# Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis symptom
Symptoms of osteoarthritis are characterized by pain, swelling, stiffness and even discomfort in the form of a tingling and numbing sensation. The cause of the pain is due to the inflammation that occurs in the joint due to the osteoarthritis. There are no sensory receptors in the articular cartilage, but it is the area around the cartilage that signals pain when it becomes inflamed, including the joint capsule. This, in turn, can affect the synovial fluid so that it becomes less viscous, i.e. provides less lubrication. Ultimately, this can lead to very limited mobility, but depending on the location of the osteoarthritis, symptoms can vary. For example, if the osteoarthritis is in a finger joint, you may feel warmth and clearly see swelling and deformation.
What is osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is the breakdown of joint cartilage. There is an imbalance in the turnover of cartilage as the breakdown of articular cartilage is faster than new formation. It is also sometimes referred to as wear and tear. Osteoarthritis can develop in any joint with articular cartilage. Both articular surfaces of a joint have articular cartilage to cushion and reduce friction between the joint surfaces, also with the help of the synovial fluid between them.
Why do people get osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis usually occurs due to a trauma, a prolonged misalignment or age. Articular cartilage can break down with age, as the cartilage becomes drier and more brittle with age. Osteoarthritis in middle age can be caused by unilateral work with an oblique load, where the joint is loaded unevenly over time, causing wear and tear of the articular cartilage. Osteoarthritis can also be caused by long-term nutritional deficiencies, which occur when the elements needed to build cartilage are missing. Furthermore, osteoarthritis can also occur due to immobilization of the joint, i.e. the joint is inactive due to disuse.
Osteoarthritis treatment – what can I do myself?
Before treating osteoarthritis, it is necessary to try to find out why the osteoarthritis has occurred. This is because treatment then varies and differs depending on the cause. If it is a faulty load due to imbalance, misalignment, asymmetry or trauma, help is also needed to rebalance the body so that the joint is loaded correctly. The right type of loading with dynamic compression is necessary to stimulate the cells in the articular cartilage to produce type II collagen. .
The joint must be used, but not overloaded. The right exercise is similar to the movement the joint should normally perform, usually dynamic compression. Targeted exercise with dynamic compression should be light and about 6-10 minutes, preferably 3 times a day. The cartilage cells are then stimulated for up to 10 minutes, after which the cells must be allowed to rest for at least 6 hours to respond to a new stimulus. The load does not need to be, and should not be, too heavy. For example, jumping rope is excellent for a knee or hip joint.
For the articular cartilage to regenerate, it also needs the right nutrition, the right amino acids to build collagen II. Hydrolyzed collagen, 15 g per day has shown good results. This should be taken preferably 30 to 60 minutes before exercises, as nutrient uptake in the cartilage increases with joint use.
Fascia treatment for osteoarthritis
Fascia treatment and its benefits in osteoarthritis
Fascia is a term that refers to the connective tissue that surrounds and runs through muscles, organs, nerves and blood vessels throughout the body. Fascia therapy, or myofascial release, is a type of physiotherapy technique that aims to release tension and tightness in this fascia.
How does fascia treatment work?
During fascia treatment, manual pressure and stretching techniques are used to soften and loosen the connective tissue. This can help to improve range of motion, reduce pain and tension, and improve blood circulation in the area. In addition, at Fascia Klinikerna we use our effective machine that stimulates the restoration of the body’s fascia with vibration technology that both feels comfortable and provides good effect and pain relief.
Fascia treatment and osteoarthritis
- Pain relief: By releasing tension and tightness in the fascia, the treatment can help relieve pain caused by osteoarthritis.
- Improving range of motion: Osteoarthritis can limit movement in the affected joints. By softening the fascia, treatment can help improve mobility and reduce stiffness in the joint.
- Supporting healing: Better circulation as a result of fascia treatment can promote healing by increasing the flow of nutrients to the affected area. This can help support the body’s natural healing process.
Osteoarthritis of the knee
Osteoarthritis of the knee occurs when the breakdown of the knee’s articular cartilage outpaces its buildup, and it can be caused by a prolonged misalignment of the knee, resulting in overuse, or by a previous trauma. Over time, it causes variable pain and limited mobility in the knee joint. The knee may also become swollen and warm.
The injury or overuse causes inflammation in the knee joint and is the cause of the pain. The inflammation creates increased fluid pressure around the joint capsule and in the synovial fluid, making the area more tense. Eventually, a denser, more fibrous tissue forms with a thickening of more collagen around the joint capsule, which is the body’s attempt to strengthen the area as a result of the breakdown of the articular cartilage. The surrounding structure then becomes more rigid and has reduced mobility.
