Analyzing Istat data, almost 35 million Italians suffer from at least one chronic disease. This could be one of the keys to the enormous costs that weigh on national health. In particular, of these 35 million, according to statistics, 1 in 3 suffers from hypertension. But according to medical forecasts, in a few years this could be the most common disease among Italians. Unfortunately, we are an aging people who, as the statistics always say, cling to births especially of foreigners. Italian families of young people who generally have no more than one child, while foreign ones on average have at least two.
What osteoarthritis is and why it affects so many people
Osteoarthritis is the disease that could contend with hypertension for the Italian primacy in the coming years. We are talking about a degenerative disease of the cartilage of the joints. The problem is that it doesn’t stop at the cartilage alone but would extend to the entire joint. So the bones, ligaments and all the muscles around it would also be involved. Osteoarthritis, as this study by the Veronesi Foundation also recalls, is the number 1 disease of our skeletal system.
According to medical forecasts, in a few years this could be the most common disease among Italians
Being an age-related degenerative disease, osteoarthritis could affect many of us sooner or later. According to doctors, we need to be on the lookout for these important signs that may indicate that we are affected:
- severe and persistent joint pain;
- motor difficulties and stiffness;
- pain under exertion that increases in the evening, lessening with rest.
Unlike arthritis, often confused with osteoarthritis, the disease we are treating would also emit the famous creaking of the bones. And, as doctors and orthopedists always claim, arthritis instead would make itself felt more during rest and in the middle of the night.
What to do in case we find out we have it
It will be our general practitioner to refer us to the specialists to actually understand if we are suffering from osteoarthritis. Without frightening ourselves, we will most likely be directed to natural systems to try to get better. One of these could be the specialist’s suggestion to use natural anti-inflammatories such as arnica and devil’s claw.
Lately, however, medicine has also been experimenting with substances capable of protecting cartilage, reintegrating it. By simply naming hyaluronic acid, for example, we advise our readers to talk about it with their doctors.
Deepening
Many are wrong to consume them only in the summer because these vegetables lower cholesterol all year round