Osteoarthritis progresses with age
and affects the area around the joints. One experiences pain,
stiffness or swellings due to complete loss of cartilage
cushion, extended periods of inactivity, or trauma. The pain
differs in intensity from low to high, increasing in humid
weather, followed by muscle spasm and contraction. The time to
worry is when this pain in the hip, knee, spine or feet
persists for more than two weeks.
Osteoarthritis symptoms vary
from patient to patient. What is interesting about
Osteoarthritis is that symptoms do not always progress with
time. Patients can have days of no pain or unpleasant days of
acute pain due to weather changes. In progressive
osteoarthritis, symptoms get magnified and other joints of the
body are affected. These joints include the neck, knees, hips,
hands, or feet. Crepitus, a creaking sound when a bone rubs
against another bone, is prominent in the neck. The pain
worsens in mornings and evenings and subsides during day time.
If a patient feels pinching or tingling, or there is numbness
in a nerve or the spinal cord, it means that bone spurs are
forming at edge of the joints of the spine and irritating the
nerves. Different body parts may experience differing
symptoms. For example, with osteoarthritis of hip, the major
weight-bearing joint is stiff and difficult to move.
Osteoarthritis symptoms need to
be verified before any medication is prescribed, as the
symptoms are often confused with spondylosis. Spondylosis is
responsible for gradual deterioration of the discs between
vertebrae of the spine. Spondylosis and osteoarthritis are
generally found together, and one needs to be sure before
start of treatment. Another common mix-up is with symptoms of
Osteoporosis, or low calcium content of the bones. The pain
from an Osteoporotic spinal fracture is similar to one felt by
Osteoarthritis patients. Verification of symptoms in initial
stages helps reduce unnecessary tension and trauma.
Osteoarthritis
provides detailed information about osteoarthritis,
knee osteoarthritis and more. Osteoarthritis is
affiliated with Gout
Diet.
