That Stiffness in Joints Could be Osteoarthritis
June 16, 2010
Osteoarthritis is a disease of the joints in which the cartilage that covers the bones becomes rough and thin with time such that the bones tend to grow outwards. This leads to formation of what are called as bone spurs and this leads to osteoarthritis, i.e. development of painful and swollen joints that make sound as you try to move them.
Osteoarthritis is more common in women than men. This is because women have a greater tendency to be overweight and develop calcium deficiency. Both of these troubles are also inter-related.
Loss amounts of calcium in the body may lead to hormonal imbalance and hence gain in weight. Hence these two are significant factors that should be considered to prevent and cure osteoarthritis.
Do you have Symptoms?
Osteoarthritis does not develop in a few days or months. It may take several years for you to realize that you have osteoarthritis, the symptoms of which may have appeared several years ago.
The symptoms may not be experienced all the time. You may experience stiffness in your joints that becomes better as soon as you start doing a little movement with your joint. Pain can be felt after moving the joint.
The pain is not just restricted to legs, knees or hip joints. It could affect the spine, neck and fingers of hand and toe.
The symptoms may be experienced only in one hip and not the other. It is unexplained why the condition affects only a certain part of the body and not the other.
Who is At Risk?
Obesity is the number one risk factor. Those having a joint abnormalities since birth are also at risk. If it runs in the family or if you have had a major joint surgery due to some injury then you are at a higher risk.
Treatment Options
There are plenty of treatment options for osteoarthritis so you do not really have to worry about it. The pain can be handled using NSAIDS and injections of hyaluronic acid or steroids.
Regular physiotherapy helps a lot in improving mobility, especially knee joint. Joint replacement therapy is another option if the orthopedic concludes that nothing else can be done about the problem.
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