Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease that affects the joints. Here is an account of its symptoms and treatment.

Generally speaking, the term arthritis refers to any inflammation of the joints. Osteoarthritis, which is also known as Degenerative Arthritis, is one of the most common types of arthritis. It involves the degeneration of the cartilage located in the joints. Although it can occur practically in any joint of the body, it usually affects the joints that bear weight, such as the spine, hips, and knees. It is also known to affect the neck, thumb, fingers, and the big toe. Usually, the other joints of the body are not affected unless there is excessive stress put on them or there has been a previous injury.

Cartilage is a tissue that is normally rubbery and firm, which forms a protective covering at the ends of bones in joints. It acts as a shock absorber and reduces the friction between the bones in the joints. This shock absorbing characteristic of cartilage is due to its ability of changing shape when pressure is put on it, and then springing back into shape.

When osteoarthritis affects the cartilage, it loses its elasticity and becomes stiff, which results in making it more susceptible to the effects of wear and tear. With time, some parts of the cartilage may wear off, which greatly decreases its function of acting as a shock absorber. With continued deterioration of the cartilage, the ligaments and the tendons stretch, which causes the pain felt in the affected joints. If there is a worsening of the condition, the cartilage may wear off altogether, resulting in the bones rubbing against each other.

Statistics

Degenerative arthritis affects more than 20 million Americans. While it is not clear yet what causes this joint disorder, most scientists agree that the use of the joints along with aging are the main factors in developing this painful and debilitating disease. Many people above the age of 60 develop this disease to some extent, although the severity varies. According to some estimates, about 70 percent of the people aged in their mid 70s have osteoarthritis. It has also been seen that when it affects people around the age of 50, it is mostly women who get it. However, sometimes arthritis can even strike those in their 20s or 30s.

Causative Factors

Apart from aging and overuse of joints, the other factors that are associated with the disease are being overweight, weakness of the muscles, and a history of the disease occurring in the family. According to some scientists, it could even be brought about due to some mechanical cause. For instance, some chemicals are released by the cartilage between the bones which are meant to breakdown and reconstruct it again at regular periods. When there is an unbalance in these chemicals, it leads to the cartilage breaking down faster than it has the ability of reconstructing itself. Scientists, however, do not understand yet why the unbalance in the chemicals occur in the first place.

Symptoms

Osteoarthritis symptoms can differ from one individual to another. One of the most common symptoms is stiffness in the affected joints after a period of rest like sleeping or sitting, along with pain in the joints on movement. The pain in the joints may be constant while moving or it could occur only when the joints are moved in a particular way. Since the effects occur gradually, the pain may be felt just as a dull joint ache initially. Most people think that it is a sign of aging and don't bother to seek medical counsel. It is only when they get more severe symptoms, like swelling and tenderness in the joints, or they have a grinding sensation or hear crunching sounds when they use the affected joints that they finally consult a doctor. One of the most extreme symptoms is the joints becoming deformed. This is caused due to the body trying to repair the damage in the cartilage and instead depositing calcium at the bone endings, which results in the arthritis worsening.

Pain can also differ, from being low in intensity to high intensity. Most people feel an increase in the pain when the weather get humid, causing muscular contraction and spasm. Another typical characteristic is that the symptoms don't always progress according to any set patterns. For example, there can be days when the patient has no pain, while on other days he/she may feel acute pain. The pain is usually at its worst in the mornings and evenings, subsiding during the day. If a tingling or pinching sensation is felt in the spine, or numbness is felt in the spinal cord or a nerve there, it implies that the edge of the joints in the spine is being affected by the formation of bone spurs. Various parts of the body experience different symptoms. For instance, when it affects the hip, it gets stiff and movement becomes painful and difficult.

Since symptoms are usually confused with spondylosis, which is a disease that affects the discs between the spinal vertebrae, they have to be verified prior to any medication being prescribed. Another problem is that osteoarthritis and Spondylosis often occur together. One more disease that osteoarthritis is often confused with is Osteoporosis, which occurs due to the lack of calcium in the bones. The pain that is felt when there is an Osteoporotic fracture of the spine is akin to the one caused by this disorder. Hence, verifying the symptoms in the early stages helps in reducing unnecessary trauma and tension, and the administration of the correct medication.

Treatment

At present, osteoarthritis has no cure. The goals of treatment includes improving the movement of the joints along with reducing the pain and stiffness in them. Usually two or more strategies of treatment are combined in order to achieve this. If it is only a mild pain, generally just an over-the-counter medication, like aspirin or acetaminophen, may be sufficient. Combining this with exercise, specifically meant for arthritic patients, helps to alleviate the stiffness. However, when aspirin is not enough, a prescription medication for pain relief will be required. Once this type of drug is begun, regular visits to the doctor have to be made so that if there are any side effects the doctor can prescribe an alternative medication. A good home-treatment for relieving the stiffness is the use of ice and heat on the affected joint. The heat eases the stiffness before an activity or exercise, and the ice helps in reducing any swelling that may be caused. Some patients get relief when medication is injected straight into the joint.

Weight loss is also recommended for people who are overweight and have osteoarthritis, since excessive weight causes the cartilage to wear off faster due to the extra strain on the joints. Surgery can also be taken recourse to as a last resort in order to replace hip or knee joints. This is only recommended when there is severe damage of the joints and they do not respond to other options of treatment.

Disclaimer: This Buzzle article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.