SHARES
“It cripples me every morning. I couldn’t bend my knees to get out of my bed. My knees are so stiff and moving causes pain.” Lena, 58, is struggling with her arthritis pain and stiffness everyday.
Osteoarthritis is a condition in which the protective cushion of a joint gets worn out permanently due to repeated use over the years. As a result, the joint becomes painful when used and the subsequent inflammation damages the joint even more. Often times, the inflammatory proteins form fibrous strands that glue up the joint if we stay in the same position for too long, causing joint stiffness. Osteoarthritis commonly affects weight-bearing joints such as knee joints, hip joints and the lower back.
Many people with osteoarthritis have to live with the distressing pain which only gets worse day after day. The only cure for osteoarthritis is to implant a prosthetic joint but it is still a major surgery that comes with risks.
Research report from the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery found that waiting too long for surgery could cause irreversible deterioration of function; depression and other health issues. Furthermore, patients who wait way too long may experience a slower or less complete recovery. Notably, according to the report, as high as 90 percent of knee osteoarthritis patients waited too long for surgical knee joint replacement.
On the other hand, having surgery too soon, put patients at risk with minimal benefits. They may land up needing another replacement later.
Ok, in that case, when should a joint replacement be done? Discuss it with your surgeon who would base his opinion on several factors such as joint function, pain level, clinical radiological assessment and age of the patient.
Photo by sravana sukanya from Flickr
How to Manage Arthritis Pain?
1. Move Your Joint More But Do Not Overuse It
The inflamed joints can become stiff and painful if we do not move them for quite some time. Therefore, it is important to do our daily stretches and avoid staying in the same position for too long. In spite of that, many still experience stiff joints after a long night sleep or long flight or bus ride. Try moving these joints slowly and gently to break the fibrous strands. Your joints will slowly loosen up.
To point out, these inflammation are commonly due to overuse injury of a worn out joint. Thus, it is crucial for us to know our limits and avoid putting too much burden on our joints.
2. Heat and Cold Therapy
Apply heat locally to help relax muscles and loosen up stiff joints. You may use a heating pad in the morning and take a warm bath to kick start your day. Also, your physio-therapist may offer to warm your joints in warm paraffin wax to reduce pain. Do not apply heat for more than 20 minutes as this may increase inflammation.
On the other hand, you may use ice packs to decrease inflammation and pain immediately after strenuous activity. For instance, after walking for an entire day, knee pain is usually at its worst in the evening. You may apply ice or frozen vegetables wrapped in a towel to your knees.
3. Weight Control
Probably the best way to manage knee osteoarthritis in overweight and obese person is to lose weight. As osteoarthritis impacts weight-bearing joints the most, losing weight can reduce burden on these joints and prevent overuse injury. With proper weight control, we can even stop osteoarthritis from deteriorating and mitigate the need for surgery.
4. Exercising
Contrary to common belief, exercising is actually good for osteoarthritis. With proper guidance from physiotherapists, exercising can improve range of motion of arthritic joint and decrease joint stiffness. On top of that, muscles strengthening exercise can protect our joints in the long run. This is because our muscles are strong enough to support our body weight during activity and make sure no excess burden is being put on our joints.
Your occupational therapist may recommend low-impact exercises such as walking, cycling, swimming etc. It is not recommended for people with osteoarthritis to start off with vigorous exercises such as running, jumping, and high-impact aerobics as these may damage the joint even more.
5. Quit Smoking
Cigarette smoking can increase body inflammation and decrease joint repair. As such, this accelerates degeneration in the osteoarthritic joint. Likewise, cigarette smoking can also result in poor recovery from joint replacement surgery and makes rehabilitation unsuccessful. Get help from doctor if you are having difficulty in quitting cigarette smoking. Your doctor can help you overcome relapses and handle withdrawal symptoms.
Photo by John Willink from Flickr
Conclusion
Living with arthritis can be distressing. As daily activities become more and more challenging, we often lose ourselves to the pain and difficulties involved. However, there are steps you can take to manage the pain and improve joint mobility. Help is always available. Talk to your doctor to find out what the options are and what suits you best!
References:
1. Mayo Clinic Staff. Arthritis pain: do’s and don’ts [Internet]. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 2020. (Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/arthritis/in-depth/arthritis/art-20046440; last updated on 2020 Aug 5; last accessed on 2020 Oct 1)
2. Spriggs BB. Natural relief from arthritis pain [Internet]. Healthline Media. 2020. (Available from: https://www.healthline.com/health/osteoarthritis/arthritis-natural-relief#herbs; last updated on 2020 May 22; last accessed on 2020 Oct 1)
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by Chang Xian
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