Causes of rheumatism

RheumatismRheumatism is a common name for various types of arthritis, which affects the joints. It is a chronic disorder characterized by inflammation and painful condition of muscles, bones, joints, and tendons. Type of arthritis that is rather common is osteoarthritis. Osteorathritis is a condition that usually affects old people. It is also called degenerative joint disease. Rheumatoid arthritis often results in damage of articular cartilage and inflammation in the lung and pleura. Rheumatism doesn’t represent single condition but there are over a 100 conditions that fall under rheumatism. Generally, women are more susceptible to rheumatism.

Causes of Rheumatism

Exact causes of rheumatism are unknown but there are several possible causes:

Autoimmune system of the body is usually responsible for occurrence of rheumatism. This happens when the immune system begins to attack joints, muscles, bones and organs. The body starts to produce antibodies that enter membranes around joints causing the inflammation of the joint and, subsequently, rheumatism.

Presence of toxic products in blood may also cause rheumatism since they tend to build up around bones and joints.

Diet that causes rheumatism often includes food such as meat, de-mineralized starch, refined sugar, artificial food, white bread and excess consumption of meat and fatty foods. Eating plenty of acid forming foods is equally harmful. Such diet contributes accumulation of toxic waste in the body.

Heredity factors are connected to rheumatism too. People with hormonal imbalance may develop rheumatism as well as those who suffer from gallbladder problems.

Additionally, rheumatism may be caused by tonsils or teeth infection.

Palindromic rheumatism also occurs due to unknown reasons. Palindromic rheumatism affects knees, fingers and large joints but doesn’t cause severe damage to the bone.

Symptoms of Rheumatism

The onset of rheumatism is commonly somewhere between 40 to 50 years of age. Rheumatism is associated with following symptoms: fever, soreness, swelling, muscle stiffness, joint pain, joint swelling, joints tender to touch, and difficulty urinating.

Classification

Rheumatism is classified depending on the symptoms and location. This includes: localized rheumatism, regional rheumatism, generalized rheumatism, psychogenic rheumatism.

Rheumatic DiseasesCommon rheumatic diseases include: systemic lupus erythematosus, fibromyalgia, bursitis, tendinitis, vasculitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, complex regional pain syndrome, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatic fever, neck pain, capsulitis, tenosynovitis, myositis, back pain, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis.

Treatment for Rheumatism

Rheumatism can be treated with various home remedies. They include: potato juice, bitter gourd, celery, lemon, walnuts and rhubarb. Diet must be well balanced with limited intake of meat, white bread and indigestible foods. Fasting on orange juice and water is also recommended but for several days only.