When you hear the term Osteoarthritis, what comes to mind? Well, as a matter of fact, most people have not heard of the term osteoarthritis before. But that is about to change for you. We will be looking at the causes of osteoarthritis and how to treat it. If you are interested in finding out, then this guide is the perfect fit for you.
What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, in which the tissues in the joint break down over time. It is the most common type of arthritis and is more common in older people.
People with osteoarthritis usually have joint pain and, after rest or inactivity, stiffness for a short period of time. The most commonly affected joints include the:
- Hands (ends of the fingers and at the base and ends of the thumbs).
- knees
- hips
- neck
- Lower back.
Osteoarthritis affects each person differently. For some people, osteoarthritis is relatively mild and does not affect day-to-day activities. For others, it causes significant pain and disability. Joint damage usually develops gradually over years, although it could worsen quickly in some people.
What happein osteoarthritis?
Researchers do not know what triggers or starts the breakdown of the tissues in the joint. However, as osteoarthritis begito develop, it can damage all the areas of the joint, including:
- Cartilage is the tissue that covers the ends where two bones meet to form a joint.
- Tendoand ligaments.
- Synovium, the lining of the joint.
- Bone
- The meniscus in the knee.
As the damage to soft tissues in the joint progresses, pain, swelling, and loss of joint motion develops. If you have joint pain, you may be less active, and this can lead to muscle weakness, which may cause more stress on the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, small bone growths, called osteophytes or bone spurs, may grow on the edges of the joint. The shape of the bone may also change. Bits of bone or cartilage can also break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more damage. Researchers continue to study the cause of pain in people who have osteoarthritis.
What is cartilage?
Cartilage is a firm, rubbery, flexible connective tissue covering the ends of bones in normal joints. It is primarily made up of water and proteiwhose primary function is to reduce friction in the joints and serve as a “shock absorber.” The shock-absorbing quality of normal cartilage comes from its ability to change shape when compressed, because of its high water content. Although cartilage may undergo some repair when damaged, the body does not grow new cartilage after injury. Cartilage is avascular, meaning there are no blood vessels in it. Therefore, healing is a slow process.
Cartilage is made up of two main elements: cells within it known as chondrocytes and a gel-like substance called matrix, composed mostly of water and two types of protei(collagen and proteoglycans).
Chondrocytes, and the precursor form chondroblasts, are highly complex multifunctional cartilage cells. Functioinclude synthesizing and maintaining the extracellular matrix comprised of collagen and proteoglycathat help healthy cartilage grow and heal.
Collagen is a structural protein found in many tissues such as skin, tendons, and bone and is a key structural component of cartilage. Collagen provides cartilage with its strength and creates a framework for the other components.
Proteoglycaare complex molecules composed of protein and sugar combinatiothat are interwoven in the matrix of cartilage. Their function is to trap large amounts of water in cartilage, which allows it to change shape when compressed thus acting as a shock absorber. At the same time, proteoglycarepel each other, allowing cartilage the ability to maintain its shape and resilience.
Who is affected by Osteoarthritis?
Approximately 80% of older adults, ages 55 years and older, have evidence of osteoarthritis on X-ray. Of these, an estimated 60% experience symptoms. It is estimated that 240 million adults worldwide have symptomatic osteoarthritis, including more than 30 million U.S. adults. Post-menopausal women have an increased incidence of knee osteoarthritis compared to men.
Osteoarthritis symptoms
The most common symptoms of osteoarthritis include:
- joint pain
- stiffness in the joint
- loss of flexibility and reduced range of motion
- tenderness or discomfort when pressing on the affected areas with your fingers
- inflammation
- crepitus, or grating, crackling, clicking, or popping sounds when you move your joints
- bone spurs, or extra lumps of bone, which are typically painless
As osteoarthritis becomes more advanced, the pain associated with it may become more intense. Over time, swelling in the joint and surrounding area may also occur. Learn how to recognize the early symptoms of osteoarthritis, which can help you to better manage the condition.
Osteoarthritis causes
Osteoarthritis is caused by joint damage. This damage can have a cumulative effect over time, which is why age is one of the main causes of joint damage leading to osteoarthritis. The older you are, the more repetitive stress you’ve had on your joints.
Other causes of joint damage include:
- past injuries, such as torn cartilage, dislocated joints, or ligament injuries
- joint malformation
- obesity
- poor posture
Certain risk factors increase your chances of developing osteoarthritis. They include:
- having family with the condition, particularly parents or siblings
- gender, with women having higher rates of osteoarthritis than men
- being at least 50 years old, according to the Arthritis Foundation
- having undergone menopause
- having an occupation that involves kneeling, climbing, heavy lifting, or similar actions
- a history of injury
- being overweight or having obesity
- poor posture
- having another medical condition that affects your joint health, such as diabetes or a different type of arthritis
Having osteoarthritis in one part of your body also increases your risk of developing osteoarthritis in other parts of your body.
How Is Osteoarthritis Diagnosed?
The diagnosis of osteoarthritis is based on a combination of the following factors:
- Your description of the symptoms
- The location and pattern of pain
- Physical exam
- X-rays
Your doctor may use X-rays to help confirm the diagnosis and make sure you don’t have another type of arthritis. X-rays show how much joint damage has occurred. An MRI may be necessary to get a better look at the joint and surrounding tissues if the X-ray results do not clearly point to arthritis or another condition.
