Introduction
Osteoarthritis is a degenerating joint disease that causes the cartilage that cushions your joints to break down, causing pain and stiffness. The knee is the most common place for people to develop osteoarthritis, but it can also affect hips, shoulders, neck and other joints. Early-onset OA patients have what are called primary symptoms,” says Matsumoto. “If you’ve had an injury, that’s always a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis later in life,” says Matsumoto. “And if you’re older, that’s just another risk factor.”
The No. 1 thing you can do to stop OA from progressing is to lose weight, say Matsumoto and Sharrock (and your doctors).”
“Osteoarthritis is degenerating joint disease,” explains Dr. Kyle Matsumoto, an orthopedic surgeon at Stanford University. “Your joints are cushioned by cartilage.” When that cushion breaks down, pain is the result.The knee is the most common place for people to develop osteoarthritis, but it can also affect hips, shoulders, neck and other joints.
Osteoarthritis is degenerating joint disease,” explains Dr. Kyle Matsumoto, an orthopedic surgeon at Stanford University. “Your joints are cushioned by cartilage.” When that cushion breaks down, pain is the result.
The knee is the most common place for people to develop osteoarthritis, but it can also affect hips, shoulders, neck and other joints.
“It’s generally a wear-and-tear type of thing,” says Dr. Matsumoto. “Your body has a lot of cartilage that lubricates the joint between bones.” The cartilage in your knees acts like shock absorbers as you walk or run. But as you age or do repetitive activities like running—especially without proper warmup—the cartilage wears away faster than it can be replaced through normal processes in your body (known as chondrocytes). As this happens over time—and particularly if there’s been an injury in those areas—the bone starts rubbing against itself instead of with the cushioning provided by healthy cartilage tissue.”
Early-onset OA patients have what are called primary symptoms,” says Matsumoto.
Early-onset OA patients have what are called primary symptoms,” says Matsumoto. “These include pain, stiffness and loss of function. The most common cause of these is injury.”
Many athletes who develop early onset OA have experienced a significant change in their training, says Dr. Matsumoto. “They’ve had an increase in mileage or intensity, or they’ve changed their workout schedule so much that they’re not getting adequate rest time between workouts.”
When participating in sports like running or swimming that require repetitive motions—and particularly if you run along the same route on multiple days—you can cause injury to your joints due to repetitive strain over time, he says. (This isn’t just true for runners; anyone who does anything repetitively during sports can get injured.) If you’re exercising differently from how you usually do because it’s summertime and sunny out (or wintertime and not) this may be another factor that could contribute to developing early onset osteoarthritis symptoms
“If you’ve had an injury, that’s always a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis later in life,” says Matsumoto. “And if you’re older, that’s just another risk factor.”
If you’ve had an injury, that’s always a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis later in life,” says Matsumoto. “And if you’re older, that’s just another risk factor.”
Other potential factors include family history and ethnicity, as well as gender. “Women are more likely to get it than men,” says Matsumoto. This is partly because of a higher prevalence of osteoarthritis in women during their reproductive years, but also due to the fact that “women live longer than men,” according to Matsumoto.
The No. 1 thing you can do to stop OA from progressing is to lose weight, say Matsumoto and Sharrock (and your doctors).
The No. 1 thing you can do to stop OA from progressing is to lose weight, say Matsumoto and Sharrock (and your doctors). “If you’re overweight or obese, your joints are going to be bearing more load,” says Dr. Matsumoto. “That extra pressure makes the cartilage in your joints less pliable and more vulnerable.”
Losing just 5% of your body weight can decrease the risk of developing OA by 50%. Even if you’re already facing joint issues, losing weight will ease their symptoms and give them a chance to heal naturally. If losing weight isn’t an option for you right now—or it’s something that’s too difficult—try maintaining at least a stable body mass index (BMI).
Physical therapy has also been shown effective in reducing pain and improving mobility among people with knee OA; it may help reduce pain associated with muscles tightening around inflamed knees as well. A program including exercises designed specifically for people experiencing knee problems has been shown to improve function within six weeks when performed three times per week for 12 weeks—and these effects have lasted up until 24 months later!
Physical therapy may seem like a long shot for chronic pain, but it does work for some people with OA.
Many people with OA find that physical therapy (also called physiotherapy) is a great way to manage their symptoms. Physical therapy can help you reduce your pain, improve your function and quality of life.
Physical therapists are experts at customizing a treatment plan for your individual needs. They’ll take into account things like strength, flexibility, balance and mobility when developing the plan with you. They may also recommend exercises that target specific areas of pain or stiffness that cause you problems. If you’re not sure what kind of physical therapy will work best for you, ask the therapist to explain their recommendations in plain language before agreeing to follow them
Conclusion
As someone who has OA, I know just how much it can affect your day-to-day life. But if you do your research and seek the help of professionals who specialize in this kind of thing, then there are steps you can take to make things easier on yourself. Don’t give up! The more active we all are, the less likely it will be for us all to suffer from these debilitating chronic diseases