There are many factors the causes our body to degenerate. It can be due to aging, hereditary, food, as well as some types of medication that trigger the process. So, it is beneficial to understand the underlying reasons and prepare for the eventual consequences.
Osteoarthritis of the Knee
This type of osteoarthritis occurs because the knees have been in use for such a long time. This problem is especially true for people older than 60 years old, as it is the natural regression of the cartridges – particularly for a heavyset person whose knees directly bear most of the weight. However, this can also happen to a thin person, if the legs are misaligned. It is similar to a car’s tires when the wheels are out of alignment. Instead of supporting the entire body weight equally, now one knee is forced to work harder than the other.
One of the common causes of knee osteoarthritis is heriditary. Asians are more prone to this disease than others. In addition, runners and sportspeople – particularly soccer players who use the knees more – are found to frequently suffer from osteoarthritis, as their knees are often injured through a tear in the tendon that results in an unstable knee. These situations also lead to faster development of knee osteoarthritis. People with this disease experience discomfort around the calf or knee fold. Sometime it is so much that they cannot move their knees properly.
7 remedies for osteoarthritis of the knees that are not too difficult to master include:
- Lose weight.
- Modify the way you use your knees daily.
- Physical therapy.
- Use a knee support.
- Nurse injured knee until it is completely healed.
- Artificial lubricant injection.
- Surgery. However, for this option, it is essential to consider the patient’s quality of life and age. For example, if the patient is 65 years old but the knee can only function like an 80-year-old person – i.e., has difficulty walking and is, therefore, withdrawn – if, after the procedure, the quality of life can be improved to similar level of a 65-year-old, then it is worth the surgery. On the other hand, if the person is 80 years old and experiences moderate knees discomfort but wishes to receive the operation to improve the quality of life, then it is prudent to fully assess possible subsequent complications. Perhaps the risks may outweigh the expected benefits, so both the doctor an patient must consider all implications carefully.
Artificial Knee Joint Replacement
What you should know is that, for a young person, if you begin to experience inflammation of articular cartilage – because of rheumatoid arthritis and gout, or through overworking your knees, or through existing injury that causes your knees to become unsteady, or because of an infection that exhibits symptoms of arthritis – you may have the propensity to develop osteoarthritis of the knee sooner in the future.
So, to help mitigate the risk, there are exercises that will strengthen the muscles at the front of your legs. However, you should avoid sitting or standing in the same posture for an extended period. It is also recommended that you take in soft sunlight early in the morning and evening for at least 10 minutes each day, to prevent vitamin D deficiency.
The exercises that will help strengthen your leg muscles are as follows:
- First exercise: Stand with your legs apart. Your feet you align with your hips. Bend the knees as if to sit on a chair, then straighten up. Do this 10 times. It will help make the muscles stronger.
- Second exercise: Sit on a chair, then lift and straigthen the knees so that your legs are parallel to the floor. Tighten the front muscles of the legs and count to 10 before lowering your legs. Repeat this exercise 30 times, 3 – 4 rounds. If you wish to enhance the muscles further, you can add some weight around the ankle. This is help increase the strength of your muscles.
Osteoarthritis of the Hip
A hip joint is a ball and socket joint between the acetabulum and the head of the femur. Its function is to allow bending and straightening movements during walking, running, sitting, and lying down. So, it bears the body weight, the pressure as well as rotation forces during every motion of our body, including when we play sports or exercise. Because hips are being used repeated for many years, it is natural that their surface and the head of each femur become worn. Often the hip bones in the elderly can break too.
Among people in the middle age group, it is found that 80% face problems with osteoarthritis of the hip due to insufficient amount of blood supply to the head of the femur. This is because some people drink too much alcohol, or take medication that contains steroid; while others may have had an accident that caused the joint to be dislocated, or are suffering from some types of rheumatoid disorder, frozen joints, or inflammation.
Children, too, can suffer from this disease, though it is mostly found to be a congenital condition such as hip instability, shallow hip socket that may lead to dislocation, or other types of dysplasia disorder. In these cases, the disease can cause pain or scoliosis which restricts normal movements, resulting in leg length discrepancy and the afflicted children will have to walk with a limp.
To determine whether or not you might have any symptom of hip osteoarthritis, notice if you experience shooting pain around the hip area while walking or running. In general, you would feel the pain at the front or the back of your hip and down only to the knee, and not to the tip of your foot. Many wrongly believe that osteoarthritis of the hip only occurs in the elderly. In actual fact, it can happen to anyone even before the age of 60. Usually, this type of osteoarthritis will attack one hip at a time.
To delay the onset of hip osteoarthritis is to control your body weight properly. You should also avoid drinking alcoholic beverages. If you have to use medication that contains steroid, you should take it with caution. In addition, you should follow the exercise below to strengthen your hip muscles. These are:
- Exercise 1: Stand straight and support yourself by holding onto a chair. Swing a leg back and front, alternating left and right.
- Exercise 2: Still holding onto the chair, bend a knee and lift it up front, then straighten it back down again. Alternate between left and right knees.
- Exercise 3: Holding onto a chair or a post, kick out a leg to the side and pull it back down again. Alternate between left and right legs.
- Exercise 4: Lie down on one side, supporting your head with the arm on the floor, and lift up the other side’s leg. Alternate between left and right sides.
It should be noted that osteoporosis and hip osteoarthritis may not be directly related. However, if the bone mass – the basis of the joint – is sufficiently dense, a risk of the osteoarthritis is reduced. There are some remedies that will indirectly prevent the disease. These include vitamins and supplements – such as calcium and vitamin D – which help strengthen the bones and enhance their density.
For patients who require hip replacement surgery for treatment, the doctor will recommend the different types of artificial joints that may be appropriate for each case, including their advantages and disadvantages. The price of the replacement joints will vary, depending on the material; and so will the cost of the surgery.
Nowadays, hip replacement is performed using minimal invasive surgery technique. So, the incision is very small and does not require cutting through a lot of muscles. It is less painful and the blood loss is less as compared to the traditional method. This allows for shorter recuperation periods. In particular, if the procedure is properly planned by the surgical team, a satisfactory result can be expected. Many patients can start walking again the day after their surgery. Today, the utilization life of an artificial joint is longer, as it has been well designed. The joint surface makes a good contact. The head is sufficiently large to reduce the risk of dislocating, while enhancing more mobility. As a result, patients can be more active.
