Arthritis

Kim Seon-gyeong (43), a housewife suffering from rheumatoid arthritis for five years, feels her fingers tingling and back stiffening every morning.

Although her physician advised her to use her joints less and do housework in an upright posture, there are few housewives who can actually follow his instructions. Being the eldest daughter-in-law, Kim has to prepare foods for the family’s ancestral rites roughly every two months. As she works in a fixed pose for a long time while cooking or washing dishes, her pain intensifies.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a typical feminine disease. In other countries, women consist about 75% of the patients, but in Korea, the proportion is 84%. Even though the exact cause of the disease has not been verified yet, it is known that household duties, which force housewives to work in postures that overstrain their joints, worsen the symptoms.

Women in 30s and 40s vulnerable-

Many people think that arthritis is an inflammation that occurs when joints are worn out. This might be a possible explanation for degenerative arthritis, but rheumatoid arthritis is caused by a malfunction in the immune system. It happens when leukocytes in our body misperceive normal organs as enemies and attack the synovial membranes. Women in their 30s and 40s are especially vulnerable to this disease, while women in 20s and 50s are also likely to get it.

Bae Sang-cheol, a professor at the rheumatic internal medicine department of the Hospital for Rheumatic Disease at Hanyang University, said, “The medical community supposes that it might be related to women’s hormones.”

Possible symptoms are various. One feels tingling all over the body, gets enfeebled and gains a slight fever, just as if suffering from fatigue. At the same time, joints in fingers, toes, wrists, ankles, elbows and knees might swell up or stiffen, causing fever or pain. Pains in articulations are usually intense in the morning and get better in the afternoon.

As the disease is related to the immune system, it could cause trouble to other parts of the body as well. Salivary or lachrymal glands could be inflamed, drying up saliva or tears. One can also experience a hoarse voice, tinnitus, neuritis, pneumonia, or kidney trouble.

Early Treatment Most Effective–

Medication may be used along with exercise and rehabilitation treatment or, in some cases, surgery. Recently, various medicines have been developed, such as injections and medications that do not cause stomach problems.

Professor Song Yeong-wook of the Division of Rheumatology at the Seoul National University Hospital (President of the Korean Society for the Study of Rheumatism) explained, “Disfiguration of the bones begins within two years of the beginning of this disorder, so early detection is crucial. If your joints stay stiff for over one hour after you wake up, and swell up, you should have them checked.”

Like high blood pressure and diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis requires steady treatment. Also, it is more effective to get treatment before your joints become completely disfigured.

Exercising Constantly is More Important than Exercising Heavily –

You should avoid postures that make rheumatoid arthritis worse in everyday life.

You shouldn’t squat in one place for extended periods of time when cooking or cleaning vegetables. It is recommended that you put your work on a table and sit in a chair with a firm back.

If you have to sit on the floor, switch the position of your legs every 10 minutes and stand up to stretch every 30 minutes.

Likewise when doing laundry by hand. Sit on a small stool and work with both legs straight out in front of you. When washing dishes, alternate your legs, putting them on a flat surface about 20 centimeters high one by one. This will help your back. It is also better to wipe the floor in a standing position using a long mop or steam cleaner.

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, exercising lightly and often is better than exercising once heavily.

The medication may cause constipation, so be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Gaining weight is bad for your joints, so you should also watch your weight.