Growing older is associated with more aches and more pains.
Tasks require more effort than they did in the earlier years, and you still feel the day’s work a week, or maybe even two, later. Unfortunately, this pain is also experienced by hundreds of thousands of children every year.
What starts as discomfort or minor irritation can become severe pain. For some, juvenile arthritis can be debilitating.
Juvenile arthritis causes joints to become inflamed, which limits their range of motion. It is an autoimmune disease which can affect the rate of growth in children because it strikes just when young bodies are growing. The effects can be minor or severe, depending on the child and the type of juvenile arthritis from which they suffer.
It is common for children with juvenile arthritis to experience stiffness in their joints in the morning.
If a child experiences this and other symptoms of juvenile arthritis that do not abate after six weeks, and there is no other medical cause for the pain or discomfort, then juvenile arthritis is often diagnosed. This disease is not diagnosed by a single test but must be made when other conditions have been ruled out.
Pediatric rheumotologists are specialists in this form of arthritis. Often, a primary care physician will refer children to a pediatric rheumotologist for final diagnosis.
It is vital to a child for their parents and care givers to understand their disease in order to have realistic physical expectations of them. This joint pain and inflammation is very real and can be very painful.
The severity and scope of juvenile arthritis differs depending on the type of arthritis. Children with polyarticular juvenile arthritis suffer from inflamation in five or more joints. Those with pauciarticular juvenile arthritis are affected in four joints or fewer, and children with systemic onset juvenile arthritis experience joint pain or inflammation in at one or more joints as well as internal organs.
Any treatment program for juvenile arthritis is meant to alleviate discomfort of the sufferer. This is achieved by controlling inflammation, preventing or controlling joint damage and maximizing joint and bodily functions.
Exercising to keep the joints from tensing and becoming inflamed will be an element of a child’s therapy.
Movements that relax the muscles and joints, such as yoga, are often very effective in treatment of juvenile arthritis. When used with relaxation techniques like meditation, it can help take tension away from the joints. Splints also do this. Since many children experience pain or stiffness in the morning, wearing splints at night can be very helpful.
If the type and presentation of juvenile arthritis is especially severe or debilitating, the child may need to see additional specialists.
Since arthritis can affect the whole body, it is important to have all areas checked on a regular basis for signs of inflammation.
It is common for children coping with juvenile arthritis to become depressed. Their disease may impose physical limitations on their activities that isolate them from their peers. Psychologists should also be an integral part of the health care team.
For parents and caregivers, it is important to acknowledge the child’s feelings, and yet help the child focus on what they can do instead of what they cannot.
Stress often exacerbates physical illnesses, and that is certainly true of juvenile arthritis. It can impede treatment and health. Minimizing the stress of any child suffering from juvenile arthritis is essential when helping them deal with this illness.
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