Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease, that presents as joint stiffness, swelling and pain. With it being the most common type of arthritis and impacting quality of life how can it be managed?
Exercise
Exercise may seem like a peculiar choice when your joints hurt but it can be beneficial when you have OA. Strengthening the muscles around an arthritic joint has been shown to improve symptoms.
Medication
Your doctor may prescribe medications to help with the pain and swelling associated with OA. These won’t prevent the condition from degenerating further but may help you cope better daily.
Rehabilitation
As mentioned above exercise can improve symptoms but if the disease has progressed or if you’re struggling to find an exercise that improves your symptoms you may need a carefully tailored plan by a trained therapist.
Surgery
Osteoarthritis occurs in 4 stages – the further your joint degenerates the more pain and stiffness you may experience. An orthopaedic surgeon may recommend surgery to improve your symptoms. However, for various medical reasons not everyone may be viable for surgery.
Orthotics
Orthotics can help to slow down the progression of the disease early on in some cases as poor alignment can often lead to OA developing. Early intervention is key as poor posture and leg length discrepancies can lead to OA in the feet, knees and hips. As mentioned above in the later stage’s surgery is often considered but if this is not possible then in some cases such as knee OA offloading braces can be prescribed to create alleviate pain.