What is Osteoarthritis?

WHAT IS MEANT BY ARTHRITIS OR RHEUMATISM?

Unfortunately, these common terms produce a considerable amount of fear and concern for many people.

Rheumatism is a vague term used to describe aching in joints and muscles, and the word should be avoided.

Arthritis means inflammation of the joints, but there are over 100 different types of arthritis. The most serious is rheumatoid arthritis, which is uncommon. The most common osteoarthritis, which is usually not serious and causes only minor discomfort in some people.

WHAT IS OSTEOARTHRITIS?

This is a condition that occurs during the body’s normal ageing process as a result of wear and tear of the joints. It is also called degenerative joint disease.

The smooth gristle or cartilage that covers and protects the ends of the bones at the joints is gradually worn away. The joints become rough, and stiffness and inflammation can develop.

X- rays are taken to confirm the diagnosis of osteoarthritis; all other tests done have normal results. X- rays show some degree of osteoarthritis in 1 or more of the joints of 9 out of 10 people over the age of 40.

HOW DOES OSTEOARTHRITIS BEGIN?

The most common reason for loss of cartilage is wear and tear due to ageing, but many people never notice it.

It commonly develops in joints that were injured earlier in life (such as with sporting injuries) or joints that have been overworked (such as those in the fingers of a knitter or the feet of a ballet dancer).

Osteoarthritis mostly affects the weight-bearing joints such as the spine, knees and hips (especially in over-weight people) resulting in joint or knee pain, but the base of the thumb and the ends of the fingers are common sites also.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF OSTEOARTHRITIS?

The severity of osteoarthritis symptoms varies, but usually they are pain, swelling and stiffness of the affected joints. Stiffness is usually worse in the morning. Joint pain is worse after excessive or prolonged activity such as walking for a long time. Movement may be difficult and interfere with normal activities.

HOW SERIOUS IS OSTEOARTHRITIS?

Osteoarthritis seldom becomes a serious problem and does not threaten one’s life. It does not cause the crippling deformities of joints seen on the rarer serious forms of arthritis.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS?

There is no cure, but there are many ways to make life more comfortable and keep you mobile and independent. Surgery can relieve a joint that is very stiff and painful.

DIET

Keep your weight down to avoid unnecessary wear on the joints. No particular diet has been proved to cause or improve osteoarthritis.

EXERCISE

Keep a good balance of adequate rest with sensible exercise (such as walking, cycling or swimming), but stop any exercise or activity that increases the pain.

HEAT

A hot- water bottle, warm bath or electric blanket can soothe the pain and stiffness. Avoid getting too cold.

WALKING AIDS

Shoe inserts, good footwear and a walking stick can help painful knees, hips and feet.

OSTEOARTHRITIS MEDICATION

Aspirin and paracetamol are effective pain-killers for mild osteoarthritis. Your doctor may prescribe anti-arthritic medications, but few may have to be tried to find the one that works best for you. The tablets should be taken with food.

NOTE: TELL YOUR DOCTOR IF YOU HAVE HAD A PEPTIC ULCER OR GET INDIGESTION.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR OSTEOARTHRITIS

It is possible to increase your independence at home. There is a wide range of inexpensive equipment and tools that can help with cooking, cleaning, and other household chores. These can be discussed with physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

The Arthritis Foundation in your city is able to provide information about many aspects of arthritis.

Gut Brain Access and its role in Disease - Dr. Datis Kharrazian

Sean Croxton interviews Dr. Datis Kharrazian (Author of 'Why Isn't My Brain Working?' & 'Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When my Lab Tests are Normal'), who specialises in gut-brain access disorders, which are the root cause of many chronic diseases including autism.

These other webpages below may also interest you, click to learn more about your health condition.

Management of Joint Pains & Gout

Healthy Diets for Optimal Health

How a Gluten-free Diet can Reduce your Joint Pains

Can a Wheat-free Diet help you to lose weight and reduce Obesity, Heart disease, Auto-immune diseases & Cancer, even Alzheimer's disease & Schizophrenia or reverse Diabetes & pre-Diabetes? Recent research has also shown promising results that a Gluten-free diet showed a reduction in the symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteoarthritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Heartburn/GERD, ADHD, Asthma & allergies, even acne.

