Osteoarthritis is a common form of arthritis, which degenerative joint inflammation. Osteoarthritis can happen in cases when you have a breakdown of the cartilage at end of bones. It usually happens when you overstretch or overuse yourself and it affects hips and knees, hands, or lower back, and inflammation and pain can be sometimes severe.
Osteoarthritis has no known cure, and as it develops further the pain and symptoms are worsened, but with the appropriate kind of therapy and treatment you can lead an active life gets control over your symptoms and manage your pain.
Symptoms of osteoarthritis may appear slowly and then gradually gets worse over time. These symptoms include bone spurs which is lumps that form around your joints, tenderness in your joints after pressure in applied on them, grating sensations, in cases when you move or use your joint, pain in your joints gets affected when you try to move them stiffness that you can feel in the joints in the morning or after a period of inactivity and loss of flexibility, in which case your motions and movement of the affected joints are limited.
When you visit your doctor he or she my ask you several questions like do you have joint swelling, is the pain in joints burning, sharp or aching, or are your joints stiff in the morning, etc. after you answer them, your doctor can make the diagnose and prescribe you with appropriate therapy. In addition he may order some extra test to be performed like X rays, MRI or ultrasound.
Because living with osteoarthritis can be very stressful, die to constant pain, loos of some motions in your limbs, or problems performing every day tasks, you should, in addition to therapy prescribed by your doctor, do some changes at your home in order to help yourself and further relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Try to maintain good posture, in order to relieve pressure from your back and neck. Straightening your back to a right position can do the trick. Also comfortable and supportive shoes may be a good idea.
You should have a plenty of rest, in order to relieve the pressure from your painful joints. Also, you should learn to use walker, cane or crutches, if necessary. Protecting your joint from getting injured by performing some unhealthy physical activity is also a must.
Modify your work or home area in the way that suit your needs and comfort. You can also try a combination of hot and cold compress on sore places, massage, and, if necessary some pain killers, like non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs or Aspirin.
Exercises are very important, too. You should consult your doctor or physical therapist about appropriate sets of daily exercises for your type of osteoarthritis.
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