What Is Osteoarthritis?

Author : Winnie Warrant 

Arthritis comes with over 100 variations of rheumatoid diseases and osteoarthritis is the most common rheumatoid diseases of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is about the breakdown of the cartilage between the bones. Osteoarthritis itself comes in two forms: primary and secondary. Primary osteoarthritis appears without any obvious cause, while secondary type of osteoarthritis develops in joints that are known to have been damaged, such as "football knees".

The first major change is that the smooth cartilage surface softens and becomes pitted and frayed. Initially these cells are repaired, but soon this process begins to fail. Large sections of cartilage may be worn away completely leaving the ends of the bones unprotected.

The joint becomes painful to move. Later the bone ends thicken and bone "spurs" form. Fluid-filled sacs can also appear around the joint. Eventually with the reduction in cartilage, a bone-to-bone contact occurs which is most painful. The time it takes for all of this to occur varies greatly with each individual.

Usually there is no general felling of sickness, no fever and no weight loss. Rarely is pain felt far from the affected joint. Pain is most common after the joints have been overused and conversely after being motionless for some time.

There are some patterns to the disease:

• Older people get it more than younger
• Obese more than skinny
• Woman affected twice that out of men
• Bachelors get osteoarthritis of the knees at twice the rate of married men
• Those involved in contact sports have an even greater risk

How Is Osteoarthritis Treated?

Osteoarthritis has four goals:

• Controlling pain
• Improving joint function
• Maintaining a normal body weight
• Achieving a healthy lifestyle

In an effort to champion these core goal, osteoarthritis is treated with a rigorous combination of exercise, weight control, rest and relief, natural pain relief, medication, surgery, or even alternative treatments. Studies have shown that exercise is one of the best treatments for osteoarthritis. Not only can exercise routines like walking, water aerobics, and swimming increase flexibility and strengthen the heart rate, they are also great for decreasing pain and prompting a cheery outlook. Other exercise benefits on osteoarthritis include an improved blood flow and affordability.