Understanding Osteoarthritis: The Most Common Form of Arthritis

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease, affects up to 30 million Americans, mostly women and usually those over 45 or 50 years of age.  The goal of any osteoarthritis treatment plan is to increase the strength of the joints, relieve pain, improve or maintain joint movement and reduce the debilitating effects of the disease.

Osteoarthritis Overview

For many, osteoarthritis pain may become markedly worse over time or with specific activities.  Characteristic signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis include:

Stiffness. A common marker of osteoarthritis is stiffness in the joint that is most pronounced first thing is the morning, or after a prolonged period of inactivity (such as sitting in a car or airplane).  The stiffness usually resolves within 30 minutes of light activity, as the joints “warm up” through gentle movement.

Pain.  Another common symptom is pain in the joint that worsens during or after too much movement.  The pain may be experienced as a dull and aching, or sharp and piercing.  In the most severe cases of osteoarthritis, patients may also feel pain when the joints are at rest only moving slightly.

Soreness.  The joint may feel tender to touch or with slight pressure.

Inflexibility.  Patients may experience loss of full range of motion in the affected joint.

Swelling.  The joint may swell due to excess fluid buildup.  This type of swelling is clinically referred to as effusion.  If the swelling is severe, the joint may also feel warm to the touch.

Grating or creaking.  There might be a sensation of grating or slight grinding when moving the joint, as the surfaces of the articulating points of the joint no longer move smoothly against each other.

Bone spurs.  Sometimes, bone bumps – which are points of the bone that grow outward as a result of the joint friction and dysfunction – can be felt under the skin.  Bone spurs may also be referred to as osteophytes.

Deformity.  In some types of osteoarthritis, physical deformity may be noticeable.  For example, enlarged finger joints may result from the friction which causes bony enlargements of the finger joints, or advanced degeneration of knee cartilage can lead to an outward, or bowlegged, curvature of the knee.

While osteoarthritis pain is usually felt in the affected join, for some patients the pain may be referred to other areas of the body.  For example, hip osteoarthritis may lead to knee pain, or spinal osteoarthritis may affect nerves that cause pain, numbness or other symptoms in the part of the body that the nerve leads to.

When the hips or knees are affected, walking can be a significant source of pain,  and accommodation pain may induce a limp.  Pain can be felt in areas outside the damaged joints, including the buttocks, groin, or thigh and may vary in severity from a dull ache to a sharp pain.

Cervical Osteoarthritis (Neck Arthritis)

Just as the lumbar spine, the facet joints in the cervical spine can degenerate and lead to arthritis in the neck.  Many terms are used interchangeably to refer to cervical osteoarthritis, including cervical spondylosis, degenerative joint disease, or simply neck arthritis.

Treatments for cervical osteoarthritis are usually nonsurgical and may include one or a combination of the following: 

When the pain is severe, Acupuncture will help. In our office we also us Biopuncture, this is very effective in controlling the pain. It is a natural homeopathic injection into the acupuncture points that assist the bodies ability to heal with out the need for artificial steroids and pain medication.

Traction and/or chiropractic manipulations will help control chronic symptoms or provide relief for more sever episodes of pain from osteoarthritis.Nutritional intervention is very critical when the symptoms begin, do not hesitate to begin using a Anti-inflammatory diet.  For tips and help please contact my office.

Dr. David B. Thomson BS, DC