Debunking Some Myths Regarding the Causes Of Arthritis

Arthritis is a degenerative disease, often painful and in some cases, even disfiguring. This medical condition is often marked (but not always) by inflammation and permanent damage to the different joints of the body. There are actually many forms of arthritis. Some of the more common ones include: fibromyalgia, gouty arthritis, lupus, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and septic arthritis. Ankylosing spondylitis, charcot joints (neuropathic joint disease,) hemarthrosis, psoriatic arthritis, henoch-schonlein purpura, hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, and lipoid dermatoarthritis (multicentric reticulohistiocytosis) are only a few of the rarer forms of this medical condition. According to some of the most established researches on this topic, there are many possible causes of arthritis and that may include gradual decline of bone mass and joint cartilage.

However, there are also a lot of misconceptions as to why this medical condition afflicts some people, but do not seem to appear in the ones that are most prone to arthritis. Here are some of the most prevalent but inaccurate causes of arthritis.

Myth #1: Arthritis is caused by old age. Admittedly, there are scores of elderly people who do have this medical condition. However, the onset of advanced age alone is not a predetermining factor. The fact is: almost anyone can have arthritis, regardless of age. According to the latest WHO report, more and more young adults and middle aged people are suffering from one or more forms of arthritis on a yearly basis. It is also estimated that there will be an increase of such cases for these age groups in the next few years. Arthritis in children is rare, but there are already several thousand documented cases. Rarer still is the fact that some infants seem to be born with this medical condition, with their arthritic state continuing for the rest of the infant’s life.

True enough: there are some forms of arthritis that seem to affect a specific gender more. Cases of fibromyalgia, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis seem to be more prevalent in women. On the other hand, ankylosing spondylitis and gouty arthritis seem to be more prevalent in men. However, these conditions are not at all exclusive to the specified genders. The more accurate representation of the “old age” myth should be this: osteoarthritis commonly afflicts elderly people, and this is due to the gradual loss of the individuals’ bone mass and joint cartilages. This, in turn is due to the body’s diminishing capability to produce enough rejuvenating cells to repair itself.

Myth #2: Arthritis can be caused by a harsh environment; or to be more specific: a sudden drop in temperature can trigger arthritis. If this is the case, people in warm and tropical regions would not be exhibiting any form of this medical condition at all. But we know that this is not the case in the very least. This misconception stems from the fact that more illnesses seem to happen during the colder or wetter seasons, whereby the persons’ immune systems become noticeably weaker.

The truth is: arthritis is a gradual occurring disease, often marked by a long history of aches, pains and numbing sensations. A change of temperature may accentuate those unwanted sensations. But certainly, the climate and weather are not the true causes of arthritis.

Myth #3: Eating certain foods and not eating certain foods are also causes of arthritis. According to the myth, eating foods that are high in uric acid can cause arthritis. In some cases, this may be true. High uric acid in the blood stream is said to be one of the factors that triggers gouty arthritis. However, what most people do not know is that this condition only presents itself to people (men in particular) who may already have an existing medical condition that hinders their body from processing normal levels of uric acid. Additionally, eating large volume of supposedly arthritis-preventing foods like extra virgin olive oil, garlic, tumeric and foods containing antioxidants and Omega 3 fatty acids are likewise considered as myths. Apparently, food cannot cure or prevent the onset of this disease.