Arthritis is something far too many Baby Boomer women are affected by if not personally at least through someone close them. Arthritis is a condition of moderate to severe pain that affects the joints. When most people think of arthritis, they’re often thinking of osteoarthritis. However, rheumatoid arthritis is a less common but very serious illness. While symptoms can be similar the causes are not. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, which means the body is actually attacking itself and causing damage to its own joints. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, affects millions of people and is called wear-and-tear arthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time and most commonly affects joints in the hands, neck, lower back, knees and hips.
But you might wonder, what exactly is it that causes some people to get arthritis while others don’t?
The quick and easy answer as to what causes arthritis is that we really don’t know yet. There’s no one answer that explains every case. There’s no “arthritis disease” that you catch like a cold that causes you to develop symptoms. Arthritis is simply a joint disorder that develops with time. In fact, there are over a hundred types of arthritis and many of them are probably caused by different factors.
What we do know is that there are some risk factors that increase your chances of having a problem. While they may not be the root cause of your arthritis, these factors could definitely be helping to further the problem along.
One of the biggest risk factors for some, but not ALL women, associated with arthritis is age. As you get older, effects of wear and tear on your body over the years might be a factor. Arthritis may not be caused specifically by wear and tear on the joints, but it can be a factor that speeds up the process or increases symptoms in some people.
Often athletes and other physically active people are thought to be at risk for this problem as they age. While it would make sense that physical work would put more stress on joints and increase the likelihood of arthritis, studies really haven’t shown this to be true. While the risk of athletes developing arthritis is higher, this is associated with their increased chance of joint injury. This means you can continue your daily exercise routine (it will probably even help), but always take precautions to avoid injury.
Another factor that can increase the chances of developing arthritis is weight. If you are overweight, there will be increased stress on your joints that could cause problems with arthritis. Starting a diet and exercise plan now may reduce symptoms or slow the progress of the disease.
Joint injury is often a factor in developing arthritis. Just like all the other factors, it’s not a root cause; however, it is more likely to develop arthritis in a joint that has had a previous injury. If you do injure yourself, be sure to care for it properly so it heals quickly and doesn’t get damaged again.
Doctors aren’t really sure how big a part genetics plays into the development of arthritis, but they do know it’s related. If your parents have arthritis, it’s more likely that you will as well. Although this doesn’t mean that just because your parents had it, you will too. By reducing the likeliness from other causes, you can reduce your risk.
Food can play a big role in helping with arthritis. Eating whole foods, raw foods, fresh, organic foods is something to do to prevent this disease or to ease its symptoms if you have it. Because this is a disease of inflammation, anti-inflammatory foods are best to eat. Green Tea, Omega-3 fats, cantaloupe, citrus and ginger are some examples. Read these articles on Food Cures for more food suggestions.
While you can’t prevent arthritis or control all these factors, you can take steps to reduce them, keeping yourself pain free for longer.
 Savor A Taste Of RawEating raw, whole foods can quickly make a difference in your life and you don’t even have to go 100% raw to get the benefits. In fact, by simply replacing some cooked foods in your diet with more raw foods you can start feeling better very quickly |
