According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, nearly 47.5 million U.S. adults report living with some kind of disability. That’s nearly 15 percent of the total population (and 22 percent of American adults!). Stunning, we know. And which affliction do you think is most common?

You probably guessed it—nearly nine million American adults report living with an arthritis condition, more than any other disability. And the numbers are growing:

A new CDC study shows that 47.5 million US adults (21.8%) reported a disability in 2005, an increase of 3.4 million from 1999. Arthritis or rheumatism continues to be the most common cause of disability, while back or spine problems and heart trouble round out the top three causes.

Among adults reporting a disability, the most commonly identified limitations were difficulty climbing a flight of stairs (21.7 million, 10.0%) and walking 3 city blocks (22.5 million, 10.3%). That means that 1 in 10 adults have trouble walking a distance equal to walking from the parking lot to the back of a large store or through a mall.

The lesson?

You’re not alone. As frightening and frustrating as the pain and loss of independence can be, you’re part of an enormous American community that’s in it together. That means more than eight million people, plus countless more doctors, researchers and care providers are all working together to make life better for arthritis patients.

And the upshot of this is that there’s an enormous amount of attention being paid to your plight, from researching advanced medications to widespread sharing of simple home treatments.

At Castiva, we’re doing what we can to contribute, both with our warming arthritis pain relief lotion with capsaicin and our cooling arthritis pain relief cream, plus the wealth of arthritis information as well as tips for living an active lifestyle with arthritis available on our website to help you live confidently.