Cure for Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common form of arthritis. This results from degeneration of cartilage tissues that are present in the body joints. The soft cartilage tissues acts as cushions and prevent the bone ends at the joints from getting rubbed against each other. As the cartilage deteriorates, the ends of the bones get rubbed repeatedly and suffer damage. In this condition, the affected joint becomes stiff and painful. The areas that are most commonly affected by osteoarthritis are knee joints, hip joints, wrist joints, thumb joints, neck and lower back spine.

Causes and Symptoms
The exact cause behind osteoarthritis is not clearly known. However, there are a number of possible factors which have been found to have contributed towards this problem. One of the key cause is believed to be the overall aging process. For this reason, it is mostly found in people who are above the age of 40 years. Injury to the joint, weakness in muscles, excessive bodyweight may also lead to this kind of degeneration. In some cases, it has been found to be hereditary.

Initially, the symptoms of osteoarthritis are mild and show up occasionally. With passage of time, as the cartilage deteriorates, the symptoms get aggravated. The common symptoms are as follows:

• An acute pain in the joint. Usually, the pain is experienced during or after repeated use of the joint.
• Inflamed joint which is warm and tender to touch.
• Stiffness in the joint that tend to restrict its movements.
• A burning sensation in the soft tissues of muscles and tendons that surround the joint area.
• Loss of strength in the affected joint.
• While moving the joint, a cracking or grating sensation can be felt in the area.

Treatment
When you visit a doctor with osteoarthritis symptoms, x-rays and MRI is conducted for diagnosis of the problem. The treatment is then based upon the severity of damage caused by osteoarthritis. Firstly, the pain need to be alleviated. Doctors prescribe one or more oral anti-inflammatory medicines for this purpose. Capsaicin cream are also given to which has to be applied topically on affected joint for pain relief. These medicines can bring down mild to moderate joint pain. However, they are not so effective on a severe joint pain. In that case, doctors may administer cortisone injections for relieving the pain. They make the affected joint numb and then insert the needle into it to inject the medicine directly at the painful site. This will bring down an excruciating pain almost instantly.

The effects of both the oral medicines as well as the cortisone shot is temporary and they do not address the root cause of the problem. Moreover, these medicines cannot be used for a long time as they have adverse side effects. As the pain increases with movement, doctors may advise you to restrict joint mobility with the help of splints, braces, shoe inserts, etc. Such medical devices provide adequate support to the joint and keep them in immobile state. As the pressure is eased off from the joint, you can get relief from the persistent pain of osteoarthritis. Doctors often recommend physical therapy. As the pain subsides, physical therapists suggest some gentle stretching exercises involving the affected joint. Such exercises can strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, add stability to the joint and improve its flexibility. You can also consult an occupational therapist who can work with you and give you suggestions to modify your joint movement during activities in order to minimize the pressure on the affected joint.

If the joint is in badly damaged condition, then the non-surgical methods of treatment do not yield much results. In that case, the damaged joint is repaired with the help of surgery. There are different surgical procedures that are used for curing osteoarthritis. One is joint replacement surgery (arthroplasty) where the damaged part of the joint is replaced with devices made of either plastic or metal. In another procedure called osteotomy, the bones are realigned so that the joint deformity caused by osteoarthritis can be corrected. Then there is arthrodesis where the bones are fused together to increase the stability of the joint

Natural Cures
The joint pain and inflammation of osteoarthritis can be treated naturally too. A few simple remedies that you can try out at home are as follows:

Heat and Cold Therapy: Both heat and cold are equally effective for pain management. Ice application eases off the tension from the muscles and relieve the pain. On the other hand, heat application provides a soothing relief from the pain by reducing the stiffness of the joint. For best results, you must apply heat and cold to the joint alternately for 15 minutes. It can be repeated several times throughout the day.

Oil Massage: When you are extremely bothered by the arthritic pain, then pour a few drops of garlic oil on the painful joint and massage it with gentle circular motions. This will give you a quick relief from the pain. Similarly, you can mix equal quantities of mustard oil and onion juice and massage the area with this mixture.

Dietary Supplements: Glucosamine sulfate and chondroitin sulfate are two naturally occurring nutritional supplements which have been proved to be highly beneficial for osteoarthritis. If these two supplements are taken together for 6-8 weeks, you can get significant relief from both pain and inflammation.

Fish Oil: Fish oil is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids which is highly effective for reducing inflammation. It also has a lubricating effect on the stiff joints and thus improves their mobility. However, while using fish oil supplements, you have to act patiently as you cannot see any instant results. You have to take them for 8-12 weeks continuously.

Pineapple Juice: It has an enzyme component named bromelain which has the natural ability to reduce swelling. Drink fresh pineapple juice everyday to obtain best results. You can also opt for fasting on pineapple juice for one single day. This should be repeated after a gap of every 2 months.

The damage caused by osteoarthritis is irreversible. Therefore, the key to cure is an early treatment. If you start it at the initial stage, then osteoarthritis cannot cause any major harm to the joint. Moreover, the damaging effects can be successfully controlled with conservative methods of treatment only.