#type of arthritis in the knee

[dubaiblogs]

Types of Arthritis you must know about Arthritis is a painful bone condition that can escalate, eventually hindering your day-to-day life. Get to know the different types of arthritis and their symptoms so that you can avail the right treatment.

[anthropwashere]

Every autumn I forget how the first couple cold snaps almost hurt, I've gotten so used to summer. In a month or two I'll be perfectly comfortable going about my business in 30 degree weather but right now the cats and I are huddling for warmth and grumpy about it.

[unitedhospital]

What are the Different Types and Treatments of Arthritis?

Leading a beautiful life doesn’t come without challenges. Our body goes through a lot of stress and grind in the process and there comes a stage when it needs more attention and care than ever before.

The Best Orthopedic Doctor in Bangalore at United Hospital explains that the wear and tear, our body is subjected to, leads to pain in the ankles and knees. Sometimes, it can get pretty hard to walk!

Are we welcoming Arthritis in this case?! Well, in the worst case, unfortunately, we may be. However, experts indicate that there is no need to panic. With rapid advancements in medical science, there is not just hope, but more confidence that we can defeat Arthritis.

It is all about being aware of what Arthritis exactly is and taking precautions at the right time that could be the best beginning to arrive at a successful solution.

Understanding Arthritis?

Experts at United Hospital, a dedicated Orthopedic Centre in Bangalore focusing on Arthritis care, explain that Arthritis is a medical condition involving swelling and tenderness of one or more joints. It may worsen with age and is a prevalent cause of discomfort among senior citizens

Types of Arthritis

Arthritis can affect individuals of any age, but the elderly are more vulnerable.

Some of the common forms of Arthritis are:

Osteoarthritis - It is a condition that affects joints in your Hands, Knees, Hips and Spine.

Psoriatic Arthritis - This a condition that develops in people due to a very challenging skin disease called Psoriasis.

Reactive Arthritis – This causes joint pain and swelling triggered by an infection in prominent parts of your body — most often your intestines, genitals or urinary tract.

Rheumatoid Arthritis – This is a chronic inflammatory disorder which can affect more than just joints including premier organs like lungs, heart, eyes and blood vessels.

Some of the other conditions faced notably by the elderly include Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Symptoms of Arthritis

The most common signs and symptoms of arthritis involve the joints. Hence, it is important to seek an expert opinion if you observe one or more of the following symptoms:

Pain in the joints.

Stiffness felt in the joints.

Swelling observed in or around the joints.

Redness observed in the joints.

Difficulty in moving.

Treatment for Arthritis

Arthritis, if untreated, can be a really painful thing to handle. However, what really matters is the right type of medical attention at the right time and from the right source. Your treatment is based on how severe is your condition and can include:

Medications

Depending upon the type of Arthritis diagnosed, your medications may include:

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Creams and Ointments.

Steroids

Physical therapies and exercises.

Surgical Interventions

In case you do not get any relief from the above medications your doctor might recommend surgical interventions to bring you back to your routine lifestyles in quick time. Some of the types of surgeries performed include,

Joint Repairs

Joint Replacements

Joint fusions

Let’s say Goodbye to Arthritis forever and welcome a painless life. For many of us, life may begin at 40, but so does Arthritis! Hence, if you are wondering as to, “Which is the Best Orthopaedic Clinic near me to treat Arthritis”? feel free to connect with United Hospital.

[deep-definition]

Knee Pain: Causes, Types, Diagnosis, and Treatments

Discover everything about knee pain including its causes, types, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options, and prevention tips in this detailed medical guide. Knee Pain: A Complete Medical Guide with Causes, Types, Diagnosis, and Treatment Knee pain is one of the most common problems people face at some point in their lives. Whether you’re young, middle-aged, or elderly, you might experience…

[aristotlencheese]

I love being an adult, I have a knee brace now for my bad knee and it’s really helping with how much my knee has been buckling and giving out at work.

[hardikortho]

Explore essential information about Osteoarthritis (OA) and its effects on joints. Discover common symptoms, causes, diagnosis methods, and available treatments to manage OA effectively and improve joint health.

