OSTEOARTHRITIS

What is osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD). Osteoarthritis is more likely to develop as people age. The changes in osteoarthritis usually occur slowly over many years, though there are occasional exceptions. It’s most likely to affect the joints that bear most of our weight, such as the knees and feet. Joints that we use a lot in everyday life, such as the joints of the hand, are also commonly affected. 

In a healthy joint, a coating of tough but smooth and slippery tissue, called cartilage, covers the surface of the bones and helps the bones to move freely against each other. When a joint develops osteoarthritis, part of the cartilage thins and the surface becomes rougher. This means the joint doesn’t move as smoothly as it should.

When cartilage becomes worn or damaged, all the tissues within the joint become more active than normal as the body tries to repair the damage. The repair processes may change the structure of the joint, but will often allow the joint to work normally and without any pain and stiffness. Almost all of us will develop osteoarthritis in some of our joints as we get older, though we may not even be aware of it.

OA can occur in any joint. However, the most commonly affected areas of the body include the:

• hands

• fingers

• shoulder

• spine, typically at the neck or lower back

• hips

• knees

OA occurs most often in older people, although it can occur in adults of any age.

OA is a leading cause of disability.

Causes

Primary osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of cartilage, a rubbery material that eases the friction in your joints. 

Using your joints over and over damages the cartilage, leading to pain and swelling. Water builds up in the cartilage, and its proteins break down. It may start to flake or get tiny tears. In severe cases, you can lose all the cartilage between the bones of a joint so that they rub together, making it harder and more painful to use the joint.

Cartilage damage can also trigger bone growths (spurs) around your joints. 

Osteoarthritis sometimes happens in multiple members of one family, hinting that a gene change has been handed down from parents to children. Rarely, these cases are caused by problems in collagen, a tough protein found in your connective tissue. Secondary osteoarthritis happens when your cartilage is damaged by another disease or medical condition. Things that can cause it or make it more likely include:

• Diseases like gout, RA, diabetes

• Menopause

• Congenital abnormalities

• Obesity

• Injury or surgery of the joints

Types

1. Primary osteoarthritis

2. Secondary osteoarthritis 

Symptoms

The most common symptoms of OA include:

• joint pain

• stiffness in the joint

• loss of flexibility and reduced range of motion

• tenderness or discomfort when pressing on the affected areas with your fingers

• inflammation

• crepitus, or grating, crackling, clicking, or popping sounds when you move your joints

• bone spurs, or extra lumps of bone, which are typically painless

As OA becomes more advanced, the pain associated with it may become more intense. Over time, swelling in the joint and surrounding area may also occur. 

Homoeopathic treatment for osteoarthritis

Homoeopathy along with lifestyle changes can help in curing osteoarthritis. OA treatment is centered upon symptom management. The type of treatment that will help you the most will largely depend on the severity of your symptoms and their location.

Homoeopathy plays a major role in curing OA. Homoeopathy has several medicines from OA, if well-chosen, it helps to overcome this disease.

Brahma Madhurya Homoeopathy goals to treat the OA as follows:

• removes swelling & tenderness of the joints

• removes stiffness of joints

• treats the underlying cause

• improves the immunity 

•      improves the flexibility of the joints

• prevent from the recurrence of the disease

• improves general health

• removes associated symptoms with the disease

• Medicines selected here will not have any side-effects

• These medicines do not consist of steroids or anti-inflammatory drugs.

• These medicines help you to overcome OA from its root cause.

• These medicines are deep acting so it also helps in control the further degeneration of the disease.