What is osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a joint disease mostly affects cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue covering the head of the bone joints. Healthy cartilage allows the bones slide past each other. Cartilage also reduces the shock movement. When osteoarthritis, the top layer of cartilage breaks and wears away.
This makes the bones under the cartilage to rub together. The rubbing causes pain, swelling and loss of joint mobility. Over time, the joint may lose its original shape. In addition, these spines can also develop on the edge joints. The piece of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the distance between two bones (joint space), causing pain and hurt more.
People with osteoarthritis usually sore joints and less movement. Unlike some other forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis only affects joints without affecting the internal organs. Rheumatoid arthritis - the second most common form of arthritis - affects other parts of the body besides the joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis.

Who Are Sick of osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis occurs most commonly in the elderly. The younger people sometimes get osteoarthritis primarily from joint injuries.

Causes The cause of osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis usually occurs gradually over time. A number of factors can lead to this condition include:

• Overweight
• Aging
• Joint injuries
• The joints are not properly formed
• Genetic defects in articular cartilage
• Repress the match due to some work or play sports.

Diagnosis How is osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint public. The disease occurs most commonly in the hands, knees, hips and spine.
The warning signs of osteoarthritis are:

• Stiffness after getting up from bed or after sitting for long
• Swelling or pain in one or more joints
• Feeling or sound of crunching bones rub together.

No single test can diagnose osteoarthritis. Most doctors use a variety of methods to diagnose and eliminate other problems:

• History
• Physical examination
• Chest X-ray
• Other tests such as blood tests or inspection services in the joints.

Treatment of osteoarthritis How?

Doctors often combine treatments to suit the needs, lifestyle and health of the patient. Treatment of osteoarthritis has four main objectives:

• Improve joint function
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Pain Control
• Having a healthy lifestyle.

Planning treatment of osteoarthritis may include:

• Exercise
• Weight control
• Rest and joint care
• Technical pain without using drugs to control pain
• Drug
• The complementary therapies and alternative
• Surgery.

The Self-Care and "positive attitude of Good Health" How helpful?

Three types of programs to help people learn more about osteoarthritis and improve self-care and positive attitudes about their good health:

• Patient education program
• Self-management program for arthritis
• Arthritis support group.

These programs guide people about osteoarthritis and treatment of this disease. The program also has the obvious benefit and long term. Participants in this program learn how to:

• Exercise and relaxation
• Talk with their doctor or other provider of health care services other
• Solve the problem.

People with osteoarthritis found that self-management programs to help them:

• Understanding the Disease
• Analgesia may still active
• Dealing with the body, mind and emotions of their
• Better disease control
• Stay active and independent.

Those who have a positive attitude about good health:

• Focus on what they can do, do not focus on what they can not
• Focus on strengths, not weaknesses focus on
• Share activities into small manageable tasks
• Incorporate exercise and eating healthy in their daily routine
• Developing ways to reduce and manage stress
• Balance between rest and activity
• Development support system consisting of family, friends and providers of health care services.

Studies are being conducted on osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a disease that is not simply "abrasive" occurs in joints as people get older. There are many things related to the disease rather than aging. The researchers are studying:

• Tool to identify early osteoarthritis
• Gen
• Developing model-specific method to develop cartilage to replace damaged cartilage
• A variety of treatment strategies
• These drugs prevent, slow or repel damaging joints
• The complementary therapies and alternative
• Vitamins and other supplements
• Education to help people control the status of their osteoarthritis better
• Exercise and weight loss to improve mobility and reduce pain.