The 6 symptoms of osteoarthritis you should know
Hello and welcome to the One Care Medical Center, a premier ortho hospital in coimbatore. In this short post, we are going to discuss the 6 symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Read on!
So, osteoarthritis is basically a degenerative joint disease caused by wear and tear of the joints. With increasing age, this can process can virtually affect any individual. As the individual ages, the protective cushion around the joints breaks down leading to the end of the bones rubbing on one another.
This rubbing results in inflammation and joint damage. Some early signs of osteoarthritis include the following
A. Pain
The pain can be dull and aching or sharp and stabbing. The pain of arthritis gets aggravated by performing specific activities.
B. Tenderness
Tenderness can be seen along with swelling in the joints in patients with arthritis. Swelling may also be seen visibly, more so in patients who are in advanced stages of the disease.
C. Stiffness of the joint
The most common symptom reported by patients along with pain includes joint stiffness. While joint stiffness can be quite normal, it can be sometimes the first warning sign of osteoarthritis. Gentle exercise helps warm up the joint and also helps patients overcome that wooden feeling they get in their joints when they have arthritis.
D. Joint Gratings
Some patients experience an abnormal sensation of joint gratings. Joint gratings are a manifestation of the end of bones rubbing on one another. Cracking noises may also be heard while moving.
E. Flexibility loss
When people are in the early stage of arthritis, the joint stiffness associated with pain may result in a loss of joint flexibility. This also means a reduction in the range of motion of the joints. The loss of range of motion is usually a gradual process.
F. Discomfort at rest
Osteoarthritis symptoms are usually apparent after specific activities and these include the sensation of pain in the hips after a game of football or noticing pain or stiffness in the lower back after getting up. With increasing disease progression however, patients will tend to notice aches at rest itself.
In the early stages of arthritis, treatments usually center around exercise + physiotherapy combined with over the counter pain meds, weight management + quitting smoking and alcohol. Advanced treatment options on the other hand are only recommended these preliminary measures fail in arresting or slowing disease progression.
I hope you enjoyed reading this article, keep watching this space for more
References
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1163/156856004773121347