[cripplecharacters]

Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character

[large text: Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character]

So you have decided that you want to make a disabled character! Awesome. But what's next? What information should you decide on at the early phrase of making the character?

This post will only talk about the disability part of the character creation process. Obviously, a disabled character needs a personality, interests, and backstory as every other one. But by including their disability early in the process, you can actually get it to have a deeper effect on the character - disability shouldn't be their whole life, but it should impact it. That's what disabilities do.

If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;

[large text: If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;]

Start broad. Is it sensory, mobility related, cognitive, developmental, autoimmune, neurodegenerative; maybe multiple of these, or maybe something else completely? Pick one and see what disabilities it encompasses; see if anything works for your character. Or...

If you have a specific symptom or aid in mind, see what could cause them. Don't assume or guess; not every wheelchair user is vaguely paralyzed below the waist with no other symptoms, not everyone with extensive scarring got it via physical trauma. Or...

Consider which disabilities are common in real life. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, stroke, cataracts, diabetes, intellectual disability, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid disorders, autism, dwarfism, arthritis, cancers, brain damage, just to name a few.

Decide what specific type of condition they will have. If you're thinking about them having albinism, will it be ocular, oculocutaneous, or one of the rare syndrome-types? If you want to give them spinal muscular atrophy, which of the many possible onsets will they have? If they have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which one out of the 13 different types do they have? Is their amputation below, or above the knee (it's a major difference)? Not all conditions will have subtypes, but it's worth looking into to not be surprised later. This will help you with further research.

If you're really struggling with figuring out what exact disability would make sense for your character, you can send an ask. Just make sure that you have tried the above and put actual specifics in your ask to give us something to work with. You can also check out our "disabled character ideas" tag.

Here are some ideas for a character using crutches.

Here are some ideas for a character with a facial difference (obligatory link: what is a facial difference?).

If you already know what disability your character is going to have;

[large text: If you already know what disability your character is going to have;]

Start by reading about the onset and cause of the condition. It could be acquired, congenital, progressive, potentially multiple of these. They could be caused by an illness, trauma, or something else entirely. Is your character a congenital amputee, or is it acquired? If acquired - how recently? Has it been a week, or 10 years? What caused them to become disabled - did they have meningitis, or was it an accident? Again, check what your options are - there are going to be more diverse than you expect.

Read about the symptoms. Do not assume or guess what they are. You will almost definitely discover something new. Example: a lot of people making a character with albinism don't realize that it has other symptoms than just lack of melanin, like nystagmus, visual impairment, and photophobia. Decide what your character experiences, to what degree, how frequently, and what do they do (or don't do) to deal with it.

Don't give your character only the most "acceptable" symptoms of their disability and ignore everything else. Example: many writers will omit the topic of incontinence in their para- and tetraplegic characters, even though it's extremely common. Don't shy away from aspects of disability that aren't romanticized.

Don't just... make them abled "because magic". If they're Deaf, don't give them some ability that will make them into an essentially hearing person. Don't give your blind character some "cheat" so that they can see, give them a cane. Don't give an amputee prosthetics that work better than meat limbs. To have a disabled character you need to have a character that's actually disabled. There's no way around it.

Think about complications your character could experience within the story. If your character wears their prosthetic a lot, they might start to experience skin breakdown or pain. Someone who uses a wheelchair a lot has a risk of pressure sores. Glowing and Flickering Fantasy Item might cause problems for someone photophobic or photosensitive. What do they do when that happens, or how do they prevent that from happening?

Look out for comorbidities. It's rare for disabled people to only have one medical condition and nothing else. Disabilities like to show up in pairs. Or dozens.

If relevant, consider mobility aids, assistive devices, and disability aids. Wheelchairs, canes, rollators, braces, AAC, walkers, nasal cannulas, crutches, white canes, feeding tubes, braillers, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, service dogs, trach tubes, hearing aids, orthoses, splints... the list is basically endless, and there's a lot of everyday things that might count as a disability aid as well - even just a hat could be one for someone whose disability requires them to stay out of the sun. Make sure that it's actually based on symptoms, not just your assumptions - most blind people don't wear sunglasses, not all people with SCI use a wheelchair, upper limb prosthetics aren't nearly as useful as you think. Decide which ones your character could have, how often they would use them, and if they switch between different aids.