Sometimes, blood tests will be performed to determine if you have a different type of arthritis.
If fluid has accumulated in the joints, your doctor may remove some of the fluid (called joint aspiration) for examination under a microscope to rule out other diseases.
How is osteoarthritis treated?
There is no cure for osteoarthritis. Mild to moderate symptoms are usually well managed by a combination of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments. Medical treatments and recommendatioinclude:
- Medicatio(topical pain medicines and oral analgesics including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, NSAIDs).
- Exercise (land- and water-based).
- Intermittent hot and cold packs (local modalities).
- Physical, occupational, and exercise therapy.
- Weight loss (if overweight).
- Healthy eating, managing diabetes, and cholesterol.
- Supportive devices such as braces, orthotics, shoe inserts, cane, or walker.
- Intra-articular injection therapies (steroid, hyaluronic acid “gel”).
- Complementary and alternative medicine strategies, including vitamiand supplements.
Surgery may be helpful to relieve pain and restore function when other medical treatments are ineffective or have been exhausted, especially with advanced OA.
The goals of treatment are to:
- Decrease joint pain and stiffness and delay further progression.
- Improve mobility and function.
- Increase patients’ quality of life.
The type of treatment regimen prescribed depends on many factors, including the patient’s age, overall health, activities, occupation, and severity of the condition.
Medications
Unlike other forms of arthritis where great advances have been made in recent years, progress has been much slower in osteoarthritis. There are no medicatioyet available that have been shown to reverse or slow the progression of osteoarthritis.
Currently, medicatioare focused on decreasing symptoms of the disease. Pain-relieving medicatioinclude acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Narcotic pain medicatioare not recommended due to the chronic nature of the disease and the possibility of tolerance and addiction. Topical medicatioin the form of analgesic patches, creams, rubs, or sprays may be applied over the skin of affected areas to relieve pain.
Although many of these medicatioare available in over-the-counter preparations, individuals with osteoarthritis should talk to a healthcare provider before taking the medications. Some medicatiomay have dangerous or unwanted side effects and/or may interfere with other medicatiothat are being taken. Some over-the-counter medicatiostill require routine laboratory testing.
The antidepressant duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta®) was approved by the FDA to treat the pain of osteoarthritis, such as lower back pain. That has been a big help for people who can’t tolerate NSAIDs or other treatments.
Supportive devices
Supportive or assistive devices help decrease stress on affected joints. Braces and orthotics help to support and stabilize painful, damaged joints. Medical devices should be used as instructed and under the direction of a health professional such as a physical/ occupational therapist or your licensed healthcare provider. Shoe lifts/ inserts, a cane, or a walker may be helpful to take pressure off certain joints and improve body and gait mechanics.
Exercise
Exercise is important to improve flexibility, joint stability, and muscle strength. Regimesuch as swimming, water aerobics, and low-impact strength training are recommended. These have been shown to decrease the amount of pain and disability that osteoarthritis sufferers experience.
Excessively vigorous exercise programs are best avoided, as they may increase arthritis symptoms and potentially hasten the progression of the disease. Physical therapists or occupational therapists can provide appropriate and tailored exercise regimefor individuals with osteoarthritis.
Hot and cold therapies
Intermittent hot and cold treatments may provide temporary relief of pain and stiffness. Such treatments include a hot shower or bath and the careful application of heating or cooling pads or packs.
Weight control
Since obesity is a known risk factor for osteoarthritis, working to better manage weight may help prevent and improve osteoarthritis. Weight loss in overweight persowho have osteoarthritis has been shown to reduce stress and the amount of pain in weight-bearing joints as well as moderate the inflammatory processes that contribute to OA.
Surgery
When osteoarthritis pain cannot be controlled with medical management and interferes with normal activities, surgery may be an option. Surgery is usually reserved for those people who have significant osteoarthritis. Several types of techniques can be employed, including minimally invasive joint replacement techniques. Although it has risks, joint surgery today can be very effective at restoring some function and reducing pain for appropriate individuals.
Risk factors
Factors that can increase your risk of osteoarthritis include:
- Older age. The risk of osteoarthritis increases with age.
- Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis, though it isn’t clear why.
- Carrying extra body weight contributes to osteoarthritis in several ways, and the more you weigh, the greater your risk. Increased weight adds stress to weight-bearing joints, such as your hips and knees. Also, fat tissue produces proteithat can cause harmful inflammation in and around your joints.
- Joint injuries. Injuries, such as those that occur when playing sports or from an accident, can increase the risk of osteoarthritis. Even injuries that occurred many years ago and seemingly healed can increase your risk of osteoarthritis.
- Repeated stress on the joint. If your job or a sport you play places repetitive stress on a joint, that joint might eventually develop osteoarthritis.
- Some people inherit a tendency to develop osteoarthritis.
- Bone deformities. Some people are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage.
- Certain metabolic diseases. These include diabetes and a condition in which your body has too much iron (hemochromatosis).
Conclusion
To conclude, osteoarthritis is treatable as we have been able to establish in this guide, hence when you have been diagnosed with this condition, you should not panic, but seek medical counsel from a doctor on the best way forward.