Even the young can get arthritis

By Teresa Stowell of the Daily Times staff
Friday, January 27, 2006 11:12 PM CST

It's no secret that when people get older, joints often get stiffer and arthritis sets in. What many people don't know is the struggle of arthritis an elderly person may deal with is often the same struggle a young child may deal with.

“Never in my wildest dreams have I ever thought a young child could have arthritis,” Melissa Mattke, of Rome, said. “Sure, my grandmother has arthritis, but my daughter? I never would have thought.”

One bright, sunny Sunday morning in November Olivia Mattke, 3, was running up and down her grandmother's driveway, racing her brother and sister. She seemed to be the fastest of the three children and as her mother, Melissa, watched nearby she was sure her young, healthy daughter was going to be a track star some day.

The next morning Olivia couldn't walk. Her right knee swelled up to the size of an orange and her other knee soon followed. She was shortly diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that affects 4,500 children in Wisconsin, according to the Arthritis Foundation.

“It's like it happened overnight. One day she's running and perfectly healthy and the next she's crying in pain, unable to walk with a swollen knee,” Melissa said. “We went through blood work, X-rays, different doctors and by the time she was diagnosed with arthritis her hands began to swell.”

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Olivia was soon given two double joint steroid injections in her knees to keep the swelling under control. In the months following Olivia's diagnosis each morning was a new challenge. After sleeping all night Olivia's body would become stiff and some mornings Melissa would find her crawling down the stairs crying unable to walk and other days she couldn't even move.

“We never know when the next flare-up will be,” Melissa said. “It's been a long, long few months and we've learned a lot about arthritis.”

Melissa keeps a log every day measuring Olivia's joints and recording her daily activities. Every morning Olivia takes a warm bath and sits under a heated blanket. She also takes medication to prohibit any swelling and she attends physical therapy twice a week.

Olivia's preschool teacher has also made a few changes to her daily routine. Olivia attends Gingerbread Preschool and Childcare Center in Watertown twice a week. Her teacher has included more movement and stretching to the curriculum throughout the day to keep Olivia from stiffening up.

“One of the benefits about juvenile arthritis compared to arthritis affecting the elderly is that you don't have to tell kids to get up and move around,” Gerilynn Rohrer, of Watertown, said. “Being active and moving around is natural for children.”

Rohrer's daughter is also diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. She said there is no cure for the chronic disease and often it is unknown how it will affect a child or for how long.

“Some children have it forever and others grow out of it,” Rohrer said.

Melissa doesn't only have to worry about Olivia's stiffness and pain but she also said if more flare-ups happen in Olivia's knees it could cause one leg to grow faster than the other.

“When the knee or any joint is swollen it means that there is more blood flow in that area of the body. In children, if there's more blood flow the body part will grow faster,” Rohrer said. “I've seen cases where some arthritic children have to use a little block under one shoe because one leg is longer than the other.”

Other diseases can also come with juvenile arthritis including the swelling of the eye's iris. Olivia visits an optometrist once every four weeks making sure her iris isn't swollen. If it is swollen and it's not diagnosed right away severe complications can occur.

Rohrer said arthritis and chronic joint pain affect more than 66 million people or one in three adults and nearly 300,000 children.

As part of the Arthritis Foundation an Arthritis Walk is being held Saturday, June 3, at 10 a.m. in Watertown at Brandt/Quirk Park. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.

The event includes a one-mile or 3.1-mile walk, music, free massages, face painting, an on-site health fair and refreshments. Funds raised will go towards programs, research and advocacy efforts for people affected by and at risk for arthritis and its related diseases.

For more information or to register a team for the event, contact Rohrer at (920) 988-5313 or e-mail grohrer@arthritis.org.