Learnwithsteem: What Is Osteoarthritis? Who Is At Risk? Causes And Remedies. I Was Diagnosed Of It

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Greetings dear ladies in the house, trust you are all doing great? Most times women complain of joint pains. In most cases, we ignore it and dismiss it especially when the pain stops as a result of taking medicine from the chemist. But have you paused and asked yourself what the cause may be?

Just about 2 weeks ago, I started having knee pains on my left leg. It is not the first but I have managed to care for it by taking some natural remedies. When it comes, I dismiss it as cold or just say, it's nothing but in actuality, it is really something and the earlier it is diagnosed the better.

When you mention arthritis to people under the age of 40, they will shout "God forbid. But today, I have come to understand that it is a reality for those under 40 to have such. Osteoarthritis has been found to be the major treat to most women which can give them much concern and pains and in most cases, disfigure their legs and they can't walk again as they are advancing in age. What then is osteoarthritis?

What is Osteoarthritis?

This is a type of arthritis that is caused by the wear and tear of the joint cartilages. It can occur in any joint but mostly on the particular joint that bears the weight of the body. It could be on the knee, hip or spine. But sometimes it affects the fingers too.

I have personally experienced pains on my hip, spine and even fingers in times past but I just dismissed them as nothing since the pains disappeared after sometimes. But this time around, I am experiencing the pain on my left knee joint. The pain has become so unbearable and it is causing the knee to become inflamed. Movement is a problem, it all got worst now that I started a workout, which was why I was advised to go for x-ray to be sure of the cause.

When one has osteoarthritis, you begin to have the following symptoms which I also experienced:

• Sharp pains on that joint especially during movement. Mine is so severe after I get up from the seat.

• Inflammation at that region. I also noticed this as my left knee swole and became bigger in size than the right knee joint.

• Pains after the knee has been over used. Those who seat down for long hours can experience sharp pains when they get up.

What is Cartilage

Remember that osteoarthritis is caused by the wear and tear of the cartilage in the joints. What then is this cartilage? I can refer to is as the lubricant that lubricates the joints. It is that firm robbery material that is found in between bones at the joint region. It assist movements thereby making it impossible for the joint to feel pain. The bones at the joints regions can knock together if there is no cartilage in between them and this can cause friction that will result in sharp pains.

So when this cartilage begins to wear out as a result of some factors which I will enumerate soon, their will be no lubrication and the bones rub together and cause much pains.

I don't know if you have experienced it but I have. The pains are usually much, it stifles movement. Most women are at risk as a lot of factors come into play.

I went for an x-ray and it revealed that my cartilage at that left knee joint is wearing out and an external growth of some sort of bones is beginning to grow there that if allowed, can wear out the cartilages completely, making it impossible for me to move. Just take a look at the analysis of the result of the x-ray in the picture below

The x-ray was conducted at Zoe consultant, 33 Enwe Street , Uyo, Akwaibom State Nigeria and they charged 6000 (six thousand naira which is the equivalent of 43 steem)

I took the result to a doctor who then prescribed some drugs for be which I bought and paid 4450 (four thousand, four hundred and fifty naira which is equivalent to 32 steem)

All cash payments were done via internet transfer and the evidences of payment are shown below

I also apply a deep relief cream to soothe the knee

_{the pictures show the deep relief cream and the second picture is where my hubby is massaging my knee}

It was a kind of relief to me to know that I discovered it earlier and that much damage has not been done. But at least the degree of the damage has been known and I was placed on treatment and was advised to continue my exercise because it will help at least not the strenuous type that can cause more pain. Once the result of the x-ray was out, I shouted and asked, can a woman of my age have such? They started laughing at me. They asked me my age again and I told them that I just turned 40 on the 29th of May this year. They now told me about those who could be at risk.

Who Are At Risk?

I was told that the chances of getting osteoarthritis increases by age. It gets worst as one advances in age. It is mostly experienced by people especially women from 50 years and above, but the severity varies.

I also came to understand that most people also experience it at the age of 20, 30 and 40 but this has underlying causes. It is usually not normal to experience it when one is below 50.

There they go again, my mind jumped up and down. I began asking myself what the problem might be. What could have caused mine. Well, I became curious and asked what could have caused mine since I am still below 50. Well, here are the answers to my questions.

Causes Of Osteoarthritis

The causes are not far fetched. We are Africans and we, along with people all over the world are living in this era together. The causes are general, it all depends on the one that affects one the most but I think I am a victim of one or some of the causes.

• Osteoarthritis can be hereditary. This means that it can be passed from one generation to the other in the same lineage. Parents or grandparents can hand it over to their children or grand children. I can say that this particular problem runs in my family. I could remember my mom and dad had the same problem when they were alive. They complained of knee pains always and they were dismissed. They can just go to the chemist and buy drugs to reduce the pain.

Our first daughter is suffering from the same thing now. Often, her leg swells up and she can't Walt. It has even bent her leg. Treatments are on but the results are not seen. I pray she gets better soon.

• Overweight can also cause Osteoarthritis. When one adds in weight, the legs finds it difficult to Carry the body and the body weight hangs on either the hip of knee joints. This causes friction and stiffness in movement as a result of wear and tear of the cartilages around the region.

Well, I can say that this is part of the cause s of my own. I added much weight that I weighed 91kg 3 weeks ago. It was way too much for a woman of my age. I can say that it is due to my work. I eat and seat down to work long hours without burning the fats and most times my food is mostly carbohydrates. I needed to be exercising my body or even cut down on the quantity of food I eat. Thankfully, the exercise I am doing now is gradually reducing my weight. When I went for the x-ray, I was told to check my weight and I weighed 88kg and some fractions. There is much improvement. I already lost +3kg. Amazing!

• Broken bones or injuries can cause Osteoarthritis. I was asked if I have had any injury on my knees, but no, I haven't. So it is possible for this who had accident or any form of injury on the leg to experience osteoarthritis in the long run.

• Overuse of joints. Seating long hours can cause it. Athletes who over use their joins are at risk.

• The next is rheumatoid arthritis can develop into osteoarthritis.

Remedies

Exercise reduce body weight and keep one fit. It can even cause the cartilages to regrow and thus heal the wear and tear

Early diagnosis can help. Do not just dismiss the pains you are feeling. Go for diagnosis and find out the actual cause so the you can be advised on what to do.

Reduction in the use of the joints. Stand up and walk around from time to time to help reduce it.

Eat healthy foods. Fruits and vegetables are highly recommended to be taken in high quantities daily. Take much fluids as well.

If the osteoarthritis is hereditary, you can't help it but you can reduce the effects by taking precautions. Take part in all the remedies listed above. Also go for organic foods.

My Experience With Osteoarthritis

It has not been an easy experience so far. It was just a little pain on my knee but what triggered it is what I can't explain. However, it became worst ever since I started the exercise, that was exactly at the day 2 of my exercise. I have been managing it but I complained about it.

It often allows me to complete my workout programs but on getting home, movement becomes a problem. But now that the problem is diagnosed ND treatment began, it is easing off.

It is better Attended to at this early stage than when I grow older. If I can maintain a regular exercise, eat healthy foods and better lifestyle, mine will not be as severe as my late parents or even my sister.

What do you think? What could be the cause of your own joint pain? You may need to find out. Good luck to you all.

@patjewell, you can now see the problem I complained about. Thanks for being so caring.