Arthritis is defined as the swelling or stiffness in the joints. However, arthritis is also used to describe conditions that affect the joints, tissues surrounding the joint and other connective tissue. The most common form of arthritis is rheumatoid arthritis. We sat down with Dr. Belal Saadat, a leading orthopedic surgeon in the field of orthopedic medicine to discuss arthritis and its treatment.
He has a special interest in hand and upper extremity surgery and the problems relating to it. Dr. Saadat also tells us how one can live a good quality of life with arthritis.
Q1. What is Arthritis?
Arthritis is a very prevalent health condition and it is what is commonly referred to as “joint pain” or more commonly “knee pain”. These are the patients in which the aging process of the joints starts abruptly.
There are two most common types of arthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis. The main difference between the two is that osteoarthritis is caused by mechanical wear and tear whereas rheumatoid arthritis is caused when the body’s own system attacks the body’s joints.
Q.2. What are the causes of arthritis?
Well, there are many factors that cause arthritis such as age, weight, sex, (more common in females) and hereditary factors.
Another factor is diet. If our diets are devoid of calcium and vitamin D, we are inching closer to joint problems. Lack of sunlight exposure contributes to a vitamin D deficiency.
These are the main causes that are making arthritis problems very common in our population.
Q.3. What are the risk factors of arthritis?
Hmm, there are two factors that are the most important from an arthritis point of view. First, infection on a joint site speeds up your risk factor for arthritis.
The second major risk factor is road accidents that cause major trauma to the joints. That may include a history of falls as well.
The third risk factor is a natural phenomenon about which we can’t do much and that is age.
Q.4. What are the treatment options for arthritis?
When we talk about treatments, we take many routines. The first level of treatment is to talk patients through their lifestyle, diet and have them adopt arthritis-friendly habits. These include shoe wear, possible stick use, stair and avoidance of trauma.
The above were non-medicine treatments but there are medications and surgery options available too.
Medicine include analgesics, painkillers and ancids. The next level of treatments include injections that are injected into the joint site. The injections consist of hyaluronic acid, PRP or stem cells.
When it comes to surgical treatments, complete knee-replacement is not the only option available. There are many surgical options for arthritis available.
Q.5. What are the effects of weight on arthritis?
There is a common trend that we see in arthritis patients. The weight pains their joint and the doctors advise them to lose weight. However, they can only lose weight if they are relieved of the joint pain.
The important that patients have to keep in mind is to consult a physiotherapist or an orthopedic surgeon before doing any strenuous exercises. Joining and working out aggressively can wear out your joints even faster. So, before doing any lifestyle modifications or exercises, consult your doctor.
You can watch the full interview on if you want to learn more about arthritis and its treatment. Moreover, if you have any arthritis-related concern, consult an orthopedic surgeon.