By Bolaji Babatunde

Hope is on the horizon for Nigerians suffering from arthritis as an Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Evercare Hospita, Dr. Thompson Akpokonyan said the hospital is deploying technology, scientific innovations, and safe surgeries to relieve patients of severe arthritis completely.

 According to Akpokonyan, with safe surgeries patients will be given a new lease towards life bearing in mind that a 100 years ago, many would have lived their rest of lives in misery because of constant pain.

He explained that every human should longevity permit, will develop arthritis at some point in life, adding that, arthritis means a painful joint resulting from wear and tear in the adjoining.

In a normal joint, the ends of the bones that meet are normally lined by a biologic plastic like covering called cartilage which permits the joint surfaces to rub upon each other smoothly during motion with little to no friction and in addition, prevents the bones of the joint themselves from touching each other which can lead to excruciatingly pain.

 The Orthopaedic Surgeon at Evercare Hospital Lago listed the different types of arthritis to include Osteoarth-ritis, Inflammatory arthritis, Arthritis from crystal forming disorders, Infective arthritis and Port traumatic.

“It’s most common symptom which could vary in intensity from being mild to becoming very severe. Other symptoms include joint stiffness; joint deformities like increased bowing or knocking of the knees, joint instability which may lead to falls, dependence on pain medications and depression due to the chronic pain experienced. Reports have it of people with arthritis having suicidal ideations and succeeding.”

 On treatment, he further explained that the treatment of arthritis begins with a detailed physical assessment by a certified orthopedic specialist who will obtain a detailed history from you and will examine you to arrive at a preliminary diagnosis which would be confirmed by appropriate imaging done on the affected joints.