Basically all of the above aids will have subtypes or variants. There is a lot of options. Does your character use an active manual wheelchair, a powerchair, or a generic hospital wheelchair? Are they using high-, or low-tech AAC? What would be available to them? Does it change over the course of their story, or their life in general?

If relevant, think about what treatment your character might receive. Do they need medication? Physical therapy? Occupational therapy? Orientation and mobility training? Speech therapy? Do they have access to it, and why or why not?

What is your character's support system? Do they have a carer; if yes, then what do they help your character with and what kind of relationship do they have? Is your character happy about it or not at all?

How did their life change after becoming disabled? If your character goes from being an extreme athlete to suddenly being a full-time wheelchair user, it will have an effect - are they going to stop doing sports at all, are they going to just do extreme wheelchair sports now, or are they going to try out wheelchair table tennis instead? Do they know and respect their new limitations? Did they have to get a different job or had to make their house accessible? Do they have support in this transition, or are they on their own - do they wish they had that support?

What about *other* characters? Your character isn't going to be the only disabled person in existence. Do they know other disabled people? Do they have a community? If your character manages their disability with something that's only available to them, what about all the other people with the same disability?

What is the society that your character lives in like? Is the architecture accessible? How do they treat disabled people? Are abled characters knowledgeable about disabilities? How many people speak the local sign language(s)? Are accessible bathrooms common, or does your character have to go home every few hours? Is there access to prosthetists and ocularists, or what do they do when their prosthetic leg or eye requires the routine check-up?

Know the tropes. If a burn survivor character is an evil mask-wearer, if a powerchair user is a constantly rude and ungrateful to everyone villain, if an amputee is a genius mechanic who fixes their own prosthetics, you have A Trope. Not all tropes are made equal; some are actively harmful to real people, while others are just annoying or boring by the nature of having been done to death. During the character creation process, research what tropes might apply and just try to trace your logic. Does your blind character see the future because it's a common superpower in their world, or are you doing the ancient "Blind Seer" trope?

Remember, that not all of the above questions will come up in your writing, but to know which ones won't you need to know the answers to them first. Even if you don't decide to explicitly name your character's condition, you will be aware of what they might function like. You will be able to add more depth to your character if you decide that they have T6 spina bifida, rather than if you made them into an ambiguous wheelchair user with ambiguous symptoms and ambiguous needs. Embrace research as part of your process and your characters will be better representation, sure, but they will also make more sense and seem more like actual people; same with the world that they are a part of.

This post exists to help you establish the basics of your character's disability so that you can do research on your own and answer some of the most common ("what are symptoms of x?") questions by yourself. If you have these things already established, it will also be easier for us to answer any possible questions you might have - e.g. "what would a character with complete high-level paraplegia do in a world where the modern kind of wheelchair has not been invented yet?" is more concise than just "how do I write a character with paralysis?" - I think it's more helpful for askers as well; a vague answer won't be of much help.

I hope that this post is helpful,

mod Sasza

[countrycritter]

TF141 medicine headcanons + Reader stressing over these men🤔

Reader takes a lot of pride in making sure the team gets their proper medications since they are CONSTANTLY forgetting to take it or just out right refusing.

Reader does not give a shit.

They’re walking through the base with a stern face, clearly on an important mission (distributing medication).

They firmly knock on Price’s door, not even expecting an answer, before walking in with a small plastic cup of water and a glucosamine chondroitin pill (peepaw’s joint supplements). Not only has Price been in the military for a WHILE but arthritis definitely runs in his family. He is required to take another at night and have icy hot rubbed on his knees and wrists (as much as he hates to admit he needs it).

Reader finds Ghost in the training room and is quite literally staring holes into the back of his head. Once they reach him they hold out the small plastic cup of water even though he refuses to use the water every time (🙄). Ghost takes iron supplements, I’m sorry y’all. This man is PALE and his hands and feet are so cold they feel like they’ll fall off. He huffs and puffs about it but at the end of the day he always takes it. By the way, Ghost takes a lot of pepto bismol and tums. He’s the type of man to suffer from constant tummy aches. He will not hesitate to go to Reader and complain about that but when his low iron is brought up he turns the other way.

