Fat Loss 4 Idiots Opinion

Friday, March 20, 2009

How to Deal with Osteoarthritis

By Borgon Trocepticlon

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease of the skeletal system that occurs with aging. Osteoarthritis usually occurs in the joints wherein the cartilage breaks down causing pain and stiffness. It is a progressive disease and usually manifests symptoms in a later age. It affects both men and women especially those in their middle to late adulthood. However, men usually experience symptoms earlier than women.

The most common symptom of osteoarthritis is pain in the joint affected. This pain causes stiffness and inhibits range of motion of the joint. The pain is caused by the rubbing of the bones in the joint because of the absence of cartilages in between. Usually, this causes swelling in the area, giving more pain to the patient.

The intensity of pain for patients with osteoarthritis is not the same and varies according to the location of the joint affected and the current temperature of the environment. Usually, a cool climate could cause greater pain in patients. Pain occurs for a couple of hours but doesn't happen the whole day. It is also more often occurring in the morning.

Joint pain in osteoarthritis is not regularly occurring. This means that a person can experience pain attacks in a day and would not experience it until a couple of days later. This is the reason why patients with osteoarthritis have a disturbance in their performance of the activities of daily living. Pain in osteoarthritis can also vary depending on the location.

Osteoarthritis can be caused by a lot risk factors and the most commonly associated risk factor is age. That is the reason why osteoarthritis is called a degenerative disease. Its onset happens when a person is already in his 40s to 60s. Aside from experiencing pain, osteoarthritis has other symptoms such as the inability to move the joints in their normal range, enlargement of the bones, and osteophytes.

Little is known about osteoarthritis being genetic, but it is a common finding for patients with osteoarthritis to have other family members with the same condition. Experts have found out that this incidence is associated with lifestyle. Therefore necessary lifestyle modifications should be done. An exercise routine every day is very ideal to have an active lifestyle to prevent osteoarthritis.

Doing some serious physical work would be helpful to maintain an active lifestyle. A regular exercise routine is also a good option. However, for people who have lots of extra pounds, a change in diet is also necessary. If you're one of these people who is overweight, a diet modification would be a good way to reduce some pounds. Foods such as fruits and vegetables are the most ideal food replacement for foods rich in cholesterol and preservatives.

Osteoarthritis is a serious condition that should not be neglected. Younger people who do not want to be diagnosed with osteoarthritis should take necessary preventive measures as early as possible. Osteoarthritis can cause pain that can't be tolerated by people who have a low threshold for pain. Although medications are available to relieve pain, other symptoms can't just be treated by simple medications. It needs prompt treatment and surgery if possible. - 17269

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