Since there’s no cure for OA, prevention is your best choice. You can lower your risk by:
- Staying physically active
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Preventing injuries to your joints
- Quit smoking and alcohol consumption
- Taking natural vitamin D by sun bath
- Consuming healthy diet rich in calcium and Vitamin C
- Maintaining your Blood pressure
- Exercising regularly Reducing weight
Home remedy of Osteoarthritis
Home remedies aren’t meant to replace your current treatment. But they may provide more relief for OA. Here are some of the home remedies you can try:
- Hot and Cold Compresses: You can use both hot and cold compresses to manage joint pain due to osteoarthritis. While a hot compress will help reduce pain and stiffness, a cold compress will lessen swelling and inflammation.
- Epsom salt bath: Epsom salt baths can provide allover relief, especially for joint pain. The magnesium in Epsom salt may help with inflammation and pain. Use 2 cups of Epsom salt in a bath of warm water at a temperature of about 102°F (38°C).
- Support devices: Various types of assistive devices can offer added support without the need for medications. The exact devices you choose depend on the affected joints. You can use Lumino Cielo’s compression stockings, gloves and braces that can assist you in reliveing symptoms like pain, swelling and movement difficulties
- Massage Therapy: Regularly massage the affected areas gently. This will help reduce the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
- Take Green Tea: Green tea contains polyphenols. These compounds may help reduce inflammation and increases cartilage protection.
Treatment of Osteoarthritis
Many people believe that the effects of osteoarthritis are inevitable, so they don’t do anything to manage it. OA symptoms can hinder work, social life and family life if steps are not taken to prevent joint damage, manage pain and increase flexibility. There is no cure for OA, but treatment can help relieve symptoms and maintain joint movement.
However following treatments are usually recommended:
It cannot reverse damage, but it can help reduce pain. Mostly acetaminophen and ibuprofen are used
- Intra-articular cortisone injections
Severe pain can be treated by injecting a medication, usually a corticosteroid, directly into the site of the joint.
Surgery is not usually necessary, but it may help if OA affects the hips, knees, joints, and the base of the thumbs. Surgical procedure includes:
- Arthoplasty in which the damaged parts are surgically removed and a prosthesis, or artificial joint, made of metal and plastic, is inserted
- Arthrodesis: In arthrodesis the joint may be realigned, stabilized, or surgically fixed to promote a bone fusion. This increases stability and reduces pain.
- Osteotomy: A procedure in which a small section of bone is removed.
- Physical Therapy
Physical therapy plays a vital role in minimizing the symptoms and progress of OA. Use of Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, exercises, manual therapy, mobilizations and gliding proved to be very effective in treating osteoarthritis.