Gaz takes Xanax guys, let me explain my thoughts. He has been through a lot. Of course, everyone has PTSD on that team but it really takes a toll on Gaz in ways that make him feel conflicted. On missions, he doesn’t need it. The constant adrenaline and need to survive is so powerful that it takes over every part of his brain. However, in the barracks, when everything is calm and there is no more adrenaline he finds himself getting anxious over even the simplest of tasks. He struggles taking the Xanax when it gets bad because he feels that if he just works through it, everything will go away. Reader is gentle on him with soft rubs on the back and understanding eyes. The medication is successfully administered (as well as a much needed hug for both of them).

This is pretty calm compared to the last one. Soap has terrible allergies and refuses to notice the signs. He gets a little bit of a stuffy nose or watery eyes but does nothing about it. Reader immediately catches onto this and gives him allergy medicine because if they don’t Soap will be moaning and groaning about how much his head hurts, his nose is stuffy, his throat is sore, and he’s just overall miserable. But of course Reader will always be there, rolling their eyes, and comforting him through his hay fever. He’s the type to act like he’s dying when in reality it’s just a common cold.

Reader acts annoyed but they secretly are just happy to know that the team is able to trust them with their health. Meanwhile the team is absolutely smitten.

[revelboo]

If we are sharing pets I hope you don’t mind I share my 5 year old senior Guinea pig Cinder she was born a (theorized) runt with narrow nasal passages and a weakened immune system (the reason the vet begrudgingly said she should probably be a single pig that and Cinder hates other Guinea pigs which is odd for a sow but she was also underweight when we got her and that could be a factor) so she’s had chronic respiratory issues since we got her. The picture of her with the white towel is her at 2-3 months. But she is still trucking along just fine. She has survived URI’s, the flu, and a bought of pneumonia.

Honestly I’m about the same with having health issues on my end 😂 imagining now the bot that gets stuck with me. Or a just person with random crap to deal with stuff like for example like diabetes, Crohns, lupus, or thyroid etc issues just like the random needs extra care 🤣

I feel that. Started getting arthritis in my spine and hands in my 20s 🤣 Rev’s not a healthy human-type creature

Care

TFP Ratchet

• “I let you out of sight for a week,” he growls, sounding like he wants to break something and you’d laugh if you weren’t so miserable. But you’re pretty sure just telling him your doctor had said something might be off with your immune system years ago and that you’d not only failed to go to the follow-up appointments, but had pretty much ghosted that doctor since, isn’t going to make him happy.

• It’s driving him crazy not being able to help. He’d started reluctantly digging into human medicine databases after the kids had started hanging around and had doubled down on it after he found you. Wanting to know everything about you just so he could take care of you. And he can’t. Can’t do anything.

• “It’s just the flu,” you say, huddling deeper into your blanket with a cough. “I was around a lot of people and one of them was sick. It’s not a big deal.” Even if he’s acting like you’re actively dying. He’d somehow bullied Fowler into making a drug store run for you and you’ve got more cough medicine, DayQuil, and Kleenex than you could ever use. You appreciate the effort, though.

• How can he believe that when you immediately start sneezing and coughing, eyes streaming before you draw your knees up and rest your head on them. That looks like a big deal, you look miserable. “I’m scanning you again,” he says and you swat at him, but he runs the device over you anyway. And scowls at the readout. “Your temperature is up another degree.”

• Blowing out a breath, you wish he’d have just left you at your house. That way you could be miserable in peace without him hovering and fussing. It’s not like you don’t feel loved with him being overbearingly worried, but you just want to sleep it off. In quiet. And that’s not happening. “Ratch,” you groan when he mass shifts and fluffs your pillow, fussing with your blankets as his jaw works. He hates this, you realize. That you’re sick and he can’t do anything about it.

• Venting in frustration, he freezes when you lay a hand on his arm. “I love you. You’re doing amazing, but please for the love of all that’s holy, let me sleep and I’ll do that thing you like when I’m better, okay?” You ask, sounding exhausted and it startles a laugh out of him. Venting, he leans his helm against your head.

