Issued by: Department of Health
ARTHRITIS: SOUTH AFRICA'S LEADING DISABLING DISEASE
Arthritis, which literally means "inflamation of a joint", is the number one disabling disease in South Africa, affecting an estimated one in every seven people. The general term, arthritis actually includes more than a hundred related but distinct diseases.
In most cases parts that get affected are the knees, hands, shoulders, elbows, hips, fingers or balls of the feet. The disease is uncommon in the rural black population but in urban areas, it affects between 1 - 2% of adults of all ethnic groups.
The Department of Health aims to increase accessibility to health services at primary level for arthritis sufferers and is in the process of finalising management guidelines on Arthritis/rheumatism in older persons.
The origins of arthritis are unknown. The main symptoms are pain when getting up in the morning and on motion. It is aggravated by exercise when acute and relieved by rest. Mobility and muscle strengthening exercises are recommended.
Recognisable symptoms are joint stiffness, commonly referred to as morning stiffness, difficulty in moving and a grating sensation, warmth, redness and or joint swelling which results in deformity as a result of cartilage loss among others.
Arthritis can be treated but not cured. It is not infectious but can be inherited from one generation to the next through genes. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest joint disease and its prevalence increases with age so that more than 50 percent of older people over 65-years of age have clinical evidence of OA. Worldwide, OA affects approximately 40 million people.
Osteoarthritis, which means the wearing down of the surface of a joint, is a `local disease' which is confined to a few specific joints in the body. The cartilage `cushion' deteriorates resulting in pain and loss of movement as bone rubs against bone, and the bones underneath becoming rough. The joint normally heals itself but in very few cases results in severe damage and deformity.
On the other hand Rheumatoid arthritis, found in about six percent of all reported cases, can affect the entire body resulting in general fatigue and formation of lumps under the skin called "rheumatoid nodules". This kind of arthritis afflicts three times more women than men and can make a person ill.
Arthritis can be managed through a range of treatments from keeping a balance between rest and exercise, the gentle use of the afflicted joint, drug therapy, mainly for relief of pain and to increase mobility.
For further details contact"
Ms C Kotzenberg, Director: Chronic Diseases, Disabilities and Geriatrics
Tel: (012) 312-0472
Fax: (012) 323-9013