If you have any concerns whether or not you suffer from osteoarthritis symptoms, then you may need to talk to your doctor about it. He will be able to diagnose your symptoms and treat your condition. The most overriding symptom present in osteoarthritis is the pain. Stiffness and pain in the joint can be experienced by an osteoarthritis sufferer when he tries to stand up after sitting for a long while or after his joint has been subjected to certain types of activities. Normally there may be some degree of pain that a person may experience after exercise, and the post-workout frequency of the pain and its severity may determine osteoarthritis.
As the degree of cartilage damage in osteoarthritis worsens so too will the symptoms get worse. The joints will become stiffer and the pain will correspondingly increase. Certain people unfortunately will experience symptoms of this disease that becomes so unbearable they eventually become disabled. Some people with this condition, on the other hand, may not find osteoarthritis that debilitating and, therefore, live relatively normal and painless lives.
The joints in the shoulders, knees and spine are the most common joints that are affected by osteoarthritis symptoms. A lot of individuals who experience osteoarthritis symptoms in the knees tend to be overweight and many of them after having lost weight have experienced relief from their symptoms.
The main factor causing osteoarthritis is age, although previous injuries and obesity can also play a major role in this disease as well. Most sufferers of osteoarthritis do see their doctor after they have experienced its initial symptoms. Some tend to vacillate until the time when their symptoms seriously affect their life and are too painful to ignore. Some knee osteoarthritis sufferers avail of knee surgery to have their knee cartilage replaced. A lot of physicians advice their patients to take over-the-counter pain medication as well as supplements to neutralize the symptoms.
Pain in your lower back and neck can be the fault of osteoarthritis that has developed in your lumbar or cervical spine. The arthritic spine can develop osteophytes which are bony spurs that cause tingling and numbness to certain parts of the body, extreme pain radiating down the spine and irritation of the spinal nerves.
The small joints of the finger can experience pain when they develop hard bony enlargements caused by osteoarthritis. Heberden’s node (named after a British physician) is one perfect example of a bony enlargement of the small joint located at the end of the fingers. The bone spurs of the small joint causes bone deformity which is another sign of osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis also causes another bony node growth termed as Bouchard’s node that develops at the finger’s middle joint of many osteoarthritis patients. This bone abnormality is named after a French doctor who researched on arthritis in the 18th century. Both Heberden’s and Bouchard’s nodes are usually related with problems of the joint’s range of motion although both conditions are not painful. The manifestations/presence of either Heberden’s or Bouchard’s nodes can be clear factors in diagnosing osteoarthritis.
When the joint located at the base of the big toe develops osteoarthritis, the result will be the appearance of a bunion. A person having toe and finger osteoarthritis may have inherited this condition and usually osteoarthritis in the toe and finger strike the females of families who have a family history of osteoarthritis.
If you think that you experience osteoarthritis symptoms of stiffness and pain of certain joints that worsen over time, then it is highly advised that you see a doctor.
Health Source Acupuncture
401 New Rd #211
Linwood, NJ 08221
Phone: (609) 248-6922
www.healthsourceacupuncture.com