What are the arthritis care issues?

Most of the care pitfalls encountered by patients with arthritis in clinical practice focus on cognitive biases. Either they dare not move and the joints become "stiff", or they wear out the joints through blind exercise. Many people regard keeping warm as the only criterion, but ignore the more core intervention points.

I just received a doctor last week from 62-year-old Aunt Zhang, who has been diagnosed with knee arthritis for three years. I heard from the health care group in the community that "the more wear and tear the joints become, the more flexible they become." She climbed 20 floors every morning and evening to exercise.

Many people's understanding of arthritis care is still "don't freeze and touch cold water", but in fact, different types of arthritis care focus on different things. Even the question "can you touch cold water?" is the most frequently asked question. There is no absolutely unified conclusion in the academic community: some clinicians believe that the joint synovium is in a state of edema in the acute stage. Exposure to low temperature will indeed stimulate vasoconstriction, aggravate the inflammatory reaction and pain, and it is best to avoid it.； However, some studies have pointed out that as long as patients in the stable stage are not immersed in ice water for a long time, it is perfectly fine to wash their hands and vegetables with room temperature water on a daily basis. On the contrary, many people wear fleece knee pads in summer, which makes the local skin repeatedly develop eczema, which is not worth the gain.

Another nursing point that is rarely thought of by everyone but has a great impact is weight management. It seems to have nothing to do with nursing, but for weight-bearing joints such as knees and hips, for every 1 pound of weight increase, the pressure on the joints when walking can increase by 3-4 pounds. I followed up a 27-year-old patient with gout and osteoarthritis before. At my highest weight, I weighed 210 kilograms. I was grimacing in pain when I walked up and down stairs. I originally had an arthroscopic surgery, but it took me half a year to lose 32 kilograms. When I came back for a follow-up check-up, the progress of joint wear and tear had stopped. I felt almost no pain when commuting and walking. I didn't even need to take painkillers. The effect was more obvious than many conservative treatments.

As for the pitfalls of medication and care that everyone often steps into, there are even more pitfalls. Many people either regard painkillers as a scourge and bear the pain even when they are sweating. They think that "painkillers are only a temporary treatment, and if you take too much, you will become dependent." Or they will buy painkillers when they feel pain and stop taking them immediately when the pain stops. They also apply hormone ointments of unknown origin on their own. There are actually different clinical views here. The traditional view is that analgesics can only relieve symptoms and are not recommended for long-term use. However, in recent years, more and more studies have pointed out that taking low-dose anti-inflammatory analgesics regularly as prescribed by your doctor can inhibit chronic inflammation of the joint synovium and delay the progress of joint wear. There is no need to bear the pain. There is also a lot of questions about ammonia sugar, but the conclusion is also inconclusive. Some patients with mild to moderate osteoarthritis did report that their pain was relieved after taking it, but there are also large-sample studies that believe that its effect is not significantly different from the placebo. You can choose it based on your own eating experience. There is no need to spend a lot of money to buy imported "miracle drugs."

To put it bluntly, arthritis care does not have so many mysterious details. The core is to follow your own joint feelings. Don't listen to what others say is useful and just try it. What suits you is the most right.