Arthritis is defined as the inflammation of joints or cartilage and can affect any joint throughout the body. It can affect so many people because we use our joints all the time for every and any movement we make. For anyone that follows basketball, a player named Brandon Roy currently had to retire far before his prime due to degenerative joints. He had multiple knee surgeries which broke down and tore his cartilage which led to his joints becoming broken down. Often people who have broken bones or joints will experience pain in those joints for the rest of their lives. It is an unfortunate event but it is important to learn how to deal with the pain and how to prevent further damage.

The diagnosis of OA starts with pain or discomfort in any of the joints. The joints that are most affected include the knees since people are constantly walking or running and putting pressure/weight on these joints. The true diagnosis of OA can be determined by an x-ray which will reveal tissue and cartilage damage to the joints. Usually there is synocial fluid in between the joints which causes lubrication so that the bones and cartilage don’t rub together. However, for degenerative joints this fluid becomes less and less to the point where the bones/cartilage actually rub against each other. This is what causes the pain and discomfort.

The most common form of arthritis (osteoarthritis) most often affects the elderly because their bones and joints become less strong. Once this happens and a diagnosis of OA has been made, treatment options should be initiated to help with the pain. There are two types of treatments which include non-pharmacological treatments and pharmacological treatments. Non-pharmacological treatments are non-medication treatments where as pharmacological treatments are the use of medications for control of degenerative joints.

Non-pharmacological treatments are the mainstay of therapy and should be initiated immediately. Some of these treatments include weight bearing exercises daily that can help strengthen the muscle around the joints to increase stabilization. Another treatment that can be considered is warm compresses to the painful joints. This can help increase the comfort when you add heat to the area of pain. Pharmacological treatments involve using medications and the first line of therapy for medications is acetaminophen (Tylenol). The recommended dose is 500mg-1,000mg 3-4x per day until the pain is resolved. Tylenol is a safe medication however it is not recommended to use more than 4g daily over extended periods of time, or 3g daily for an alcoholic.

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