Osteoarthritis Questions and Answers 100% Verified

Alternative treatment for Osteoarthritis include: - lifestyle changes , such as losing weight to take the strain of the body's joints, and exercise to keep you active and building muscle, thereby strengthening your joints. Low impact exercise is generally recommended, such as walking or running, to keep joints limber. If this is troubling, it is advised an OA patient wears a brace whilst exercising. Physiotherapy, to release the stiffness experienced with OA How can people prevent the development of Osteoarthritis? - Weight control: Eat healthy and maintaining weight = no strain on joints, particularly those who bear the entire body weight - such as the hips and knee joints. Exercise: keeps joints limber, keeps blood circulating to bone, muscle tissue and cartilage so all get nutrients and can work efficiently Get injuries treated: Important to warm up and cool down first to prevent injury, but if injury does occur, get it treatment to avoid further damage, such as modifying high impact movements or using a brace to stabilise joints How does Osteoarthritis occur - The specific cause is unknown, however this is what scientists know so far: Cartilage is a smooth tissue, located over the bone, that helps prevent friction upon movement. Surrounding cartilage is a synovial membrane with fluid inside, which lubricates and nourishes joint tissue, such as cartilage itself. Cartilage contains 'proteoglycans' (pro-teo-gly-cans) , which are proteins that retain water within the joint cavity, and aids in shock absorption.Losing proteoglycans means the cartilage becomes dry and can crack. Once cracked, the cartilage can wear away, and the bone underneath may develop bone spurs (Small, bony outgrowths along joint margin), which decrease the space within the joint cavity, restricting the movement of joints themselves. How doest Osteoarthritis occur on a more complex level? (IL-1 and MMP's) - one a more technical level, scientists have discovered that an unknown factor may cause the increased secretion of proinflammatory molecules, one of which is IL-1. In term, IL-1 increases the activity of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMP's), the degradative enzymes responsible for breaking apart cartilage. A loss of proteoglycans and water results in the creaking and drying out of bones. How is Osteoarthritis diagnosed? - X-rays can effectively detect osteoarthritis. In a healthy joint, cartilage is invisible in an x-ray. Therefore, an image shows the illusion that there is an empty black space between the bones of a joint. As cartilage erodes, this black space between the bones decreases, and bone offcuts become visible, therefore indicating OA Is Osteoarthritis a skeletal or joint tissue disease? - Joint tissue