Osteoarthritis treatment
There are many types of arthritis but osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common. Osteoarthritis is also often referred to as "wear and tear". The most common joints affected are the knees, hips and hands. In simple terms, osteoarthritis involves degeneration of cartilage between the bones in a joint and changes to the bones which can result in extra bone growth called osteophytes. osteoarthritis can be influenced by any of the following:
- genetics
- age
- weight
- joint injury
- poor muscle strength
- lax joints
Therefore, with the above in mind, osteoarthritis can be helped by addressing the contributing factor e.g. reduce weight, strengthen muscles, addressing the way in which a task is done. It might be that someone has poor mechanics when playing a sport.
Pain and stiffness are common complaints but the level of pain in a lot of cases does not represent the level of degeneration i.e. if someone with a lot of pain was to have an x-ray, the x-ray might show very little "damage".
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommends that treatment occurs in stages. It is recommended that the patient is given advice, strenthening exercises and advice on weight loss first. If that doesn't work then medication can be prescribed and if that doesn't help then stronger medicines, heat-cold therapy, surgery, assistive joint devices or other means such as shoe inserts, supports, manual therapy, electrotherapy should be considered. This is what is recommended through analysis of research carried out - it is not saying that someone with OA must take this path of treatment. Everyone is different and what works for one person is not the same as what would work for another.
If you wish to discuss how our highly experienced and qualified practitioners can help you recover from or manage your osteoarthritis , then please don't hesitate to contact us. We would be glad to speak with you.
You'll find further useful information regarding osteoarthritis in the links below:
www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Osteoarthritis/Pages/Introduction.aspx
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osteoarthritis