Unfortunately, our bodies don’t last forever. Let me be clear from the start, everyone gets arthritis at some point in their life, it’s just a matter of when and where.
A common question patients ask me is, “can I have arthritis without any symptoms?” The answer is a resounding yes!!! Arthritis can manifest itself in a couple of ways—the most common is Osteoarthritis (OA), which is what I am speaking of in this article.
Usually, OA changes are present for decades prior to someone feeling their effects. Arthritis causes a slow and steady reduction in the amount of cartilage in a joint, which over time reduces space. As more and more space is lost within a joint, the body adapts and creates bone spurs and other changes to compensate.
Early symptoms of arthritis that are commonly seen is joint stiffness that slowly becomes consistent, loss of motion/flexibility, and increased soreness after activity that resolves with rest or over the counter medications. As OA progresses a slow steady reduction in ability to perform tasks that were once easy occurs, stamina for sports and other activities goes down, and often people increase medication to combat stiffness/soreness.
As the OA changes progress people seek out care from their doctor, a chiropractor, massage therapist or physical therapist to alleviate symptoms. By the time they have reached out to a professional for help, and especially if they are over the age of 45, there is usually some amount of mild to moderate OA changes present.
Arthritic changes are not like wine that improves with age, it only worsens. But the good news is most cases of OA can be managed without surgery, or getting hooked on pain killers. Here are some tips that will help management of this issue.
Move more—walking and keeping your body active is the number one thing to reduce wear and tear on your joints—remember motion is lotion; i.e. as you move you squeeze lubricating fluid out of your joints that carries nutrients to keep the cartilage healthier longer.
Lose 10-15% of your body weight—studies have consistently shown that losing even 10% of total body weight can take significant pressure off of knees, hips, and the spine.
Drink more water—Consume half your body weight in ounces of water per day.
Eat a diet full of fruits and vegetables, and reduce your intake of white sugar and white flour—which causes inflammation in your body, and will keep joints sore and inflamed
Consider taking supplements that contain Glucosamine and Chondroitin Sulfate to help maintain cartilage you still have
Taking some simple steps performed consistently will help your joints last longer—remember if your body wears out..where will you live?