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OSTEOARTHRITIS
MANAGING YOUR OSTEOARTHRITIS
Many musculoskeletal conditions can be managed from the comfort of your own home, providing you have the correct knowledge and information to do so. Below are self help tips and advice to help you manage your osteoarthritis better at home.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CONDITION
In short, osteoarthritis is the naturally occurring aging process that happen to all of our joints. It refers to the changes that develop to the articular cartilage which line the surface of our joints. The role of this cartilage is to provide a nice smooth surface for the joint to move freely and it also acts as a shock absorber during movements, such as stairs, getting out of a chair, walking and running.
It is estimated that over 0.5 billion people world wide suffer from osteoarthritis, over 8.5 million people in the U.K. and around 32.5 million adults in the U.S. live with the condition. Knee osteoarthritis accounts for half of all people with osteoarthritis, with the hip joint being the second most commonly affected joint. It's also not uncommon to develop osteoarthritis of the spine, shoulder, hands and feet.
As mentioned, we know that cartilage change is a naturally occurring process. As a result, if you x-ray any person over the age of 40 (regardless of whether they have a painful or a pain free joint), there will be some evidence of osteoarthritic change to the joint surface. So it's important to appreciate that osteoarthritic symptoms vary greatly and there is a huge spectrum when it comes to severity. At one end of the spectrum, you could experience 10 minutes of morning stiffness in the affected joint because you played two hours of tennis the previous day; whilst at the other end of the spectrum, you could be experiencing pain at night and during most weight bearing activities.
The reasons that some people experience pain and others do not is far more complex than assuming there is a linear relationship between joint health and pain. The amount of damage there is to the cartilage certainly plays a role. However, pain is complex and affected by a multitude of different factors. We know that things such as: stress, mood, thoughts, feelings, emotions, fear avoidance, anxiety, depression, sleep, nutrition, weight gain/loss, smoking, work, finances, social isolation and genetics all have a role to play in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis, and that list is by no means exhaustive.
This is why the pain you experience if you have osteoarthritis is a very subjective (individual things that will vary greatly from person to person). If you are keen to have some help and support managing your osteoarthritis symptoms, try to find a healthcare professional that will take all of the above in to account.
