30-40% of Indian population suffers from Arthritis

Hyderabad: Mr. L.S. Chouhan, IPS, Dy. Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Hyderabad City; flagged off the World Arthritis Day Cycle ride organised by Apollo Spectra Hospitals and Hyderabad Cyclists Group, on the eve of the World Arthritis Day (October 12th), today at Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Ameerpet. Also present on the occasion were Mr Chandrasekhar, CEO, Apollo Health & Lifestyle Ltd.; Dr. Dasari Prasada Rao, Chairman, Nano Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. And Dr M Naveen Chandar Reddy, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Ameerpet. The Ride was organized from Shyam Karan Road to Lumbini Park via Raj Bhavan, Panjagutta and back.

Mr. L.S. Chouhan, speaking on the occasion said, Bone health is of prime importance for a healthy life. In India we are all living in apartments, leading a sedentary life. Because of which vitamin ‘D” deficiency is a common feature, 8 out of 10 people have this serious deficiency. People should come out from their sedentary lives and get exposed to sunlight, adopt exercise, cycling, and physical activities to lead a healthy life. On this occasion, I advise and request the citizens of Hyderabad to follow traffic rules. It is generally a norm to break the rules and freely getaway, but days have changed law is becoming stronger. Central Government has made the law stringent, our state is going to adopt it soon, penalties are going to be high, punishment is going to be stringent, Courts are also getting serious about the violations taking place on the roads. Every year 1.3 lakh people are dying on Indian roads and three times that number are getting crippled. In the state of Telangana around 8000 people are dying, most of these losing lives are productive age group people, breadwinners of the respective families, many young citizens. This issue has been neglected by citizens and my appeal to them is to take road regulations more seriously. Every day around 450 people are dying which is equivalent to one jumbo jet crash, a jumbo jet crash would be big news, but 450 people dying this way every day is not news, I want citizens to ponder over this. I would request everyone to follow the rules and set examples for others.

World Arthritis Day is commemorated across the globe on October 12th every year to raise awareness about Arthritis and the existence and impact of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The theme for this year’s World Arthritis Day is Don’t Delay Connect Now – It’s in your Hands Act Now.

Mr. Chandrasekhar said, off late we are seeing much younger patients coming with arthritis, earlier this used to be a disease of people in the age group of 50 and above. The rise in the incidence of arthritis is because of our changing lifestyles, people are becoming less mobile, lack physical activity. It is time to spread awareness in the community to be physically active. Youth suffering from such diseases can impair the growth of the country. Non-communicable diseases are becoming a significant part of the health issues cropping up in the populace, and therefore this awareness exercise is to create cognizance in youth to be physically active. Bone health is an obvious outcome of physical fitness, he added.

Dr. Dasari Prasada Rao, the strong message from today’s cycle ride initiative is, cycling keeps our joints fit and maintains bone health. Participants between 10 to 75 years of age were part of the ride and they strongly advocated the cause of cycling as a good means to keep healthy and that it protects people of all age groups from falling ill while helping to stay healthy.

Arthritis is the most common joint disease affecting people in the age group above 50 years leading to decreased quality of life. Its prevalence is approximately 30-40% in India and is more common in women compared to men, says Dr. M Naveen Chandar Reddy.

Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints. It can affect any joint but is more common in the knees. There are multiple types of arthritis but Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis are the two most common types.

Osteoarthritis is degenerative wear and tear of the smooth lining called cartilage of the joint. Osteoarthritis can affect any joints but it’s more common in the weight bearing joints like knees & hips. Osteoarthritis patients suffer from Pain, Swelling, Decreased Range of Motion and Stiffness of the affected joints. In advanced cases, they have rest pain which indicates the severity.

The treatment depends on the stage of arthritis and it includes pain medication as and when required, Physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee joint, Lifestyle modifications like avoiding squatting and sitting cross legged, weight reduction, cartilage supplements, viscosupplementation, PRP injections. Total knee replacement is the treatment of choice for the advanced stage of osteoarthritis.

Eating healthy food and doing regular exercises will keep the bones and joints healthy. It’s key to visit an orthopaedic doctor if one is suffering from joint pains to get it evaluated and treated at an early stage to lead a better quality of life.