Rheumatoid arthritis @ 28 .. Caroline Wozniacki's positivity

Towards end of middle age, some experience the following symptoms : -

•          Joint pain, tenderness, swelling or stiffness for six weeks or longer

•          Morning stiffness for 30 minutes or longer

•          More than one joint is affected

•          Small joints (wrists, certain joints of the hands and feet) are affected

•          The same joints on both sides of the body are affected

Along with pain, many people experience fatigue, loss of appetite and a low-grade fever.  ~    the dreaded condition that many face .. .. .. Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people of any age, although often starts when a person is between 40 and 50. It occurs when the body's immune system targets affected joints, leading to pain and swelling.  Experts say there is no cure for the condition, but medication and other treatments can relieve symptoms.

Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki was knocked out of the WTA Finals as Ukraine's Elina Svitolina booked her place in the last four in Singapore. The attractive Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is a former world No. 1 in singles. She is also the first woman from a Scandinavian country to hold the top ranking position and 20th in the Open Era.  She finished on top of the rankings in both 2010 and 2011.

AT WTA, World number three Wozniacki, 28, knew only a straight-set victory would see the Dane progress from the group stage. After taking the first set, she was a break up in the second but Svitolina, 24, recovered to win 5-7 7-5 6-3. World number eight Pliskova, 26, claimed her first victory over Kvitova, 28, in four attempts.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system – which normally protects its health by attacking foreign substances like bacteria and viruses – mistakenly attacks the joints. This creates inflammation that causes the tissue that lines the inside of joints (the synovium) to thicken, resulting in swelling and pain in and around the joints. The synovium makes a fluid that lubricates joints and helps them move smoothly. If inflammation goes unchecked, it can damage cartilage, the elastic tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint, as well as the bones themselves. Over time, there is loss of cartilage, and the joint spacing between bones can become smaller. Joints can become loose, unstable, painful and lose their mobility. Joint deformity also can occur. Joint damage cannot be reversed, and because it can occur early, doctors recommend early diagnosis and aggressive treatment to control RA.

Rheumatoid arthritis most commonly affects the joints of the hands, feet, wrists, elbows, knees and ankles. The joint effect is usually symmetrical. That means if one knee or hand if affected, usually the other one is, too. Because RA also can affect body systems, such as the cardiovascular or respiratory systems, it is called a systemic disease. Systemic means “entire body.”

Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki says she was "shocked" to be diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, but wants to become a role model for people with the condition. The Dane, 28, discovered she had the auto-immune disease in August and says "it has been a lot to take in". "You feel like you're the fittest athlete out there and all of a sudden you have this to work with," she said. Wozniacki - who won the Australian Open in January, her only Grand Slam to date - revealed she had the condition after her season ended with defeat at the WTA Finals.

She said she began to notice symptoms of fatigue after Wimbledon, where she lost in the second round, and one morning was unable to lift her arms over her head. The world number three says some days she has struggled to get out of bed and doctors diagnosed her in August before the US Open. "In the beginning, it was a shock," said Wozniacki. "It's obviously not ideal for anybody, and I think when you're a professional athlete, it's also not even more ideal. "I think I didn't want to talk about it during the year because I don't want to give anyone the edge or thinking that I'm not feeling well, but I have been feeling well.  "You learn how to just cope after matches. Some days you wake up and you can't get out of bed and you just have to know that's how it is, but other days you live and you're fine. You don't even feel like you have it."

Rheumatoid arthritis can affect people of any age, although often starts when a person is between 40 and 50. It occurs when the body's immune system targets affected joints, leading to pain and swelling. The NHS says there is no cure for the condition, but medication and other treatments can relieve symptoms. Wozniacki has been taking medicine and receiving treatment to manage the disease and is positive the condition will not impact on her career - she won the China Open earlier this month.

"Winning was huge. It also gave me the belief that nothing is going to set me back. I'm going to work with this and this is how it is, and I can do anything. "I'm very proud of how I have been so positive through it all and just kind of tried to not let that hinder me. "I know there are a lot of people in the world that are fighting with this, and hopefully I can be someone they can look up to and say that if I can do this, then they can too. And you just kind of have to get together and pull each other up."

Appreciate her positive attitude

Regards – S. Sampathkumar

27^th Oct 2018.