Osteoarthritis: Symptoms, Treatments, and Causes
| Osteoarthritis |
Definition
What is it osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis or osteoarthritis (OA) is a type of arthritis or inflammation of the joints that occurs most often. Lay people often refer to this disease with the name of the calcification of the joints.
Understanding osteoarthritis is inflammation in the joints caused by cartilage damage, i.e. smooth bearing that protects the ends of bones. This condition can then cause pain or pain and stiffness in the joints.
Ostheoarthritis is a disease that can attack joints in the body parts wherever. However, osteoarthritis or calcification of the joints occur more often on the hands or fingers of the hand, knee, hip, and spine. This disease is generally develop gradually and worsen over time.
Osteoarthritis is not a disease that can be cured. However, the disease can still be managed effectively to alleviate the symptoms.
How common are the disease of osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a common disease occurs. The disease is also known as degenerative disease or arthritis which is age-related because it tends to appear with age a person.
Therefore, osteoarthritis is commonly found in the elderly or over the age of 50 years. However, calcification of the joints can also occur at any age.
Osteoarthritis can occur in men and women. However, this disease is more often found in postmenopausal women.
Signs & symptoms
What are the signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis?
Symptoms of osteoarthritis generally develop slowly and worsen over time. The severity of symptoms can vary in each person.
Some people may feel the symptoms are mild and often come and go. However, most other people might feel the symptoms more severe and persistent up to the sufferer difficulty performing daily activities.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis generally happens is:
- • Pain in the joints, which is generally felt during the day or after an.
- The joint feels rigid, which is generally felt in the morning and will recover itself within 30 minutes, or when you're not actively doing activities.
- The joints feel more tender when pressure is applied.
- The joints lose its flexibility, which makes it become more rigid and difficult to move.
- Arise the sound of clicks or cracks when the joint is bent or moved.
- The appearance of bone spurs around the joint, namely the protrusion of the bone which is hard and sharp.
- Swelling around the joints.
- The muscles around the joint are weakened.
In addition to severity, the symptoms of osteoarthritis can vary depending on the part of the joints which are affected. Reported by the Arthritis Foundation, the typical symptoms in osteoarthritis of the hip is pain in the groin area or buttocks and sometimes on the inside of the knee or thigh.
In osteoarthritis of the knee, the emergence of such pain is scratched or cut when the knee is moved. In osteoarthritis joints of the fingers, the appearance of bone spurs on the edges of the joints can cause the fingers to become swollen, tender, and reddened.
In addition to these symptoms, there may be signs that are not mentioned above. If You have concerns about a particular symptom, please consult with Your doctor.
When to see a doctor?
You should immediately contact your doctor if Your joints feel sore and stiff, not even not improve in a few weeks. Recognize the symptoms of osteoarthritis as early as possible can help You manage this disease to keep it from getting worse.
The body of each person is different. Always consult to the doctor to handle Your health condition.
Causes & risk factors
What are the causes of osteoarthritis?
The cause of osteoarthritis is damage to cartilage, i.e. smooth bearing located in the ends of the bones. Smooth bearing is supposed to protect the ends of bones from friction with other bones when met in the joints.
However, when the cartilage is damaged, the friction between the ends of the bones occurs, which will also affect the joints. The joint will then become inflamed and cause pain and stiffness in sufferers.
However, the main cause of cartilage damage is not known for sure. However, this condition is generally influenced by age.
Because, as we age, the joints will typically become more rigid and the cartilage can also be more vulnerable to loss of lubricant natural. All those things that could lead to osteoarthritis at a later age.
What increases the risk of someone affected by the disease of osteoarthritis?
Besides age, there are other risk factors that increase the chances of someone affected by the disease osteoarthritis. Risk factors of the disease osteoarthritis is:
1. Gender women
Indeed not known for sure what causes it. However, most cases of osteoarthritis is usually experienced by women. Therefore, women at higher risk for experiencing osteoarthritis than men.
2. Obesity
A person who is experiencing obesity at high risk of osteoarthritis in later in the day. This is because excess weight or obesity adds to the pressure on the joints to hold the weight of the body, especially the hips and knees. In addition, the fat tissue also produces proteins that cause inflammation or inflammation in the joints and in the surrounding area.
4. Trauma or injury
Ever experienced trauma or injury during sports or accidents, can increase the risk of osteoarthritis. Even though the injury has healed once, there are still opportunities to cause calcification of the joints in the foreseeable future.
5. Repetitive stress on the joints
If You have a job or certain sports that cause pressure on a joint repeatedly and continuously, such joints may develop the disease of osteoarthritis in later in the day.
6. Genetic
Osteoarthritis is a disease that can be passed down in families, although research has yet to identify a single gene is what is passed. However, a person who has a family member with OA are more likely to develop this disease in the foreseeable future.
7. Deformities of the bone
A person who has a congenital abnormality or congenital abnormalities from birth related to the joints and bones, are at greater risk for experiencing osteoarthritis. In particular, if an abnormality from birth that attack cartilage.
