When people hear about the term arthritis they immediately think that it is a single disease though in fact there are more than hundred different variations of it. However, despite the fact that there are many different kinds of arthritis only about an estimated ten percent are serious enough to worry about and among them the most common form of arthritis is the one known as osteoarthritis. Arthritis that is a disease in which the patient experiences inflammation of the joints can be quite painful and in this osteoarthritis is also not an exception.

Senior Citizens

Osteoarthritis is very common among senior citizens and when it develops it causes pain on account of painful rubbing together of the bones which in turn occurs on account of worn out preventive cartilage. This cartilage otherwise acts as a padding that prevents bones from rubbing against each other and when the padding wears away it can even lead to tiny bone shards breaking off and that in turn means having to endure further pain.

Osteoarthritis may be a more common disease among the elderly but it also affects people of any age. Nevertheless, if you are over the age of seventy then you have about seventy percent chance of suffering from this disease.

In order to diagnose the disease doctors will need to take an X-ray which helps find the source of the problem and in addition the doctor might also perform certain tests that will help eliminate the possibility of other common arthritis symptoms being the reason for your osteoarthritis. Such methods are termed as process of elimination.

A common symptom of osteoarthritis is joint pain which mostly occurs in the morning and which is of a temporary nature and will come and go and return when night falls. In addition to pain in your joints you might also experience some amount of discomfort and also some stiffness in your joints.

The best way to get relief from osteoarthritis is to get the condition diagnosed in time so that early and effective treatment can begin while the symptoms are still not very severe and the condition is more manageable.

It will of course also pay to understand more about osteoarthritis treatment and in addition you need to also be on the lookout for the more common symptoms which as mentioned include stiff joints and inflammation of the joints that occur in the morning and then disappear and return at night. Obviously, if you are a senior then you will need to be more vigilant about the onset of the disease so that you are then able to get treatment well before the condition deteriorates further. So, you should learn about various symptoms and then keep checking whether they have developed.