Osteoarthritis And Osteoporosis
If you are recently not able to climb your stairs without getting jittery in your knees, it is time to consult an orthopaedic doctor. Well, if your age is more than forty, it is more necessary because you may be suffering from osteoarthritis or osteoporosis. Many people consider these as similar diseases, but it is not true. They are different entities that herald necessity of different treatments.
Osteoarthritis is a result of trauma in most of the cases. It has also been seen that members belonging to the same family have traits of osteoarthritis in them. The results from research work suggests that chances of siblings and identical twins having osteoarthritis is high- if one has, the other siblings are most likely to have the disease. This indicates at a heredity basis for the disease.
In osteoarthritis, the cartilaginous substance between the joint weans off and this results in inflammation of the joint leading to arthritis. Most commonly, finger joint called as proximal interphalageal joint is first affected leading to swelling of finger. Slowly, other joints like knee, hip, etc may be affected. If untreated, even joint deformities may result though they are not as common as in rheumatoid arthritis. The doctor may have to inject you with analgesic injection, sometimes even in joints. However, in sever cases, joint replacement surgery may be warranted.
Due to genetic bases, there is no way you can really reduce the risks of getting hit by osteoarthritis. So, a proper medication follow up is absolutely necessary to stay healthy and lead a normal life style. If you do not want to go for traditional medical procedures, acupuncture these days is said to be a lot of help.
Osteoporosis mostly increases the risks of fracture in the patients. This happens more in women than in men when the density of minerals in the bones fall below 2.5 standard deviations. This is mainly occurs in women after menopause. However, often elderly men have this disease when there are hormonal imbalances or due to a specific type of medication (primarily gluco corticoids) followed.
In osteoporosis, patient suffers from vague pain in bones most of the times unrelated to movements. Also, there may be easy fractures of wrist or ankle due to reduced bone material, especially calcium. Periodic calcium, vitamin D3 and calcitrol supplementations may help patients. In menopausal women, osteoporosis is a serious menace which may require hormone replacement therapy. And as always is true, prevention is better than cure. If you want to prevent being affected by osteoporosis later in life, you should cease tobacco intake and moderate your alcohol consumption. Proper exercise regime and good levels of nutrition during adolescence also help in reducing the chance of having the disease.
Both these diseases restrict you from moving about freely. So, definitive treatment at the earliest can save patients from a lot of hassles. You should beware of symptoms. Do not ever ignore early warning signs of the diseases. Save yourself!