Surprisingly, joint pain and arthritis is a common condition amongst children – from falling over more to twisting an ankle when playing, children tend to suffer injuries more regularly than adults. When a child injures themselves though, it can cause swellings to occur on the joints – it can remain this way for up to weeks at a time. If your child is playing host to this type of long-term swelling or excess fluid on the joints for longer than six weeks, it can lead to a classified case of chronic arthritis. If no other form of arthritis is found elsewhere in the body, the diagnosis may be amended to juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
The immune system can affect this condition – scientists aren’t entirely sure why autoimmune diseases occur in the body, but they believe that certain genes in our DNA cause the immune system to become overactive which can lead to damage in parts of the body. It is rare for children to contract autoimmune conditions, but JIA is actually quite a common disease amongst kids. Studies have shown that peak age for this condition to begin is around two years old. The majority of cases occur in the knee joint, accounting for more than 90 percent of conditions. Most children complain of stiffness in their joints, causing them to walk differently – once the joint moves around more and warms up, the limp tends to improve.
If your child is diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, you should ensure that they get the right treatments for it immediately so as to reduce the inflammation in the joint. There have been major advancements in the therapies available for JIA – although no cure has been found yet, there is a far higher chance of being able to manage the condition efficiently and effectively.
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