Arthritis is an illness that causes pain and swelling in the joints that is the shoulders, elbows and knees or any other joint which become stiff and the individual finds it difficult to move without suffering from severe discomfort.

What makes arthritis different from other illnesses is the presence of different categories of the disease, in fact there are more than hundred varieties of what is called arthritis.

It is assumed that arthritis is a disease that affects the elderly, this is not true as research has shown that there are many people belonging to the below 50 years age group who suffer and show signs of suffering from arthritis but think that there is nothing to worry about.

Joint pain is something that many people suffer from unknowingly and most do not realise that they maybe suffering from arthritis.

Here are some of the signs of arthritis:

1. There maybe swelling of the joints that lasts for a long period of time that makes physical activities that we take for granted such as walking, running, climbing up the stairs etc. a difficult task and a daily challenge.
2. The joint pain becomes so severe that we find it difficult to move our neck, hands and legs freely even when we are sleeping or relaxing for a few hours at a time.
3. It becomes difficult to move about from place to place due to pain caused by stiffness in the joints, it becomes difficult to bend our hands and legs and carry a bag even when it is not heavy.

Due to our sedentary lifestyle, the youth are in danger of suffering from arthritis due to several reasons such as being overweight due to little or no physical exercise, injuries sustained to the joints due to wrong posture while participating in sports activities and sitting for too long in one place.

Now that we are aware of the dangers of arthritis, here are some ways we can protect our joints and maintain our wellbeing:

A) We need to keep a watch on what we eat and avoid putting on weight because obesity puts more pressure on your joints and it makes daily activities painful and difficult to complete to the best of our abilities.

B) Your footwear can make a difference because wearing the wrong kind of shoes can damage and cause injuries to the muscles in your feet when you put pressure on your legs while on the move.

C) We need to eat food that contains calcium and vitamins especially vitamin D that can be obtained from being in the sun as it prevents damage to the cartilage and stops bone loss.

D) We need to make the time for ourselves to o regular exercises, this does not mean going to the gym and straining yourself, it helps to do simple exercises such as stretching to keep your joints in good condition.

E) Smoking excessively can be injurious to health as it can increase the chances of getting arthritis and worsen the pain in your joints.

It is assumed that a change of weather conditions is the solution to arthritis but research has shown that climate does not matter as people suffer from the disease regardless of whether it is hot or cold.