30-40% of Indian population suffers from Arthritis!

Hyderabad, October 2021: Mr L.S. Chouhan, IPS, Dy. Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Hyderabad City; flagged off the World Arthritis Day Cycle ride organised by Apollo Spectra Hospitals and Hyderabad Cyclists Group, on the eve of the World Arthritis Day (October 12th), today at Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Ameerpet. Also present on the occasion were Mr Chandrasekhar, CEO, Apollo Health & Lifestyle Ltd.; Dr Dasari Prasada Rao, Chairman, Nano Hospitals Pvt. Ltd. And Dr M Naveen Chandar Reddy, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Apollo Spectra Hospitals, Ameerpet. The Ride was organized from Shyam Karan Road to Lumbini Park via Raj Bhavan, Panjagutta and back.

Mr L.S. Chouhan, speaking on the occasion said, Bone health is of prime importance for a healthy life. In India we are all living in apartments, leading a sedentary life. Because of which vitamin ‘D” deficiency is a common feature, 8 out of 10 people have this serious deficiency. People should come out from their sedentary lives and get exposed to sunlight, adopt exercise, cycling and physical activities to lead a healthy life. On this occasion I advise and request the citizens of Hyderabad to follow traffic rules. It is generally a norm to break the rules and freely get away, but days have changed law is becoming stronger. Central Government has made the law stringent, our state is going to adopt it soon, penalties are going to be high, punishment is going to be stringent, Courts are also getting serious on the violations taking place on the roads. Every year 1.3 lakh people are dying on Indian roads and three times that number are getting crippled. In the state of Telangana around 8000 people are dying, most of these loosing lives are productive age group people, bread winners of the respective families, many young citizens. This issue has been neglected by citizens and my appeal to them is to take road regulations more seriously. Every day around 450 people are dying which is equivalent to one jumbo jet crash, a jumbo jet crash would be big news, but 450 people dying this way every day is not news, I want citizens to ponder over this. I would request everyone to follow the rules and set examples for others.

World Arthritis Day is commemorated across the globe on October 12th every year to raise awareness about Arthritis and on the existence and impact of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The theme for this year’s World Arthritis Day is Don’t Delay Connect Now – It’s in Yours Hands Act Now.

Mr Chandrasekhar said, off late we are seeing much younger patients coming with arthritis, earlier this used to be a disease of people in the age group of 50 and above. Rise in the incidence of arthritis is because of our changing lifestyles, people are becoming less mobile, lack physical activity. It is time to spread awareness in the community to be physically active. Youth suffering from such diseases can impair the growth of the country. Non-communicable diseases are becoming a significant part of the health issues cropping up in the populace, and therefore this awareness exercise is to create cognizance in youth to be physically active. Bone health is an obvious outcome of physical fitness, he added.

Dr Dasari Prasada Rao, the strong message from today’s cycle ride initiative is, cycling keeps our joints fit and maintains bone health. Participants between 10 to 75 years age were part of the ride and they strongly advocated the cause of cycling as a good means to keep healthy and that it protects people of all age groups from falling ill, while helping to stay healthy.

Arthritis is the most common joint disease affecting people in the age group above 50 years leading to decreased quality of life. Its prevalence is approximately 30-40% in India and is more common in women compared to men, says Dr M Naveen Chandar Reddy.

Arthritis is an inflammation of one or more joints. It can affect any joint but more common in knees. There are multiple types of arthritis but Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis are the two most common types.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative wear and tear of the smooth lining called cartilage of the joint. Osteoarthritis can affect any joints but its more common in weight bearing joints like knees & hips.

Osteoarthritis patients present with Pain, Swelling, Decreased Range of Motion and Stiffness of the affected joints. In advanced cases they have rest pain which indicates the severity.

The treatment depends on stage of the arthritis and it includes pain medication as and when required, Physiotherapy to strengthen the muscles around knee joint, Lifestyle modifications like avoiding squatting and sitting cross legged , weight reduction , cartilage supplements, visco supplementation, PRP injections. Total knee replacement is the treatment of choice for advanced stage of osteoarthritis.

Eating healthy food and doing regular exercises will keep the bones and joints healthy. It’s key to visit an orthopaedic doctor if one is suffering with joint pains to get it evaluated and treated at an early stage to lead a better quality of life.

About Apollo Spectra Hospitals

The Apollo Spectra specialty hospital offers expert and quality healthcare, in a patient-friendly and more accessible facility. There are world class surgical services and impeccable post-operative care for all patients, with access to advanced technologies, excellent infrastructure and the most qualified team of surgeons attending to patients.

The Apollo Spectra group has a network of 17 specialty hospitals across 12 cities – Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Gurugram, Jaipur, Kanpur, Mumbai, Noida, Hyderabad, Gwalior, Patna and Pune. Over 1,30,000+ successful surgeries and more than 900 leading doctors, have ensured that it continues to set new standards in healthcare services.