Osteoarthritis (OA) is a form of arthritis caused by degeneration of the cartilage that covers the bone ends in a joint and prevents the bones from direct contact with each other. It is also known as wear and tear arthritis or alternatively as degenerative joint disease.
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis among North American adults and most typically occurs in the knees, hands and hips..
The deterioration of cartilage that is at the root of OA typically occurs slowly and gradually. It is usually accompanied by changes in the bone underlying the cartilage as well.
As these changes occur, you feel pain, swelling and stiffness of the affected joint. The joint will tend to lose its flexibility, strength and range of motion. Asa a result, people with osteoarthritis experience increasing difficulty performing basic functions like, for example, taking a walk or climbing stairs. The pain and discomfort will eventually start to reduce your sleeping hours.
Unfortunately, to date there is no fundamental treatment for OA that will either reverse or even halt the underlying changes in bone or cartilage. Instead, treatment of osteoarthritis usually involves slowing the rate of progression of the disease and taking steps to preserve as much joint range of motion as possible. To this end, doctors may at first suggest activity modification, pain relief or anti inflammatory medications and undergoing physical therapy programs.
As the disease progresses, surgical intervention may be considered to either change the shape of bones in the joint or to fuse them together. As a last resort, joint replacement surgery (e.g. knee replacement) may be suggested.
Your are more likely to develop osteoarthritis may be higher if any of the following is true in your case:
Symptoms of osteoarthritis include the following:
These symptoms will appear gradually over time instead of appearing suddenly.
As your osteoarthritis worsens, the once smooth and slick cartilage covering the bone ends inside the joint may start to develop uneven edges and cracks. In addition, your bones may harden and develop lumps (known as bone spurs). The shape of the joint bone may also change. These changes are unfortunately irreversible.
Osteoarthritis has a number of long term complications, including the following:
In addition to the above complications of OA, the treatment of the disease may involve taking medications that bring their own side effects such as increased occasional dizziness. This in turn increases the risk of falling and experiencing bone fractures.
If you think you are experiencing some of the symptoms listed above, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. As with many other health conditions, early diagnosis of OA and timely commencement of managing the disease are key to keeping the symptoms at a tolerable level.
To diagnose the cause of joint pain and stiffness, your doctor may start by reviewing your medical history. As we have mentioned above, a past joint injury can be a trigger for later development of OA in the same joint.
The doctor may then discuss the symptoms in detail to understand when the pain and stiffness are at their worst and how they vary over time. He or she may want to move your joints to check for reduced range of motion.
In this part of the diagnosis, your doctor may use a needle to extract fluid from the affected joint (a process known as aspiration).
Analysis of this fluid can help doctors (i) determine what type of arthritis may be present or (ii) eliminate the involvement of other forms of arthritis such as rheumatoid arthritis. The fluid may also help to identify the presence of an infection and, if so, what type.
X ray scans may be useful in revealing the nature and extent of bone damage due to OA. MRI scans can also be useful in highlighting the damage suffered by soft tissues such as bone cartilage.
In formulating a treatment plan for osteoarthritis, doctors will probably prefer to start with non invasive approaches and only attempt surgery if other approaches fail.
These may include:
Besides the medicines listed above, exercise programs should be regarded as essential components of a treatment plan for osteoarthritis. The purpose is twofold:
You can achieve many of the benefits of exercise by working with a physical therapist who can devise such a program for you. Ask your doctor about referring you to such a therapist.
If you are suffering from knee osteoarthritis, an unloader knee brace can help to reduce pressure on vulnerable areas of the knee and slow the rate of joint damage. Shoe inserts can be prescribed by a podiatrist to give you similar benefits.
Some of the more widely used surgical approaches for managing osteoarthritis include:
Showing all 5 results
Relieve your tibiofemoral and patellofemoral OA pain by choosing the BioSkin OA Spiral Knee Brace. It provides relief from both forms of OA pain and is easy to fit, apply and use.
The Bio Skin Patella Stabilizer is an effective choice for treating patellar instability, anterior knee pain and other knee problems. Its donut shaped buttresses help to stabilize your patella and control swelling away while you remain comfortable and cool even during extended wearing periods.
The Bio Skin Patella Stabilizer with Conforma Hinge will help to treat anterior knee pain and other patellar instability related knee problems. Constructed from Bio Skin’s patented, breathable materials, the Stabilizer gives excellent compression to control swelling and decrease pain in the knee. The donut shaped buttresses stabilize the patella and help keep swelling away from the knee joint. The brace has a lightweight and comfortable hinge to help address problems of knee joint instability..
The Bio Skin Standard Knee Skin offers compression for pain relief, swelling control and greater proprioception. The two-panel construction design eliminates any seam from the sensitive skin behind the kneecap and the unique, patented Ultima material keeps it breathable and comfortable by wicking moisture away from the skin.
The Bio Skin Visco Knee Skin with Thigh and Calf Straps uses a ring made from silicone that helps control swelling and relieve edema via passive massage.
