Arthritis and Joint Pain - How can you stay active and protect your joints?

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Best of Live Well, featuring Lance Alexander.

Lance Alexander (0:05)

Good morning, Singapore. Did you know what day it is today, the 12th of October? It's World Arthritis Day.

It was established in 1996 It raises awareness of arthritis and related conditions and how they impact people's daily lives. Arthritis means an inflammation of the joints, which can cause pain, swelling and stiffness. I can tell you all about it. I have aches and pains nearly every single day. It can make everyday things like climbing upstairs or walking to the shops more difficult. It can also impact younger people, not just the older adult.

What we want to do today is to tackle some common misconceptions and what we can do better to look after our joints. With me this morning is Dr. James Siow, Senior Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at Oxford Orthopaedics. Dr. Siow, welcome to the show.

James Siow (0:59)

Thank you, Lance, for having me at the show today.

Lance Alexander (1:01)

My pleasure, sir. Maybe you can start off by telling us how common is arthritis in Singapore?

James Siow (1:07)

The incidence of arthritis ranges from about 5 to 10% and it increases after the age of 40 years old. So as people age, the incidence of arthritis in those age groups increases.

Lance Alexander (1:20)

Wow. Can you maybe tell us the types that you see on a regular basis when it comes to arthritis?

James Siow (1:27)

There are various types of arthritis, the most common type being the degenerative type of arthritis or osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when as a person ages, the structure of the cartilage starts to degenerate. That can also be accelerated when there's increase in the wear and tear, due to high impact activities, when there's misalignment of the joint, and also instability around the joint due to injuries.

Other types of arthritis can be caused by inflammatory types of conditions, for example, rheumatoid arthritis, whereby the inflammatory cells in the body actually attack the joint tissue, and also cause cartilage damage directly. So these inflammatory tissues actually secrete chemicals that actually degrade the cartilage in the joint, and therefore it causes a very severe arthritis.

Lance Alexander (2:17)

Yeah, when they talk about RA as well, it's like an autoimmune disease, is it not?

James Siow (2:21)

It is, it is.

Lance Alexander (2:22)

Yeah. Are men or women more likely to get arthritis?

James Siow (2:27)

For the rheumatoid arthritis, females are more likely to get it.

Lance Alexander (2:32)

Why is that? Do we know why?

James Siow (2:33)

I think it's more of a genetic component. Yeah, females are more predisposed to rheumatoid and inflammatory type of arthritis.

Lance Alexander (2:42)

If my parents had or have arthritis, what are the chances of me getting it?

James Siow (2:47)

It depends on the type of arthritis. If it's an inflammatory type of arthritis, it may be a hereditary. Yeah, if it's osteoarthritis, perhaps, you know, in terms of like your joint alignment, the thickness of your cartilage may also be inherited.

Lance Alexander (3:02)

Okay, we don't want people to get arthritis. Are you seeing younger people coming to you on a more regular basis, or are you still seeing people over the age of maybe 40, 50?

James Siow (3:14)

I think more and more people are more aware of arthritis, especially when they are younger, in their mid-30s. I do see people coming to get an opinion on their joint pain in their early 30s, or sometimes even in their late 20s.

Because people are becoming more and more active, they are more and more sporty.

Lance Alexander (3:33)

Okay, and when you say aches and pains, at what point should you say, oof, that pain hasn't gone away for two weeks now, and I need to have it checked? Or do people just say, yeah, it's painful, but I can take it. I have a high tolerance of pain. When exactly should they say, I better go and see someone and check whether I'm having joint issues?

James Siow (3:57)

I think in general, if it's a slow onset of pain without any injury, a sprain, you can actually watch it for about three to four weeks.

Lance Alexander (4:06)

Okay, okay.

James Siow (4:07)

And then some people, they will try their own therapy, such as painkillers. They can do a RICE therapy.

RICE is an acronym for rest, ICE, which is a co-compression of the joint, the affected joint, elevation of the joint, as well as compression itself, using bandages or sometimes even knee or ankle guards, depending on which joint is affected.

Lance Alexander (4:28)

Okay, so it's quite easy if you actually have a pain, you can actually take care of it. Tell us about maybe a patient that's come to see you and thought it was nothing but actually was quite serious.