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BTEC Applied Science, unit 8, assignment 1 muscoskeletal system, disorders and treatments
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Unit 8: Physiology of Human Body Systems Aisha TowleAssignment 1- muscoskeletal disorders
To understand the impact of disorders of the muscoskeletal system and their associated
corrective treatments.
Muscoskeletal disorder and how it affects normal movement/function
Rheumatoid arthritis
Description
Rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable and life-long disease which over a period time joints,
cartilage and bones may begin to deteriorate. It is an autoimmune disease, in which your
immune system attacks the cells in your body by mistake; these cells line your joints, and
this is what causes your joints to stiffen up and the disease becomes a type of arthritis. The
way in which doctors differentiate rheumatoid arthritis from other arthritis types is that
rheumatoid arthritis usually affects both joints in most cases; for example, if the joint of the
left knee is causing the pain, the joint of the right knee is usually affected too. If rheumatoid
arthritis occurs in the knee, then the muscles affected are the quadriceps (rectus femoris,
vastus lateralis and vastus medialis) and the hamstrings (biceps femoris, semitendinosus
and semimembranosus.
The feet, hands and wrists are the main areas in which this condition specifically targets
therefore making movements such as walking difficult. The hands include the bones of
carpals, metacarpals and phalanges and these bones have smaller joints attaching to them.
In the wrist the joints affected are mainly the interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal.
The feet include minute joints attaching to the foot bones (tarsals) in which are called
metatarsophalangeal joints. Internal features of the body are also targeted such as the:
lungs, heart, blood vessels, skin muscles, ligaments etc. Furthermore ankles, elbows, knees
and shoulders are damaged if you have rheumatoid arthritis. The tendons and ligaments
which hold joints in place weaken and lose their elasticity causing the joint to also weaken
and the cartilage becomes damaged.
Symptoms
Symptoms include joint pain, stiffness, discomfort, swelling, redness (of skin around affected
joint). In addition, fatigue and weight loss are associated with rheumatoid arthritis and
having many of these symptoms helps doctors indicate this chronic disease. Therefore,
symptoms should not be ignored and are published for people to recognise symptoms
themselves. Professionals who are specialists in rheumatoid arthritis are known as
rheumatologists who have researched the disease and able to diagnose the disease easier.
Treatments
Although there is no general cure for the disorder there is treatments put in place to help
relieve pain and to try and reduce the inflammation. There are several different methods of
treatments such as: physiotherapy, changes in their lifestyle, medication, surgery and
support mechanisms.
Medication
, Unit 8: Physiology of Human Body Systems Aisha Towle
Medication or drugs provided to help with rheumatoid arthritis are disease modifying
antirheumatic drugs (DMARDS), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) and
biological treatments.
DMARDS are tablets which reduce the symptoms of arthritis and slow the spread of the
disease. It is usually given in combination with other treatments such as steroid injections to
prevent other joints and tissues from being affected too. They work by being a chemical
blocker and stop releasing those chemicals which attack the joints and cause the disease.
There are several types of DMARDS known as: sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine,
methotrexate and leflunomide. Despite the fact that medicines are an affective treatment
there are side effects that come with them. Including stomach pain, thinning of bones, heart
problems, headaches, lung infections and many more including mental health deterioration.
NSAIDS are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs which decrease the inflammation and pain
in the joints but will not prevent the arthritis from getting worse over time. Examples of
NSAIDS are ibuprofen, naproxen or a prescribed medicine of COX-2 inhibitor. NSAIDS can be
a harm to the consumer as they can cause extreme stomach problems as it can break down
the lining which protects from stomach acid damaging the stomach which can lead to
internal bleeding. Other side effects are heart problems, and stomach irritation.
Steroids are another form of medication which are designed to specifically target the source
of pain and stiffness and usually for joint pain are given through steroid injections into the
joint. However, they can be given in tablet form and again through injection but into the
muscle to ‘treat’ multiple joints. These are extremely effective in relieving pain, but the
effect is short lived and are mainly given during a flare up. The side effects can cause weight
gain, muscle weakness and osteoporosis (bone weakening).
Physiotherapy
This is a treatment that focuses on movement and helps to restore strength of the patient in
the affected area. They will provide small exercise plans to help improve muscle strength
and joint flexibility. They may use the mechanism of PRICE (protection, rest, ice,
compression and elevation) to help the patient. Ice and heat packs help with nerve
stimulation. An example of exercise programmed used would be if the patient has stiff knee
joints, they would be given an exercise sheet of exercises to target the knee area such as
sitting down knee extensions.
Surgery
Medication may not help with pain relief or reducing the speed of joint damage; therefore,
surgery may be the last option in order to restabilise the joints and to fix deformation of the
body further. Mainly the hands and wrists are a typical area in which surgery is carried out.
This could involve repairing the tendon around the joint. A synovectomy is where the doctor
has to remove the synovium which is the inflamed lining of the joint, this will help further
deterioration and pain. Carpal tunnel release is another form of surgery as it involves cutting
a ligament in the wrist in order to relieve pressure on a nerve, this can help the hands
function easier and allow free and easy joint movement.
At home treatments
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