What is Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a condition that causes joints to become painful and stiff.

It’s labelled the most common type of arthritis in the UK and is the most poorly understood and managed condition.

Osteoarthritis can develop at any age, however it is often seen in people aged over 40.

In normal joints, a firm and rubbery tissue called cartilage covers the end of each bone. The cartilage provides a smooth gliding surface for joint movements and acts as a cushion between the bones.

In osteoarthritic joints the cartilage wears down, causing pain, swelling and issues moving the joint.

If osteoarthritis worsens over time, the cartilage may wear away causing one bone to rub on another. This often causes high levels of pain, joint damage, inflammation and restriction in movement.

Osteoarthritis is often seen in the knee, hip and thumb joint. There are a number of reasons why osteoarthritis may occur in a joint:

🔹Over use/Over loading
🔹Recurrent injury
🔹Weight 
🔹Genetics

There are a number of ways to reduce pain levels, symptoms and prevent osteoarthritis from worsening:

🔹Use Ice and heat therapy to manage any inflammation.
🔹Off load the joint with support/taping.
🔹Work on specific strengthening exercises to help prevent the bones from rubbing.
🔹Seek advise on Physiotherapy treatment techniques and exercises.

Just because an X-Ray or MRI scan has highlighted you have osteoarthritis it certainly doesn’t mean you have to rest, stop exercising and live your day to day life in pain.