Common Types of Arthritis with Dr. Manpreet Sethi
May is National Arthritis Month! Did you know there are over 100 types of arthritis? Dr. Manpreet Sethi, OSMS Rheumatologist and Physician Owner, talks about the most common types of arthritis, along with how you can help support someone with arthritis.
Q: Why did you become a Rheumatologist?
“Well, that’s a long story! So, my first ever contact with a patient was a patient with Scleroderma during my first ever clinical rotation during my Med school. That had so much impact on her life and it remained on my mind after that. The turn of events was that I did not have any other specialty in mind after that.”
Q: Would you be able to tell us what arthritis is?
“Approximately 20 to 25% of patients in the United States are affected by this condition. It causes pain, swelling, tenderness around the joints, sometimes leading to disability, sometimes leading to destruction. There are more than 100 different conditions that can cause arthritis. So, it’s very important to recognize which one because some of them can be autoimmune, inflammatory, some of them may be related to injury or age or other systemic illnesses like psoriasis, sarcoid, etc.”
Q: What is the most common type of arthritis that you see and treat?
“In rheumatology we see mostly autoimmune inflammatory conditions. Rheumatoid arthritis probably would be the one that is maybe most well-known amongst the others. It affects women more than men and presents with swelling, tenderness, stiffness of the small joints of the hands and feet, although other joints can also be involved. It can also involve the lungs and left untreated can cause destruction of the joints. It increases the chances of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, lymphoma. Hence, early recognition and treatment is very important for this.”
Q: What is another common type of arthritis you see and treat?
“Gout would be one of the more prevalent arthritis affecting 3 to 5% of the population. Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, Gout would typically affect one or two joints at a time and can be significantly painful, causing red hot swollen joints and even destruction. This on the other hand is caused by deposition of uric acid crystals around the joints that leads to the destruction. The treatment options are also different because here we try to bring the uric acid down rather than by treating the immune system.”
Q: How can people support people with arthritis?
“People with arthritis are tough because they have tried to cope up with the disease before even presenting to the physician. So, let’s try to help them, but without being overbearing. If you know them, I would start by first acknowledging that they can have bad days, and their bad days may be there even when we see nothing wrong on the surface. Their bad days may bring fatigue, mood changes, anxiety, etcetera. So, let’s be supportive. If you know them very well and they want you to accompany them to the doctor’s visit, let’s try to take time to do so because many of them would like a second set of years to help them with treatment decisions because that conversation can be very overwhelming.”
OSMS has locations in Green Bay, Marinette, Neenah and Oshkosh. To make an appointment, give us a call at (920)-430-8113 or Schedule an Appointment.
