Osteoarthritis - What Precautions Should You Take?

Are you aware of a disease called osteoarthritis that is more likely to develop in case you are aging? Osteoarthritis is a disease, which affects the joints of your body. It occurs when the cartilages that protect and cushion your bones break down, causing swelling and pain, and may make you immobile. The chances of developing osteoarthritis increase with age as your cartilages start breaking down. There are several precautions you should follow for the prevention of osteoarthritis, especially if you are aged. They are as follows:

1. Manage your occupational risks
   • Certain jobs involve repetitive motions, which cause stress on your joints.
   • If your job or occupation involves a lot of lifting, twisting, kneeling, and walking, you should consult a doctor.
2. Exercise
   • It is important for you to undertake exercises of low impact, which is very crucial for improving joint health, even if you are aging.
   • You should choose activities that involve strength training along with stretching and aerobic exercise.
   • Regular exercise helps in the slowing down or prevention of osteoarthritis. It helps you in maintaining healthy joints, reducing fatigue and pain, increasing your bone and muscle strength, and relieves stiffness.
3. Maintaining a healthy body weight
   • Excess weight is a primary risk factor for osteoarthritis, especially if you are aged. It causes extra stress on your joints that boosts the deterioration of your joint cartilage.
   • If you are obese and overweight, your chances of developing osteoarthritis are more. Hence, you should lose extra weight for improving the symptoms.
4. Rest
   • Although exercise is important for keeping your joints and muscles healthy, you should avoid overdoing them.
   • Have a balanced lifestyle, and when your joints become achy or swollen, give them a break.
   • Abstain from using your swollen joint for at least 12 to 24 hours after experiencing them. Letting your injured joint rest helps in reducing your risk of osteoarthritis.
   • Fatigue increases pain in osteoarthritis patients, and hence you must sleep properly.

Treatment in case of osteoarthritis 

Osteoarthritis or degenerative arthritis can be treated by using a mix of treatment pedagogies, based on the severity of the condition. The treatment plan will focus on primarily on improving the mobility of the patient and reduction of pain. 

1. Prescribing painkillers: As the first course of action, your doctor will prescribe you painkillers to reduce the pain caused by the onset of arthritis. It is advised that one should not self-medicate the pain for more than 10 days as they have certain side effects too.

2. Use of anti-inflammatory drugs: Corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid is generally used as an anti-inflammatory medication to control the inflammation caused due to osteoarthritis. Also, hyaluronic acid is a lubricating fluid present in the joints. 

3. Use of braces: If required your doctor will ask you to wear a brace in order to support your knee. The brace can either be a supportive type or an unloader type.

4. Physical therapy: Use of physical therapy can also help in reducing the pain caused by osteoarthritis. 

5. Surgery: If all else fails, surgery is the best option to treat osteoarthritis of the knee.

In spite of no specific cure for osteoarthritis, there are several ways of preventing and managing its symptoms. It is very important for you to maintain a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet, and also to try and keep away from becoming obese.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!