Tag Archives: osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a joint disease caused by the loss of cartilage around it. It may be caused by aging, hereditary or accidents. The patient experiences a lot of pain when reflexing or doing normal activities. The overall goal when treating patients who have this disease is to decrease inflammation and pain to allow the person the ability to use their limbs comfortably. The condition affects all extremities and bones in the individual and due to the loss of cartilage, the bones rub against each other causing intense pain.
There are two types of osteoarthritis- primary and secondary osteoarthritis. Primary osteoarthritis occurs from the natural aging of the body. The water content around the cartilage increases while the protein decreases- this leads to crevices in the cartilage that allow water in leading to it’s breakdown. Secondary osteoarthritis is caused by other conditions and diseases such as congenital birth defects at birth, trauma to the extremities and obesity. What is even more serious is that one may think that their aches and pains are just a natural process of aging but if one has secondary osteoarthritis, then they may be able to discern it more quickly.
There is no blood test performed in order to diagnose this condition but it could be done to rule out any other conditions that may be fatal. X rays have been used to diagnose the condition but the con to this is that by the time the radiology sees it, it has progressed to new heights. Continue reading
Recent studies indicate that about 127 million Americans qualify as overweight or obese, according to the American Obesity Association (AOA), a trend that has been rising steadily since the mid-1980’s. And obesity is not exclus
ive to America, says the World Health Organization (WHO); once considered a health issue affecting only wealthy countries, obesity is now increasing dramatically in “third world” countries, especially in urban environments.
While the more serious health risks associated with obesity include diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, another serious side-effect is chronic back pain. In one report, the AOA states that women who are obese are especially prone to lower back pain. Continue reading
