Arthritis affects a whopping 54 million people in the United States, and this number is expected to exceed 78 million by 2040. If arthritis is affecting your quality of life, orthopedic specialist Gregg K. Satow, MD, can help you better manage the disease, enabling you to move freely again. If you’re in the Monterey, California, area, and arthritis is limiting your life, call the office or schedule an appointment online today.
Arthritis is a catchall term for more than 100 different diseases that cause pain and inflammation within your joints. The most common forms of arthritis include:
This degenerative disease accounts for the majority of arthritis diagnoses (31 million of the total 54 million arthritis sufferers). The hallmark of osteoarthritis is the breakdown of cartilage within your joint, leaving your bones to rub together painfully. Osteoarthritis is degenerative and there’s no cure for the disease, but there are good preventive and management measures.
This type of arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which your body’s own immune system mistakenly attacks the lining of your joints (your synovium).
This form of arthritis is also an autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation within your joints.
There are many other types of arthritis, including gout, infectious arthritis, and fibromyalgia, but the ones listed above represent the most common forms.
No matter what type of arthritis you suffer from, the symptoms are largely the same across the board and include:
Many forms of arthritis are degenerative, which means these symptoms may start out mildly but grow progressively worse as time goes by.
When treating arthritis, Dr. Satow has two goals: reduce your discomfort, and restore your mobility and range of motion. After assessing your arthritis and the extent to which it’s compromising your joints, Dr. Satow may recommend a multipronged approach that includes:
If the damage in your joint is extensive, Dr. Satow may recommend joint replacement surgery. Each year in the United States, up to a million people replace their hips and knees, bringing pain-free function back to their lives.
Dr. Satow specializes in joint replacement surgery and uses the latest minimally invasive techniques to get you back up on your feet, moving freely again.
If you’d like to explore your options for arthritis treatments, call Gregg K. Satow, M.D. or schedule an appointment online today to get started.
