Osteoarthritis in joints

Osteoarthritis: symptoms/signs, causes, treatments, prevention, prognosis and massage therapy

(Most of the information is by me (Adam), but I used some research just for proper wording or extra info).

Osteoarthritis

What is it?  Wear and tear on joints or a certain joint, or deterioration/degeneration of articular cartilage within the joint. This occurs over time and can worsen depending on what you do from day to day. Drink plenty of water to keep your muscles and joints moisturized, and keep your synovial fluid in your joints up. 

Signs & symptoms: You’ll feel pain in your joints during movement. It may be tender in the joint area when being touched with light pressure. Pain can also transfer from the actual pain area. So it may be painful all around your knee or elbow, or whichever joint it is. Also you may feel pain a little distal from the area as well. You’ll have joint stiffness; no flexibility like you did before, and bone spurs (extra bone, bumps) may form around the affected area. If arthritis occurs in the spine, the discs will be compressed and bone spurs will form as well. With all of the plus the pain, will probably affect upper body posture. Mayoclinic.com

Tests: When you decide to go to your doctor, he or she will examine the joint and check for redness, tenderness or swelling, and also your range of motion. X-rays and MRIs are taken to see inside the joint; and a blood test and fluid test maybe taken as well, where the doctor will stick a needle through the affected joint area to see what kind of fluid is in there. Mayoclinic.com

Causes: The wear and tear over time, with the cartilage that cushions our joints will wear out. Instead of feeling slick smooth movements, everything becomes stiffer, like a grinding pain. Mayoclinic.com

What also cause this could be the way we walk and the type of movements we do. If you walk with a weak gait where your knees internally rotate in or rotate out or supinate, and when your feet (Evert in) or (Evert outward) like duck feet. This will cause wear and tear on the medial side when the knees rotate inward and feet pronate, or if your knees and feet turn outward. When you walk like that, you’re placing stress & pressure on the knees. Even when you do your squats with your knees and feet turned out. However, if your knees supinate outward, that’ll cause the wear & tear on the lateral side of the knee also because of the stress. So overtime, having these bad habits will do us in. Mayoclinic.com

Treatment: Treatment includes joint replacement parts that provide better comfort and support. Some people may only need a partial knee replacement; others may need the full joint replacement. Some people also just need orthoscopic surgery to suck out extra tissue, fluid or old cartilage perhaps. You need a good orthopedic doctor to do it, and you need good therapy and to complete your therapy program. Then after that, people need to keep doing your exercises and do newer & better exercises to make the joint stronger again. Some people don’t complete their rehab or once they complete it, they never continue exercising, so things may occur again. If the surgery wasn’t good, the artificial parts can fall apart and need fixed. You may experience pain still because of a bad surgery too.  Exercising and stretching muscles, keeping everything lose, will help your posture and prevent more arthritis pain, and other problems. Mayoclinic.com

Realigning bones may also help. I don’t believe a cortisone shot is the right treatment like people get. I do believe elderly people should try getting a hyaluronic injection (haylgan synvisc), to lubricate their joints temporarily or long term, it's actually found in the tissues & cartilage, so it could help. You also can buy glucosamine and chondroiton supplements with hyaluronic acid in it. You want all that. I know people may get chicken fat injected into the joint like my grandma’s sister did. I think if people learned to walk with their feet straight, their back straight and head up after therapy, they would have lesser pain and problems. Mayoclinic.com

Prevention: Drink plenty of water and keep your synovial joint fluid levels up, in your joints, so it keeps your cartilage fresh. Everything in your joints, as well as muscles, will dry out and wear away! Oxygen and nutrients are carried through your blood and into the joints and cartilage, it's important! 

 Having good posture, sitting up straight when you sit at your desk or kitchen table, etc. Don't slouch your shoulders, back and/or neck! Exercise your back muscles, shoulder muscles & also your neck to strengthen your deep cervical neck flexors (scalenes, longus colli, longus capitas, and cervical erector spinae). The erector spinae runs from your neck a little bit and down your spine. Down your spinous and transverse processes. Also stretch your hips-gluteus muscles (gluteus medius/minimis and maximas (butt). Stretch your innerthighs if they're tight or if they're weak, strengthen them. When your knees supinate outward or turn outward or rotate inward, stretch those glutes and your piriformis muscles on each hip/leg. 

Stretch your hip flexors in the front and your quads too. You may have to stretch the innerthighs if your legs internally rotate inward. If your knees turn out/supinate out, then just stretch them! Walk with your feet straight, don't walk like a duck or pigeon toed! Everything should be lined up like a straight line, running down your spine (anteriorly, laterally and posteriorly). Sit on a ball chair or just a ball. You can buy ball chairs and other therapy equipment from Isokineticsinc.com.

Prognosis: The chances for arthritis to keep occurring later down the road for somebody, or the chance of new people developing arthritis aren’t bad. About.com

Massage can help osteoarthritis. What massage can do is relieve the pain/inflammation in the muscles/tendons/ligaments surrounding the joint, and help the muscles relax and take away stiffness, increase range of motion, mobility, increase blood flow to and around the area, which will bring oxygen to it and heal it better. Massage also flushes out toxins as well, just like the rest of the body. Everydayhealth.com 

Keep in mind that it's 33.5 lb of pressure put on you per sq inch. So if you learn forward or lean back, etc. 4 inches, take 33.5 lb x 4 in = 134 lb of pressure. 

     

 Ball chairs to help with your posture at home or at work, not just for exercising!

Products that can ease your arthritic pain probably 80%.. Omega-3s will help with any inflammation in your body for whatever reason, it also helps with hormones & chemicals in the brain & body, salmon oil one of the top oils in a capsule.. You get your amount you need, plus get some with DHA for your brain.. Also MaxFreeze gel tip, squeeze tube or spray. This is more natura than Bengay, IcyHot, Biofreeze, and other products with just menthol in it, artificial chemicals/ingredients. You don't want just menthol and the feeling of it! You need arnica, Vitamine E, Tee Tree Oil, and similar things to penetrate in your muscles & bones! These are sold in retail stores, natural ingredients! Of course avoid excessive Omega-6 which come from American or Western diets. Fattening foods, sweets and cakes/cupcakes. The older you get, the more you'll appreciate being pain free then eating junk! 

  Also try Arnica pills at CVS, The Vitamin Shoppr or may have to order them.