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- The joints one by one become painful, tender, and have hard bony swelling.
- They pass through a painful phase but end up as painless but knobby fingers.
- There if deformity but the function of the limb remains unhampered.
- Stiffness in sitting is characteristic of osteoarthritis.
- Unlike rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis causes pain but very little heat or redness.
- Osteoarthritis also causes a bony type of joint enlargement, not a soft tissue swelling.
- It may follow some injury, but tends to occur in older subjects (40-60 years).The joint starts getting deformed as has been mentioned earlier and there is fluid accumulation in the joints.
- Creaking or grating may be felt or heard when it is moved, while pain is variable and tends to be worse in wet weather and in night.
- This disease is caused due to a gradual destruction of cartilage. Its precise cause is unknown but it is no longer known as a simple wear and tear disease.
- Hereditary seems to play a very important role in osteoarthritis.
- The treatment of osteoarthritis is simpler than that of the more severe forms of arthritis.
- The step in treatment is to assure the patient that it is not crippling, deforming disease.
- This is often a great relief to the patient since the patients usually think that they have a destructive form of arthritis. They often harbors more fear about their future regarding the course the disease would take in their life more than the disease warrants.
- Joint rest is important and special exercises are needed.
- Postural exercises are important aids in treatment.
- The body weight should be kept down
- Drug therapy is kept to a minimum. The principal drug is Aspirin and Paracetamol; the dose is to be decided by the doctor.
- Walking shoes with raised heel often help. The patient should also use a walking stick.
- Physiotherapy, heat, active exercises and wax baths all help.
- Among the various surgeries available for arthritis, Osteotomy is the most successful.
Osteoarthritis
This is a chronic and mild form of arthritis which is distinguished by degenerative changes affecting primarily the articular cartilage and adjacent bone which can usually be seen on x-ray. Sometime, only one joint is affected, and it is usually a large one such as the hip. Osteoarthritis is extremely common and usually constitutes a little more than a considerable and continuing nuisance. The chance of getting it increases with age. The weight-bearing joints are more commonly involved, but one hereditary form of osteoarthritis involves the end and middle joints of fingers.
What are the common signs and symptoms of Osteoarthritis?
What causes osteoarthritis?
How can an osteoarthritis patient be treated?
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