Ouch! Watch out for that pain

Arthritis is increasingly catching them young, especially in IT city

Arthritis is increasingly catching them young, especially in IT city

Ifu00a0you are a young urban professional working away at climbing up the ladder, you should know that all that hard work in front of a computer may bring a health risk with it.

Work-related upper limb pain is becoming more and more common in the city, especially among IT professionals. Today on World Arthritis Day, it is time to take stock.

The problem may be ascribed to a number of reasons such as bad sitting posture and the viewing of the computer screen from various awkward angles.

It begins with pain in the hands and the neck, and there is a high prevalence of such complaints in the IT city.

"Arthritis has long been ignored, as people do not think it is life threatening," says rheumatologist Ramesh Jois from Wockhardt Hospital.

To highlight the problem, World Arthritis Day is being looked at as an opportunity to spread awareness among the public and the medical fraternity alike, through an initiative called the 'Let's Work Together' campaign, of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), that is here in India now.

At risk? IT workers. who spend long hours in front of the PC, need to adopt good posture and not ignore joint pain. Pic for representation only

Early diagnosis

The idea is to lay stress on sensitising doctors.

"It is very important for theu00a0 doctor to be able to diagnose the disease firstly and, secondly, get it treated immediately," says Jois.

New research has given people suffering from arthritis hope.

"There is a chance of disease control when early intervention and recognition can prevent permanent disabilities," says Jois.

There is a myth that only old people suffer from the disease.

"Anybody can get it, from the middle-aged to the very young," says Jois.u00a0 "Westernised lifestyle, obesity, alcohol and red meat consumption all lead to different types of this disease."

Another rheumatologist, Dharmanand from Manipal Hospital, said the most common problem is rheumatoid arthritis.

"Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people from as young as three years to 80," says the doctor. "We are trying to pass the message that even though no cure is available, it can be treated nowadays."

Patient interest groups are being formed that will be endorsed by the medical fraternity. "Arthritis is a chronic disease and people are in this for the long term," he says. "It is more important to know what people think."

Few specialists

The state has only 15 rheumatologists, and Dharmanand says 10 of them are in the city.

"This was never a glamorous speciality 20 years ago, and no medical colleges taught the subject," he says. "It was only in 1998 that M S Ramaiah got a small department specialising in the subject and it is still the only one here."

But he says things seem to be improving, with interest slowly developing among new medical college entrants.

15
The number of rheumatologists in the state, out of which 10 are in Bangalore alone!