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| Osteoarthritis |
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| Treatment |
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| Medication |
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Many types of medications are
available to treat the pain, inflammation and stiffness of osteoarthritis.
They include both topical and oral medications. Topical medications
like creams, gels, ointments and sprays help to relieve pain
temporarily. Oral medications include acetaminophen (eg. Panadol),
aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). |
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Not every medication works for
every person and you may need a combination of medications.
It is important to talk to the doctor before using, changing
or stopping a medication. The pharmacist is also a good source
for information. |
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| Nutrition |
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There is no special diet for treating
osteoarthritis. A healthy diet helps to control your body weight
and gives better overall health. This allows you to cope better
with arthritis. |
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| Body weight |
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Being overweight will put extra
load on joints, especially the hips and knees. Keeping an optimal
weight helps to cut down stress on joints and makes people feel
stronger. |
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| Exercise |
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Exercise is important for keeping
the joints flexible and for strengthening the muscles. With
appropriate exercise, you will have less pain and fatigue, better
sleep and energy levels. You will be able to do more of your
everyday activities. You should discuss with your doctor or
physiotherapist before starting any exercise programme. |
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| The exercises should include a combination of these 3 main groups. |
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Range-of-Motion exercise:
these are simple stretching exercises done by moving the joints
through normal range. Example of a range-of-motion exercise
for your shoulder is to move your arm in a big circle. |
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Strengthening exercise:
these help to maintain or increase muscle strength. |
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Endurance exercise:
these help to strengthen the heart and lungs that improve your
energy level. Examples are cycling, swimming and walking. |
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| Heat / Cold Treatment |
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Applying heat or cold treatment
gives short durations of pain relief. |
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Heat treatment will relieve your pain, relax
your tense and painful muscles. Choices for using heat treatment
are taking a hot shower or using a hot pack. |
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Cold treatment is useful when joints are warm
and inflamed. |
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Do not use heat or cold treatment if your
skin has poor sensation, poor blood circulation, irritation
and wounds. |
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Surgery
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Most people with osteoarthritis
do not need surgery. For some people with severe osteoarthritic
pain, who do not respond to usual treatment methods, surgery
may be the answer. The main aim of surgery is to relieve pain,
provide better range of movement and to correct joint deformity.
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The most frequent
surgical treatment is joint replacement surgery where the surgeon
removes the damaged joint surface and replaces it with a plastic
or metal covering. Most of the replacements are done for the
hip or knee. The surgeon may recommend other surgical treatments
to remove loose fragments from the joint that cause pain, or
to realign your bone to correct deformity to balance the stresses
on the joint. |
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| Self help |
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Osteoarthritis cannot
be cured and the process of damage cannot be stopped. You can
learn to contain the physical and psychological stress by adopting
a more positive outlook. With that, you can achieve better control
of the effect of arthritis. |
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