Arthritis. Arthritis in the upper extremity after the age of fifty years is very common. Rheumatoid arthritis, with its gnarled deformity of the fingers often extends into the years beyond fifty to effect painful, deformed and weakened hands. A wearing out of the joints, however, termed degenerative arthritis, is more common in later years. Occasionally the degen-
Fig. 147. Arthritis of the elbow involving the revolving motion of the forearm may be due to overactivity in younger years, such as swinging a tennis racquet.
erative type and the more painful rheumatoid arthritis, exist in combination to produce a very debilitating disease.
Arthritis of the elbow, more frequent in younger years and known as “tennis elbow,” appears in later years as inability to twist the wrist completely without pain in the elbow. It is neither as painful nor as disabling as in other joints. Shoulder joint arthritis often results from infection in the body, plus the general wear and tear of the years; trouble in the shoulder joint is fairly common. Because joints of the upper extremities are not weight-bearing joints, relief from arthritis in these joints is easier to find through simple means such as rest, than in the lower extremities.
As in arthritis of other areas, such as the lower extremities and spine, a complete cure of degenerative arthritis in later years is impossible. There is also great variation in the degree of disability it produces in different people, but considerable relief, through the physician’s help, can be expected in three out of four such cases.