Osteoarthritis Explained

By Deborah Holmes, PT

Complete Physical Therapy

. http://www.phystherapy.com/

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Osteoarthritis Explained

Arthritis is associated with a group of well over 100 rheumatic diseases and conditions. This article will focus on one disease commonly associated with arthritis osteoarthritis (OA).

Joint Architecture

A joint is where two bones meet. A synovial joint is surrounded by a tough capsule that protects and supports it. The joint capsule is lined with a synovial membrane which produces a slippery fluid. Within the joint capsule, the ends of the two bones are covered with a smooth elastic tissue known as cartilage.

This prevents your bones from rubbing and grinding against each other. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber as well as cushioning the ends of your bones and distributing stress evenly across your bones.

Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis (OA) rarely spreads to other body parts but concentrates its erosive influence in one or just a few joints. As cartilage is slowly eroded, bone begins grinding against bone. This is accompanied by bony outgrowths called osteophytes.

Cysts may form, and the underlying bone thickens and becomes deformed. Other symptoms include knobby knuckles, grating and grinding sounds that emanate from arthritic joints, muscle spasms along with pain, stiffness, and loss of mobility.

Primary OA results from many causes, including metabolic, genetic, chemical and mechanical factors. Secondary OA usually follows an identifiable predisposing event most commonly trauma to the joints, congenital deformities, or obesity. This can lead to degenerative changes in the joints, pain and inflammation.

As the joint degenerates and frays, stress increases on the underlying cartilage and bone. Pathological changes occur as the body attempts to repair the damage to the structures in and surrounding the joint. Once deterioration begins, being overweight can exacerbate OA.

Treatment

Treatment for arthritis usually involves a combination of medication, exercise, and lifestyle modification. A physical therapist will initiate a specific therapeutic program after a thorough evaluation of the function of the joints involved. They may incorporate pain relieving modalities as well as manual therapy, range-of-motion exercises and postural corrections with functional activities.

This approach has been shown to improve multiple symptoms including joint pain and swelling, fatigue, malaise, and depression. Physical therapists can also instruct energy conservation techniques to protect the arthritic joint using ergonomic solutions.

Surgical intervention may be needed for persons who have severe disability or uncontrollable pain. This could include, but is not limited to, a partial or a total joint replacement, surgical fusion or scraping or the removal of deteriorated bone and cartilage from the joint.

Your physical therapist works closely with the surgeon before and after the surgical treatment to strengthen and manage function using various therapeutic approaches.