Spinal Arthritis
Arthritis is a dreadful disease which causes inflammation in joints. While this can affect any joint in the human body, it is very dangerous when the human spine is infected by this.
Along with the general arthritis symptoms, a person suffering from spinal arthritis might also experience several other symptoms. It is associated with sever back pain, often when you get up in the morning, but hard to detect because it goes away once you rest for a while. There is a feeling of numbness around the neck region, legs and hands. And sometimes it is also associated with severe pain running down the spine till the pelvic region all the way till the lower hip. Due to the inflammation in the spine, they experience a sever discomfort while bending and stretching.
Spinal arthritis is one of the most difficult one to be diagnosed. We often ignore the general back pains and other discomforts accounting them to the fatigue or so. So, it s always a good idea to get it examined by a doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor how and when exactly the pain started and the timeline and severity of it. Explain exactly when the pain is severe and the postures which cause the pain. Confirming these with some right stretching exercises will give a better picture of the exact location of the swelling. This will help him a lot in the right diagnosis in turn providing you with the right treatment.
Since most of the spinal disorders share the same set of symptoms, it will be very hard to tell just be the physical examination of the body. Running couple of tests will lead to the correct diagnosis. Blood test will determine the type of arthritis. And X-Ray and an MRI will throw more light on the condition of the spine and the exact nature and the extent of the disease. MRI will actually provide a three dimensional picture of the spine making it easier to visualize. Computerized Axial Tomography, often known as the CAT scan will provide the structure of the spinal canals defining their shape and size. A Myelogram is performed so as to determine the pressure which is there on the spinal cord, while a bone scan provides helps in the right diagnosis of arthritis.
With all these tests and diagnosis, your doctor will walk you through a number of treatment options. The main objective all these treatment regimes will be to primarily manage the pain and stop the infection from spreading further. However, there is no cure for spinal arthritis. Having said that, this not the end and life goes on. Getting used to this and living with the disease will require a lot of courage and is very essential. With the right therapy and treatment plan, one can lead a very satisfying and healthy life even with arthritis.