Dr. Ramakant Kumar's blog : Can Frequent Muscle Cramps Be A Sign Of Arthritis - Know Here!
Every sports-loving person has experienced
muscle cramps at least once in his life and only they know how annoying it can
be.
Those sudden and painful muscle contractions are enough to ruin the rhythm of your game. But what if you are not a sports person and still experiencing frequent muscle cramps?
Is it a sign of an upcoming storm? Keep reading and by the end of this blog, you get all the answers to your question. Let’s start with the first one.
What are Muscle Cramps?
A muscle cramp is a sudden uncontrollable
and painful contraction of a particular muscle. This painful contraction can
occur in any muscle group but mostly it affects the muscle that is connected to
the legs.
Cramp can be caused by several factors, for
example, some cramps can be the result of muscle injury and dehydration. But
most of the time it is caused by the overuse of muscle, you may have seen your
favorite athlete having muscle cramps in between matches.
These muscle spasms are usually harmless and get resolved by themselves after a very short period. But if you are experiencing frequent muscle cramps, especially in your hands, you need to consult a Joint Replacement Doctor in Patna because it can be a sign of a serious underlying health condition like rheumatoid arthritis.
Connection With Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis is an auto-immune
disease in which your immune system somehow mistakes your normal body cells for
foreign invaders and starts attacking them with inflammatory chemicals. This
health condition mainly affects the joint areas of the body, especially the
joints of the hand.
What happens is, the tissue which is
responsible for the movement of joints gets attacked by your immune system
which as a result makes this tissue thicker and that joint area painful.
Furthermore, the muscle around the affected joint can also get affected and that can make a person more prone to muscle cramps. So, be care full, sometimes your normal hand cramps can be a sign of something serious. But how to differentiate between a normal hand cramp and rheumatoid arthritis? Let’s find out..
How to Differentiate Between Cramps and
Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Diagnosis of RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) in
the early stage is very difficult because it may mimic the symptoms of normal
muscle cramps. But there are some differences between RA and normal muscle
cramps.
- Firstly, in arthritis, your joints will
surely get affected. The unbearable pain will link to your joint while in
normal muscle cramps, you will have no role in it.
Secondly, RA patients will always feel
muscle pain below, above, or somewhere near the joint but normal cramps pain
can occur anywhere in the muscle.
Thirdly, an arthritis patient will not be
able to move his joints freely and there will be swelling and redness in the
joint. Whereas a joint movement of a normal person will be pain-free.
And lastly, the pain from Rheumatoid
Arthritis will increase after putting some load on the joint. But normal muscle
crap will not get increased by the load on the joints.
These are some symptoms that will help you to differentiate between normal Cramps and Rheumatoid Arthritis. So, I believe by now you know what causes frequent cramps in hands and fingers. Now let’s know how to get rid of them.
Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis
If you came this far on this blog then you
may be wondering how to relieve frequent cramping hands and get rid of this
rheumatoid arthritis. So here are treatments for RA:
DMARDs - (Disease-Modifying
Antirheumatic Drugs) can manipulate the immune system which is the main cause
of RA and helps to slow down its effect. This type of medication is best suited
for a patient who is in their early stage. Furthermore, it can also promote
joint health in long run.
Physical Therapy – if you are still wondering how to get rid of finger cramps?
physical therapy can be the answer to your question. This particular treatment
will help you to learn about some special gripping tools. So that you can give
rest to your fingers or any joint which as a result will help your joint to
heal.
Healthy Diet – A balanced and nutritious diet can be very beneficial in reducing
your joint pain because it can help you to control inflammation which is one
the main cause of RA. Additionally, this habit will also promote weight loss
resulting in less joint stress.
Surgery - If
several therapies and treatments are not able to cure your RA then your doctor
may recommend you go through surgery. Although many types of surgeries that can
be helpful in RA but arthroscopic surgery is the most common one amongst them.
So, if you are someone who is finding the right joint replacement surgeon or Shoulder Arthroscopy Patna, you can consult DR. Ramakant Kumar who has years of experience in this field.
Conclusion
A frequent muscle cramp can be a sign of
arthritis because in Rheumatoid Arthritis the muscle around the joint gets
affected which makes the patient more prone to a muscle cramp.
Differentiating between a normal muscle
cramp and arthritis can be difficult because both have similar symptoms.
However, there are some ways by which you can detect your arthritis so that you
can treat it in your early stage. Otherwise, you have to go through surgery if
the condition gets worse.
We hope this blog helped you to know
whether a muscle cramp can be a sign of arthritis or not. If you liked it, do
share it with your loved ones.
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