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The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released information about the rising incidents of arthritis among adults. The report said 54.4 million American adults suffer from the disease.

While the CNN reported that the number is probably lower than the actual number of incidents because it does not include those who have not seen a doctor and remains undiagnosed, the number is still pretty alarming and translates to one out of four American adults.

Researchers used self-reported data collected from the annual National Health Interview Survey between 2013 to 2015. The survey is representative of the overall health status and behaviors of the country's non-institutionalized civilian population.

The report also disproved popular belief that arthritis is an "old person's disease." Researchers found that majority of people suffering from arthritis, about 32.2 million or 30 percent, are actually below the age of 65.

The report further segmented the cases with more women having arthritis compared to men. It was also found out that arthritis is highly prevalent among people with pre-existing conditions such as cardiovascular diseases (49.3 percent), diabetes (30.6 percent) and obesity (47.1 percent). These combined conditions can be difficult to manage, according to the CDC.

Research also found that there had been a 20 percent increase in the number of people who have to limit their physical activity because of arthritis. That is 23.7 million Americans having difficulties in walking, bending and moving that hinder everyday activities.

Typically treated with nonsteroidal analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, for pain management, the CDC recommends less risky measures like exercise therapy. These strategies can help patients understand their condition better and improve confidence in dealing with the disease by 10 to 20 percent.

However, only one in 10 patients participates in these interventions. People are more likely to follow recommendations of their health care providers. This is why the CDC hopes to do more studies about self-management of arthritis to convince people about its effectiveness and benefits of exercises and physical activities.

The Arthritis foundation shares the CDC's desire for improving the lives of arthritis patients. The foundation, however, leans more toward making advancements on the pharmaceutical side and develop better drugs.