Signs and Symptoms of Osteoarthritis
- Posted on: Mar 1 2014
Osteoarthritis, is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people around the 
world. Often called “wear and tear arthritis”, osteoarthritis occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of your bones wears down over time. While osteoarthritis can damage any joint in your body, the disorder most commonly affects joints in your hands, neck, lower back, knees and hips. The constant pressure our body places on our joints causes osteoarthritis to develop. Osteoarthritis gradually worsens with time, and no cure exists.
Osteoarthritis symptoms often develop slowly and worsen over time. Signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis include:
- Pain. Your joint may hurt during or after movement.
- Tenderness. Your joint may feel tender when you apply light pressure to it.
- Stiffness. Joint stiffness may be most noticeable when you wake up in the morning or after a period of inactivity.
- Loss of flexibility. You may not be able to move your joint through its full range of motion.
- Grating sensation. You may hear or feel a grating sensation when you use the joint.
- Bone spurs. These extra bits of bone, which feel like hard lumps, may form around the affected joint.
Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage that cushions the ends of bones in your joints deteriorates after time. Cartilage is a firm, slippery tissue that permits nearly frictionless joint motion. In osteoarthritis, the slick surface of the cartilage becomes rough. Eventually, if the cartilage wears down completely, you may be left with bone rubbing on bone.
Factors that increase your risk of osteoarthritis include:
- Older age. The risk of osteoarthritis increases with age.
- Sex. Women are more likely to develop osteoarthritis.
- Bone deformities. Some people are born with malformed joints or defective cartilage, which can increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
- Obesity. Carrying more body weight puts added stress on your weight bearing joints, such as your knees.
- Other diseases. Having diabetes, underactive thyroid, gout or Paget’s disease of bone can increase your risk of developing osteoarthritis.
- Joint injuries. Injuries, such as those that occur when playing sports or from an accident, may increase the risk of osteoarthritis.
- Certain occupations. If your job includes tasks that place repetitive stress on a particular joint, that joint may eventually develop osteoarthritis.
Although there is no known cure, treatment for osteoarthritis may be extremely effective in 
alleviating the painful symptoms, as well as slowing down the degenerative process. Treatments can vary from conservative (chiropractic manipulation, physical and occupational therapy), use of drug therapy (acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, narcotics) to surgical intervention (cortisone shots, lubrication injections, realigning bones, joint replacement).
Prevention of injuries is extremely important as well. Education is the best prevention. Athletes must wear proper protective equipment ( such as proper headgear), motor vehicle drivers and passengers must wear seatbelts, and employers must make sure they provide a safe work environment. Most importantly, if an accident causing injury does occur, make sure to see your doctor as soon as possible. Even if you are not sure you have injured yourself, it is always prudent to be properly evaluated by your physician just in case injury has occurred. Many times the injuries associated with accidents (whether it is a work accident-workers compensation, automobile accident, slip and fall, construction accident, or any other) are not determined until much later on when damage to the body has already occurred. Remember, once there is damage to the joints involved, osteoarthritis will develop quicker and to a greater extent. Therefore, starting a treatment regimen as soon as possible will most likely diminish the onset and extent of developing osteoarthritis.
Dr. Jeff J. Mollins (certified Workers Compensation Dr.) has been practicing in downtown Brooklyn for over 25 years. He specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and documentation of all injuries sustained in accidents. Dr Mollins and his referred group of professional, competent, medical specialists (also Workers Compensation certified) are adept at treating any aspect of osteoarthritis. If you have been in an accident, or have any of the above symptoms of osteoarthritis, please don’t hesitate to call us immediately.
Posted in: Blog, Work Injuries
