Arthrosis is a disease that mainly affects people over 60 years of age. Both lack of mobility and pain are the main triggers of this pathology, which tends to decrease the patient’s quality of life.
Many of the people who suffer from it suffer from a functional limitation that enhances sedentaryism, the principle of everything. This situation can increase the risk of obesity and consequently the onset of a high level of cholesterol, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. What is arthrosis and what are its causes, symptoms and treatment?
What is arthrosis?
We are talking about a chronic rheumatic disease that negatively affects articulating cartilage. It usually appears on the hands, hips, knees, cervical spine or in the lumbar area.
Its most frequent symptoms are pain and stiffness, which makes it difficult to move normally and perform certain day-to-day movements such as climbing stairs or opening a can.
The joints are links of union between different bones, thus facilitating movement. However, the cartilage covers the ends of the bone as a buffer, being essential for the joints to work properly.
Age is not solely responsible for its onset, but other factors related to the hormonal, metabolic, biomechanical or inflammatory process can also influence.
Causes of arthrosis
In fact, the causes that lead to arthrosis are unknown, which do exist are risk factors associated with their presence:
– Age, a factor that increases the chances of arthrosis from the age of 50. In the end, we should all go through this disease if we reach old age.
– Sex, mainly affects older women.
– Arthrosis has a genetic risk factor that, combined with other factors, increases the chances of suffering from it.
– Professional activity in which certain movements are constantly repeated, leading to a joint overload.
– Sports injuries. The most experienced athletes are more likely to suffer from arthrosis, even more so if they have sports injuries that have caused trauma.
– A sedentary lifestyle or lack of physical exercise increases the risk of developing osteoarthritis.
– The decrease in estrogen levels after the arrival of menopause.
– Obesity can increase the risk of arthrosis and enhance its effects.
Symptoms of arthrosis
Many people know what arthrosis is, mainly those who have begun to experience their symptoms, being varied, progressive in time or even dilated.
The most common are related to pain that affects the joints, limited movements, articulated crunching and even, sometimes, with joint effusion.
Pain is the symptom that people with arthrosis fear most. At first, it appears when moving the affected joint or when making an effort, pain that disappears with rest. However, in advanced arthrosis, the pain will appear in both situations: when moving and resting.
Luckily, osteoarthritis pain can give sufferers a respite and go away for a while, which doesn’t mean that osteoarthritis won’t continue to worsen.
Prevention
Arthrosis is not a particularly serious disease. Moreover, their progress is quite slow, but there is no doubt that the patient’s quality of life decreases. Either way, your prognosis can vary significantly depending on the affected joint and its evolution.
When slowing down the progress of arthrosis, attention must be paid to two fundamental factors: early diagnosis and prevention measures.