[bone-trash]

COD Headcanons #3

Old Man Hobbies

Johnny loves plants

When he had the tiny flat in Glasgow that he only kept for his leaves, he had a little window box for herbs

His quarters on base always featured a few succulents squeezed in on the desk amongst his notebooks

Even when it’s been rainy and his bad knee acts up (Simon got him a floral print knee rest and he silently cherishes the extra padding) he diligently trots out in his rubber clogs and tends their garden

He really enjoys nurturing the little shoots and sprouts and researches fertilizer types and soil airation and drainage and recommended pruning techniques

It feels good to use his hands. Hands, once soaked in war and blood and devastation; now only muddied with dark sweet earth of their home

Johnny’s yields aren’t much, certainly not enough to live on, but Simon always seems to have a recipe for whatever he can grow

…

Simon feeds the birds

He used to golf with Johnny’s Da but his arthritis really cranked up the last few years and he needs a hobby that requires less fine motor control

He sits on the porch, often a couple hours before Johnny’s awake, cuppa steaming and watches the day come alive over their garden

He starts with bread because he’s Manc as hell and has only dealt with the kind of streetwise pigeons that don’t even run away from people anymore

He learns online that songbirds love sunflower seeds and grains and he experiments with different blends, eventually hanging up a few feeders within view of the windows

Unfortunately this encourages squirrels, Simon hates the squirrels

Johnny is endlessly amused by this

——

Hey y’all! Another idea inspired by @bringinsexybackk69 maybe someday I’ll get my own ideas ✌️💀

[cor-lapis]

I decided to have a go at doing my own redesigns because these three are my favourites and I love them very much. further notes + sources under the readmore (warning: lots of text). I did my best with the research, but if there's anything I overlooked, I'd really appreciate people letting me know :)

Tighnari:

My main source for Tighnari was this excellent thread, from which I looked up each item of clothing individually. Since djellabas tend to be quite long, and Tighnari needs mobility for forest ranger activities, I figured he would cut and re-hem the lower half. He also has a lot of clothing pieces that are traditionally multicoloured, but to keep his design cohesive I decided to use the same colours across different items, but using a larger palette of colours than I would usually. I like the bright colours on him a lot though!

There are also some minor details I just changed because I wanted to. The flower on his chest is now a nilotpala lotus, because I thought it was nice to include his acension material/the material he asks you to help gather. The dirt stains/scuff marks are because rainforests are muddy and I wanted the design to emphasise Tighnari being very practical and hands-on with his work (see also, the specimen belt).

Finally, I shrunk the magnifying glass on his back (because I'm pretty sure it's meant to be his first magnifying glass toy and that thing is very large for a child to handle) and gave him an undercut because it seemed right. Also, I merged his front and back trailing cloths into a scarf type of thing that he could wrap around his nose and mouth to prevent inhaling spores from mushrooms.

Collei:

COLLEI my beloved. I had a mild nightmare trying to figure out a specific source culture for her design, but nobody seemed to know specifics and her outfit wasn't matching with any traditional dress I looked up, so in the end decided to keep the overall look the same. Just in case I assigned her something else, but then it turned out I missed her actual inspiration.

Anyway, I made her shoes simpler (no fur, heels, and open toes in the rainforest seemed reasonable to me), and gave her shorts. I liked the green colour because it's pretty unique under a dark dress, and pairs nicely with Nahida's white dress + green undersides. Amber's tie stays, but I made most of her jewellery smaller since it felt a little clunky for a trainee ranger.

Her earring and necklace(?) are allusions to the Evil Eye and the Khmissa/Hamsa, both symbols of protection. Especially considering the fact they're meant to ward off evil, and very common across multiple MENA cultures, it seemed fitting for Collei to have them. Also, she has Eleazar scars, and I used the design for her stockings as inspiration for the combination knee braces (similar to those used for arthritis, since Eleazar also causes stiff limbs and I HC that people affected would probably still need some recovery support)/knee pads (in the case of a fall). I like the idea that Kaveh would have helped make them for her (tangent but the fic Here is the House explores similar ideas; it's really really good, I heavily recommend it). Finally, she has curly hair because I thought it would be cute.

