For the past three days, Mr. Ray was not able to drive his wife to the office because he was suffering from extreme knee pain due to gout. Even the simple task of rising from bed was very difficult for him to do. The pain and difficulty was too much for him to bear that he came to the point of bargaining, swearing that he will never taste a drop of beer again if he gets well. A few days before his ordeal with arthritis began, he had been drinking out with his buddies for two nights straight. During that time, he even had an argument with his wife because she discouraged him from drinking again. They both know that drinking beer mainly causes his recurring arthritis. Those warnings, however, fell on deaf ears. Mr. Ray likes eating pork and beef especially the internal organs despite being advised to avoid it. He never wanted to consult a doctor regarding his condition because he believes that doctors are just out there to extort money from patients. He opted instead to ask his friends for advice and engage in self-medication. Because of his numerous blunders and abusive behavior, it came to a point when nature finally took its course and made him realize his mistakes.

A lot of people probably have similar experiences and beliefs as Mr. Ray. They are the ones who also suffer from arthritis but choose to ignore their condition. They think it is okay since the pain is still tolerable anyway. They continue eating food that have high purine-content alcoholic drinks despite being warned not to. Moreover, they regard consulting a physician as a waste of time and money and rather choose to self-medicate instead. It is only when they already experience so much pain and difficulty that they decide to change their ways.

Given a second chance, people should already be smarter in their decisions. Upon noticing the different symptoms of arthritis, may it be pain or tenderness, inflammation or decrease in motion and flexibility in joint areas, one should already set an appointment with a doctor for consultation. However, if consulting with a physician is not possible due to whatever reasons, self-medication should never be chosen as an alternative. Choose, instead, to change habits or behaviors towards something that will decrease the chances of the condition to recur. Among those practices that will help avoid arthritis from returning are regular exercise, stress management and eating a nutritious diet. This, however, will not be enough to completely treat the condition. A consultation with a doctor is still highly recommended and should be done eventually.

Only a doctor can properly prescribe what medications are appropriate to be taken as arthritis pain reliever. Even though information about medications such as topical pain relievers, anti-inflammatory painkillers, narcotic pain relievers, and corticosteroids can easily be accessed from the internet or from friends, one should not decide to use any of those without expert advice. Self-medicating may only worsen the condition instead of alleviating it. Also, some medications may have undesired reactions with each other or some may also have dangerous side effects.

After a consultation with a doctor has been done, a person may be recommended for physical or occupational therapy when deemed necessary. In terms of knee pains resulting from arthritis or gout for a prolonged period of time, deformities and stiffness within the knee might be a consequence that will decrease the mobility and strength of the knee joint. A person’s ability to perform daily activities involving the knee such as walking, climbing stairs, changing clothes and driving will most likely be affected. Physical and occupational therapy sessions are meant help facilitate improving the mobility and strength of the knee to be able to perform usual activities done before.

Through a consistent observation of a healthy lifestyle, avoidance of food and drinks high in purine-content, consultation with a doctor and practice of PT and OT management techniques, chances of arthritis to recur will most likely be decreased. As part of growing old, however, it is expected that everyone will still eventually experience having the condition. When such time comes, one can either choose to be another Mr. Ray or to be smarter in his or her decisions. A person can either start practicing a healthy lifestyle or continue frequently drinking with his or her friends. When confronted with symptoms, one can either try to see a doctor or self-medicate instead. It is important, however, to bear in mind that in matters of health not everyone are given a second chance. Sometimes, when it is least expected, the first time might already be the point of no return.

The spinal column is among the core areas of the human body, representing the single largest, unbroken set of connections between the body and the brain.As such, the spinal column and pretty much anything and everything around it, are integral to human operations. However, like all parts of the body, the spinal column can sometimes be prone to a number of physical maladies, not least of which is lower back pain.
The pain is often attributed to strenuous activity involving lifting or over-exerting back muscles. This is commonly displayed for comedic effect in the media, though it occurs often enough in real life to be a concern. Lower back pain is most often an effect of improperly lifting a weight, which puts undue stress on the lower back, as well as some areas of the legs. As the body ages, lower back pain becomesmore frequent. This is due to the lower back muscles losing tensile strength and flexibility, along with the spinal column slowly becoming more brittle. Lower back pain, at this stage of the game, is often seen to be just the tip of the iceberg.
Lower back pain, however, may be a sign of something more alarming in store. The spinal column is home to a number of nerves and neural connections. Lower back pain is a relatively minor concern, as more serious damage to the spinal column can result in partial or total paralysis, depending on the extent of the damage. Barring that extreme but very real possibility, the loss of some motor functions or feeling may also occur if the spine is damaged.
Another concern would be spinal arthritis, which can sometimes go undetected until it is too late. This is understandable, as spinal arthritis does not usually have the same visual signals as arthritis does in the rest of the body. However, the general list of symptoms of arthritis are the same.
The symptoms of arthritis may be similar regardless of what area of the body is affected, but the core problem is that some of these signs are easy to be mistaken for something else. One of the most common and prevalent symptoms of arthritis is pain in the affected areas. This is fine for other parts of the body, but for the back, most people tend to ignore it and believe it to be no different from back pains induced by muscle stress or excessive physical work.Only when the pain becomes a semi-regular occurrence do some people consider the possibility that the problem might be more than just normal pain.
Difficulty in movement, particularly of the lower back and lower limbs, is also among the commonly ignored symptoms of arthritis. This is sometimes speculated to be caused by people believing that these problems are merely the result of aging or improper nutrition. Indeed, difficulty in moving some muscles and bones in the body can be caused by the aging process, which generally limits the range and speed of a person’s movements. Also, it is a popular conception that poor nutrition, or the lack of specific nutrients, can make moving the lower half of the body difficult. As a result, as one of the symptoms of arthritis, this is often ignored.
One of the symptoms of arthritis that people generally do not ignore, however is spinal deformity, which is the most outward physical manifestation of spinal arthritis. While this is easily confused with other possible causes of spinal deformity, there is virtually no chance that it would
be ignored.