Arthrosis is a disease in which degeneration and looseness of the joint occurs, which causes symptoms such as swelling, pain and stiffness in the joints and difficulty making movements.
This is a chronic degenerative disease, which has no cure but can be treated through the use of drugs that relieve pain and inflammation and through daily exercises of stimulation and physiotherapy that end up controlling and delaying the development of the disease.
Which joints are most affected?
Arthrosis is a disease that can arise in any joint, however it is more common in certain joints that include:
- Joints that support the weight of the body, such as those of the hip and knee, causing pain and difficulty walking. Find out all about these types of osteoarthritis in knee osteoarthritis and hip osteoarthritis.
- Spinal joints, in the neck or at the end of the spine, causing pain in the neck and back and difficulty in movement. Learn more about osteoarthritis in the spine by clicking here.
- Joints of the hands, in the joints of the fingers and especially in the thumb, causing symptoms of pain, swelling, deformations in the fingers, difficulty to pick up small objects such as pens or pencils and lack of strength;
- Shoulder joint, causing symptoms of pain in the shoulder that radiates to the neck and difficulty in moving the arm. Know the symptoms of shoulder arthrosis by clicking here.
Main Symptoms
The main symptoms of osteoarthritis include:
- Pain in the affected joint;
- Difficulty performing movements;
- Swelling and stiffness in the joint;
In addition, as the disease progresses, some deformations appear in the region of the affected joints.
How the Diagnosis is Made
The diagnosis of osteoarthritis performed by the orthopedist or rheumatologist through analysis and observation of symptoms of pain, swelling, stiffness and difficulty in moving the joint.
Based on these symptoms, the doctor may suspect osteoarthritis, and then order an X-ray or MRI scan to confirm the diagnosis.
Causes of Arthrosis
Arthrosis can have several causes, which can include:
- Natural wear and tear on joints caused by natural aging;
- Demanding jobs that overload some joints as with the maids, hairdressers or painters for example;
- Sports that repetitively overload certain joints or that require constant twisting movements such as football, baseball or American football for example;
- Weakness in the upper legs;
- Activities in which it is necessary to crouch or kneel repeatedly while lifting heavy objects;
- Excess weight, which causes greater wear especially in the joints of the legs or spine;
- Injuries such as fractures, sprains or blows that affect the joint.
In addition, it is also important to take into account the family history of arthrosis since this disease has a certain genetic origin, not forgetting that this problem, although common in all ages, appears more easily after 50 years of age due to natural aging of the body.
How is the treatment
Arthrosis is a problem that cannot be cured, and its treatment is based on the use of anti-inflammatory and analgesic remedies to reduce joint pain and inflammation and physical therapy, exercises or hydrotherapy.
Physiotherapy and exercises should be performed daily, so that they maintain joint movement, strengthen and improve their movement. In addition, during physical therapy sessions, electrostimulating and ultrasound devices that stimulate the joint, decrease inflammation, facilitate healing and control pain can be used.
In cases where arthrosis is related to being overweight, patients must also be accompanied by a nutritionist in order to start a weight loss diet. When there is poor posture, a global postural re-education should be performed by the physiotherapist in order to reduce the compensations and pain generated by poor posture.
Generally these treatments are enough to control arthrosis, however in the most severe cases where there is no improvement and when the pain remains, the placement of a joint prosthesis may be indicated.
How to prevent osteoarthritis
One of the main forms of treatment is the prevention of osteoarthritis, and for that there are some precautions that must be followed that include:
- Avoid being overweight;
- Maintain good body posture;
- Avoid lifting weights, especially in the shoulder area;
- Avoid performing repetitive exercises;
- Avoid carrying out forced labor.
Arthrosis is a chronic degenerative disease and therefore there is no good prognosis for the disease, serving treatments to relieve pain and inflammation, delay the progress of the disease, improve movement and quality of life.
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