What Is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide.
Arthritis is the word used to denote damage or inflammation to a joint. A joint is a smooth connection between two bones that allows for movement. Knees, elbows, ankles, hips and such are all joints. Cartilage is the substance that provides the smooth coating to allow for motion.
When the cartilage becomes damaged, the smoothness leaves the joint and this is basically ‘arthritis’. Obviously, this is quite simplified.
Osteoarthritis is the form of arthritis that occurs when the cartilage that protects the ends of bones wears down over time. Osteoarthritis is most commonly thought of as age-related, but can be caused by injuries as well. However, what we traditionally think of as ‘age-related’ is actually just damage due to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
For an injury to cause arthritis, there must generally be an actual break in the cartilage surface or a true crushing injury to that cartilage. Usually, the human body has the capacity to heal from most injuries.
While osteoarthritis can impact any joint, the most commonly affected joints are those used often, or those that bear the most weight – such as your knees, hips, hands, and spine. That being said, the hands and feet are very common sites of pain from osteoarthritis.
What Are The Symptoms Of Osteoarthritis?
Women are more likely to notice osteoarthritis as they enter menopause. Osteoarthritis is more common in older populations than younger populations, even though joint injuries that occur when playing sports can increase your risk of osteoarthritis.
It takes years of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress to damage a joint enough that it begins to become painful. Populations with less generalized inflammation and oxidative stress have less arthritis and better function with less pain as they age.
Obesity can also increase your risk of osteoarthritis. The increased weight adds stress to your weight-bearing joints – such as your hips and knees. Fatty tissues also produce proteins that can cause low-grade inflammation throughout your body, and in your joints. These proteins, adipokines, are very damaging to all structures in the human body, including joints.
What Are The Risk Factors?
Women are more likely to notice osteoarthritis as they enter menopause.
Osteoarthritis is more common in older populations than younger populations, even though joint injuries that occur when playing sports can increase your risk of osteoarthritis.
Obesity can also increase your risk of osteoarthritis. The increased weight adds stress to your weight-bearing joints – such as your hips and knees.
Fatty tissues also produce proteins that can cause low-grade inflammation throughout your body, and in your joints. These proteins, adipokines, are very damaging to all structures in the human body, including joints.
What Are My Treatment Options?
There is no cure for osteoarthritis, but early intervention can slow the progression greatly and help you maintain your quality of life!
Common treatments include using NSAIDs and corticosteroid injections. However, NSAIDs can harm your gut health, and cortisone injections may only relieve pain for a few weeks. You’re limited to 3 or 4 injections a year, because the medication can actually worsen your symptoms over time.
While these are both well within the standard of care, there are more holistic treatments available with fewer side effects. Certain herbal supplements, like Curcumin, Ginger, and natural anti-inflammatories like PEA can help reduce inflammation in the joints, slowing damage.
Tart cherry extract is an excellent and time-tested remedy for the symptoms of arthritis. Movement therapies like yoga or any sort of physical therapy can improve flexibility and improve muscle tone around the joints, helping to support them and reduce pain.
Amniotic (connective tissue support), PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and stem cell injections are promising new regenerative therapies that can help repair and rebuild lost tissue within the joint, but are most successful with regard to regeneration of cartilage when used early in the onset of osteoarthritis.
With later cases of arthritis, these therapies are great at pain reduction and to control damaging inflammation, but the capacity to regenerate tissues is diminished.
These are just a few of the natural therapies we offer in our clinic. Looking for osteoarthritis relief? Click below to schedule your appointment today!
