Arthritis affects youngsters, too

'There is no dearth of medicines and new treatments but what is needed is to spread the awareness of the disease. AP is a hub when it comes to developing young rheumatologists. All over India, only in Chennai and AP, can we see rheumatology departments'.

The prevalence of arthritis in our country as well as in the state has been escalating in a serious way. Orthopedics experts in the city warned that early detection gives better outcomes.

“We found that the rate of incidence of Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVDs) is high in Hyderabad especially among the youngsters aged 32 to 46 who were actually suffering from Rheumotoid Arthritis”, told Dr Manish, Rheumatologist.

The prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis in Indians is 0.82 per cent.

“Arthritis is inflammation of one or more joints. There is no age bar also to this disease as it has now become a lifestyle ailment. Unfortunately 30 per cent of diseases of the joints would become serious life threatening systemic problems also” said Dr Shashikanth, orthopedic expert.

“Many people waste nearly eight vital years in experimenting with traditional therapies and bear the pain silently throughout. Senior citizens in the home often will also hold up to inform their pain and discomfort to their family members. Primarily these two factors worsen the situation of the patients and they fall pretty to severe health complications. The need of the hour is to have timely consultation with a specialist and to undergo appropriate treatment”, opined Dr K Sudhir Reddy.

“Arthritis pain shows impact on patient’s activities like walking, standing, climbing and sitting”, he added.

The modern fast-paced lifestyle leads to arthritis irrespective of young and old. In metro cities like Hyderabad, there are many corporate firms. “Sitting long hours at the desk can impact the joints a lot. It leads to arthritis and damages the health of joints” said Dr Ajay Singh Thakur, orthopedic surgeon.

“Adolescents and children often complain of aches and pains. Sometimes the joints may not only be painful but swollen due to bleeding that is related to injury. Children should be taken to a specialist” said Dr Shashikanth, orthopedician.

“Number of new medications have entered the market for prevention of arthritis in an effective way. Depending upon the patient’s disease history, health conditions and severity of the problem, treatment procedures are decided and administered. There is no dearth of medicines and new treatments but what is needed is to spread the awareness of the disease. AP is a hub when it comes to developing young rheumatologists. All over India, only in Chennai and AP, can we see rheumatology departments. Among 100 rheumatologists available at the national level, 50 per cent are trained personnel from here only” says Dr Narasimulu, rheumatologist. “Many people do not know the difference between rheumatology and orthopedics. Rheumatology deals with the medical problems of joints, bones, muscles and blood vessels. Orthopedics is branch of surgery that deals with surgical problems of joints, bones, muscles and fracture of bones” he added.

The advent of computer navigated knee replacement is a revolutionised technique for knee surgery. Patients can recover faster and get back to their duties very early.

“Total knee replacement surgery is one of the most successful long term surgical procedures in the world. Minimally invasive techniques only require a small incision that not only reduces blood loss and tissue damage but also expedites the recovery process” said Dr Sudhir Reddy.