Osteoarthritis is a type of arthritis that is caused by the breakdown and the eventual loss of the cartilage of one or more joints. Osteoarthritis causes pain, swelling and fewer motions in your joints. It can occur in any bone joint but prominently it occurs in hip, spine, knees and hands. It is a commonly occurring kind of arthritis. Bone joints are covered with the slippery tissue, named as cartilage. There is damage to cartilage in osteoarthritis. It is also known as degenerative joint disease.

Causes:

Over time, cartilage, which works as cushions for the bone ends, deteriorates. It results in osteoarthritis. The cartilage surface, which is smooth, becomes rough and causes irritation. If the cartilage damages, completely, then the bones are rubbing on each other. As a result, bone joints become painful.

• Old age - Under 40 rarely one experiencesosteoarthritis
• Sex - women develop osteoarthritis most commonly. Thereason is unknown
• Bone deformities - Some people have inborndeformities. They have malformed joints or defective cartilage. So therisk of osteoarthritis is greater
• Joint injuries - In sports or in accidents, manyinjuries occur. They may increase the risk of osteoarthritis
• Obesity - If you are overweight, then there is morestress on your weight bearing joints, like knees. It can also affect thebones I the hand
• Other diseases - Gout, rheumatoid arthritis, Paget'sdisease of bone and septic arthritis can also cause osteoarthritis

Signs & Symptoms:

Slow development of the symptoms is observed in osteoarthritis and their intensity increases with time. The symptoms are observed mostly in knees spine, hips, and hands. If you are injured or have put an uncommon stress, then the symptoms are seen in jaw, elbows, ankles, shoulders, and wrists. The prominent symptoms are as follows:

• While being active or after that, or after beingstatic, pain in a joint
• Feeling of tenderness, even after a light pressure
• In the morning, when you wake up or after longinactive period, you find stiffness in joints
• No flexibility in joints so you can't use it
• While using a joint, you have a harsh sensation
• Bone spurs are formed around the joint. They appearlike hard lumps
• Sometimes you feel swelling in joints

Investigations:

• The joints areexamined and questions about your joint pains are asked. For better conclusionX- ray of affected joint is recommended. Joint break down, spurs aroundthe joints can be seen here.
• In blood test othercauses like rheumatoid arthritis can be known. In the examination of thefluid extracted from affected joint, the possibility of gout or infectionis checked.
• In arthroscopy, thejoint is examined with a tiny camera and the joint abnormalities areobserved on video screen.

Treatment:

No cure exists for osteoarthritis. It goes on increasing with a time. The treatments are only for pain relieving and keeping you active for your daily routine. If you feel swelling or stiffness in your joints, then you should ask for the medical help.

• Rest - If you have pain and irritation in yourjoints, then take rest for 12 - 24 hours. Take break after every tenminute and use that paining joint less frequently
• Exercise - Perform gentle exercises. It makes yourmuscle strong and helps you to endure the pain. When you feel pain, stopthere
• Lose weight as it relieves pressure on your jointsand reduces pain
• Use of heat and cold for pain management. Heatrelieves stiffness, and cold relieves muscle spam. In case of poorcirculation problem, cold treatment should be avoided
• Avoid stressing on affected joint
• With the help of an occupational therapist, selectthe ways of daily living, which are less painful.
• Over - the counter pain creams as it gives temporary relief
• Braces or shoe inserts - Try special splints, braces,shoe inserts or other medical devices to help to reduce your pain
• You can take pain killers after consulting yourdoctor. Be careful about side effects of the medicines if you are alreadytaking a treatment for osteoarthritis
• Joint replacement is a surgery performed for severearthritis. The plastic or metal devices are replaced instead of previousruptured joints
• Your surgeon may remove the small pieces of cartilageand bone from joint area. This will clean the joint and reduce the pain.Arthroscopy is used for this process
• Realigning bones is a process where force of the bodyis shifted to other pat of the bone. It is performed if joint replacementis not possible
• To fuse bones permanently is another option. Itincreases the stability and reduces the pain. In case of a severe pain, jointreplacement surgery and medications are recommended

Prevention:

• Eathealthy diet
• Take recommended medicines
• Control your weight
• Have regular exercise.

Take care in cartilage damaging injuries.