Madonna has turned 50 and is still strutting her stuff thinking nothing of doing the splits during her routine. If we didn’t know we would never guess that she’s reached the half century mark.

This must support the argument that if you use it you won’t necessarily lose it! But most of us don’t have flexible joints as we age and often feel old before our time because of the aches and pains that often develop into arthritis in one form or another which can be painful and debilitating.

Arthritis is the single biggest cause of disability caused by the body mistakenly attacking healthy joints and tissues. In the United States alone, it is estimated that between 30 and 60 million people are victims of arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful, inflammatory type of arthritis affecting almost 400,000 people in the UK, which occurs when the body’s immune system attacks itself. There are more than 500 causes of joint pain ranging from injury to disease. The most common form is osteoarthritis, which affects eight million people in the UK. It usually occurs over the age of 45, but can affect younger people if they have injured or repetitively strained joints. It is caused by degeneration of cartilage at a joint and can lead to the growth of small bone ’spurs’, which grate together on movement causing pain.

The most prevalent forms of arthritis are osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of the disease and it usually effects people over the age of 50. Rheumatoid arthritis usually finds its victims in the 20 to 40 age group.

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, thought to be the result of wear & tear on the affected joints. Repeated injuries and or surgeries are also considered to be contributing factors.

The joints most frequently affected are those of the hands, wrists, hips, knees, lower back, and neck. With osteoarthritis, the cartilage between the bones can deteriorate to the point that there is little or no remaining cushion between the bones of an affected joint. In advanced cases, the bones actually rub against each other causing friction and further cartilage deterioration. The patient usually experiences pain, swelling, stiffness, and/or joint deformity which can, in some cases, lead to severe disability.

There are many myths around the subject of arthritis. Some regard it as an old people’s condition. Yet there are many types that affect younger people, and joint injuries at any age can lead to osteoarthritis. Currently more than half of the population with arthritis is under 65. Juvenile arthritis can begin in children as young as infants and toddler.

It’s not just an inevitable part of aging either for about one third of people older than age 70 have no x-ray evidence of osteoarthritis, the common “wear and tear” form of the disease, according to the American College of Rheumatology. For the 70 percent of people who do show the joint deterioration of osteoarthritis in x-rays, half of them never develop symptoms.

Some say that the aches and pains of arthritis are brought on by cold and damp weather, and according to the Arthritis Foundation, nearly half of arthritis patients think they can predict the weather! Yet the studies have been inconclusive. But don’t cancel your winter sunshine holiday as milder weather may encourage people with arthritis to be more active, and that has been shown to help.

Some also say that exercise make things worse. But in fact regular moderate exercise can help prevent and treat arthritis. Exercise promotes function and mobility, controls weight and strengthens the muscles that support the joints, though you may want to avoid high-impact exercises like running if your knees bother you. Low-impact exercises such as walking, tai chi or aqua fit are all beneficial.

There is lots of chat about whether vegetables in the “nightshade” family like potatoes, tomatoes, aubergine and peppers cause arthritis to flare up. And although none about these associations have been proven it certainly does seem like some foods may worsen symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis as we will see in the next episode and a diet rich in “good” fats found in fish and olive oil and nuts, full of vegetables, fruits and whole grains may be particularly effective at protecting joints.

Telling your children that they will get arthritis if they repeatedly crack their knuckles isn’t necessarily true either for several studies over the years have found no association between knuckle cracking and arthritis. Persistent knuckle cracking may eventually affect your grip strength or, at the very least, be annoying, but it doesn’t automatically mean that you will develop aches and pains as a result.

Early evidence from an ongoing study in Eastbourne in Sussex, by the Arthritic Association, of the lifestyle habits of arthritis sufferers could transform the treatment of arthritis. Patients in the recent two year study have already found that small changes to their diet and exercise can reduce pain and increase energy and mobility.