Is arthritis causing you to live in pain?

Do you suffer from:

• Pain and stiffness in your joints?
• Joint pain while walking or standing?
• Weakness in the muscles surrounding your painful joints?

You could have arthritis.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons estimates that one out of every five people in the United States has at least one joint with signs or symptoms of arthritis. Half of these arthritis sufferers are under age 50.

What is arthritis?

The word arthritis comes from the Greek words arthro, meaning joint, and itis, meaning inflammation—thus, arthritis literally means inflammation of a joint. There are more than 100 kinds of arthritis, from wear-and-tear arthritis to conditions such as lupus and gout.

• Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative or wear-and-tear arthritis, is the most common form of the disease. In normal bones, a smooth, elastic tissue called cartilage protects the ends of the bones and helps the joints move freely.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage becomes inflamed, breaks down and eventually wears away completely—causing pain, stiffness and weakness as the bones rub against each other.

• Rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, is a systemic inflammatory disease that affects the joint linings and destroys bones, tissues and joints. RA is considered an autoimmune disorder in which the body's immune system attacks the joints.

Often, RA is symmetrical in that it affects the same joint on both sides of the body. The disease can affect tissues throughout the body, from the skin, blood vessels and heart to the lungs and muscles.

In recent years, new prescription medications have been developed to manage the symptoms and progression of RA much better than the treatments available in the past.

Why choose the Center for Orthopedics for arthritis treatment?

The five board-certified orthopedic surgeons at the Center for Orthopedics are trained in the latest surgical procedures to relieve the pain and stiffness of arthritis.

“Other practices might put an arthritis patient in a brace and prescribe anti-inflammatory medications,” says John Krebs, MD. “But when you're dealing with an arthritic joint, immobilizing it will only make it worse.

“At the Center for Orthopedics, we make a careful diagnosis and present you with a range of treatment options. If you need surgery, we offer state-of-the-art techniques and procedures to relieve your pain and restore normal function to your arthritic joints.”

Suffering from arthritis?

Request a consultation

This information is simply an introduction to arthritis. To diagnose and treat your arthritic condition, we invite you to schedule a consultation with one of our board-certified orthopedic surgeons.

Call 440.329.2800 for an appointment