Osteoarthritis refers to the common form of arthritis that affects millions of people around the globe. It appears when the protective cartilage starts wearing down with the passage of time. Osteoarthritis can cause damage to any joint in your body.
This disorder commonly impacts the area of your spine, hands, hips. The symptoms of osteoarthritis are possible to manage. But if joints of your body are damaged due to this condition, they cannot recover. Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Try to eat a healthy diet.
Firstly, you have to manage your weight to prevent this condition. Stay active and get treatments for osteoarthritis on time to make the progression of the disease slow. It will improve the function and pain of your joints.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis can develop over time. The symptoms develop slowly and may get worse as time passes. Following are the core symptoms of osteoarthritis that people can have.
- Pain: Affected joints can become damaged or hurt during or after any movement.
- Stiffness: You may feel stiffness in the area of your joints. People may notice this stiffness after awakening.
- Tenderness: When you pressurize your joint lightly, it can cause tenderness.
- Flexibility Issues: You may feel that you cannot move the joint to full motion range.
- Grating Sensation: When you use your joint, you may feel the sensation of the grating. You may also hear cracking.
- Bone Spurs: Some additional bone bits can develop that can feel similar to hard lumps around the area of your affected joints.
- Swelling: Inflammation of soft tissue around the area of the joint can appear.
When Should You Visit A Doctor
If you have continuous pain or stiffness in the area of your joint, make an appointment. Tell your doctor about the symptoms clearly that you are facing.
Causes
The deterioration of the cartilage around the bone's end can lead to the development of osteoarthritis. This cartilage cushions at your bone end in the area of joints. Cartilage refers to a slippery and firm tissue that works to enable the motion of a frictionless joint.
If the cartilage wears down fully, then there are chances of rubbing one bone over another bone. Osteoarthritis is considered a wear and tear disease. Besides cartilage breakage, osteoarthritis affects your complete joint. It can lead to alterations in bone.
Moreover, it works to deteriorate the connective stirrups that attach your muscles to bones and hold joints together. It can also induce inflammation in the lining of joints.
Treatment
Doctors cannot reverse the condition of osteoarthritis. Treatment helps to decrease pain. After getting treatment, you become able to move better.
Medications
Certain medications help to relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis. These medicines provide you relief from the pain too. Following are the medicines that your doctor may recommend for osteoarthritis.
- Acetaminophen
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Duloxetine
Therapy
You may get the following therapies to improve the condition of osteoarthritis.
Physical Therapy
A physical therapist can suggest exercises to provide strength to the muscles present around the area of your joints. It enhances the flexibility of the joint and reduces the intensity of pain.
You can do some regular exercise to improve your ostepartities. These exercises include walking or swimming etc.
Occupational Therapy
An occupational therapist works to help you to find several ways to do normal life activities. They guide you to do daily tasks without exerting pressure on your joints that are affected.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
In this therapy, doctors use an electrical current of low-voltage to relieve pain. People who have hip and knee osteoarthritis can get short-term relief from the diseases after getting this therapy.
Doctors may suggest the following treatments in case if conservative treatments do not prove effective for you.
- Cortisone Injections
- Lubrication Injections
Surgical Procedures
Following are the surgical procedures that doctors may recommend to you.
Realigning Bones
If one side of your knee has been damaged by osteoarthritis more than the opposite side, the doctor may suggest you have an osteotomy. In this procedure, a surgeon cuts the area across bones to remove or add a bone wedge.
This procedure helps to remove the worn-out area of the knee. In this way, you will feel relief from the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Joint Replacement
In this surgery, doctors remove certain surfaces of the joints that are damaged. They replace it with metal and plastic parts. The risks of blood clots and infections exist in joint replacement. Artificial joints that lose or wear out and can be replaced again.
