Osteoarthritis is a common chronic disease that mostly occurs in the knee joint, sometimes also in the hip joint, fingers, and lumbar spine. Especially middle-aged and elderly people are prone to suffer from osteoarthritis. For example, in the population over 65 years old, about 90% of women and 80% of men will suffer from osteoarthritis, which not only causes severe joint pain, but also disability in severe cases. Therefore, patients with osteoarthritis should take good care of themselves.
Overview of osteoarthritis
This disease has a slow onset and no systemic symptoms. It is usually a multi joint disease, and there are also cases of single joint disease. The affected joint may have persistent dull pain, which worsens with increased activity and improves after rest. Sometimes there may be acute pain attacks, accompanied by joint stiffness, and occasionally friction sounds may be detected within the joints. After prolonged sitting, joint stiffness worsens, but it actually improves after a little activity, which some people call "rest pain". The patients are mostly middle-aged and elderly patients over 50 years old.
Clinical manifestations of osteoarthritis
1. Difficulty in movement. This is the first symptom of osteoarthritis, characterized by joint swelling, tenderness, movement noise, deformity, and functional impairment. =2. Get stiff in the morning. Manifested as limitations, relieved after exercise.
3. Joint pain.
4. Involved joints. The common affected areas of osteoarthritis are the knee joint, hip joint, cervical and lumbar vertebrae, distal interphalangeal joint, proximal interphalangeal joint, first wrist palmar joint, and first metatarsophalangeal joint. Osteoarthritis primarily affects weight-bearing joints.
How to take care of osteoarthritis?
1. Avoid joint damage
Osteoarthritis requires sufficient rest, avoiding excessive joint load. The living environment should not be too humid or too cold. At the same time, it is important to avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time, as maintaining the same position for a long time can cause a heavy burden on the knee joint. At the same time, targeted treatment should be given to high-risk factors, such as obese patients actively losing weight, walking less, and exercising appropriately under the guidance of professionals. This can improve the function of nerves, muscles, and joints, promote metabolism, strengthen joint stability, and help alleviate joint pain.
2. Moderate exercise
Patients with osteoarthritis can do more stretching exercises and gradually strengthen their strength training, which can improve bone strength, reduce the degree of bone degeneration, and greatly help delay the progression of osteoarthritis. Aerobic exercises such as swimming, walking, cycling, etc. are all good choices. When lying on your back, you can practice raising your legs straight, which can effectively restore the ability of joint flexion and extension activities. However, it is important to avoid excessive exercise, whether it is intensity or duration, as it may worsen the symptoms of osteoarthritis. Especially, it is necessary to avoid inappropriate movements, such as excessive twisting of joints or movements that can put huge loads on joints, such as running, jumping, squatting, climbing, etc.
3. Reasonable calcium supplementation
Patients with osteoarthritis should pay attention to calcium supplementation, and it is recommended to eat more high calcium foods to provide sufficient nutrition for bone metabolism. The daily intake of calcium for elderly people should be higher than that of adults, at least 1200 milligrams per day. It is recommended to drink more high calcium foods such as milk, eggs, and soy products, and to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables appropriately. In addition, timely supplementation of vitamin D can promote calcium absorption. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the intake of multiple vitamins, such as vitamin C tablets, which have antioxidant properties and can promote collagen synthesis, which is of great help in protecting joints and preventing further development of osteoarthritis.
Health guidance
1. Dietary guidance
2. Scientific and reasonable diet, reduce intake of purine rich foods such as animal organs, seafood, poultry, beans, etc., eat more vegetables and fruits, quit smoking and drinking.
2. Exercise guidance
During the acute and active phases of arthritis, rest of the limbs is the main focus, and the affected joints should not be overly active. During the remission phase, joint function exercises can be performed to maintain muscle tension and prevent muscle atrophy.
3. Daily life guidance
Patients with osteoarthritis should control their weight, reduce lower limb joint load, encourage reasonable diet and appropriate activity. Patients with shoulder periarthritis and benign knee joint pain should engage in more physical activity and exercise to prevent joint freezing and functional impairment.
4. Medication guidance
After discharge, always follow the doctor's advice to take medication, do not increase or decrease medication or dosage on your own, pay attention to adverse reactions of various medications, and seek medical attention promptly if discomfort occurs.
5. Psychologically, have a correct understanding of one's own condition, participate in more daily activities, eliminate negative emotions of patients, and actively cooperate with doctors for treatment.
How to prevent osteoarthritis
Reducing weight and avoiding trauma are essential ways to prevent osteoarthritis. Specific measures include:
Losing weight and avoiding carrying heavy objects.
Try to avoid wearing high heels when traveling.
Necessary protection should be taken during exercise to avoid repeated impact or twisting injuries to joints.
When doing high-altitude exercises, be moderate and avoid climbing too frequently.
Summary
Patients with osteoarthritis should pay special attention to all aspects. Firstly, various pathogenic factors should be eliminated to avoid further development of the disease. In addition, appropriate exercise should be carried out, which will not cause heavy burden on the joints and can restore joint function. In addition, special attention should be paid to diet, and multiple measures should be taken to prevent the development of the disease.