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It’s A Pain In The Joints . . .

Osteoarthritis is the most common of all types of arthritis, leaving thousands of sufferers deformed and even crippled. It is characterized by the degeneration of the cartilage and the bone beneath within a joint, plus an amount of bony overgrowth. These problems lead to joint stiffness and pain . . . lots of pain. The most common joints to be affected by osteoarthritis are the hips, knees, and those bones in the spine and hands. Nobody really knows what causes osteoarthritis . . . it usually develops after the age of 40 years but not always . . . and there is currently no cure. Treatment of osteoarthritis tends to focus more on relief from the symptoms rather than actually curing the problem.

Osteoarthritis – How It Develops

Osteoarthritis occurs mostly in the hips, knees, bones of the hand and spine . . . these joints are always going through a process of wear and tear as part of our daily lives, in everybody, but for some reason osteoarthritis sufferers develop a kind of faulty repair service, and then the osteoarthritis sets in. The cartilage in the joints becomes worn and damaged, bony growths begin to appear around the edges of the joint, and the whole joint becomes painfully inflamed.

Factors Which May Play A Role In The Development of Osteoarthritis

• Genetics – it’s very likely that some osteoarthritis can run in the family (noses run in our family . . . snifffff)!
• Age - getting older can cause of lots of potential problems, and osteoarthritis is definitely one of them. Osteoarthritis is definitely more likely as you get older.  
• Sex – don’t worry Casanova, I should maybe have said “gender”.  Osteoarthritis is more prevalent among the female of the species . . . oh well, men are more likely to get gout so fair’s fair I suppose.
• Obesity – just think about the extra strain, particularly on the knee and hip joints, if they have to support a few extra pounds every single step of every single day. The increased load of these joints also increases their potential for damage.
• Joint damage or injury – this could be something like an infection, or something more like a fracture (broken bone) close to a joint.
• Overuse of joint – some occupations put a greater than average strain onto some of our joints . . . repeatedly. People who work with pneumatic drills day in, day out, for example, might be at a greater risk of developing elbow osteoarthritis, and those who kneel a lot (I’m thinking minors here . . . not the clergy) might be at a greater risk of developing osteoarthritis in their knees.

Osteoarthritis Symptoms

Like many other medical conditions, the symptoms of osteoarthritis are varied . . . not everybody will show all of the symptoms, some people might not show an,y symptoms at all . . . but these are the most common things to watch out for!

• Pain and stiffness which severely limits the movement and flexibility of the joint . . . particularly in the mornings. Joints often loosen up as you “get going” throughout the day.
• Inflammation and swelling of affected joints. These hot, red joints can be an extremely painful symptom of osteoarthritis.
• Larger joints than usual . . . affected joints often do look to be much larger than their counterparts, that’s because of the bony overgrowth close to the damaged cartilage.
• Problems walking . . . particularly if you suffer from osteoarthritis of the knees or hips.

Living With Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis does not have any known cure at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily going to get worse and worse until you’re unable to move at all.  If you suffer from mild osteoarthritis it doesn’t necessarily follow that it will get worse, some people manage mild osteoarthritis very successfully throughout their lives. Stuff you can do to help includes:

• Exercise – keep moving! This will help to strengthen the muscles which surround the affected joints, as well as keeping you fit and healthy and allowing you to retain the mobility of your joints. Swimming is a good one (exercise which doesn’t put any strain on your joints at all), as well as walking.
• Weight control – if you’re even slightly overweight this will put extra strain onto your joints, particularly your knees and hips. Even losing a little weight can make a big difference.
• Physiotherapy – can be helpful in the more extreme cases . . . but you’ve got to keep it up at home too ya know.
• Painkillers – can make a big difference in how you can deal with osteoarthritis, particularly stuff like paracetamol or anti-inflammatory pain killers, although be careful not to overdo it.
• Surgery – can help only in the most extreme cases of osteoarthritis, with knee, hip and even ankle replacement operations becoming more commonplace.