If you had to describe a person with arthritis, most people would probably start by saying “someone 55, maybe even 60 years, or older.” And while more than 50 million adults do have arthritis – and your chances of having it increase with age – it also affects around 300,000 children.
Get answers to three common questions surrounding juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA or juvenile arthritis) from Dr. Paul Tuttle, a pediatric rheumatologist who will start at Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Specialists of Green Bay (OSMS) in July.
Q: How common is juvenile arthritis?
Dr. Tuttle: About one in every 250 children will be diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, making it just as common as juvenile diabetes (Type 1 diabetes). It’s four times more common than cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease, and it’s ten times more common than acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Q: Are the symptoms of juvenile arthritis the same as those in adults diagnosed with arthritis?
Dr. Tuttle: Arthritis (inflammation in the joint) affects different people in different ways depending on what disease causes the joint inflammation. However, arthritis is arthritis no matter how old you are. This means that joint swelling, warmth, morning stiffness, and pain are the same signs and symptoms whether young or old.
Inflammatory arthritis tends to be subtle and develops slowly over time at any age. This subtle presentation in children can make it more difficult to spot right away compared to adults. Children may have minimal pain and a small amount of swelling can be easily missed. Moreover, abstract concepts such as “stiffness” can be difficult to communicate to their caretakers. With children, some signs and symptoms to look for include:
- Wanting to be held more often
- Limping
- Morning stiffness or stiffness after a nap whereby parents may describe slowness or awkwardness with walking
- Not being as active as they used to be or as their peers are
- Rashes
- Low back or neck pain
- Heel pain
- Jaw pain
- Persistent unexplained fevers
Q: How does juvenile arthritis affect children over their lifetime?
Dr. Tuttle: In the past, when you would talk about juvenile arthritis it would be accompanied by stories of kids with leg-length discrepancies and pictures of children in wheelchairs. However, with advancements in medications, that doesn’t have to be their future. Today, treatments are tailored to each child’s type of arthritis, targeting specific pathways of inflammation that can vary from one type of arthritis to another.
Arthritis is still a life-long disease with no cure, but disease remission is often an attainable goal. Through treating the disease early we can reduce or eliminate joint damage. Because of this, I see kids with juvenile arthritis who are playing sports and living the normal, active life of a child.
Learn more about juvenile arthritis by watching Dr. Tuttle on Living with Amy.