Cyno:

Here's the thread I found for Cyno. The main critique was to do with the eras from which each aspect of his clothing drew inspiration, but I admittedly wouldn't be able to do much about this without a lot of research. One thing I did try and verify was the small strip of cloth on the left of his chest, and I found a few wall murals where the people seem to be wearing similar strips of cloth? (example here; rightmost figure) Therefore, I didn't remove it, but if someone wants to explain Ancient Egyptian clothing history to me I'd be really interested to hear it 6.6

I might iterate on the design in the future, but for now the changes are mostly HC territory. Cyno wearing his hair in locs (a protective hairstyle) makes sense for someone who does a lot of hiking after rogue scholars, and I also gave him quite old and faded top surgery scars because healthcare is canonically free in Sumeru (thanks for that information, al-Haitham)(though tbf Cyno makes bank anyway). I also adjusted the colours a bit, since Genshin tends to use desaturated shades for metallic elements.

I also considered giving Cyno more scars, but figured that it could indicate Hermanubis' presence that someone you'd expect to get injured a lot is relatively scar-free (i.e. some sort of godly healing factor/resistance to damage). However, we know next to nothing about Hermanubis, so Cyno having a lot of scars also makes sense. This paragraph is mostly just a cry for help cyno story quest 2 literally any more elaboration about the nature of Hermanubis' pact and the Temple of Silence.

Conclusion

I wasn't intending to write one when I started the explanations but this got REALLY long so if you made it this far, thank you so so much ToT please check out the links; the threads especially were a great resource, and I'm grateful that people take the time to make them <3 genshin's character design department are cowards but I'm glad I learned some new things through the redesign process

[am-i-interrupting]

You may know me as the author of Can’t Go Back (currently under rewriting) and Across the River. Hi, I’m V. I’m a disabled nail technician and author and I’d like to request some help.

Starting a business isn’t easy. It’s even harder when you’re disabled and not getting any type of treatment. All of my money goes towards my room rent and cost of living. I don’t have any to spare.

I had a flare up at the end of November and have been left unable to walk without help since. If you have any money to spare, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could look at my mobility aid wishlist. There’s only three things and they’re all less than $25.

I can explain the usefulness I’d have for every single one of them and I will. I need masks to help protect my already impaired breathing (I have asthma) because I am surrounded by dust doing my job. I need ankle compression for my arthritis and for extra stability when walking. I need knee compression for my arthritis, joint pain, and ability to walk proper.

If anyone has the money to spare, I’d greatly appreciate it. Here is the link if anyone can support.

Thank you sincerely.

[nagichi-boop]

Sonic Disability Headcanons

This’ll be kinda long cuz I want to cover as many characters as possible and I want to include both mental and physical disorders. Spoilers but I made everyone neurodivergent.

Sonic — adhd, Tourettes; chondromalacia patella, chronic migraines (post Frontiers), narcolepsy type 2

Tails — autism, anxiety, cptsd, ocd, morsicatio buccarum (cheek biting); chronic migraines, arthritis (mostly in wrists)

Knuckles — autism, adhd; cfs/me (when away from Master Emerald)

Amy Rose — adhd, bpd; near-sightedness

Shadow — autism, ptsd, cptsd, bpd; unspecified chronic pain (caused by chaos energy, mostly affects knees), cfs/me, chronic migraines, insomnia

Rouge — autism; fibromyalgia, pcos, ibs

Omega — autism

Silver — autism, adhd, anxiety, schizophrenia, chronic motor tic disorder; asthma, pots, eds, fibromyalgia, insomnia

Blaze — autism, ocd, depression, trichotillomania (hair pulling); endometriosis, ibs, lactose intolerance

Cream — autism, anxiety, ptsd; celiac disease, epilepsy

Espio — autism, ocd, ptsd, dpdr; chronic migraines

Vector — autism, adhd; ankylosing spondylitis

Charmy Bee — adhd, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourettes; hard of hearing, asthma

Metal Sonic — autism, npd

Sticks — autism, adhd, schizophrenia; eds

Whisper — autism, dyspraxia, depression, ptsd, cptsd; cfs/me, fnd

Tangle — adhd, dyslexia, ptsd; eds, arthritis

Surge — autism, adhd, cptsd, npd, aspd, dpdr; type 1 diabetes (hypoglycaemia), fibromyalgia

Kit — autism, anxiety, depression, dpd, Tourettes, stuttering/stammering; chronic migraines, pots, eds

(I may tweak this as I change my mind or adopt other people’s headcanons, but I wanted to have all my thoughts in one place.)

