Does Your Back Pain Due to Osteoarthritis?

Osteoarthritis is a type of disease which causes the degeneration of the joints. If the cartilages get deteriorated due to any reason it results in osteoarthritis. It can affect the hands, hips, knees or even the spine. Osteoarthritis of the spine mostly affects the facet joints. Aging caused the cartilage coating of the facet joints to wear down which causes this disease. The invertebral discs are primarily made up of water, which might get dehydrated and cause them to get narrow and increase the pressure on the facet joints.

Symptoms

Back pain is the most common symptom caused which usually starts in the lower back. As the disease progresses the symptoms will get worse. Some of the other symptoms are:

• Joint stiffness
• Weakness of the limbs
• Joint tenderness
• Limited range of motion

Sometimes people suffering from this disease actually don’t suffer from any symptoms.

Diagnosis

After the consultation with the doctor, if he finds that there are chances that the patient is suffering from osteoarthritis, he will ask for imaging tests to be taken. They check for any kind of bone damage or spurs, and also the loss of cartilage in the joints. An X-ray scan or a MRI scan is required to make sure that he has the disease.

Treatment

There is no actual cure for osteoarthritis, also the condition is irreversible. The main treatment offered is to provide relieve from the pain and also give some sort of mobility to the affected joint. Your doctor might prescribe drugs like acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium, but there are some side effects to these drugs. They include organ damage, bleeding problems and an upset stomach, so it is absolutely necessary to take the medicines as prescribed by the doctor. Gentle exercises and physical therapy has also been observed to improve the conditions.