Arthritis in knee is very common; in fact, when it comes to arthritis, the knee joint is one of the most commonly affected joints. In particular, with age, almost every one experiences stiffness in the knee. This stiffness is usually caused by arthritis. There are two kinds of arthritis, and the more common one is osteoarthritis, which is the arthritis caused due to the wear and tear of the joint.
There is also another kind of arthritis called rheumatoid arthritis that is caused by an autoimmune problem. While rheumatoid arthritis of the knee is not as common as osteoarthritis, it is still the second most common knee problem in the world.
Arthritis is the damage of any joint. The difference in the kind of arthritis is more in the causative factors than in the actual symptoms. When the knee joint is affected due to wear and tear or injury or damage to the joint in any form, it is called osteoarthritis. When the damage is caused due to the body’s own immune system affecting the joint, it is called rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder, which means that it is the body’s own immune cells that are causing the problem. There is therefore no cure for the disease, and the only option is to manage the problem as best as possible for each person.
Osteoarthritis too does not have any cure because the cartilage that forms the cushioning layer between the two layers of the bones of a joint does not grow back. Cartilage does not contain any blood vessels, and in fact rely on the fluid within the joint called synovial fluid to nourish it.
Owing to its very slow rate of growth, any damage to the cartilage takes a long time to grow, and since most cases of osteoarthritis occurs during middle to old age, the chances of a person re-growing damaged cartilage is almost nil.
Pain in the joint is generally the first symptom of arthritis. In both cases of arthritis, the pain is not a sudden thing and is a slow and gradual process that may sometimes take years to get to a point when people start thinking that they need medical help.
A certain amount of stiffness of the joints too is apparent. This is more so whenever the joint is cold, and any inactivity for any length of time will cause the joint to freeze up.
In the case of rheumatoid arthritis, the symptoms can include other things too such as pain in the chest, constant low grade fevers, both knees being equally affected, and a whole host of other problems that are also organ-related.
In both cases of arthritis, exercise is the best treatment option. Although exercise does not cure the problem and may even seem to exacerbate the symptoms, especially considering that the wear and tear to the joint in the case of osteoarthritis was caused by movement of the joint, exercise is still the best way to manage the problem. This is because exercise has two important benefits. One is that it will improve the range of motion of the joint and ensure that you still retain mobility.
The other is that when you exercise, the synovial fluid flows inside and outside the joint. This helps to speed up the repair of the joint, and if you have time on your side, exercise can actually reduce the pain and other symptoms of arthritis over time.
Other methods of dealing with arthritis of the knee are to take painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication. There are a number of medicines for both these cases, but they need to be taken with caution, especially the anti-inflammatory medication because they can have unforeseen consequences.
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