A joint fluid analysis can also be used to determine whether gout or infection is the underlying cause of inflammation. Check out the other tests used to help diagnose osteoarthritis.
OA treatment is centered upon symptom management. The type of treatment that will help you the most will largely be determined by the severity of your symptoms and their location. Often, lifestyle changes, over-the-counter OTC medication, and home remedies will be enough to provide you with relief from pain, stiffness, and swelling. Physical activity strengthens the muscles around your joints and may help relieve stiffness.
Aim for at least 20 to 30 minutes of physical movement, at least every other day. Choose gentle, low-impact activities, such as walking or swimming.
Tai chi and yoga can also improve joint flexibility and help with pain management. Shop for yoga mats. Being overweight can put strain on your joints and cause pain. Shedding excess pounds helps relieve this pressure and reduces pain. A healthy weight can also lower your risk of other health problems, such as diabetes and heart disease. Resting your muscles can reduce swelling and inflammation. Getting enough sleep at night can also help you to manage pain more effectively.
You can experiment with heat or cold therapy to relieve muscle pain and stiffness. Apply a cold or hot compress to sore joints for 15 to 20 minutes several times a day. These practices can help take the edge off of your symptoms and improve your quality of life. For a full list of OA treatments, learn more here. Gentle stretching exercises can be very helpful for people with OA, especially if you have stiffness or pain in your knees, hips, or back. Stretching can help improve mobility and range of motion.
If stretching exercises get the green light, try these four osteoarthritis exercises. There are a number of different types of OA medications that can help provide relief from pain or swelling. They include:. Your doctor may recommend you try OTC solutions as a first line of defense. Learn more about the OTC and prescription options for osteoarthritis.
Alternative treatments and supplements may help to relieve symptoms such as inflammation and joint pain. Some supplements or herbs that may help include:. Shop for fish oil. Shop for green tea. Other remedies can range from taking Epsom salt baths to using hot or cold compresses. Interested in more natural home remedies for OA? Also, the antioxidants found in many fruits and vegetables may also help combat the free radicals produced by inflammation.
Free radicals are molecules that can cause cell damage. A high-quality diet may help provide relief from OA symptoms by reducing inflammation and swelling. Eating foods high in the following can be highly beneficial:. Increasing your intake of foods with anti-inflammatory properties will help, too. Check out more reasons and ways to eat well while living with OA. Osteoarthritis can affect one or several areas of your hands. These areas often include the tips of the fingers, the middle knuckle of each finger, the joint connecting the thumb and the wrist, and the wrist itself.
The joints that are affected largely determine the symptoms that occur. These symptoms often include:. Women are more prone to OA in the hand than men, and usually get it at a younger age. Hand OA can have a big impact on your ability to do the tasks associated with day-to-day living.
However, treatments ranging from lifestyle changes to surgery can help. Read more about OA in the hands and how to treat it. OA can occur in one or both hips. In this way it differs from RA, which usually occurs in both hips at the same time.
Hip OA is a slowly degenerative condition. Supports, such as canes, can also help. If the condition worsens, steroid injections, other medications, or surgery can help provide relief. Alternative therapies can also help, and new technologies are on the horizon. Like hip OA, knee OA can occur in one or both knees. Age, genetics, and knee injury may all play a role in knee OA.
Athletes who concentrate solely on one sport that creates extensive, repetitive motion, such as running or tennis, may be at increased risk of OA. Weight loss is important and so is avoiding overuse, but hip osteoarthritis does not respond as well to exercise as the knee. Koh recommends that people with hip osteoarthritis avoid stairs and low chairs, "Try using an elevated toilet seat, use a cane or walking stick, and install grab bars in the bathroom," he says.
Structural changes in the joints caused by osteoarthritis are very common in the hands of older people but osteoarthritis only causes pain in about 10 percent of people with this type of osteoarthritis.
Hand and finger pains are more likely to occur in people with osteoarthritis after making repetitive motions, such as writing or cooking. There are many ways to avoid hand pain. Use helpful tools in the kitchen and around the house, like jar openers and electric can openers, whenever possible. Door knob extenders and key turners are available to open doors without twisting your wrist. Think about adding large pull tabs on zippers and installing molded and padded handles on doors, which are easier on arthritic fingers.
Osteoarthritis of the spine also occurs in the elderly, the most common areas being the neck and the lower back. Pain is increased with movement. In some cases an osteoarthritis bone spur can press on a nerve.
Relief of osteoarthritis spine pain starts with exercise and physical therapy to strengthen the muscles that support the spine. As with other areas of osteoarthritis, weight loss is important. Treatment for all osteoarthritis pain starts with educating yourself about the disease. Top of Page. A doctor diagnoses OA through a review of symptoms, physical examination, X-rays, and lab tests. A rheumatologist, a doctor who specializes in arthritis and other related conditions, can help if there are any questions about the diagnosis.
There is no cure for OA, so doctors usually treat OA symptoms with a combination of therapies, which may include the following:. In addition to these treatments, people can gain confidence in managing their OA with self-management strategies.
These strategies help reduce pain and disability so people with osteoarthritis can pursue the activities that are important to them. These five simple and effective arthritis management strategies can help. Some people are concerned that physical activity will make their arthritis worse, but joint-friendly physical activity can actually improve arthritis pain, function, and quality of life.
Learn more about how important physical activity is for people with arthritis and how to exercise safely. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link.
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