Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

About Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Arthritis is often associated with older people, but it can also affect children. Most types of childhood arthritis are known as Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA). JIA causes swelling, inflammation, and pain in one or more joints.

There are a variety of triggers for JIA and sometimes the trigger is unknown. For some children, JIA goes into remission over time, but with good management from a multidisciplinary team, most young people with JIA can lead a normal life.

If a child is diagnosed with inflammatory arthritis, lasting more than six weeks, before its 16th birthday, it’s called JIA. It most commonly occurs between ages 2-6 and 12-14, and is slightly more common in girls.

Symptoms of JIA

There are several different subtypes of JIA and symptoms vary between them. Knowing which subtype a child has helps the medical team provide the best treatment.

Visit to a doctor is required, if any of these symptoms persist for more than a couple of weeks:

• painful, swollen or stiff joint(s), particularly in the mornings
• back pain that is particularly worse in the morning
• joint(s) that are warm to touch
• increased tiredness
• a fever that keeps returning
• a limp but no injury

The earlier someone is diagnosed with JIA, the better. This is so that effective treatment can be started to improve symptoms and return to all activities..

Exercising with JIA

It is important to keep exercising if a child has JIA. It will help maintain general fitness and make muscles stronger and more flexible. This will help prevent damage to joints, improve movement, coordination, confidence, and quality of life.

A physiotherapist will create an exercise plan to suit the affected child’s needs. As the arthritis becomes controlled and general fitness improves, the child can slowly start to make the exercises harder.

Physiotherapy for JIA

Physiotherapists work with children and their families (and sometimes schools and sports coaches) to co-develop a plan to:

• improve physical function (mobility, dexterity, strength, endurance)
• support the affected family to implement rehabilitation exercises into a normal routine
• support knowledge and skills in pain management
• help the affected child work towards meaningful life goals related to activity (eg sports or other physical hobbies)
• provide advice, guidance or prevention strategies to avoid or reduce future musculoskeletal (sports) injury
• build the child’s confidence in their own physical abilities
• help problem solve and manage difficult situations that may arise.

Source : World Physiotherapy