Watch the following videos by several doctors (Dr William Davies, Dr Sarah Hallberg, Dr Alessio Fasano, Dr David Perlmutter & Dr Rodney Ford) and decide for yourself whether you should adopt a Gluten-free diet if you are suffering from the above-listed medical conditions. Even unexplained diarrhea, headaches/migraines or chronic fatigue has been alleviated by going Gluten-free.

The case these doctors put forward based on research and empirical evidence from thousands of patients is that Wheat and Gluten contributes to this shocking host of diseases and chronic medical problems, and increasing the incidence of celiac disease and Autism.

What does Wheat & Gluten do to your body?

Foods containing wheat have an extremely high glycemic index (70+ out of a possible 100), that is the body suffers a sudden spike in blood glucose after a meal of food containing wheat. Add to that the fact that the wheat we are eating is completely dissimilar genetically to the wheat of the 1950's, after all the genetic modifications and mutations the plant has undergone.

The doctors also point out that Gluten causes prolonged periods of inflammation in the body, leading to many of the diseases most prevalent today. Ironically, foods containing wheat are actually appetite-enhancing and can cause sugar cravings.

William Davis MD - Wheat: The UNhealthy Whole Grain

The wheat of today is not the wheat of our mothers or grandmothers. Modern wheat is the product of genetic manipulations that have transformed its properties. Modern wheat is now a 2-foot tall, high-yield semi-dwarf strain, different in both appearance and multiple biochemical features from traditional wheat. Introduction of this new strain of wheat was associated with the appearance of a long list of health problems, along with weight gain and diabetes.

According to Dr. Davis, saying goodbye to all things wheat provides outsized and unexpected health benefits, from weight loss, to relief from acid reflux and bowel urgency, to reversal of diabetes, migraine headaches, and learning disabilities in children.

Dr. William Davis is author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Wheat Belly: Lose the wheat, lose the weight and find your path back to health (Rodale, 2011), now debuting internationally in over ten foreign languages. Wheat belly has helped spark a nationwide reconsideration of the conventional advice to "eat more healthy whole grains."

Formerly an interventional cardiologist, he now confines his practice to prevention and reversal of coronary disease in his practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Davis is a graduate of the St. Louis University School of Medicine, followed by training in internal medicine and cardiology at the Ohio State University Hospitals, and training in interventional cardiology at the Case--Western Reserve Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio. He is also founder of the online heart disease prevention educational program, Track your Plaque.

Reversing Type 2 diabetes starts with ignoring the guidelines - Dr Sarah Hallberg | TEDxPurdueU

Can a person be "cured" of Type 2 Diabetes? Dr. Sarah Hallberg provides compelling evidence that it can, and the solution is simpler than you might think.

Dr. Sarah Hallberg is the Medical Director of the Medically Supervised Weight Loss Program at IU Health Arnett, a program she created. She is board certified in both obesity medicine and internal medicine and has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology. She has recently created what is only the second non-surgical weight loss rotation in the country for medical students. Her program has consistently exceeded national benchmarks for weight loss, and has been highly successful in reversing diabetes and other metabolic diseases. Dr. Hallberg is also the co-author of www.fitteru.us, a blog about health and wellness.

Alessio Fasano MD - Spectrum of Gluten-Related Disorders: People Shall Not Live by Bread Alone

The cultivation of gluten-containing grains that were the backbone of the agricultural revolution have also brought with them the manifestation of conditions related to negative reactions to gluten. These include celiac disease, wheat allergy and the "new kid on the block" of the spectrum of gluten-related disorders—gluten sensitivity. The autoimmune disorder of celiac disease is the most widely studied condition on the spectrum. It affects approximately 1 in 133 people, a rate that has doubled in the U.S. every 15 years over the past 35 years. An estimate from the Center for Celiac Research puts gluten sensitivity at 6% of the U.S. population. With current interest in the human genome and microbiome, research is leading scientists to examine the relationship between the intestinal microbiome and gluten-related disorders. Currently the gluten-free diet is the only available treatment for gluten-related disorders.

