Osteoarthritis: Symptoms, Causes, & Treatment

If you feel pain in your joints, it may be due to osteoarthritis. But, to clear up any doubts, perhaps the time has come to look for the best rheumatologist in Delhi. Rheumatologists are the specialists in charge of treating this and other diseases of the bones and muscles.

Osteoarthritis is a painful joint disease that is frequently disabling and affects more than 10% of the population in our country. In fact, although it is believed to be a pathology related to the elderly, the reality is that more and more people are suffering from osteoarthritis problems in India. This ailment affects the joints, as a consequence of the progressive wear of the cartilage located at the beginning or at the end of the bones. Therefore, age is an obvious risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis. But not the only one.

There are genetic factors that are transmitted between descendants. That is, if your father, your mother or your grandparents have suffered this disease, you run a greater risk of having it at some point in your life. Sex —although it occurs in both men and women, it tends to appear earlier in them— and, especially, being overweight, are elements that powerfully influence their condition.

Given that bone wear is the cause that produces it, the passage of time and the effort that is required on the bones, to bear the additional load that an excessive weight produces, accelerate this deterioration and generate, much earlier, swelling, pain and reduced mobility in the joints that characterize this problem.

The appearance of this ailment can degenerate into a deformation of these parts of the body. Therefore, and given that prevention is the only effective way to combat it, it is essential to anticipate and detect the risk of suffering it as soon as possible, to apply palliative remedies as soon as possible.

Organs involved in rheumatic diseases

Surely you know that a rheumatologist in Delhi is the professional who treats diseases that affect the joints, resulting in inflammation and pain and requiring treatment. However, there are several pathologies of this nature that also involve very disparate organs.

Therefore, a rheumatologist in Delhi is not limited to comprehensive examinations to take care of your skeleton. If you go for the joint pain treatment in Delhi, it is most likely that, depending on your case, the rheumatologist will be interested in evaluating other aspects of your health. Autoimmune diseases make up a large group with more than 200 clinical entities. The common denominator of most of the diseases grouped in this category is the alteration of the immune system. As a consequence, the defense mechanisms that the body’s foreign molecules and cells should fight back against your tissues, inflaming and injuring them.

It is not uncommon for some of them to affect the tissues of the eye, triggering what is called uveitis. At the level of the cardiovascular system, these conditions can lead to injuries to the heart valves, the inner lining of the arteries or the pericardium, a fibrous tunic that surrounds the heart, causing pericarditis. In all these cases, you can also suffer from arteriosclerosis, which leads to premature coronary disease.

Another organ that is often damaged is the liver, which can suffer from autoimmune hepatitis exclusively related to this organ. It can also be damaged by a clinical entity such as lupus, which is generalized. Other organs that are involved in the evolution of several of these diseases are the pancreas, kidneys, skin and the membrane that covers the lungs, generating pleurisy, explains the rheumatologist in Delhi.

Symptoms of osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common degenerative diseases affecting a large number of the population. The symptoms appear and are noticed little by little and with the passage of the years they increase. For this reason, it is very important that at the first signs and problems of osteoarthritis you go to consult a specialized rheumatologist in Delhi who will analyze your situation, determine the degree of osteoarthritis and decide on the best possible treatment.

At the beginning, osteoarthritis always manifests itself with pain, since when moving the joints the patient experiences discomfort, such as an uncomfortable pinch that prevents him from flexing with normality and customary functionality. Suddenly, something as normal as getting up from a sofa, reaching for a saucepan of water or simply getting out of bed becomes a problem because of the pain they cause. The joints that suffer the most from this disease are the hip, knee and hands.

Most of the patients who go to a joint pain specialist in Delhi to treat their osteoarthritis problems, they complain that staying in the same position for a long time, for example, going to the movies, taking a car trip or at bedtime, becomes an ordeal. Pain is often accompanied by swelling and numbness. Thus, patients with osteoarthritis usually notice the affected parts more swollen and more rigid. Sometimes when osteoarthritis is very advanced, the fingers or the affected joint begin to deform.

It is very important that, if you think you may suffer from osteoarthritis, at the first symptoms you go to a top rheumatologist in Delhi.

Causes of osteoarthritis

First of all, it must be clarified that the word osteoarthritis designates a disease caused by the wear and tear of the joints, which leads to inflammation, pain and inability to carry out certain tasks or even move in a general way. It is a chronic disease that affects all joints from the cartilage to the synovium. Likewise, osteoarthritis doctors in Delhi will tell you that you should not confuse osteoarthritis with arthritis, as this is nothing more than an inflammation of the joints, explains the rheumatologist in Delhi.

But what are the causes of osteoarthritis? Not only age influences, but also genetics, overweight, some diseases and the overload of the affected areas. At the beginning of the disease, the joints suffer pain due to one of the aforementioned causes, which, over time, causes dehydration, causing inflammation that ends with the degeneration of cartilage. This destruction causes friction between the bones causing their final wear.

The growth of this pathology in younger and younger people has alerted specialists. This increase in injuries to the locomotor system is due to the increase in the practice of sport in a massive way in recent times. The impact that athletes exert on their body often causes wear and tear on the joints that evolves into acute or chronic pain if we do not treat it in time. If this pathology is uncomfortable and painful in general, in the case of athletes it is aggravated by being limiting and disabling in their sporting exercise and even in their daily life. The disease affects more females than males. In addition, there is a tendency to mistakenly think that it is a disease of the elderly and that it has no cure, says the rheumatologist in Delhi.

Treatment of osteoarthritis

Treatments to relieve symptoms range from anti-inflammatory drugs to a series of physical exercises through physical therapy. In the most serious cases, an operation should be performed to avoid incapacitation of the patient.

Also, you can follow some tips that will ease your pain. For example, exercise moderately, use insoles, canes or shoes with soft and thick soles so that the joints rest better, eat a balanced diet and, when you feel pain, apply heat to the area.

The important thing, above all, is to receive adequate treatment early. So, if you feel pain in any of your joints, it is best to receive the opinion of a specialist rheumatologist in Delhi.

The rheumatologist in Delhi can make a proper diagnosis and indicate the best treatment to follow, if necessary. Likewise, he will give you some indications to alleviate those symptoms of pain or stiffness, so annoying in this type of disease.