What even is it?

One of the most common mistakes that have come across in clinic is when people haven’t been given clear diagnosis on the joint conditions. For example, I have a lot of patients who believe they have been told they have osteoporosis rather than osteoarthritis. Now they may sound the same but there is a large difference between how they can affect an individual.

As some people may not know Osteoporosis is the reduction of bone density or mass which leaves people more prone to the risk of fractures whereas Osteoarthritis is a complex degenerative disease that affects almost everyone at some point in their older life which can cause a reduction in joint mobility & function as well as pain sensation all due to bony growth at the end plates of a joint. Much to surprise it is possible to suffer with both at the same time.

Defined by Versus Arthritis as the degenerative disease which causes the cartilage in your joints to thin and the surfaces of the joint to become rougher, which means that the joint doesn’t move as smoothly as it should, and it might feel painful and stiff. You can see why Osteoarthritis is commonly called wear and tear though this can vary dependent on symptoms affecting the patient.

What causes it?

What leaves us prone to having osteoarthritis is a question I get asked a lot by patients in clinic. And my simple answer is ‘a lot of different factors, varying form things we can control and things we cannot’. In a simple list according to the NICE guidelines these include Genetic traits, Age, Gender, Obesity, bone density (both high and low), joint injuries, muscle weakness, occupational stresses, to list a few. No individual that suffers with osteoarthritis in any joint is the same and will all have different factors that may contribute to their condition, so that’s why it’s key to treat the patient and not just the formal diagnosis. As you can have people who have Severe osteoarthritis on a X-ray but have no pain and others with Mild Osteoarthritis but with high levels of pain.

So how can I manage it?

So, the number one approach I found for managing osteoarthritis in any joint is solely about making it all patient centred which is something we do here at Bodylogics. Though pain is the main factor that brings patients in for a treatment sometimes it’s about addressing the contributing factors as mentioned above, to ensure that treatment as affected as effective as possible.

Some prime examples of this that I’ve seen first-hand is weight loss for example.

In the past I had a patient who had really suffered from has osteoarthritis in her knees, having put on weight following on from some other previous health complications. We planned out a route for her to help manage her weight loss and I referred her on for some additional dietary help and within a few months almost half of her pain had eased in her knees.

Coupled with a solid exercise program which was manageable with her pain levels she was still able to return to doing simple basic activities which she had struggled with for several years. Furthermore, I referred her for some acupuncture as well, to help her manage with some of the chronic knee pain and this turned out to be truly beneficial for her as she felt that it alleviated her pain but gave her some time to relax and forget about her pain.

Addressing her weight, stress and reduced activities were some of the key things that helped this patient and it’s something that really puts into perspective that physiotherapy management is not a one size fits all concept.

That’s why here at Bodylogics we try to tailor our treatments as much as possible to the individual to ensure that their recovery helps them getting back to the things they want to do.