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If you’ve received a diagnosis of osteoarthritis, you, like 32.5 million Americans, have the most common form of arthritis in the country. When the symptoms go unmanaged, osteoarthritis can cause pain and discomfort that limits your mobility and quality of life.
With lifestyle changes and a treatment plan developed by Thomas Nguyen, MD, and the clinical team at Nguyen Medical Group in Boynton Beach, Florida, you can remain as active and pain-free as possible and reduce the likelihood of your condition worsening. Understand what you need to know about osteoarthritis to remain mobile and comfortable after your diagnosis.
Osteoarthritis is a form of arthritis, which is an umbrella term for any degenerative condition that impacts your joints. Osteoarthritis, specifically, is a form of arthritis that occurs when wear and tear on the cartilage in your joints cause it to diminish.
When your joint cartilage wears away, you lose an important layer of protection on your joints. This results in the bones of your joints rubbing against one another, which leads to the symptoms of osteoarthritis.
Anyone can develop osteoarthritis, but your risk increases if you’re:
Some metabolic diseases, including diabetes and hemochromatosis, and bone deformities in the joint area can also make you more likely to get osteoarthritis.
One of the main symptoms of osteoarthritis is aches and pains in the affected joint and surrounding areas. You might especially feel pain or tenderness during or shortly after moving the joint, when touching the joint, or putting light pressure on it.
Your joint might also swell from inflammation of the surrounding soft tissues and begin to feel or be stiff. Often, the stiffness limits your joint’s range of motion and is especially present after sleep or long periods of inactivity.
Other symptoms you might experience include bone spurs forming by the joint and your joint making a grating noise when you move it.
If you experience any symptoms of osteoarthritis, our team can perform a diagnostic evaluation at Nguyen Medical Group.
Osteoarthritis is a chronic, degenerative condition, which means it isn’t curable and can cause you to experience worse symptoms over time. But with the right management of your condition, you can relieve your current symptoms, reduce the risk of your osteoarthritis progressing, and maintain your quality of life.
Very often, you can manage your osteoarthritis with lifestyle changes recommended and monitored by our team. Maintaining as active of a lifestyle as you can, following an exercise routine that doesn’t cause pain, and losing weight if you’re overweight and obese can significantly reduce your symptoms.
Over the counter and prescription medication, physical or occupational therapy and cortisone injections are also helpful in reducing pain and swelling. If conservative measures don’t help, surgical procedures such as joint replacement surgery might also be an option for you.
It can be difficult to live with osteoarthritis, but with the proper medical care and management plan, you can ease your pain and do the activities you enjoy without worry. Contact the Nguyen Medical team online, via phone call, or text, to schedule an appointment for osteoarthritis support.
