This year Global Arthritis Day will be held on the 12th of October. There are many global awareness days, which are vital, as they bring important topics to the forefront of people's minds. The Arthritis Foundation organises this awareness day, and you can join in on the action by using the hashtag #Cure­Art­hri­tisWAD.

Let's explore some interesting facts and other ways you can be involved in Global Arthritis Day 2021…

Interesting Origin Facts of Arthritis

It might be interesting for you to learn that the word arthritis comes from the Greek language. The word 'arthro' means joints, and 'itis' means inflamed. Inflamed joints is one of the main symptoms of Arthritis. often those with arthritis feel pain in affected areas, see reddening skin, and find their muscles feel tired/weak.

The earliest records of arthritis being present in humans' dates back to 4500 BC.

Who is Affected by Arthritis?

In the UK, over ten million people live with arthritis or equivalent condition, of which 400,000 have rheumatoid arthritis, the second most prevalent type of arthritis, the first being osteoarthritis, which affects approximately 8.5 million people. There are over one hundred types of arthritis worldwide.

Another fact that will shock you is that women are three times more likely to contract arthritis than men. The reason is that women's bones can move around more. Women have relaxed, natural bone positioning and a smooth, skeletal system that allows for more flexibility, but if a movement is performed incorrectly, it can lead to significant injury.

Men have bones coarse in texture and more defined muscle attachment. These two characteristics allow muscle connective tissue, tendons and ligaments to attach better to the bone, creating stronger supporting muscles that prevent improper movement in the joints. Women also experience bone density loss during menopause which can impact the development of arthritis.

Most types of arthritis begin in a person's late 40s to early 50s. However, children can get forms of arthritis, and the term for this is juvenile arthritis. They will likely be given casts/splints to help with movements and for support. 27,000 people under the age of 25 have arthritis in the UK, and of those, 12,000 are children.

Getting Treatment for Arthritis

As there is no known cure for arthritis, many treatments focus on reducing the pain the person experiences. Often you will be referred to a specialist in physiotherapy who can help combat the pain associated with arthritis.

Physi­ot­he­rapists can demonstrate posture improvements to their patient's and ways tskeleto move and maintain healthy joints to prevent further injury to the affected area. To help maintain activity levels, improve joint strength and motion, they can set goals to help you stay as active as possible. Physi­ot­he­rapists can also develop a personalised plan of pain-free exercises. If you do have any questions regarding your condition, they are full of advice surrounding arthritis.

In conjunction with joint exercises, physi­ot­he­rapists use pain relief treatments. Such techniques include massages, acupuncture, or thermotherapy methods. Thermotherapy uses temperature to improve blood circulation, tissue metabolism and elasticity.

To get this professional help for your arthritis, or if you suspect you have arthritis, you will first likely need to visit your GP, and they can refer you to a specialist. You can source a private physiotherapist through research online and a self-referral.

World Arthritis Day Themes

For the past four years, Global Arthritis Day's have had themes. It started in 2017 with the theme, "Don't Delay, Connect Today." This concept focused on accessibility to treatments for those with arthritis and emphasised the importance of early diagnosis. Spreading awareness of the symptoms can give a person the confidence to self-diagnose and seek a GP's advice.

 

Following this, in 2018, the theme for World Arthritis Day was "It's in your hands, take action.", which highlighted that healthcare is available for those living with arthritis and is more accessible thanks to last years WAD efforts. People need to visit their GP when symptoms occur for early diagnosis and treatments. Going untreated can cause further damage to the affected joints.

2019 and 2020 brought us the "Time2Work" theme, which emphasises company accessibility for people with arthritis. It also helped employers recognise ways to make workplaces more accessible and gave advice for employees on returning to work following rehabilitation.

2021's theme is not yet released, but we will update you via our socials as soon as more information becomes available, so be sure you follow us on one of the following platforms, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Those living with arthritis have the opportunity to aid medical research teams in discovering new drug treatments and be a part of changing laws and other legislation regarding arthritis, making things more accessible and less discriminatory. This can be done by enrolling on the Time2Research campaign, which runs all year-round.

Get Involved in World Arthritis Day

You can be involved in World Arthritis Day via the #Cure­Art­hri­tisWAD, post a picture and show your support to the cause. Join us, Tenura, and hundreds of other companies this WAD.

There are many dates throughout the year that help spread awareness and raise money for medical research. We have detailed some below:

• 2nd of February - Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Day
• 20th of May - World Autoimmune and Auto-Inflammatory Arthritis Day
• June - Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
• 13th - 18th of September Rheumatoid Arthritis Week

Arthritis Aids & Your Free Gift

At Tenura, we have some brilliant arthritis aids that help those with arthritic hands perform daily tasks like opening bottles or turning taps. For help with these tasks, you may require a Tenura bottle opener. For larger containers such as jars or cleaning products, you may need a Tenura jar opener.

Tenura bottle and jar openers have many great benefits for people with arthritis and can be especially helpful in the following areas:

• Less muscle and grip strength is required to open twist-top containers when using a Tenura jar or bottle opener.
• Each bottle/jar opener can provide extra grip on other items around the home or workplace, such as taps, doorknobs and cupboard handles.
• Useful for people with arthritis or any condition that weakens hand grip as bottle openers/jar openers reduce the grip strength required to complete the same task, making it a more manageable and comfortable experience.
• You can use bottle openers in environments where a high hygiene standard must be maintained, which is vital for those who have had surgery for arthritis or have exposed skin from irritation and itching, symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Tenura jar and bottle openers improve comfort due to their silicone structure. They protect your hands from the ribbed surface of many bottle and jar lids.

To qualify for a free Tenura bottle opener, you must spend £20+ at the Tenura web store and use the discount code BOTTLE20. To be eligible for a Tenura jar opener instead, spend £30+ via our website, and use the discount code JAR30.

This promotion is running from 04/10/21 to 25/10/21.

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