only indicator. The stiffness of the knee, swelling, difficulty in walking straight and increasing knee pain over a period of time are the warning signs for you to consult a doctor.

A healthier lifestyle can make a considerable difference
Living a sedentary life can create havoc to your knee joints.

 Lack of exercise, excess body weight and consuming processed junk food can damage and weaken your knee, causing the cartilage to degenerate. A degenerated cartilage cannot be regenerated, however changing one's lifestyle can go a long way in slowing down the degeneration pace of the knee cartilage.