A Closer Look at Arthritis

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http://www.arthritis.org/

http://www.tylenol.com/conditions/arthritis.htm

<A HREF= " http://www.tylenol.com/conditions/arthritis.htm " >TYLENOL®

acetaminophen</A>

Doctors now know that the nagging, aching pain of osteoarthritis, the most

common form of arthritis, is not usually caused by inflammation. Rather, it's

caused by " wear and tear " damage on the cartilage inside your joints. This

damage can be the result of:

Sports or work injuries

Overuse of particular joints

Obesity, which puts too much pressure on weight-bearing joints

Hereditary factors

Painful and sometimes swollen joints in the ankles, knees, hips, elbows,

hands, back or neck is called arthritis. It affects over 21 million

Americans. Osteoarthritis can be caused by an injury or by excessive use of a

joint, and incidence increases with age. In fact, 85 percent of the

population over age 70 suffers from some form of osteoarthritis.

Joints are amazingly well-constructed, but when you have arthritis, the joint

gets irritated. This can be caused by wear and tear of the cartilage, such as

with osteoarthritis.

At first the cartilage becomes rough, but it can deteriorate to the point

where the bones begin to rub against each other. The bones may even begin to

form lumps. Each of these stages can cause pain.

Since osteoarthritis is primarily a problem of pain and not inflammation,

medical experts recommend that pain relief be the primary goal of drug

therapy. Arthritis experts recommend acetaminophen, the medicine in TYLENOL

Arthritis Extended Relief, as the preferred first-line drug therapy for the

pain of osteoarthritis. In a major clinical study, the medicine in TYLENOL

relieved osteoarthritis pain as effectively as nonprescription and even

prescription doses of ibuprofen.