[ilostthewar]

I love the idea that the boys regularly make fun of John for being old. But Simon has to lay flat on the floor because his back is all types of fucked up. Gaz’s knee likes to lock itself up if he stays seated for too long. And Johnny has to wear speciality gloves to help with his carpal tunnel. It’s all fun and games until they have to ask John for arthritis cream and chiropractor reccs.

[hardikortho]

Explore essential information about Osteoarthritis (OA) and its effects on joints. Discover common symptoms, causes, diagnosis methods, and available treatments to manage OA effectively and improve joint health. Understanding OA's impact is crucial for proactive management and maintaining quality of life despite the condition.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! I just found your blog and I have a lot to ask. (So. Sorry about the upcoming wall of text)

I have a few questions for writing a character with disabilities

I am attempting to write a character in his teens (around 16-17 years old) with joint problems (most likely osteoarthritis, although I haven’t fully decided yet.) I have done some research on my own, but I am physically abled and therefore cannot fully get into the headspace of this character. Are there any small details or common experiences that might be useful for me to add when writing this character so I portray their disability better? (So their experience with disability feels more realistic and less like the checklist of common symptoms from various medical websites? )

As well, the story leans more towards the genre of action and as thus, this character would have been very athletic before developing this disability, and would probably still be after. Do you have any tips for writing an physically active character with (joint problem based) disabilities?

And finally: are there any stereotypes, misunderstandings or other common issues that occur in writing disabilities I should know about (so I can avoid accidentally using them) I do not want to unintentionally promote misconceptions or anything harmful in my work, but I also am aware that I am physically abled and therefore will have unconscious biases + will not be as good at noticing issues in how I write disabled characters as I would like to be. So. Essentially, what common problems with writing disabilities should I know to avoid?

(Additional information: this character would have had this disability for a few years before the story began, it isn’t new; he would be a part time cane user and have knee braces.)

- overexcited anon

Hello, lovely anon! So, a couple of things that I think are important with something like arthritis, whether osteoarthritis or inflammatory arthritis, is that arthritis is a dynamic disability. Some days it may be more severe and disabling than others. It is always around - your character will have a baseline level of pain, but your character will also likely have "flare ups" as well where the pain and symptoms such as swelling or stiffness are more severe. Arthritis also changes how the joint looks so that's something to keep in mind. People can have arthritis in certain joints or in multiple joints, or an inflammatory arthritis that affects significantly more areas.

I will also say that osteoarthritis is rare in someone younger unless it is connected to another disorder, such as a joint misalignment or a connective tissue disorder. I personally have Osteoarthritis at 25 due to a connective tissue disorder in my hands and knees. I would think about what joints are affected primarily and how the person may accommodate that - if it's their hands, that affects a lot of fine motor skills. If it's their back, how do they deal with sitting for long periods? If it's their hip or hips, how do they accommodate themself? You mentioned knee braces, so I assume it mainly affects his knees, so that would affect stairs and walking especially.

As for being physically active, it's mainly remembering that sometimes being active has a cost - light physical activity is recommended for arthritis but more severe activity could cause a flare up in the days after. We have a #combat and disability tag that may help to look through, as well!

The main stereotype for arthritis is that it mainly affects the elderly or is not something that young people get. There are so many types of arthritis as well - osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, etc. There's also a stigma or belief that arthritis is not disabling - it absolutely is and can be. It's a disorder that has levels of severity as well, with some minorly affected and some majorly affected. It's important to decide where on this spectrum your character is.

I hope this helps and happy writing!

-Mod Bert