Osteoarthritis of the hip
When a joint has been exposed to trauma, an injury, osteoarthritis can eventually occur. Osteoarthritis occurs when articular cartilage breaks down faster than it builds up. The most common cause of osteoarthritis of the hip is that the hip joint has been subjected to prolonged misalignment, causing an imbalance in the pelvis, such as a rotation or obliquity, which means that the ball of the hip is not positioned correctly in the socket. Over a long period of time, the load becomes uneven, with the hip and knee interacting, which can make it difficult to tell whether the problem is in the hip or the knee. This ‘pelvic issue’ or a tilted hip can arise from falls, injuries, incorrect workloads and even birth injuries. Monotonous loading such as frequent carrying of heavy packs, where one side of the body is loaded more, gives rise to oblique loading. Therefore, it is important to even out the weight and balance the load evenly across the body. An oblique, rotated pelvis causes an imbalance in joint loading which in turn can cause osteoarthritis in a hip or other joint. A hip joint can be misloaded, even with a correctly balanced pelvis, so that the pelvis is eventually pulled askew due to tension in the muscles and fascia.
Osteoarthritis of the hip means that inflammation develops in the hip joint. Eventually, a thickening of the fibrous protein collagen forms around the joint capsule. Inflammation and thickening cause pain and limited mobility in the hip, which worsens as the cartilage breaks down. When all the cartilage is broken down, bone rubs against bone, which becomes even more painful. Hip osteoarthritis thus affects the mobility and posture of the whole body and can also cause knee pain. As it is very painful to walk and move, the lymphatic system and thus the immune system and general well-being can also be negatively affected.
Osteoarthritis of the shoulder
The shoulder is made up of two joints, the clavicle (AC) joint, between the clavicle and scapula, and the shoulder joint, between the humerus and scapula. Both can be affected by osteoarthritis. The shoulder joint is relatively unstable due to its shallow socket. Therefore, it is more likely to dislocate than other joints. A dislocation is often easy to reverse for the same reason, but osteoarthritis can develop over time due to small injuries that occurred when the joint dislocated. The shoulder joint has articular surfaces covered with articular cartilage and if the shoulder suffers trauma, such as a dislocation, or is overloaded, inflammation can occur, causing the articular cartilage to break down more quickly and eventually result in osteoarthritis. The body will then respond by building up reinforcement with increased amounts of collagen around the joint capsule. Inflammation and thickening cause pain and stiffness in the shoulder. It can also result in frozen shoulder, or limited mobility. The narrowing can cause pressure on nerves that run to the arm and hand, which can cause severe problems with numbness and tingling in the arm and hand. In some cases, surgery to remove the narrowing may be required.
Osteoarthritis of fingers
Osteoarthritis of the fingers can occur with prolonged overexertion and repetitive movements such as prolonged, repetitive typing. Monotonous work with the thumbs, such as massage therapists or professional TV players, can cause osteoarthritis of the thumbs, which is particularly sensitive when the thumbs are used frequently. In each finger joint, the articular surfaces are covered with articular cartilage. In osteoarthritis of the finger joints, the articular cartilage has worn away, with the breakdown of the cartilage outpacing the build-up. Prolonged overuse of the fingers causes inflammation in the joint and the articular cartilage breaks down, at which point the body will create a denser structure as a reinforcement around the joint, to try to heal the injury. This in turn will lead to swollen joints with limited mobility and stiffness as well as pain on movement and strain and of the fingers but also a nagging ache.
Osteoarthritis of the back
The joints of the vertebrae are called facet joints. The vertebrae have small articular processes on either side, right and left. Each vertebra has a superior and inferior articular process, which leads to the inferior articular process of the vertebra above and the superior articular process of the vertebra below. Did that get weird! The facet joints are formed where the articular processes meet between two vertebrae. Osteoarthritis of the back, or spinal osteoarthritis, can occur from trauma or from prolonged misalignment that causes the articular cartilage to break down faster than new cartilage is formed. Osteoarthritis of the spine most often occurs in the neck and lower back. Prolonged misalignment wears down the articular cartilage, the body responds with inflammation and compensates for the imbalance by building up a structure of collagen around the area. A stronger fascia structure is formed. This fibrous reinforcement is built up as a defense to maintain the strength around the articular cartilage, in the long run it will instead give rise to increased pressure on nerve receptors that signal pain and an increased formation of more pain receptors. Thus, the pain does not come from the articular cartilage itself but from the inflammation and fascia around it. If osteoarthritis of the spine causes pressure on nerves, it can also affect various organ functions, such as breathing, digestion, bladder and bowel.
Osteoarthritis of the wrist
Osteoarthritis of the wrist, also known as wrist osteoarthritis, is a type of joint disease that occurs when the cartilage between the joints in the wrist breaks down. This cartilage normally acts as a shock absorber and allows the bones of the wrist to move smoothly against each other. When it breaks down, the bones can rub against each other, causing pain, swelling and reduced mobility.
Causes of wrist osteoarthritis can include age, wear and tear, genetic factors, previous injuries such as fractures or cracks, and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.