Osteoarthritis: Informational Talk 6:30 Tues.

What is osteoarthritis?Let’s breakdown the word. “Osteo” means bone, “arthro” refers to joints and “itis” is inflammation. So, it’s really just the inflammation of the joints. The condition can cause pain, and, depending on where it is located, it can cause walking difficulties or problems with daily activities. There’s many types of arthritis, but osteoarthritis is the most common and it’s caused by the wear and tear of joints over time.

Are there factors that put me at a greater risk for getting it?Yes. Weight, age, gender (it’s more common in women) and occupation are predisposing factors. But just because you might get it, doesn’t mean you will, or, and this is very important, if you do have it, there’s definitely methods for treating it.

So what are the symptoms?Joint pain and swelling, early morning stiffness, warmth or redness of the skin around the joints, weakness around the joints and difficulty moving them.

Okay, what about treatment?

You have to keep in mind that this condition covers a lot of body parts and we all react differently to various treatment approaches. There are some general, natural approaches that I advocate over more invasive or chemically-induced treatments. It’s fairly simple: prevention, diet, posture, exercise and physical therapy.

 If you think you have osteoarthritis, make an appointment for a free screen at any of our locations, and we will take a look and figure out what you can do moving forward.

Don’t miss Beth’s informational talk on osteoarthritis at 6:30 pm June 10 at our Elmwood location.