Humans are born with healthy cartilage, lubricant in the knee, shock absorbers, etc. but over the course of an ordinary human's life, the wear and tear starts progressing. When this cartilage is worn down, underneath it is the bone. When the bone starts absorbing force without cartilage, it beings to try growing more bone. This leads to disfigured joints to individuals with arthritis. Eventually, when the cartilage is gone, the joint fluid becomes inflamed, the knee becomes stiffer, and you start having pain whether you are using it or not.
The CDC estimates approximately 50% of individuals can develop osteoarthritis. Some of the main symptoms of detecting osteoarthritis include:
Some of the major risk factors for osteoarthritis include:
One of the major cures to osteoarthritis is a balance between safe exercise and weight loss. The more weight your knees have to support creates a much greater stress. While this can become a downward spiral as it becomes more difficult to exercise as the pain intensifies, activity will actually create less wear and tear, and actually decelerate the arthritic process.
Physical therapy can be a great way to get you moving in safe manner, while not putting too much stress on the knees, but actually enough to help you start heading in the right path. The joint needs to start mobilizing, as this is the most important way to treat arthritic joints. Surgical treatment of arthritis is actually a last resort as proper mobilization can help cure your issues. A physical therapist at Fyzical can customize a total health and wellness plan that bridges physiology, exercise and nutrition to help with your osteoarthritis.