8. Certain diseases
Other risk factors that increase the chances of osteoarthritis is the presence of certain diseases. If You have diabetes, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), or rheumatoid diseases, such as gout and rheumatoid arthritis, You can also just undergone calcification of the joints.
The Diagnosis & stage
What are the tests commonly performed for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis?
To make a diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA), doctors generally perform a physical examination in advance on the part of Your joint inflammation. This physical examination to find out the signs or symptoms of osteoarthritis that arise.
After that the doctor will do some tests to make sure the cause. Some of the tests commonly performed for the diagnosis of osteoarthritis, i.e.:
1. X-Rays
X-rays or x-rays are able to detect the cartilage that is lost, by showing the presence of a narrowing space between bones in the joints. In addition, x-rays can also show the emergence of bone spurs around the joints.
2. MRI
Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI works by using radio waves technology and powerful magnets to show the detail image of the bones and soft tissue, including cartilage.
MRI is not usually used to diagnose osteoarthritis directly. However, at least can help provide more information if there are other conditions that are more complex.
3. A blood test
There is actually no blood tests are specific enough to detect the osteoarthritis. However, this test can help determine whether a condition associated with inflammatory diseases of other joints, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
4. Aspiration of joint fluid
In this procedure, doctors use injections perforated to remove fluid from the joint that is problematic. Furthermore, the liquid will be tested and examined further in the laboratory in order to determine the possible presence of inflammation in in.
If You often complain of pain in the joints, this way also serves to find out the cause of such pain.
The disease stage of osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a disease that develops slowly and gets worse over time. The development of the disease is then described through the stadium.
However, unlike other diseases, the picture of the stage of osteoarthritis does not only refer to the results of the test or examination done. Therefore, some people who suffer from osteoarthrtis weight may only show mild changes on examination of X-rays or x-rays.
Therefore, stage of osteoarthritis, including knee, generally concentrating on the symptoms that arise, not only on the results of the tests undertaken. The following explanation of the stage of osteoarthritis:
- Stage 0. Stage 0 is also called the normal condition or the joints are still healthy and not showing any damage.
- Stage 1. This stage is characterized by minor damage in the joints and the growth of bone spurs at the ends of the joints. Sufferers generally do not experience pain or discomfort in the joints.
- Stage 2. This stage is characterized by bone spurs which is great, although the space in between the vertebrae looked normal. At this stage, generally a person already began to experience symptoms of joint pain.
- Stage 3. At this stage it is already clearly visible the presence of damage to the cartilage and the space between the bones seen narrowed. The pain is generally more pronounced, especially while running, walking, kneeling, or bending.
- Stage 4. At this stage, the space between the bones is greatly reduced and the cartilage is lost. This condition causes chronic inflammation and pain that is getting bigger.
Medicine & Treatment
The information provided is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult Your doctor.
What are the treatment options for osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a chronic condition that cannot be cured. Nevertheless, sufferers need to have treatment to relieve symptoms and prevent the illness getting severe.
Some of the treatment options for osteoarthritis are as follows:
1. The consumption of drugs
The symptoms of pain, tenderness, and stiffness due to osteoarthritis, can be helped with specific medications, namely:
- Painkillers, such as Acetaminophen or opioids.
- Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium (Aleve), and others.
- Duloxetine (Cymbalta) to help relieve chronic pain, including osteoarthritis.
2. Therapy
You can also speed up the recovery of symptoms with regular therapy, such as physical therapy and occupational. Physical therapy is a treatment procedure that will help You to train the muscles around the joint pain. While occupational therapy trains You to do everyday tasks without giving extra stress on Your joints that pain.
3. Medical procedures
If some of the previous treatments do not help enough, your doctor may suggest other procedures, such as injections of corticosteroids, injections of lubricants, joint replacement surgery, or surgery of the alignment of the bones.
Care at home
What changes in lifestyle or care home that can be done to overcome osteoarthritis?
Lifestyle changes and home remedies that can help You cope with osteoarthritis are as follows:
- Stay active and regularly exercise light weight to strengthen muscles around joints and joints more flexible, such as walking, cycling, or swimming.
- Avoid foods that become taboo for osteoarthritis.
- Keep ideal body weight.
- A compress of warm and cold water. Warm water main is made to relax muscles and relieve pain, while cold water can relieve muscle pain after exercise.
- Use aids, like a crutch or cane to reduce the load Your knees while moving.
- If you have any questions, please consult with your doctor for the best solution to Your problem.
Prevention
How can I prevent osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a difficult disease prevented. However, You can reduce the risk of developing this condition by avoiding injuries or trauma and lead a healthy lifestyle. Here are some ways that You can do to help prevent osteoarthritis:
- Do exercise that is good for the health of Your joints, like swimming, cycling, or brisk walking, for 150 minutes each week, and alternated with strength training for 2 days in a week. Avoid sports that overload the joints, such as running and weight-bearing exercise.
- Maintain good posture and avoid the same position for too long. When You work at a desk, You should occasionally move and set up a comfortable sitting position.
- Keep your weight remains ideal. If You are obese, You should lose weight.