Osteoarthritis

​What’s happening to your joints as you age?

As we get older, we start to find that we get stiff and have decreased range of motion in our joints compared to when we were younger.

This makes it harder for us to get up and moving as quickly as we used to, especially on those cold mornings.

There is a reason behind this! The stiffness that you can be experiencing in your ankles, knees, hips, hands and spine is a result of degeneration of the cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between your bones. The degeneration of this cartilage causes swelling and pain of your joints, which you may refer to as “Old age” or osteoarthritis. 1

It is estimated that during 2014-2015, approximately 2.1 million Australians were living with osteoarthritis: 2 in 3 of these individuals being female. Osteoarthritis is also the predominant condition leading to knee and hip replacements 2.

The pain pattern of osteoarthritis begins with pain being felt during activity but as it progresses it can be felt during rest and minor movements or “morning stiffness”. You may also experience enlarged tender joints.

There are multiple factors that can contribute to the progression of osteoarthritis including:

• Joint trauma or injury
• Excess weight
• Repetitive joint loading tasks (heavy lifting)
• Joint misalignment

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How can Chiropractic help?
​With any type of degenerative condition, it is important to focus on slowing down its progression rate and avoid the dreaded hip or knee replacement that so many individuals are turning to these days. When it comes to osteoarthritis, multiple aspects of an individual’s lifestyle can be taken into consideration when creating a chiropractic treatment plan.

• Adjustments can help address the decreased range of motion and muscle tightness that can be associated with arthritis. The increased range of movement of joints enhances circulation of high quality nutrients to areas that are damaged which can encourage healing.
• The prescribing of exercises to strengthen muscles to reduce the load that is being placed on the affected joints and encourage correct movements.
• Prescription of supplements to encourage with cartilage repair, connective tissue strength and muscle spasms.
• Altering work ergonomics such as reducing repetitive movements or ensuring heavy items are being lifted correctly to reduce the stress being placed on arthritic joints.
• Altering lifestyle choices by including more physical activity to encourage movement in the joints and even to lose that excess weight! 3

Every patient is unique in the way that they can present with osteoarthritis; therefore it is important to understand that everyone’s holistic treatment plan is tailor made to them.

References:

1. Chapman K & Valdes AM 2012. Genetic factors in OA pathogenesis. Bone 51:64–72.
2. AOA (Australian Orthopaedic Association) 2011. Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry. Annual Report. Adelaide: AOA.
3. Foley S, Ding C, Cicuttini F & Jones G 2007. Physical activity and knee structural change: a longitudinal study using MRI. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 39:426–434.

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by Catalyst Health and Wellness Group