Osteoarthritis affects the joints and it is the most common of all types of arthritis. Your joints swell, they get stiff, they become painful and it could affect any of your joints – the wrists, fingers, knees, spine or hips. It is usually a condition that comes with age but there are cases where even the young are affected. In America alone, over 20 million people are affected by this condition and in twenty years, that number could well rise to 70 million. With nearly $35 million being spent annually on this condition, it is important to see how to reduce its incidence.
Most of us get stiff as the years roll by. We can’t expect time to stand still and be as young and active as we once were. However, we don’t need to speed time along and give in either so even a condition like osteoarthritis can be controlled and managed if we take the right steps in time.
Let’s take a look at how this condition occurs. It usually begins with the joints getting inflamed, in many cases because of the wear and tear of age. When this happens, the cartilage which is found between the joints and which acts as the cushioning between them tends to break down and very soon, the amount of cartilage reduces and the bones start rubbing against each other. This causes pain and stiffness and could even damage the bones permanently. That is why osteoarthritis is also referred to as the ‘wear and tear arthritis’. It is a condition where there is degeneration and pain so it has to be caught and managed early so you can live a life without pain.
While no one knows exactly why osteoarthritis occurs, the condition has been around for centuries as is evident from the skeletons of even ice-age people that have been discovered. There does seem to be evidence that you could be genetically prone to developing this condition and while age is definitely a factor, what also seems to bring it on are weight and injuries as well.
How can you tell if you are suffering from the first twinges of osteoarthritis or not? You have pain in the joints – that is the most obvious symptom. You could also have a fever, have a rash on the limbs and even have trouble breathing. However, the pain is still the most important factor. You also tend to feel stiff when you wake up or sit around for a while.
Is there a gender discrimination? While more women suffer from it after the mid-forties, more men suffer from it before that. For most people, it creeps up on them slowly which is why not too many recognize it till one fine day they are diagnosed with it. For the lucky ones, it is mild and it just means a twinge now and then and a bit of stiffness but for some, the pain can be excruciating.
The sad thing about osteoarthritis once it gets hold of you is the other changes it brings. With reduced mobility, these people start socializing less and they might need to give up their jobs too if it gets very bad. This leads to frustration and depression and one must take care to see that people get treatment quickly enough so they don’t slide into this dark area. Osteoarthritis when it is bad can leave people feeling hopeless because they have to be helped to do so many things.
This is why it is necessary to go see the doctor at the first sign of any pain in the joints so he can treat you and make sure there is no escalation on the damage to the joints. In many cases, much of the medication prescribed will be pain medication which you will need if you want to go about your daily chores with as few problems as possible.
Recently, a study done on a sample of osteoarthritis patients threw up some interesting results. They were monitored for eleven years and what it showed was that people with a certain genetic pattern in a gene found in chromosome 2 were more likely to develop severe osteoarthritis that others. The location was found in the IL-1Ra or the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene and it is this that modulates the inflammatory as well as the immune activity in the system. To develop a test where these people could be identified would be a huge step forward. There is a need to recruit more people with osteoarthritis so they can study the condition and see how best it can be helped.
Osteoarthritis is painful but there are so many ways today to keeping the pain under control. Managing and controlling the pain should be the first objective because a life with pain can cause so much hardship not only for the person but all around.