Treatment Makes Living with Osteoarthritis Possible

There are millions of people throughout the world who share knowledge about one thing. They know that living with osteoarthritis is no joy. This disease that damages the joints and causes people to suffer from pain and loss of movement is incredibly common.

On the plus side, because it’s so common, a lot of treatment options have been developed for Osteoarthritis. People don’t need to lay down and just accept the pain that comes along with Osteoarthritis. Knowledge of osteoarthritis allows people to get diagnosed quickly, and begin treatment to minimize the damage it can do to a body.

Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

Obviously before treatment for osteoarthritis can begin, it’s important to make sure that a person knows they actually have the disease. Visits to the doctor can help figure this out. Typically a person with osteoarthritis is going to have the following symptoms:

• Joint Pain - This is the most common issue as sufferers feel pain when their joints move. This is especially true in the hands, knees and hips.
• Stiffness - The stiffness and lack of movement in joints is very typical when a person has not been moving recently. Long periods of inactivity or in the mornings after sleep are the most common.
• Tenderness - The area around joints may feel tender and painful when touched or pressed against.
• “Bone on Bone” Feeling - This grating sensation is common with some people and can be very uncomfortable
• Loss of Flexibility - Many people with osteoarthritis will find that their range of motion in their joints gradually decreases. Eventually this can become a very small range of motion and really affect a person’s movement.

Causes of Osteoarthritis

Joints are only as good as the cartilage that surrounds them and allows them to move. As osteoarthritis forces that cartilage to deteriorate, it becomes more severe. But what causes osteoarthritis in the first place? There are many risk factors that help to cause osteoarthritis. These include:

• Age - As a person ages, they are far more likely to get osteoarthritis.
• Past Joint Issues - If people have had joint injuries in the past from living life, it’s far more likely that someone will get osteoarthritis in the future. It can be something thirty years in the past, but those injuries matter.
• Sex - It’s unknown why women are more likely than men to get osteoarthritis. Despite that lack of knowledge, the statistics don’t lie.
• Obesity - As a person carries more weight, they put more pressure on the body to carry that weight. This includes putting more stress on certain joints. People who are obese tend to get osteoarthritis in their knees and hips more than others.
• Genetics - Unfortunately, many people receive their susceptibility to osteoarthritis through the genes they inherit.

Treatments of Osteoarthritis

There are many options when it comes to treating osteoarthritis. The first is going to be through medication. There are a few different choices which may be chosen. Most are intended to reduce the pain that comes from mild to moderate osteoarthritis.

If medication doesn’t work there are surgical options which can be used. Typically surgery involves altering the alignment of the bones or injecting various things which may help to provide additional movement in the joints. If the joint can not be helped, then it’s possible a full joint replacement surgery could be chosen.

Many people will undergo various kinds of therapy. Physical therapy will work to strengthen all of the muscles that surround the joints. This can place less stress on the joints and allow them to function easier. There’s also occupational therapy. In these situations, a therapist will assist a person in figuring out different or easier ways to complete their daily tasks. They may also show off specialty items. For example, items with small handles like scissor, knives or toothbrushes may be replaced with ones with much larger handles. This puts less pressure on the joints in the hand to move. Typically, it will take a combination of treatments to help deal with osteoarthritis, but it can be done.