Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis causes pain and stiffness in joints.
Symptoms may be helped by exercises, physiotherapy, and losing weight if you are overweight.
Regular paracetamol will often ease symptoms. Other medicines are sometimes advised.
Joint replacement surgery is an option for severe cases.

Arthritis means inflammation of the joints. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis in the UK . OA mainly affects the joint cartilage and the bone tissue next to the cartilage.

Symptoms

• Pain, stiffness, and limitation in full movement of the joint are typical. The stiffness tends to be worse first thing in the morning but tends to loosen up after half an hour or so.
• Swelling and inflammation of an affected joint can sometimes occur.
• An affected joint tends to look a little larger than normal due to overgrowth of the bone next to damaged cartilage.
• Deformities of joints due to OA are uncommon.
• You may have poor mobility if a knee or hip is badly affected.
• No symptoms may occur. Quite a number of people have X-ray changes that indicate some degree of OA but have no, or only very mild, symptoms. The opposite can also be true. That is, you may have quite severe symptoms but with only minor changes seen on the X-ray.

Treatment

General measures

• Exercise - If possible, exercise regularly to strengthen the muscles around affected joints and to maintain joint movement. Swimming is ideal for most joints, but any exercise is better than none. Many people can manage a regular walk. It is thought that physical activity gives some protection against ongoing disease and disability.
• Try to lose excess weight as the extra burden placed on back, hips, and knees can make symptoms worse. Even a modest amount of weight loss can make quite a difference.
• Walking aids or shoe insoles may ease the burden on affected joints and ease symptoms.
• Warmth - If you keep affected joints warm it may help to ease stiffness and pain.
• Physiotherapy - may be useful for advice on exercises and other treatments. For example:

- Exercises to strengthen the muscles above the knee (quadriceps) are usually advised for OA of the knee. Strengthening the 'quads' has been shown to improve symptoms.

-  Advice on how to keep active and fit and how to use walking aids properly. If you use a walking aid properly, it can take the weight off joints and help to ease symptoms.

- Other pain relieving treatments may be advised. For example, a physiotherapist may apply sticky tape to the knee in a way which 'pulls' on the knee inwards. This can ease the pain from OA of the knee.

• Occupational therapy - may be advised if you need aids or modifications to your home to cope with any disability caused by OA.