Handling The Challenges of Osteoarthritis

One of the more usual kinds of inflammation of the joint, Osteoarthritis, can have differing causing from person to person. Various individuals inherit cartilage that is defective or have abnormalities of their spine when they are born that puts added weight and stress on one of their joints, resulting in both spine inflammation and back pain. Other people who have put on weight have developed the disease as a consequence of increase pressure.

Hip and knee osteoarthritis are particularly common in people who are overweight. One of the contributions to the development of this type of disease in both people who are young as well as athletes is injury, and the spine and knees are the more common areas that are effective in this instance. Overusing your joints also adds to the overall risk of getting this disease as well, especially in the areas of the knee and hand. Regardless of the particular cause, the Arthritis Foundation reports that there are things you can do that will help with your pain as well as slowing any progression of this disease, which afflicts close to 21 millions people in the United States alone.

There are some individuals who are not personally comfortable in taking medicine of any kind and even don't like to take Tylenol for a headache. There are more natural types of alternative treament for people with osteoarthritis that they can choose from. Recent medical research indicates that natural supplements, like glucosamine and chondroitin, may offer pain relief and help stimulate the body to rebuild some cartilage, particularly for knee arthritis sufferers.

Some people also use methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) and S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) for arthritis but the jury is still out as to their effectiveness. Acupuncture and bioelectric therapy have also been used to calm nerves and release a relieving flow of natural endorphins. Devices that are supportive such as crutchesm canes or braces can take away a portion of the pressure as well.

It can be disappointing to learn that your weight has caused osteoarthritis and that you now need to lose some weight to take the burden off your joints, even though you're suffering pain in your knees, hips, spine or shoulders. Regardless of how challenging of might be to you mentally to begin, your body will start to feel a little better as you exercise. Mentally, you will feel better about yourself and more in control. Little by little, you will find that you have increased mobility and more ease at doing day-to-day activities. Lower impact types of exercises such as walking, swimming, biking are advised.

For individuals that have pain in the knee, doing strengthening types of exercises using light weights for your quadriceps is encouraged. Range-of-motion flexibility exercises that include stretching are very common in physical therapy sessions. Forget about aerobics or jogging, and avoid overdoing it. If your joints hurt excessively more than 2 hours later, then you've pushed yourself too hard. Before and after exercising you can try heat/cold packs to reduce redness or pain. The use of braces, incorporating rest breaks, lowering your overall speed or the duration as well as lowering your body weight can adjust the level of intensity to provide you with an ideal workout.

You may be wondering, "When is surgery necessary for osteoarthritis pain?" If you have attempted using medication, as well as changes in your lifestyle and other types of options for treatment, then additional action might be needed. If you discover that you are unable to be involved in your day to day activities and the persistant pain is impeding your overall life and causing you to be more sedentary, then resist!

Consider surgery like an arthroscopy, which cleans out damaged cartilage (anything but knee), joint replacement therapy (hip or knee), or joint fusion. Often surgery is not recommended for younger patients because they may need a new hip or knee replacement later in life. Another option which is more expensive is that of surgery but because of it's cost it might not be for everybody. Nevertheless, for indivduals who have chronic pain, going through surgery can be the only path to aquiring more mobility as well as a better quality of life.

To learn more go to Arthritis Of The Spine and at Rheumatoid Arthritis Diet