OSTEOARTHRITIS 

Osteo- means bones

Arthritis - Generally means disease of the bones.

In short called as OA, Osteoarthritis is a salient condition that mostly is seen in the elderly. Osteoarthritis is often mistaken for an inflammatory disease. No No it is not... it is a degenerative condition that takes place as the age increases.

One must understand that this condition is more common in the women then in men, why? There are some interesting facts like during their life time, in women the menstrual cycle helps the calcium and other vital stuff to stay in the body. Also in their life time women deliver children which is felt to be the reason for early OA. The main change takes place when they menopause, as after it there are many hormonal changes and the calcium level starts to deplete In Men there are no such conditions.

Also OA depends on lot of other things - for eg -

• a) In people working very hard, picking up heavy objects or walking too much, OA seems to set up early.
• b) Obesity and OA have a very dense relationship, How, Let me explain. The more obese a person is the more pressure comes on the lower limps while he or she is walking or climbing stairs.... Also most common Osteoarthritis is of the Knee in such people. The knee when unable to sustain heavy weight starts loses density and pain is felt by the individual.
• c) Trauma- accidents - recurrent accident on the same area... can lead to osteoarthritis in the near future.

Understanding OA

To understand OA you will have to know something regarding the Joints.

Now, in case of any joints you must of heard of something called as the Cartilage... We call it the cushion between two joints that keep them flexible and reduce the fiction. Now when we are young and healthy this cushion is also young and flexible. As the age increases the cushion starts to wear off, if which that you add trauma / obesity / hard work, the cushion wears off more quickly. At first it becomes irregular and then the two ends of the bones start rubbing against each other creating fiction and Pain. Now, you have to remember that the cushion can't be replaced! Not that I know off but that doesn't mean that all of us have to totally replace our knees in the old age. Not everyone is that unfortunate.

What can we do?

There are something you should do and can do when you know that you might get OA or it is just the beginning.

• 1) Reduce weight. Very important the less you weigh the less pressure on the joints the less the pain and discomfort.
• 2) Massage of the Joint: Yes Yes you can do it, provided you don't apply to much pressure that leads to swelling!
• 3) Application of Oils: Massage or pain reliever oils can help you in reduction of pain and increase in strength of the adjoining muscles and tendons.
• 4) Yoga and light exercise - Yoga and light exercises and help you in reduction of pains, Provided you do these exercises very slowly and they take their effects after some time.
• 5) Calcium: Now something that you need to know that you require a constant supply of calcium as it is thrown out of your body daily! So either you can have a glass of milk dairy or a calcium supplement that will help you to keep a good level of calcium in your body and the density of the bones are maintained.
• 6) Avoiding fractures, Fractures at elderly ages are difficult to heal, so it is best to avoid. If you do fall down make sure you are no hurry to get out of the bed. Take adequate rest and let you bones heal!