World-renowned pediatric gastroenterologist, research scientist, and entreprenuer Alessio Fasano, M.D., founded the Center for Celiac Research in 1996. The Center offers state-of-the art research, clinical expertise and teaching for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of gluten-related disorders, including celiac disease, wheat allergy, and gluten sensitivity. Trained in Naples, Italy, as a pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Fasano was recruited to the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1993 and founded its Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition. Puzzled by the absence of children exhibiting symptoms of celiac disease in the clinic, he resolved to uncover the mystery of missing American "celiacs." His perseverance in the face of skepticism about celiac disease in the U.S. eventually led to his publication of the groundbreaking study in 2003 that established the rate of the autoimmune disorder at one in 133 Americans.

In early 2013, Dr. Fasano was appointed Division Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He brought the Center for Celiac Research to Boston, where he heads the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center, based in Charlestown, and is Associate Chief for Basic, Clinical and Translational Research for the Department of Pediatrics at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. He is a Visiting Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Mercola Interviews Dr. David Perlmutter, Author of Grain Brain

Natural health expert and Mercola.com founder Dr. Joseph Mercola interviews Dr. David Perlmutter about the implications of diet to Alzheimer's risk.

Here is a list of the Best Antioxidants and Free Radical Scavengers that you should be taking as dietary supplements daily as recommended by Dr David Perlmutter, author of 'Grain Brain':

  • Tumeric
  • DHA Omega 3
  • B complex vitamins (including Vitamin B12)
  • Vitamin C & D
  • Bacopa
  • Brocolli
  • Alpha-Lipoic acid 300 (ALA)
  • Ashwagandha
  • Resveratrol
  • Milk Thistle
  • Green Tea
  • Probiotics
  • Coenzyme Q10 (coq10)

These nutritional supplements reduce oxidative stress on your brain and body, thus protecting your health.

These other webpages below may also interest you, click to learn more about your health condition.

Travel Health Guide, Gluten Intolerance Symptoms, Learn what is Autism and the Management of Asthma

Health Assessment & Screening Packages

The information provided in this website is for knowledge purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice.

Should you encounter any medical problem that you are unsure of, always consult your doctor or health care provider for assistance and medical advice.

Dr Don V H LAU   Chairperson of AMDA Singapore

MBBS (Monash), B.Med.Sc.(Hons) (Monash), Grad.Dip.Derm.(Wales,UK)

AMDA International Peace Clinic is a part of AMDA (Association of Medical Doctors of Asia). We are part of the network of AMDA Peace Clinics & Friendship Hospitals around the world. We dedicate part of our profits to AMDA's worldwide Emergency Disaster Aid Relief missions, Social Development projects and Vaccination programmes.

AMDA, founded in 1984 has carried out more than 160 missions in 65 countries over the last 32 years. It has contributed medical expertise and supplies to every major natural disaster since 1984. AMDA holds General Consultative Status with the United Nations ECOSOC since 1995.

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AMDA International Peace Clinic dedicates part of our profits to AMDA's Worldwide Emergency Disaster Aid Relief missions, Social Development projects & Vaccination programmes.

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OUR DOCTORS

Dr Shigeru Suganami – Medical Director

Founder & President of AMDA - Association of Medical Doctors of Asia

Dr Don Lau – Resident Doctor

MBBS (Monash), B Med Sc (Hons) (Monash), Dip Pract Derm (Wales, UK)

Chairperson of AMDA Singapore

Dr Lee Sao Bing – Opthalmologist (in-house Specialist)

MBBS, MMed(Ophth), FRCSEd(Ophth), MD, FAMS

Dr Pang Yoke Teen – ENT (Visiting Consultant)

FRCS (ORL), FRCS(EDIN), (FRCSGLASG), FAMS, MBBS