Osteoarthritis: The most common type of Arthritis which is affecting millions of people throughout the world is Osteoarthritis. This condition is mostly found in people over the age of 50. It can damage any joint of the body most of your hands, knees, hips and spine. But it can be managed effectively by staying healthy, adopting & maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eating habits and some treatments which can help in improving the movement of joints. Early detection of warning signs of osteoarthritis can give you an advantage and bring you relief from pain, frustration and even from surgery. Let’s study some of the early warning signs of this type of arthritis.
Warning signs of Osteoarthritis:
the warning signs of osteoarthritis. Let us study some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
- Pain
A phrase you might have heard before “oh my aching back” and even uttered. In arthritis, ache can be classified into two different categories: tenderness and pain. It may be a sharper pain while moving your joint in a particular manner. Pain can occur in back, hips, neck or knees.
- Tenderness
A discomfort which you may feel while pressing down on the joint is known as discomfort. It can include swelling which happens in advanced stages of osteoarthritis.
- Joint stiffness
It is normal that your body gets stiffed when you wake up or sitting for very long on your desk but this can be a sign of osteoarthritis. It can make you slow and sluggish.
- Abnormal sensations
Our body has cartilage which helps our joints to move smoothly. But when this cartilage gets wears down our bones starts rubbing against each other which causes abnormal sensations. You might feel your joint making noise like clicking or cracking when you move from one place to another.
- Loss of flexibility
In the early stages of arthritis, people may not find it easy to move the affected area of the body. This pain and stiffness can lead to loss of flexibility which is also known as loss of range of motion. Example, if you are having arthritis then you may feel hard to move or bend your knees.
- The timing of your discomfort
Early stages of arthritis are limited to pain, tenderness and joint stiffness for a specific time but at the later stage, you might notice that your hips are hurting after a game of volleyball or after waking up your back get stiffed. At advanced stages of arthritis, you may feel an ache in your joints even if you are at rest.
- Bone spurs
In affected areas, you may feel hard lumps like structure which are extra bits of bone.
- Swelling
Swelling occurs due to the wear and tear of cartilage which helps smooth movement of the joints. In this arthritis, there is more production of synovial fluid by small tissues until the small spaces are full which creates swelling instead of lubricating the different parts.
- Muscle weakness
You may feel that your limbs are heavy and may take more efforts to do a routine activity. This could be because of muscle weakness as the function of muscle is to provide protection to your joints.
If you experience any of the above-mentioned conditions then don’t wait for a worse situation to come; See a doctor as arthritis progresses very fast and damage once caused can’t be reversed.
Visitor Rating: 5 Stars