Dr. Suat Günsel University of Kyrenia Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Specialist Prof. Ahmet Özgül MD., stated that  12 October World Arthritis Day is commemorated in order to raise social awareness about this rheumatic and musculoskeletal  disease, which if left untreated can lead to permanent damage . Prof. Ahmet Özgül MD., said that this day which is celebrated since 1996 with wide range of activities, aims to draw the attention of not only individuals and but also the healthcare professionals  to get sufferers voices heard.  Özgül stressed that this year’s target is to underline the   chronic diseases that can lead to limited motion and to encourage research.

Dr. Suat Günsel University of Kyrenia Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Specialist Prof. Ahmet Özgül MD.,  countinued his statement  about arthritis, which is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that affects joints by adding the following important information:

“When you first wake up in the morning you have stiffness, pain and swelling in your hands and fingers. Maybe you feel tired, you don’t want to do anything, you have fever. There are changes on your face, on your skin but you don’t worry about them. You wake up in the night with back pain or neck pain.  Sometimes you have pain in the morning and sometimes it lasts until noon time. Then your pain goes away, you think that you had a stiff back. Some changes occur in your mouth and eyes and  on your skin, but you don’t worry about them or you think that you are younger than your actual age. Walking down stairs, climbing stairs, sitting or standing causes pain and swelling in your knees. In addition to this, you have difficulties moving your neck and waist. Your back hurts when you bend over. You have pain and numbness that travels in to the arms . Sometimes it wakes you up. Again, you’re a woman, you are experiencing the menopause.  You are becoming shorter and you have a hunch back. You assume that these are the natural consequences of your age. Suddenly you feel  a sharp pain in your back and you are falling down.  Fractures starts to occur even after minor injuries.

In any of these cases you do not think that you might have;  rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, chronic low back pain, spondylitis, cervical disc hernia, hernia of the loins, osteoarthritis or osteoporosis because you do not have an idea about any of these diseases . Most of the time you think these are temporary things. We can list also other disorders.

Arthritis is a general term that describes inflammation in joints. If left untreated inflammatory and noninflammatory arthritis and musculoskeletal diseases  may affect the patient’s daily activities, quality of life, movements and working life. It can even lead to disability. Nowadays treatment options have improved for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases but in any case early diagnosis increases the chances for a successful treatment. In Europe, more than 120 million people  suffer from from rheumatism and musculoskeletal disorders. Prolongation of life expectancy, obesity and sedentary lifestyle leads to increased number of cases. On the other hand it has a significant impact on countries economies. “