what they stand for:
AS: Ankylosing spondylitis
DLE: Discoid lupus erythematosus
GCA: Giant cell arteritis
JIA: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
OA: Osteoarthritis
PMR: Polymyalgia rheumatica
PsA: Psoriatic arthritis
RA: Rheumatoid arthritis
SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus
And don’t worry: We explain in this book what these words mean!
Icons Used in This Book
The icons tell you what you must know, what you should know, and what you may find interesting but can live without.
Beyond the Book
In addition to the abundance of information and guidance related to arthritis that we provide in this book, you can find even more help and information online at Dummies.com. Check out this book’s online Cheat Sheet. Just go to www.dummies.com and search for “Arthritis For Dummies Cheat Sheet.”
Where to Go from Here
Someone once said, “Knowledge is power.” You have the power to take charge of your arthritis; all you have to do is educate yourself and apply what you discover. This book is a good place to start, but you’ll have to commit and recommit yourself to maintaining your health on a daily basis. Remember, it’s the little things that you do every day that count. As you embark on your journey, we wish you luck, strength, and many active, pain-free years!
Part 1
Making Sense of the Types of Arthritis
IN THIS PART …
Arthritis can really put a damper on your life … if you let it. But the good news is that most forms of arthritis and the pain they cause can be managed (if not completely done away with) through medical techniques and lifestyle changes.
Part 1 gives you an overview of arthritis in its many forms: the symptoms, diseases, processes, causes, and most likely victims. You also learn what doctors can do for each type of arthritis and what you can do for yourself. We give special attention to the most common forms of this disease: osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Chapter 1
What Is Arthritis?
IN THIS CHAPTER
Ouch! There it goes again! That grinding pain in your hip, those aching knees that make walking from the kitchen to the bedroom a chore, the stiff and swollen fingers that won’t allow you to twist the lid off a sticky jar or even sew on a button. Arthritis seems to get to everybody sooner or later — slowing us down, forcing us to give up some of our favorite activities, and just generally being a pain in the neck (sometimes literally!). In more advanced cases, arthritis can seriously compromise quality of life as sufferers surrender their independence, mobility, and sense of usefulness while being relentlessly worn down by pain.
The good news is that you can manage your arthritis with a combination of medical care, simple lifestyle changes, and good old common sense. You don’t have to spend your life gritting your teeth from pain, or hobbling around the backyard with a cane. Although you may not be able to run a marathon or do back-flips like you did when you were 13, if you follow the program outlined here, you should be able to do the things you really want to do — such as take a brisk walk in the park, carry a sleeping child upstairs to bed, or swing a golf club with the best of them. Arthritis may affect a lot of people, but thanks to intensive research over the past several years, we now know a lot more about how to handle it.
Remember that arthritis affects the rich and famous just as much as the rest of us. For a look at how certain celebrities have handled their arthritis, see the sidebar “Stargazing: Famous Arthritis Sufferers” at the end of the chapter.
Understanding How Arthritis Affects Your Joints
So what exactly is arthritis, this disease that brings us so much misery and pain? Unfortunately, we can’t provide one easy answer to that question, because arthritis involves a group of diseases — each with its own cause, set of symptoms, and treatments. However, these diseases do have the following in common:
They affect some part of the joint.
They cause pain and (possibly) loss of movement.
They often bring about some kind of inflammation.
