What are the causes, symptoms, and treatments for Osteoarthritis?

Introduction

To know about Osteoarthritis, we need to know about Arthritis. Arthritis is all about joint pains or joint diseases in the body. It is very common in women but children, adults of both the genders and aged people may also suffer from Arthritis. Females get particularly prone to this disease with the advent of old age. Symptoms of this disease are simply stiffness, joint pains, lack of motion etc. They can either be temporary or for good. Severe conditions lead to a permanent inability to walk and conduct daily activities. There are several types of Arthritis that simply dysfunction your entire body. It can affect your heart, kidneys, eyes, lungs, and skin along with the joints. In this article, we will discuss Osteoarthritis. Let’s go through in detail.

Osteoarthritis

It is the most common type of Arthritis. Osteoarthritis happens when the cartilage over the end of the bones slips or slides away causing the bones to come in contact with each other. The moment this happens the pain, stiffness, and swelling starts to occur. With the passage of time, one can lose strength in the joints and pain becomes unbearable.
Causes of Osteoarthritis

One can wonder how cartilage between or at the end of bones can disappear and bone rubbing bone situation is generated. According to an Orthopedic Surgeon in Lahore, this painful disease can take birth in any individual unknowingly. Still, experiences just highlight a few insights to keep in mind as precautionary measures.

First of all, it comes with age. The older you grow the higher the risk of getting Osteoarthritis. Secondly, it’s more frequent in women than men. Thirdly, overweight people are generally the victims of this particular Arthritis. Injuries can cause Osteoarthritis very easily whether you get it from playing any sport or simply from an accident. Moreover, injuries that are healed and seems fine for years, often end up with this joint illness. Certain physical job lines can develop this disease where you stress continuously over one joint. The constant pressure during the job timing results in Osteoarthritis. The disease is genetic as well. Furthermore, fat tissue in the body creates protein and if it’s uncontrollable then arthritis can happen around the joints.
An Orthopedic Surgeon in Lahore explains if Osteoarthritis is developing in your body on a gradual basis, then the symptoms will be very general and the patient usually takes them lightly and eventually regrets ignoring all of it. Following are the symptoms to be kept in mind for safety.

The Symptoms of Osteoarthritis

The symptoms are very simple. You may feel pain in the joint after any movement at the start and later on, you will start feeling the pain during the motion of your joint. Eventually, it will be permanent if nothing is done to treat it. After this, the joint will start to give you tenderness and later on stiffness will surround the whole of it. Stiffness will be more dangerous when you experience it after a regular sleep or after any rest time or inactivity. Flexibility will be eliminated from the joints, and a grating sensation will be felt during the joint use. Also, there will be lumps around your joints indicating the intensity of Osteoarthritis.

Simple X-Rays and MRI can help in diagnosis. Scanning the joints inside out and a few blood and joint fluid tests give a clear picture of the patient’s situation and condition. Once diagnosed, treatment is suggested by the doctors. The best and effective treatments available for Osteoarthritis as below:

Treatment for Osteoarthritis

There are different treatments for Osteoarthritis at different levels. Exercise is a must to maintain a healthy condition at any level of this disease. According to an Orthopedic Surgeon in Lahore, we can divide the treatment section into three divisions. First of all, we will discuss medication:

Medication

If you just feel the pains and nothing else is proceeding then surely, you’re lucky. All the pain in the joints can be overcome through simple medicines. For mild pains on a primary level, Acetaminophen is always suggested as this medicine relieves the pain immediately. Secondarily, NSAIDs (Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) are recommended to cater to severe pains but not without side effects. Properly consult with your physician before starting any medicine. The third option is of Duloxetine, this also works as an antidepressant and is actively effective to deal with chronic joint pains.

Therapies

Even if you’re a healthy human being, physical education and exercise should be a part of your daily life. When you’re going through Osteoarthritis, besides walking and swimming, there are special exercises specifically designed to overcome this sickness. If your condition is worse and you have to lose your daily activities then occupational or situational therapies are supposed to be done to avoid useless stress. For example, if you have Osteoarthritis in your fingers then you will be required a toothbrush with a long grip and if you are having the same sickness in your knees then a bench in a shower will help you stay away from stress during the problem. To be more efficient and gain fruitful results, Tai Chi and Yoga should be on your exercise list with a proper instructor to guide you on what to do during Osteoarthritis.

Surgery

Surgery is the last option for those who are suffering from Osteoarthritis. First of all, Cortisone Injections are suggested to eliminate the pain. In this procedure, the mentioned injection is injected between the joint bones. This particular injection is for three to four times a year and not more than that as excessive amounts of this dose will permanently damage the joint.

Lubrications injections work as cushioning for your joints to assuage the pain. After this, the surgery of realigning is suggested where a doctor cut or carves a bone above or below the joint to add or remove some wedge of a bone. This whole procedure is known as Osteotomy. It works specifically for knee issues in Osteoarthritis and specializes in shifting the weight of the body away from the troubled area.

Arthroplasty, simply known as joint replacement surgery, is recommended when the joint is totally damaged and nothing can be done to fix it then this last option usually works for the suffering patients. In this surgery, artificial joints are introduced made up of metal or plastic. This procedure has also some surgical risks to be kept in mind, for example, several infections and blood clots. Once you go through this surgery proper maintenance is advised as artificial joint surface material or simply artificial joints has a limited life and you have to update it with the passing time.  

No matter what stage you enter as a patient, be a fighter. Never give up over the solutions and keep working in managing your daily exercises, activities, especially in losing weight. Try to adopt the physical therapies for good even after the surgery or if medication treats your problem. The risk is something that should not be taken when it’s a matter of physical health and education. Stay healthy and stay safe.

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