Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It would come from the inability of the body to repair the damaged joint and it is part of the normal aging of it. This can be caused either by an injury or from a prolonged and/or repeated overload on a joint. One out of six Canadians is currently facing this issue.

HOW IS OSTEOARTHRITIS MANIFESTED?

Osteoarthritis may be present under different symptoms:

• Pain
• Swelling
• Crackles and joint noises
• Stiffness
• Instability

WHICH BODY AREAS MAY BE AFFECTED BY OSTEOARTHRITIS?

Several joints may be affected by osteoarthritis, the most common areas are:

• Knees
• Hands
• Hips
• Spine

HOW TO TREAT OSTEOARTHRITIS?

Although there is still no way to cure osteoarthritis, many solutions are available to people who are affected with it, in order to improve their quality of life. The most recommended and most quoted solution in the scientific literature is: exercise!

The most recent studies show the benefits:

• Decreased pain
• Decreased use of pain medication
• Improvement of the quality of life
• and several other complementary benefits on the general health of the body.

In addition, exercise would delay or prevent certain surgeries.

PHYSIOTHERAPY AND OSTEOARTHRITIS

Your physiotherapist is well equipped to guide you in the management of your osteoarthritis-related pain.

A physiotherapy consultation will include:

• Evaluation of joint mobility, strength, posture and functional capacities;
• Advice on joint protection and pain management;
• Prescription and teaching of exercises personally adapted to the condition (mobility, strenghtening proprioception);
• Joint mobilizations;
• Manual therapy;
• Soft tissue techniques;
• Tapings;
• Suggestion of technical assistance for walking.

For more information on osteoarthritis:

https://arthritis.ca/about-arthritis/arthritis-types-(a-z)/types/osteoarthritis

Références:

¹Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D™): evidence-based education and supervised neuromuscular exercise delivered by certified physiotherapists nationwide.

by Skou ST, Roos EMArticle 2017, Source: BMC musculoskeletal disorders 2017 02 07; 18(1): 72

² A Randomized, Controlled Trial of Total Knee Replacement by Skou ST, Roos EM, Laursen MB, Rathleff MS, Arendt-Nielsen L, Simonsen O, Rasmussen SArticle 2015, Source: The New England journal of medicine 2015 Oct 22; 373(17): 1597-606

³American College of Rheumatology 2012 recommendations for the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic therapies in osteoarthritis of the hand, hip, and knee by Hochberg M.C., Altman R.D., April K.T., McGowan J., Welch V., Wells G., Tugwell P., Benkhalti M., Guyatt G., Towheed T.Article 2012 Source: Arthritis Care and Research v64 n4 (2012 04 01): 465-474