arthritis treatment | rheumatoid arthritis pain relief

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis And Exercise

April 22nd, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

When we think about rheumatoid arthritis, we tend to think about middle aged to elderly people, but it is a fact that a lot of people and even children get the disease. At a much younger age then we would think, when children get this disease we call it juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. This article is called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise. because with this kind of disease exercise is extremely important.

More common than you think

It may sound strange to hear that arthritis can strike children. It is generally seen as a condition of the elderly and many people are surprised that children can also be affected. However, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is more common than you might think: over 300,000 children in the United States have some form of arthritis, and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is the most common type among them.

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis can affect children 16 and younger; children older than 16 are generally considered to have adult onset rheumatoid arthritis. It can be hard to spot juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but you should watch your child’s behavior, especially first thing in the morning, to see if he or she experiences the characteristic morning joint stiffness.

If your child displays any symptoms of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, it is very important to get him or her to a doctor as soon as possible. Early detection and treatment are an essential part of the treatment plan for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise is a big part of that.

Although no one is sure what causes juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and there is no cure, there are some treatments for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise can be prescribed by your doctor. All methods including exercise have a varying degree of success and side effects, but juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise is the best combination with the least amount of side effects you can get.

Living a healthy lifestyle, eating a healthy balanced diet are all part of the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise treatment. Swimming is a good, no-impact way to keeping shape. Keeping regular appointments with a physical therapist for exercises will also greatly help your child to retain more range of motion in the affected joints and may even help to decrease pain.

Your child will probably also be treated with drugs at some point when the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis gets to severe and exercise and healthy living is not enough anymore. But for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and exercise should be tried as long as possible.