Shinobu Oshima writes:
Yoko Kashiwagi is a 42-year-old media executive who now lives in Denenchofu. Symptoms of arthritis are pain or stiffness in or near a joint, bony swelling in a joint, crackling noises when you move a joint, mild inflammation in a joint and so on. Ms. Kashiwagi has been finding it difficult to move her left knee. She's been feeling fatigue lately, and the crackling and stiffness in her left knee sometimes is very painful. And her left knee gets swollen and red. So I think she has arthritis. But I need more information to know which type of arthritis she has. First, where it hurts. The location of her arthritis pain can help me determine the type of arthritis. Second, I want to know the time of day when her pain is most severe. For example, prolonged pain or stiffness in the morning is often associated with inflammatory types of arthritis. Third, when the pain first started. Fourth, I need to know any medications she is taking, allergies to any medicines. Finally, I want to do some physical examinations. X-rays can show if a bone is damaged by osteoarthritis and how badly. It may help me rule out other diseases and determine the type of arthritis to test a sample of her blood or of fluid withdrawn from inside the affected joint.
If she has osteoarthritis, she might need some treatments and improvement of her lifestyle. First, she must reduce her weight because being overweight is the most common cause of excess pressure on the joints and increase her risk of developing osteoarthritis. Losing weight can help relieve the pressure and strain on her joints and help reduce the pain and stiffness in the affected joints. Second, regular exercise is known to be very effective for relieving the pain and stiffness of osteoarthritis and may help slow the progression of the disease, because exercise strengthens the muscles that support her joints, improves the flexibility of her joints, makes her feel better mentally and sparks her energy, and generally improve the quality of her life. So she should make exercise a part of her life. Stretching exercise, fitness exercise and swimming are very useful. Third, the use of heat and cold are time-honored techniques for relieving the pain, stiffness, and occasional swelling. Heat is usually used to relax muscles and sometimes to warm them up before exercising. Applying cold to a sore joint reduces the pain bi numbing the area. Fourth, some medications is useful. Analgesics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often used for relieving the pain. Finally, if her condition becomes severe, she will need surgery.
I want to give her some advice on how she can overcome her fears and sense of isolation in the future. First, I want her to learn about osteoarthritis and its effects and treatment. The more she knows about her illness, the more control she will have over it and the more successful her treatment is likely to be. Second, it is beneficial to join a support group of other people who have arthritis. Finally, being optimistic is most important because arthritis can make her feel angry, sad or afraid. So I want her to share her feelings, fears and concerns with me and relieve negative feelings with positive activities such as exercising.
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